Tony Bigg and I did a marathon run for some of the lingering winter birds today.
We started in Puslinch and got the female Mountain Bluebird. Also in the area were some Redpolls, a Raven and Pileated Woodpecker. Next stop was the Bobolink in Stoney Creek. We stepped about 100 meters off the road and it immediately flushed some 100 meters in front of us. I think it has been put up so many times now, that as soon as someone enters the field, it's off. It did do a spectacular aerial display over our heads and then flew eastward (?) across the road towards the quarry. We then rove to Queenston to see if we could find the vultures and after about an hour or so gave up and checked some gulls on the river. The only bird of note was an adult Little Gull, but admittedly we didn't try very hard as our itinerary was packed with other birds. So we then went to Port Weller and fairly quickly found the beautiful King Eider. Now the dilemma - do we keep on working the area or should we let fate lead us elsewhere? Fate won over - the lovely BC ( Hamilton area birder of note) advised me that she knew where the Black Vulture roost in Queenston was and asked if we had checked it out. I sheepishly said no as we didn't know where it was, so she then told us and off we went back to Queenston. We found the roost with ease, but it was empty! But here's the good part - as I scanned the horizon desperately searching for any distant black specks, I realized that if you stand facing eastward and look above the roost to the horizon, you will see a flat topped hill in the distance. This is actually a landfill. And if you put your scope on it highest power and if the heat waves aren't too intrusive, you can actually see vultures soaring above the landfill. We confidently identified three Blacks and 4 Turkey Vultures over and in front of the landfill. There may have been several more but they were partially obscured by trees and even greater distances. Having been successful in our quest, we headed for Bayfront Park in Hamilton to look (again) for warblers. After a lovely walk of about an hour or so and a brief glimpse of a fleeing sprite that might have been a warbler we gave up and headed home. Oh btw we didn't find any Cackling Geese either. Regardless, it was a wonderful day in the field with lots of great birds! Directions: Port Weller: From Hamilton take the QEW to Niagara/Welland exit. After exiting follow the left lane to Welland Avenue and continue straight along the service road until you reach Bunting Rd..Turn left and follow Bunting Road to Lakeshore Rd.. Turn right and proceed over the canal to Sea Haulage Road. Turn left and follow Sea Haulage Road left to the end. Park near gate. Take the first path to the left along the canal. Puslinch (Mountain Bluebird): Go south on Hwy 6 from the 401. Turn right (west) on Concession 1 (2nd road south of Morriston). Take this about 1.5km, the birds were by #7373. Bayfront Park: Exit Hwy 403 in Hamilton at York Blvd and follow it all the way to Copps Coliseum and then turn left at that light. Follow it along until you see the sign for Bayfront Park and drive into the parking lot. The trail most often visited is on the left side of the bay and just right of the railway tracks. Queenston (Vultures): From the town of Queenston, get on the Niagara Pkwy and drive towards the falls, once you reach the edge of town you will climb a steep hill and on your left you will see a parking area with clear downriver views of the Niagara River. From this vantage, look east to the US side of the river (Lewiston) and below you are several large pines (on the American side of the river). These are the ones in which the vultures roost. Way beyond them in the distance is the flat-topped landfill site where you might see the vultures if they're not closer by. You will need a scope for this as the distances are too great for binoculars. 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/
