Today 45 OFO birders tallied a respectable 90 species. The unlikely
combination for June of cool temperatures and a very fine mist
produced excellent birding. We spent 3 hours walking along Wylie Road
to the Sedge Wren Marsh and back to the cars. Wylie Road on foot is
the way to experience Carden. Highlight of the walk was a close
encounter with a Black Bear. Most of the target birds were found:
Loggerhead Shrike, American Bittern, Upland Sandpiper, Wilson's
Snipe, Sedge Wren (at least 10 singing), Eastern Bluebird, Brown
Thrasher, Alder Flycatcher, Golden-winged Warbler, Grasshopper
Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Field Sparrow and Eastern Towhee. The alvar
meadows were blazing with Prairie Smoke, Carden's signature
wildflower. After lunch at the Kirkfield Lift Lock, we drove to
Prospect Road and Canal Lake where we had Marsh Wren, Virginia Rail,
Sora, and a singing Clay-colored Sparrow, which defied us seeing it.
Unexpected birds were a late White-crowned Sparrow at the Lift Lock,
and a Great Egret and White-winged Scoter at Canal Lake.
I particularly would like to thank co-leader Ron Tozer for making
OFO's field trip to Carden another enormous success. We led our first
trip to the Carden Alvar in June 1991.
Directions and maps to Carden's birding areas in two links below.
Print texts and maps for use in the field.
http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/cardenalvar.php
http://www.birdersworld.com/brd/default.aspx?c=a&id=1124
Ron Pittaway
Ontario Field Ornithologists
Minden and Toronto ON
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