It was a quiet day today with only 10 hawks moving through in 4 .5 hours, but other spectacles were truly amazing. It was perhaps the best Monarch flight I think I've ever seen with many hundreds (thousands?) of them going though. At most times all through the observation period, 30-50m were in view as they streamed westward.
Blue Jays also put on a spectacular flight, mostly between 9 and 11 a.m. EDT, when 2936 (actual count) flew through. Amongst the 63 species recorded today, other birds included Blackpoll, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia and Cape May Warblers, 13 bluebirds, pipits, Virginia Rail, 12 loons, Marsh Wren, Wilson's Snipe and a mostly leucistic Gadwall. Hawks included 5 Sharp-shinned, 1 Copper's, 3 Merlin and 1 American Kestrel + the usual local vultures and harriers. Cranberry is at the foot of Halls' Rd. in Whitby. Exit Brock St. from 401 and go south to Bayly and then west on Hall's Rd. and hen south to second platform. Geoff Carpentier www.avocetnatureservices.com _______________________________________________ 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/
