Up far too early for work this morning, I took my dog out for a drive and a
walk under the full moon. He and I observed two Great Gray Owls in the Holland
Landing area and another just west of Newmarket in the Holland Marsh area.
At 6:15 a.m. we saw one perched on the west side of the 2nd Concession (which
is the northern extension of Main Street out of Newmarket) north of the Mount
Albert Road. The bird was on hydro pole by the driveway just across and
slightly south of Algonquin Court. We saw another GGOW fly across the road in
front of us at the northern terminus of Yonge Street in north Holland Landing
(across from Silver Lakes Golf Course) at first light.
Later, after a chilly walk, we observed a third Great Gray on Dufferin Street
just north of the Miller Sideroad on the outskirts of Newmarket. There is a
little dip on Dufferin Street as soon as you pass Miller; the bird was perched
very close to the roadside, looking into the field on the west side of the road
at the southern edge of the wood. I have seen this individual four times over
the last seven days. He appears to be a juvenile bird with sharper-edged
feathering at the tail than the worn, rounded remiges of the adult birds I've
seen.
