The biggest day for spring arrivals in York Region (so far) was today - March 17. As green beer flowed for St. Patrick's Day, so too did streams of northbound birds. Bruce Brydon and I crossed paths at the north end of Bathurst to check what is traditionally the best local area for returning ducks and geese in spring. We were pleased to see that warm temperatures have finally thawed the snow-covered fields there, attracting hundreds of Canada Geese and ten duck species to the huge vernal ponds.
Swimming contentedly on the west side of Bathurst (north of Queensville Sdrd.) were: MALLARD (100+), N. PINTAIL (30+), BLACK DUCK (15), N. SHOVELER (2), BUFFLEHEAD (4), CM. MERGANSER (6), HOODED MERGANSER (2), AM. WIDGEON (1). CM. GOLDENEYE (1), and RING-NECKED DUCK (1). At Kortright Conservation Area near Kleinburg today Lev Frid had the first EASTERN BLUEBIRD of the spring (a singing male sitting on a nestbox) and a BELTED KINGFISHER. This past Saturday (March 12) I had my earliest ever KILLDEER for this region - it was flying overhead and calling in the Holland Marsh fields west of Newmarket. Today Killdeers seemed to be calling everywhere I stopped! On Sunday morning I finally found my first Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, and American Robins of the spring along the still-rural stretches of Leslie Street in Richmond Hill. Like the Killdeer, these species were ubiquitous today. At the Robinson forest tract east of Aurora I also had a flock of 10 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, a BROWN CREEPER, and a fly-over COMMON RAVEN on Sunday. West of King City that same day Craig Corcoran had a NORTHERN FLICKER at his property. Searching in vain for lingering Snowy Owls along Ravenshoe Road on Monday afternoon I instead observed a dark-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (last of the winter?) and a male NORTHERN HARRIER (first of the spring). The first TURKEY VULTURES of the season (for this area) were reported by Mike Williamson on Wednesday - six of the skinheaded scavengers were tilting northward near Bayview Road in north Richmond Hill. Also on Monday, Joan Love had two EASTERN MEADOWLARKS near the corner of Teston & Kipling near Kleinburg - a welcome sight for birders seeking proof of spring! Adding to this vernal promise were two pairs of HOODED MERGANSERS and a SONG SPARROW observed by Lev Frid in south Maple that same day. Two local NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS were also present in Lev's local patch just east of Hwy. 400. Graham Leonard and Glenn Steplock both counted 9 GREAT BLUE HERONS on territory in northeast Richmond Hill Tuesday - good arrivals for the ides of March. A lingering NORTHERN SHRIKE was still present at Seneca College's King City Campus when I drove by on Tuesday. A second shrike was present at the north end of Bathurst Street near Holland Landing today and third shrike (yerrrrr out!) was observed by Lev Frid at Kortright Conservation area. Another winter visitor still making local cameos is the COMMON REDPOLL. Gene and Charlene Denzel had a flock of 25 at their feeder in Thornhill Sunday morning. At dusk today my dog, Samwise, and I walked the northern section of Yonge Street in Holland Landing (Silver Lakes golf course area) and were pleased to hear two AMERICAN WOODCOCK "peenting" from the swampy area on both sides of the road and doing their "chip-chup" vocalizations during flight displays (which are very hard to actually see due to the fading daylight). We toasted the memory of Keith Dunn, who loved this annual vigil at Silver Lake and was traditionally the first to report the "dance of the timberdoodle" each spring. Ron Fleming, Newmarket York Region is north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
