Hello Ontbirders, The Swainson's Hawk reported today turned out not to be a bird at all. Larry Neily, Angela, Alexander and I watched it for some time from the road. Yes, I admit it, I even saw it move. Angela then asked permission for us to cross the field for a closer look. The landowner happily gave us permission. The bird turned out to be a very badly painted plastic Great Horned Owl - complete with chestnut chest band, white throat, etc. It really did look like a Swainson's Hawk and many people thought it was. We considered leaving as well and trusting others' ID on this bird - it was the fall bird count today so everyone was in a hurry to get back to their areas in time. Fortunately, we decided to cross the field. There were over 25 Sandhill Cranes in the fields so it was a nice walk.
Birds of interest seen this afternoon on the Fall bird count include: Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, Brant and 2 Great Horned Owls. All were at the western end of Constance Bay in the late afternoon. Jeff Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada K.W. Neatby Building, C.E.F., 960 Carling Ave. Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada Work Phone: 613-759-1647, FAX: 613-759-1927 Home Phone: 613-832-1970 e-mail: [email protected] alternative e-mail: [email protected] __________________________________________________________________ The new Internet Explorer® 8 - Faster, safer, easier. Optimized for Yahoo! Get it Now for Free! at http://downloads.yahoo.com/ca/internetexplorer/ _______________________________________________ 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/
