Hello Ontbirders Today a group of us birded the West Perth Wetlands at Mitchell. There were many shorebirds there, and great viewing conditions. We had excellent views of the 2 Marbled and 1 Hudsonian Godwit previously reported. Other shorebirds included:
Pectoral Sandpiper Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Semipalmated Plover Semipalmated Sandpiper Killdeer After speaking with some birders who had just arrived from Luther Marsh we decided to give the Scissor-tailed another try. We followed the directions from previous posts, We followed the trail out past the plaque and around to the south where is meets the second trail. We spent about 90 minutes looking for the bird. As thunder rumbled and we decided to head back to the car, We found the bird in the top of the apple tree right next to the plaque. We were able to view it well for a few minutes before it flew off to the south.There are lots of other birds there to see while you are waiting for the flycatcher to show itself, including: Osprey Merlin Northern Harrier Sandhill Crane (at least 7 in total) Great Egrets (one orange wing-tagged) Trumpeter Swan Green Heron Pied-billed Grebe Belted Kingfisher Directions to Mitchell (West Perth) Wetlands (Courtesy Dave Brown): > From the East (Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, GTA) - take Hwy 8 thru Stratford heading west to first lights in Mitchell (Wellington St) and turn left (south) and continue till you hit the "T" intersection at the ball diamond. Lagoon cells are straight back behind the ball diamond and soccer fields and the sewage treatment plant. You can go straight ahead on the gravel and park next to the berm. > From the London area....take Hwy 23 into Mitchell from the south and just after you pass the "Welcome to Mitchell" sign...watch for Frank St...go right on Frank St and head down over the bridge till you get to the ball diamond (will be on your right). Again...the cells are behind the ball diamond and soccer fields. You can go straight ahead on the gravel and park next to the berm. > From Southampton area....take Hwy 21, to Goderich and then Hwy 8 to Clinton and down to Mitchell, turn south on Hwy 23 to Frank St. and turn left on Frank St. and head over the bridge to the ball diamonds (which will be on your right). You can go straight ahead on the gravel and park next to the berm Directions to the Scissor-tailed (Courtesy Geoff Carpentier) Monticello flycatcher - > Luther Marsh/Lake is located north of Rd 109 approx. half way between Arthur and Orangeville. From the only intersection in Monticello, go south until you see a bird blind on the west side of the road. Go a short distance past this and park in the small marked parking area on the west side. (Fees apply, you have to pay at the lot a little further south on the same road). Walk to the west/northwest until you see a plaque on a stone cairn (This is where we saw the bird. Others have found it further southwest, follow the trail west then south from the plaque. ) Good birding Carol Horner _______________________________________________ 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/
