Hello Ontbirders, Bill Gilmour, Maureen Riggs and I conducted the weekly IBA Shorebird Survey at Presqu'ile this morning (25 July 2003). The general sense is that there are very few new birds since last week, and fewer birds overall since last week. We recorded 90 birds of 7 species, including the first juv. Least Sandpipers for the 2003 survey (juv. birds first noted Wed. eve) but there were no real surprises. Most birds were located on Beach 4 and the Natural Beach.
The best find of all was a partially eaten and fairly recently (less than a week old?) dead adult Red-throated Loon that had washed up on the beach near the Park boundary. There was also a huge mass of feeding cormorants in Pompham Bay, presumably feeding on schools of Alewife that gather offshore there. Whether you hate 'em or like 'em, it sure was impressive to see such a large group of colonial birds in one place. We didn't make a serious attempt at estimating numbers but there were thousands - perhaps in the 7500-10,000 range. Most birds appeared to be young of the year, but there were many sub-adults as well. Survey Results: 13 Killdeer (2a,7j,2u) 7 Semipalmated Plover (7a) 8 Lesser Yellowlegs (8a) 13 Spotted Sandpiper (7a,6j) 31 Semipalmated Sandpiper (31a) 11 Least Sandpiper (8a,3j) 9 Sanderling (9a) Cheers, Doug McRae Directions: Presqu'ile is best reached from Hwy 401, take the Brighton exit (Hwy 30) south through the town and follow the signs to the Park. Doug McRae <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
