This morning at 9:15 Mike Van den Tillaart and I had two Snowy Owls in southwest Keswick then - about an hour later - a third Snowy west of Newmarket in the vegetable fields of the Holland Marsh. The owls in the Keswick area were both south of Ravenshoe Road and east of Yonge Street. The first one - a very white bird (adult male, we think) - was sitting on the ground about 250m out from Yonge, just south of the first irrigation ditch. The other bird - a more barred individual - was in the general vicinity of the second irrigation ditch that runs east from Yonge, about the same distance out from the road. There were also Snow Buntings in this area - at least 100 birds. Earlier in the morning Keith Dunn had a Northern Shrike and a Northern Harrier along Ravenshoe Rd. Here are my directions from last week:
"This stretch of Yonge Street is nothing like the urban/suburban thoroughfare the name conjures up. It is a dirt road that runs south from Ravenshoe Road 's western end just east of the Holland River and south of Cook's Bay. ( Ravenshoe Road crosses most of the major roads that run north from Toronto , including Leslie, Warden, Markham , etc..) The first irrigation ditch runs east at the first group of buildings on the left. To get to the second irrigation ditch, continue south to the only other buildings in the landscape. These are metal storage barns - two of them right next to each other (maybe to stave off loneliness). The number on the post is 22094." Mike and I found the third Snowy Owl sitting on the ground about 200m east of Simcoe Road, which runs north-south and intersects with Canal Road at "Jonkman's Corners" just south of Bradford. The bird was visible through binoculars but the use of a scope helped to confirm it as a bird rather than a bucket, plastic bag, or propane tank, all of which will vie for a birder's attention in the fields here. This individual was pure white. A km further south, where Simcoe Road turns west and becomes Tornado Road, we had a male and female Northern Harrier flying together along the frozen river. Tornado Road can be reached by exiting Hwy. 400 at Canal Road (a minute north of Davis Drive and the cut-off to Newmarket). Follow Canal Road eastward until you get to Tornado then turn right. Last Sunday Mike had a Belted Kingfisher along the Holland River in north Newmarket. Ron Fleming _______________________________________________ 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/
