Hi all,
Despite the showers and squalls I ventured out ~11 am to-day to the W.
Ipperwash Rd entry to the beach and saw 12/15 Sanderling spread out almost to
K.P. The Red Knot was with a Semipalmated Plover just before the small rocky
point. There were so many para- sailers taking advantage of the stiff northerly
winds that I could easily have missed a few shorebirds(e.g late yesterday I had
3 Ruddy Turnstone and over 20 Sanderling in the same stretch of beach).
At Thedford SL I saw several Lesser and 1 Greater Yellowlegs, a Stilt
Sandpiper and 1 Red-necked Phalarope but a driving rain shower cut my time
short at this location.
At Grand Bend SL I had an odd sighting of a Lesser Yellowlegs running along
the gravel path along 1st. lagoon, taking insects from the grass/weeds etc. -
behaviour I've seen several times with Buff-breasted Sandpiper and once a
Whimbrel. Only the 3rd. lagoon has some shallower water in the middle now but
the weeds have grown thickly to the edges and it was hard to find 4
Semipalmated Plover and 3 S.p. Sandpipers. From the SW corner of this lagoon I
saw the Olive-sided Flycatcher perched at the very top of the only snag in the
next fencerow south. At the NW corner of this same lagoon ~25 Lesser Yellowlegs
flew out of and circled back to long vegetation - I could easily have walked
past them had they not been disturbed.
Who knows what this week of north winds and colder temps will bring down
to us but the lagoon conditions are not prime hereabouts. I'll be checking West
Perth Wetlands in Mitchell and Exeter to-morrow on my way home from Physio in
Stratford so possibly we could route the Sep 10 , OFO Oliphant to Kettle Point
trip inland a bit(?).
Cheers! Maris
Directions - entry to Kettle Point is at Hwy #21 north of Forest wher it turns
sharply right at Lakeshore Rd.
- Thedford SL are just north of the village along Northville Rd
easily visible on the right.
- Grand Bend SL are ~ 2km south of CR #81 along Mollard Line,
which runs to Greenway Rd.
Maris Apse 10094 Red Pine Road, Box 22, RR #2 Grand Bend ON N0M 1T0 (519) 238 -
8415
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