With all due respect to novelist John Grisham, here is a "Pelican Brief":
The adult American White Pelican (now past alternate plumage and going into basic) is still lingering in the northern section of the McKenzie Marsh in Aurora. Along with him are several other interesting marsh birds including adult and juvenile Belted Kingfishers, adult and juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, at least two Great Blue Herons and one Green Heron, several Caspian Terns, and numerous swallows of various species. Keep your eyes peeled for Pied-billed Grebe and Common Moorhen as well. This morning at 9:15 I chatted with a construction worker who was spray painting the roadside in preparation for the upcoming widening (environmental impact?) on St. John's Sideroad and he said construction work begins Monday, one day later than what I had posted yesterday, so, IF his word is accurate, interested naturalists can still get a look at this bird Sunday if today doesn't work for them. The McKenzie Marsh is in the north part of Aurora, about a km east of Yonge Street along the aforementioned St. John's Sideroad. This narrow two-lane road bisects the marsh and has very little shoulder room for parking. Coming east from Yonge Street it is best to pass the open water section and pull onto the gravel on the southwest side of the marsh. There is enough room for two cars, three with a shoehorn. This puts you directly across from a big white sign for the marsh that has seen better years. Look for the pelican in the north part of the pond behind this. It has been as close as the roadside reeds (from which you will hear Marsh Wrens signing) and as far as the northernmost corner of the marsh, which is where he roosted both evenings of his visit here. Coming west from Bayview, Leslie, etc., you can pull over on the north side of the road as soon as you pass the railway tracks. There is a driveway there, so keep in mind this is a private lane so don't block the entranceway. Walk down the hill from here and consider cutting into the grass and small bushes on the north because you can access a hillside that gives you a much fuller view of the marsh, especially the northernmost section which is partially obscured by reeds from the roadside vantage point described above. Another place to park is past the open water on the northwest side of the marsh, again near a private laneway. Good luck if you try for it! Ron Fleming, Newmarket
