Last night I spent the sunset hours going between the Hillman Creek Bridge and Muddy Creek on the outskirts of Wheatley. At 620 PM there were 4 Great Egrets in the Muddy Creek Roost. An hour later, in the creek on either side of the Hillman Creek Bridge, I counted 45 Great Egrets, including orange wing-tagged egret # 10E and at least one egret with a red leg-banded that I was unable to red, foraging for minnows and small fish. At 810 PM, back at Muddy Creek, the number of egrets had increased to 72, including # 10E; they were settling in to roost in the trees on the north shore of the creek. Muddy Creek has been used as a roosting site by Great Egrets and lesser numbers of Great Blue Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons for many years.
This morning at the High Level (HL) Bridge Overlook in Hamilton, a half hour either side of the 654 AM sunrise, I counted 19 Great Egrets as they dispersed from their overnight roost across the water in the trees north of Carroll's Point. The specific roosting area is directly north of the floating "Nature Sanctuary" sign in the water off Shirley's Point. The egrets left their roost quickly and in 3-4 flocks during 640-641. They flew right over the Overlook on the south side of the HL Bridge. Their numbers and presence were minimal compared to the 100s, if not 1,000s, of gulls and cormorants that were also dispersing from the main body of Burlington Bay into Cootes Paradise at that time. It was a truly spectacular sight. Good luck, Chip Weseloh Ontbirders are urged to watch for egrets roosting in trees near sunset (and near water) and report them to me, please. :-) Directions: From the main intersection in the town of Wheatley, go south on Erie St. (County Rd. 1) to Mersea Rd. 4, turn right (west). Muddy Creek and the egret roost will be on your immediate right...about 100m down Rd. 4. To get to the Hillman Creek Bridge, continue west on Rd. 4 to Manery Rd and County Rd. 37, turn left (south) onto #37. Continue about a km until the road curves to the west; the bridge is right on the curve. To get to the High Level Bridge Overlook, coming from Toronto, take the Gardner Expressway/QEW west towards Hamilton, take Hwy 403 when it splits from the QEW (the QEW continues on towards Niagara Falls). Pass the turn off for Hwy 6 North, and shortly thereafter take the exit for York Blvd. Once on York Blvd., going south, you'll pass over the HL Bridge in a couple hundred metres. There is a small pull-off just past the bridge; I park there and walk back to the bridge. The Overlook is on the SE corner of the bridge. Look to the east and NE to see Carroll's Point and the treed shoreline to the north. You'll see the floating Nature Sanctuary sign in the water. _______________________________________________ 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/
