Hello Everyone,
Today I had my first Red-wing Blackbird of the year in Vaughan. I spotted it along King Vaughan Road between Keele Street and Jane Street. In addition I also saw a few White-crowned Sparrows on the ground at some local. It seems spring is not far away. I was in Indiana over the weekend for a few days and while I didn’t get the chance to get out birding, driving through Michigan and Indiana Red-wing Blackbirds and flocks of Grackles were a common sight, as were migrating Sandhill Cranes. In Indianapolis there were Song Sparrows singing on territory and even one Leopard Frog already calling. As Sandhill Cranes have already been reported in Ontario I’m sure we are not far behind Indy. For those who might be interested, I met a local birder in Indianapolis who informed me about a recent sighting in Indiana. A Hooded Crane has been spotted in Indiana and Tennessee. When he went to find the Hooded Crane he was rewarded with a scope full of 3 crane species, the Hooded Crane, a few Whopping Cranes and several Sandhill Cranes. Needless to say the origin of the bird is still being debated by various committees. Here are links to a couple of articles about the Hooded Crane. - http://www.indystar.com/article/20120209/NEWS/120209020/Rare-hooded-crane-found-living-Greene-County - http://blog.aba.org/2012/02/abarare-hooded-crane-indiana.html Good birding! Kristen Martyn, Natura Tours Website: http://www.naturatoursinc.com/ Blog: http://naturatours.blogspot.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/
