PLEASE SAVE THIS EMAIL Ontario Birders, In addition to the 22 Great Egrets banded at Motor Island in the Niagara River over 100 Great Egrets were banded this year on Nottawasaga Island at Collingwood. Birders should look for Great Egrets with RED BANDS WITH WHITE LETTER-NUMBERS ABOVE THE “KNEE” OF THE LEFT LEG AND THE TRADITIONAL ALUMINUM BAND ABOVE THE “ANKLE” OF THE RIGHT LEG in the area south of Collingwood. The band code on the red band can usually be read with a spotting scope as the letter numbers are nearly an inch high. Although we would expect these banded egrets to move south from Collingwood, Bob and Mary Hartley found an egret banded this year at Motor Island at the Niagara River well north and just east of Birch Point Marina on Lakeshore Rd (Kawartha Lakes road #24) in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough on July 24, 2006. So these young birds are capable of dispersing northward 190 Kilometers in a very short time after fledging. In the past the birds banded on Nottawasaga Island have been observed in the village of Sutton near the south shore of Lake Simcoe by Irving Himel on August 9, 2003, and if memory serves me correctly another egret with a red band around the "knee" of the left leg was found near Owens Sound by Mark Gretch. In short, these banded egrets from Georgian Bay and the Niagara River could show up anywhere in southern Ontario. If you see any, please record the date and location and, if possible, the letter(s) and number(s) so we can better document the dispersal pattern of these fledglings. Report all sighting of Great Egret with red color bands to at least one of the following researchers (even if you cannot read the code) . D. V. Chip Weseloh Canadian Wildlife Service-Ontario Region 4905 Dufferin St. Downsview, Ontario M3H 5T4 Phone: 416-739-5846 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) . and/or Connie Adams NYSDEC 270 Michigan Ave. Buffalo, NY 14203 Phone (716) 851-7010 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
Best Wishes for Great Great Egret Birding, Bill Watson
