Yesterday Wed., Jan. 16th Ian Cannell and I went down to Blenheim to see if we could find the Harris' Sparrow and I am happy to say that it is still there though we sat there for over an hour staring at 6 house Sparrows before we decided to get out of the car and walk the road in hopes of turning it up.
No sooner did we get out of the car when Ian looked up the fence line that runs out ( east ) into the field and spotted some birds flying down from the brush onto the ground. We decided to walk up the fence line and as we slowly approached the area ( very muddy ) we spied a flock of White-crowned Sparrows in the brush. There were about 50 of these nice birds as well as an equal number of Dark-eyed Juncos to wade through. After about 20 minutes of standing quietly as the birds approached us Ian spotted the Harris' Sparrow no more than 15 feet in front of him giving us great looks as it foraged on the ground. With the Harris' and the Juncos we also found one each of Swamp, Chipping and Tree Sparrow. If you do have to resort to walking the tree line I suggest you do this slowly and to just stand there if you do come onto the flock of Sparrows as some of them perched and fed no more than 5 feet in front of us maybe because we did not make any quick movements or talk loudly. Also as we sat in the car we spotted a passing flock of approx. 500 Snow Buntings and a nice male Northern Harrier and on the way to the Harris' a Short-eared Owl was seen hunting at Hwy 401 and Exit 109 and near Exit 90 were 11 Deer together in a field and on the way home along County Road 3 we spotted 2 flocks of 12 each of Wild Turkeys and near Hagersville we had 4 Eastern Screech Owls. Good luck if you go and thank you Irene Woods. Directions:- From Exit 90 (Communication Road ) on Hwy 401 drive south into Blenheim to Talbot Street W. and turn right ( west ). Within a block this becomes County Road 3. Drive straight through west on County Road 3 for 4 concessions to Gore Road. Turn left ( south ) on Gore Road and drive approx. 3 km where you will see ( or smell ) a group of compost / manure piles on your left ( east side of road ). Make a U-turn and park facing the line of Cedar Trees and watch for the bird either at the end of the Cedars or at the piles. Do not block the entrance to the piles or the field if you do leave your car. If the bird is beside the piles / Cedars then there is no reason to leave your car. Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON "Sils mordent, mords les" _______________________________________________ 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
