Cranberry Hawk Watch was okay yesterday despite unfavourable winds for most of the day. We did have a two-hour window of NW winds and the birds came!
Highlights: Osprey - 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 35 Cooper's Hawk - 2 American Kestrel - 9 Merlin - 2 Turkey Vulture - 27 Other species included: Pied-billed Grebe - 2 Great Egret - 1 Virginia Rail - 1 Common Gallinule - 4 Lesser Yellowlegs - 4 Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 8 Barn Swallow - 15 Bay-breasted Warbler -1 also seen hundreds of dragonflies - meadowlhawks, saddlebags, green darner, etc - Ring-billed Gulls and Red-winged Blackbirds were actively hunting meadowhawks on the wing. Butterflies: Monarch 35+, Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tailed Blue, Mourning Cloak, Northern Crescent, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur A guide to the basics of fall hawk with a migration chart is on the OFO website. Print a copy. http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/hawkwatching.php Directions: Exit from the 401 at Brock St. in Whitby, go south on Brock St. to Victoria St. Go west on Victoria St. to Halls Road. Go south on Halls Road to the second walkway going east to Cranberry Marsh. For more information see the Greater Toronto Raptor Watch website. http://www.greatertorontohawkwatch.com Geoff Carpentier www.avocetnatureservices.com _______________________________________________ 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/
