Twenty one participants met at the parking lot at Lynde Shores Conservation Area at 7:30 a.m. and walked through the Lynde Shores woodlot and traveled down to Cranberry Marsh. With no north winds to spur the birds south, we saw few species on the way there - warblers were limited to Black-and-white, Canada and Magnolia; flycatchers to Willow, Pewee and Kingbird; sparrows to Song and Savannah; other passerines were Baltimore Oriole and many Cedar Waxwings and American Goldfinches. Some of us were sure we had an American Bittern fly by.
The only shorebirds seen were Greater Yellowlegs on a very small mudflat area in the marsh but we did get to see a variety of Herons - Great Blue, Green, and Black-crowned Night-Herons. Waterbirds consisted of Mute and Trumpeter swans, Coot, Moorhen, Pied-billed Grebe, Green and Blue-winged Teal, Black, Wood, and Mallard ducks. A Caspian Tern and a Belted Kingfisher patrolled the marsh. The highlight for some was a short look at a Least Bittern peeking through the cattails on the far side of the marsh. We next went to a small woodlot and beach at the foot of Gordon Street in Whitby where we had Osprey, Philadelphia Vireo, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Hairy Woodpecker and Spotted Sandpiper. We stopped for a quick bite at the local Tims and then went to Darlington Park where we added Northern Mockingbird, Northern Flicker and finished with a juvenile Bald Eagle. With the birds dwindling and the heat rising, we decided the eagle was an appropriate finish. All in all, we had 73 species for the day -- despite the heat and, for the second consecutive year, having virtually no shorebird habitat. John Stirrat _______________________________________________ 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/
