Last night at around 4:30pm, Dwayne Murphy and I were looking for the already known breeding male Eurasian Wigeon in the same location I posted a few days ago (directions at bottom of email), and we managed to find it, then we found another breeding male! We watched the two for at least half an hour to make sure we were not fooling ourselves, and at one point, one even walked past the other. One of the individuals` forehead stripe extends to the top of its head a bit past its eye, whereas the other`s stripe does not quite reach the top of its head(this slight variation makes the two distinguishable, but other than that they are identical). They both have very obvious red-coloured heads with cream-coloured forehead stripe and grey bodies compared to the hundreds of American Wigeons present. Also of some note, as of last night, I (with a number of different local birders) saw a group of 9 Snow Geese, a group of 8 Cackling Geese, 2 Blue-winged Teal, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, and a Tree Swallow last night in Hillman Marsh CA and adjacent fields. I know these species are a bit more regular and do not necessarily constitute their own Ontbirds posting, but I included them for anyone who may already be making a trip here for the Eurasian Wigeons. Directions: To get to the Eurasian Wigeons, drive Southeast from Leamington, on Point Pelee Drive, and turn left at the last intersection before the entrance gate of Point Pelee. Travel only a few hundred metres on Rd E and stop before house #1433. I saw a single EUWI two times here this weekend, and both together yesterday, among about 1000 dabbling ducks in a corn field behind said house number. A scope is definitely required. To get to the South side of Hillman Marsh CA (this is the usual spot for the mentioned rare geese) from Rd E (previous directions), drive to the end of Rd E, where you will be forced to turn left onto Mersea Rd 19. Follow Rd 19 to a T intersection with Mersea Rd 1 and turn right. Follow Rd 1 to a dead end with a steel gate blocking access. This is an excellent spot to view Hillman Marsh, where we saw both of these goose species, along with many ducks, Tundra Swans, and Canada Geese. Often, the geese are scattered across the marsh and a scope is also required here.To get to the North side of Hillman Marsh CA (this is where we saw the Blue-winged Teal, Greater Yellowlegs, and Tree Swallow) from Hillman Marsh South (previous directions), driving away from the dead end of Rd 1, take the first right, onto Mersea Rd 19, then take the first right onto Mersea Rd 2, drive past the Hillman Marsh entrance and over the bridge, and turn right after the bridge. This road is still called Mersea Rd 2, and drive about 1 km to a bridge over the marsh. All three of these species were rather close to this bridge when we saw them. Sorry for the late posting, although it is probably likely that the Eurasian Wigeons are still there. I intended on posting this last night but got tied up until now. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. Good luck and happy birding! Jeremy Bensette _______________________________________________ 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/
