On Friday January 4 at Thickson's Woods in Whitby, I saw some interesting birds from late afternoon to dusk. If you walk the road along the north side of the woods, down past the corner, you reach a beaver dam where Corbett Creek flows through a culvert under the road. Near the dam, there was a SONG SPARROW and 2 SWAMP SPARROWS, along with several American Tree Sparrows. There was also a WINTER WREN nearby. It was calling loudly, and showed itself intermittently. By backtracking about 20 m from the dam towards the woods, you reach a site where the tree cover on the southwest side of the road becomes more dense. The wren was at the bottom of the slope here. All of these birds were seen shortly before sunset. Proceeding into the woods at the marked pathway, the main trail leads to the bird sightings book. Please record your sightings there. There are two GREAT HORNED OWLS, both calling loudly at this time of day. The most reliable spot to find one is a White Pine tree about 30 m due north of the bird sightings book. A second owl was in a another white pine immediately south of that one. Please stay on the trail while in the woods. Return to Thickson's Road, and follow the road into a parking loop. Am AMERICAN KESTREL (male) and a NORTHERN HARRIER (female) were present just west of there in late afternoon. At dusk, this has been an excellent site in recent years to find SHORT-EARED OWLS. I walked the Waterfront Trail westward from 5:10 to 5:40 pm, and found up to 7 birds, perching and hunting the fields here. In the darkness, it's hard for one observer to be sure of an exact count. The birds are more concentrated at the trail end nearest the Thickson Road parking loop - there are few if any at the eastern end, near South Blair St. Birds may be seen flying on both sides of the path, as well perching in the small trees, on the fence and sometimes on the large hills to the south. Please do not disturb or harass either the Short-eared or the Great Horned Owls. Good birding, and sorry for the late posting. Steve LaForest [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________ Read what Santa`s been up to! For all the latest, visit asksantaclaus.spaces.live.com! http://asksantaclaus.spaces.live.com/_______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
