Pulled out of suburbia by a classically colourful Thanksgiving weekend, I
checked the country roads and local lagoons around Newmarket on both Sunday and
Monday. The first two lagoons at Schomberg were empty of bird life when I got
there Sunday afternoon but the third cell, despite major disruption from recent
bulldozer activity, had some migrants in it. The most interesting of these
were two WILSON'S SNIPE feeding uncharacteristically out in the open on one of
the islands of bulldozed mud. Also present were ten Lesser Yellowlegs, one
Greater Yellowlegs, four Pectoral Sandpipers, a dozen Killdeer, and at least 60
AMERICAN PIPITS, many of which were flying from the lagoon-dividing burms to
these mud islands, wagging their tails in a thousand little waves to the late,
great Gerry Bennett, who loved these little October pilgrims and brought them
to my attention many autumns ago.
Along the treed fenceline on the north side of the property I noticed several
White-throated Sparrows, dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a lingering
EASTERN MEADOWLARK who buzzed and stutter-winged past me as I exited.
This morning - Thanksgiving Monday - at the Holland Landing lagoons there
were only two shorebirds - both Pectoral Sandpipers - but a good number of
ducks and passerines. There were 150+ GW TEAL, two WOOD DUCKS, and approx. 30
N. SHOVELERS. There were also several Mallards and two Black Ducks.
The wooded perimeter of the lagoons, especially the northeastern corner, was
alive with passerines. There were at least 300 flitting birds, most of them
hawking the many insects floating in little clouds above the asters and
goldenrod. At least half these birds were Yellow-rumped Warblers. In
descending order of abundance after the "butterbutts" were RC Kinglets, GC
Kinglets, Cedar Waxwings, White-thr. Sparrows, White-cr. Sparrows, Song
Sparrows, Robins, Swamp Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and one each of Palm
Warbler, Eastern Phoebe, and Field Sparrow. (I can only imagine how a hike
along the migrant-rich lakeshore would have been!)
Along the southern edge of the lagoon property I encountered a group of about
100 blackbirds and, with Peter Wukasch's recent post in mind, I kept my eyes
peeled for RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. I was rewarded with excellent looks at 16 of
these latter "blackbirds" among the many redwings. There were also two Monarch
butterflies and a Mourning Cloak.
A short walk in the woods adjacent to the lagoons yielded more of the same
passerines plus one HERMIT THRUSH and a PILEATED WOODPECKER. Back in the van
and just northwest of here, I observed two PIED-BILLED GREBES swimming in
"Soldier's Bay" on the north side of Queensville Sdrd while waiting for the
lights to change at the bridge crossing the Holland River.
Ron Fleming, Newmarket
DIRECTIONS: Newmarket, Schomberg, and Holland Landing are all north of
Toronto and south of Barrie, most easily accessed by using Hwy. 400.
To get to the Schomberg lagoons, travel west from Hwy. 400 along Hwy. 9,
which is Davis Drive out of Newmarket. Drive to the lights at Hwy. 27. There
is a Country Style Donuts coffee shop on the NE corner of the intersection if
you need caffeine or a bathroom. Turn left (south), then take the first left
turn you come to (there is Harvest House furniture store at the corner). This
short lane is called Proctor Rd. Drive almost to the end but turn right just
before the Fire Hall and take the short gravel road. Drive to the gate, pull
over so you don't block vehicle access, then walk along the south border of the
fence line until you get to within a few metres of the corner.
You can easily walk over the fence at the bent post or continue a few metres
to the corner and go under the raised fence. Take note that the little path
through the weeds is raised; it would not take much to give your ankle a nasty
turn in the grass-hidden holes on the south side of it. Also note that it is
best to visit here on a weekend, not a weekday since birding access is not
always applauded by the workers.
The Holland Landing lagoons are east of Hwy. 400. From
Davis Drive/Hwy.9 in mid-Newmarket, turn north at the lights on Yonge
Street (the Upper Canada Mall will be on the NW side of this busy
intersection). Drive past all the "big box" stores in the north part
of Newmarket (past Tim Horton's, Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Future
Shop, Costco, Silvercity Cinemas, etc.) and past the Victory Church to the
stoplights beside Brooklin Concrete and the Newmarket Inn (this is about
2 kms north of Green Lane).
Turn right into Holland Landing and follow the curving descent to the
lights at the bridge (don't take the left near the bottom of the hill).
The bridge crosses the railway tracks, then the East Holland River.
Go north past Mount Albert Rd. You will be on Old Yonge Street.
Keep going north through town, past Beckett Ave. You will go through
a little curve in the road where there are conifer stands on both
sides, then you will pass Doane Rd. on the right. About a km after
that you will see two white wagon wheels and a Maximum 60 sign; this is
Cedar St. Turn right (east) and follow it to the dead end. Scale or squeeze
through the gate and walk straight east along the gravel access road.
