Unable to attend OFO's Selkirk area trip today, I took consolation in spending a few hours birding the Holland Marsh west of Newmarket. I was able to find four SNOWY OWLS in that time, all of them fairly heavily barred female/juvenile types. Two of them were in the vicinity of Edward Street (north of Woodchopper's Lane and east of Keele), another was just west of Hwy. 400, and the fourth bird was perched on a post along Keele Lane, just south of Tornado Drive. There is a fifth owl out there somewhere - a very white adult male that I've observed several times - but I couldn't locate him today. After crossing paths with Glenn Steplock and discussing poor luck with NORTHERN SHRIKES lately, I proceeded to stumble upon two shrikes in "the marsh", one at the T-intersection of Miller Sdrd. and Dufferin St., the other along Davis St. (not Davis Drive), which runs parallel to Hwy. 400 on its western flank. Another interesting bird wintering in the Holland Marsh is a juvenile WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW that spends most of its time with a flock of American Tree Sparrows near #223 Devald Road. Devald is a dead-end lane that runs west from Day Street in the northwest part of the farm fields. Day St. is accessible by taking North Canal Road east from Hwy. 400. Day runs south from North Canal Rd. A male AMERICAN KESTREL shows up fairly often in this same vicinity - he was there today and I willed him to leave the WCSP alone. SNOW BUNTINGS continue to be seen on a regular basis in the Holland Marsh fields, often feeding in the freshly spread hay and manure at the horse ranch that sits on the south side of Hwy. 9 just east of Hwy. 400. I had a flock of approx. 150 buntings further north (i.e. near Strawberry Lane) this morning. Up in Keswick today Keith Dunn had a flock of over 300 Snow Buntings south of Ravenshoe Road, where Yonge Street runs south for a few kms before ending at the northern reaches of the once huge Holland Marsh. Sightings of PINE SISKIN and COMMON REDPOLL are widespread now, even in my compromised suburban yard. I received four different reports of SONG SPARROW this week. One was photographed by Michele Potter along Harry Walker Pkwy. in Newmarket, another has been visiting Gene & Charlene Denzel's feeder in Thornhill (in the company of another good winter bird, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW), and yet another has been showing up from time to time at Connie Walker's feeder as well as Mike Van den Tillaart's yard, both in north-central Newmarket (...so I'm guessing it might be the same bird). In Richmond Hill last Sunday I had a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD behind Elgin Barrow Arena, just west of Pugsley Avenue and east of Yonge St. The most interesting backyard bird in York region, however, was a HOARY REDPOLL observed by Lev Frid in Maple on Wednesday. With all the songbird action at local feeders it is not surprising that accipiters continue to be seen patrolling the suburban streets. I observed a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK crossing the busy intersection of Yonge and Mulock Streets on Tuesday, then another one on Friday flying east of Woodbine where Green Lane becames Herald Road. Keith Dunn had another in Willow Beach while trying to find a reported Great Gray Owl (see below). WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS are still moving about in York region - I encountered two small flocks while cross-country skiing in the regional forest tract south of Davis Drive and east of McCowan on Friday afternoon. In the Keswick area, Lorena Campbell observed a COMMON RAVEN near Ravenshoe and Woodbine Ave. the same day. In Willow Beach near Sutton a "non-birding" friend of mine reported a Great Gray Owl two weeks ago. I have tried to find this bird twice but have had no luck. Still, the description sounds good and, for what it's worth, the habitat looks right - in fact, this is where GGOWs have shown up during irruptions in winters past. The bird was reported along a snowmobile trail that runs east-west about a km south of Metro Road, between Kennedy Road on the east and Civic Centre Rd. on the west. In a similar situation, Kevin Shackleton followed up on a Great Gray Owl report in Holland Landing this week. He did, in fact, flush a large bird in the conifers south of Queensville Sdrd. but could not get a good look at the bird before it passed from view. In a subsequent search today he settled for two GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS and a BROWN CREEPER. York region is north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe. Ron Fleming, Newmarket _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
