After 4 days birding and botanizing in Ottawa I returned to be a part of an odd day of birding in Thickson's Woods. Over a period of 2 hours several peripheral locations had mini-fallouts of migrants every 20 minutes or so. There being few birds other than Wood Thrush and Veery in the woods itself, some good birds were seen in the high trees lining the deadend road that leads up from the waterfront and in the trees near the main entry--male INDIGO BUNTING, HOUSE WREN, SCARLET TANAGER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, CATBIRD, BLUE-HEADED VIREO and the following warblers-TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE, N.PARULA, YELLOW, CHESTNUT-SIDED, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, YELLOW-RUMPED (many), BLACK-THROATED GREEN, BLACKBURNIAN, PINE, BLACK-and-WHITE, AM. REDSTART. A CANADA WARBLER and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT were also reported.
Exit the 401 onto Thickson Rd. in east Whitby, south down towards the lakefront, turning east along the roadway that runs along the north side of the magnificent White Pine woods. Doug Lockrey, Whitby, ON From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat May 12 20:20:21 2007 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from mail-04.primus.ca (mail6.primus.ca [216.254.141.173]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E531263896 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 12 May 2007 20:20:18 -0400 (EDT) Received: from webmail-02.web.primus.ca ([10.201.132.11] helo=webmail-02.pvt.primus.ca) by mail-04.primus.ca with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1Hn1ox-0004XV-0F for [email protected]; Sat, 12 May 2007 20:20:19 -0400 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable From: John Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 20:30:34 -0400 Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Mailer: AtMail 4.61 - 99.245.106.175 - [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Claireville - Clay-colored Sparrow X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 00:20:21 -0000 I was at Claireville CA for a couple of hours early this afternoon - lot= s of birds around! Best was a Clay-colored Sparrow, heard and then seen at = close range among some small conifers off to the left of the roadway, just = inside the second gate at the Claireville Ranch entrance south off&nbs= p;of Highway 7. Very large numbers of assorted swallows overhead (mostly Tree and Cliff)= , with a surprising number of Chimney Swifts mixed in. Warblers seen includ= ed Yellow, Nashville, Blackburnian, Common Yellowthroat, Redstart, Yellow-r= umped, and Black-and-White. Also Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos, and one fema= le Scarlet Tanager, plus Baltimore Oriole, E. Kingbird, and N. Mockingbird. Found two male Orchard Orioles (I think this is the fifth year in a row = for this species here, within my experience) together in one spot, acting o= ddly - both were in adult male plumage, but one of the two was displaying b= ehaviour suggesting that it was begging the other to feed it. The lone male Eastern Bluebird was still defending the nesting boxes aga= inst Tree Swallows, but again I saw no sign that the female observed on May= 2 might still be around. Claireville CA is on Highway 7, 2.7 km east of Airport Road, opposite Mc= Vean Drive. Look for the Claireville Ranch signs. John Thompson Brampton [EMAIL PROTECTED] References 1. 3D"DEFANGED_javascript:top.opencompose('From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat May 12 21:24:50 2007 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from mail-07.primus.ca (mail.tor.primus.ca [216.254.136.21]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id AAA1C634CB for <[email protected]>; Sat, 12 May 2007 21:24:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: from ottawa-dial-206-191-1-88.d-ip.magma.ca ([206.191.1.88]) by mail-07.primus.ca with esmtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) id 1Hn2pO-0005p3-0I for [email protected]; Sat, 12 May 2007 21:24:50 -0400 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v749.3) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed To: ontbirds <[email protected]> From: Eve Ticknor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 21:20:22 -0400 X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.749.3) Subject: [Ontbirds]re Ross' Geese at Alfred Lagoon X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 01:24:51 -0000 I was at Alfred this afternoon, joined after a bit by Paul Schoening. At this time there were only 6 Snow Geese in 11 corner. Just when we were leaving, a couple of hours later on, Snow Geese arrived, but many less than previously reported and no Ross'. Maybe they arrived later in the evening...... Species observed were Ruddy Duck, Redhead Duck, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler,American Wigeon,American Coot, Common Moorhen, Pied- billed Grebe, Wilson's Phalarope, Lesser Yellowlegs, a quick glimpse of 5 peeps, and 3 undetermined ducklings, all swimming and eating alone, 2 in the front cell and 1 in the back one ( being chased by a Mallard hen). We heard Sora and Virginia Rail. We tried hard to turn a Redhead into a Canvasback but failed! Cheers, Eve All the birds were seen or heard from the birding tower at the south end of the lagoons. DIRECTIONS: > From the town of Alfred go east on Highway 17, then turn > south (right) on Peat Moss Road and drive for 2 km. The lagoons are on your left (east side of road). The birds are best observed from the viewing tower. Any attempt to enter the lagoons will cause the geese to take flight and leave. Access to the viewing tower is free and no permit is needed. Entrance to the lagoons is prohibited unless in the possession of a valid ANNUAL PERMIT. The permit can be purchased on week days from the Alfred town office just beside the fire station. Arrangements can also be made to receive the permit by fax by contacting Richard Villeneuve at (613) 679-2292. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat May 12 21:29:05 2007 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from tomts43-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts43.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.110]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7C50063470 for <[email protected]>; Sat, 12 May 2007 21:29:05 -0400 (EDT) Received: from [127.0.0.1] ([69.158.107.234]) by tomts43-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.06.13 201-253-122-130-113-20050324) with ESMTP id <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for <[email protected]>; Sat, 12 May 2007 21:29:05 -0400 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 21:28:55 -0400 From: Chris Escott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5.0.10 (Windows/20070221) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: ONTBIRDS <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailman-Approved-At: Sat, 12 May 2007 21:40:06 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]Chuck-will's-widow and Lark Sparrow at Long Point X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 01:29:06 -0000 I birded the Long Point area today and saw two unusual species: LARK SPARROW - one, in a large clearing in the St. Williams forest, singing vociferously for almost the entire hour or so that I watched it, around midday. The bird occasionally went to ground to feed in the dryer lichen-like areas in the clearing. There was at least one, maybe two, singing VESPER SPARROW present as well (and a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER). At one point the Lark Sparrow chased/joined one of these Vesper Sparrows briefly. The Lark Sparrow appeared to be on territory, so could stay around longer than just today. Location: south side of 6th Concession Road (which is the first road north of Highway 24 - sandy and "not maintained" but not in bad shape), approximately 2.2 km east of East 1/4 Line Road (which is the first paved road east of Highway 59). Directions: from the intersection of Highways 24 and 59, go east on Highway 24 for about 2.5-3.0 km until you reach East 1/4 Line Road, turn left/north and go about 1 km until you reach 6th Con Rd, then turn right onto the sand road and go 2.2 km - the clearing is on the right and the bird was ranging throughout the approx. 400 x 800 m area. CHUCK-WILL'S WIDOW - one, believed to be a female, roosting on a branch in a stand of pines in the mid-afternoon. I would guess the chances of re-finding it tomorrow are slim to none, but it's good to know there's one around. Having seen the Lark Sparrow, I returned to Old Cut to make a note of it on the sightings board, and then I headed by foot into the Provincial Park. Near the gate I met a group coming out, who told me where they had seen a "nighthawk" roosting. I subsequently met up with Jacques Giraud, and the two of us went to see the "nighthawk". We found it easily, but it was immediately apparent this was not a Nighthawk. We almost passed it off as a Whip-poor-will, but I felt the bird was simply too big and bulky for that. After extensive study at fairly close range (the bird flushed twice, but didn't go far) we finally agreed that it was a Chuck-will's-widow, and female because of the apparent lack of white in the tail feathers. Directions: from the western boundary of Long Point Provincial Park, travel east along the road toward the "pay station / office" which is just a few hundred metres in, go past the first road on the right (it is signed do not enter), and proceed to the second road to the right (that takes you into the day use picnic area), turn right/east and go a short distance to the small sign on your left that says something about keeping your permit on the dash - the bird was in the pines on the opposite side of the road to this sign. Good birding! -- Christopher J. Escott 1 Shouldice Court, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M2L 2S3 Home phone: 416.444.8055 Cellular 416.788.8055
