Yesterday (May 21) two teams of birders participated in the Baillie Birdathon, both staying strictly within the boundaries of York Region (just north of Toronto). One team was composed of Bruce Brydon, Sean Macey and Rolf Davis, while the other was comprised of Kevin Shackleton, Keith Dunn, John McLean, John Watson, and myself. Following somewhat different routes and itineraries that only ran parallel from time to time, it was interesting to see that - by day's end - the former team had tallied 121 species and the latter 120. Although there were no breathtaking discoveries, a total of over 130 species was observed in York Region. Highlights included Clay-coloured Sparrows on territory in NW Newmarket, Black Terns at Cook's Bay in Keswick, a Blue-winged Warbler and a Brewster's Warbler jostling for territory in south Pottageville, American Pipits NW of King City, Mourning Warblers and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers at Kortright CA north of Woodbridge, and Upland Sandpiper NW of Kleinburg. Also of interest was the total of at least 7 different Northern Harriers, 7 different Osprey and 5 different Pileated Woodpeckers observed through the course of the day. Both teams agreed that it was an unusual year. Warbler numbers were low with only 16 total species observed and shorebirds were very hard to find (though reports of a bad 2004 nesting season for this group gave some warning that this might be the case). Also notable was the fact that most of the birds observed were resident breeders in York; migrants made up a surprisingly low percentage of the species encountered. (Does this mean there were less migrants passing through this spring, or that we missed the main push of migrants at this somewhat late date in May, or that the movement of birds northward has been spread out so much that some species are through and some have not yet arrived? All food for thought.) Whatever the case, it was great to get out for a full day of birding (each team did 19 hours) and to raise money for bird research in Ontario. A percentage of the money raised will go to our "resident club", the West Humber Naturalists of Kleinburg. Many thanks to those who sponsored all Birdathon teams across Ontario! Ron Fleming, Newmarket
