CWS Great Egret roost survey
Great Egrets 190 (1/2 the birds arrived between 7:20-7:40pm)
5 wing tagged egrets (2 from Chantry Island and 1 from Nottawasaga island)
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Funny things happen when you do not look for the rarity. It eventually finds
you. At 7:15 while looking at a wing tagged bird I had the flycatcher
land near the roosting egrets and stay in place till 8pm when it went
further down into the bushes to sleep. This is the furthest into the Luther
Marsh Conservation Area I have seen this bird. Best seen from the nw corner
of the berm, it is 8-10min walk in from the parking lot.
The Great Egrets roost is located in the south cell of the Monticello
wetland complex near the Great Blue Heron rookery.
Bobolink roost
Numbers greatly reduced with only 137 birds observed.
Sandhill Cranes
5 arrived in the north cell at 7:56.
Other Species:
Waterfowl 200+ birds( 10 species) observed including both teals, Northern
Pintails, Lesser Scaup, Trumpeter Swans and a very leucistic Canada Goose.
Raptors, Merlin 1, Coopers Hawk 1, Northern Harrier 2, Osprey 2 (both young
birds screaming for food from adults which appeared to have left the area)
Shorebirds Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer and Wilson's Snipe
Pied-billed Grebes 14
Belted Kingfisher 7
Eastern Kingbird 3
Indigo Bunting 1
Directions:
From Grand Valley, go north on Hwy 25 to Concession 8-9,
turn left (west), go to Sideroad 21-22 where the Concession Road makes a
T, go right (north), go past the Main Entrance to Luther Marsh and then
over a small concrete bridge. The first left after this is a small
parking lot for the Marsh area. From here walk about 600m to the SW.
You'll see a pond with dead trees and heron nests...this is where the
egrets roost. A day use permit is required if you
choose to use the laneway and walk out to the blind (obtainable at the
main Luther Marsh Conservation Area entrance, 1 km or less south of this
laneway).
Tyler Hoar
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ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
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