Adult male Wood Duck seen around 4:30p.m. this afternoon near Kitchener Park in
Orillia. The bird was up the creek that flows out of the water treatment
facility into Lake Simcoe. It is on the far west side of the park and the only
open water around that I know of until you get to Washago at the north end of
Lake Couchiching.
Haha. Well I thought I would submit this on account of how far north it is for
the time of year. How do I know this is unusual?
Well, I looked at the eBird Canada records! There are about 20-25 other eBird
records from Ontario in the winter of 2013-14. The next closest record is from
Lake Ontario in Toronto. This is also the second farthest north record this
winter, aside from 2-3 birds in Ottawa. Looking at historical data there is
perhaps only a half dozen records ever, from further north locations.
Finally, this has been a VERY cold winter with lots of ice. So it is pretty
neat that this bird is surviving up here. Good on it!
Directions: From Hwy.11 go east on Hwy.12 and take a right (south) on Water St.
S., then right (west) on Kitchener St. and stay left onto the WDS Access Rd.
This road crosses a bridge over a creek which is where the bird was. Do not
enter through the gates past the bridge when they are open as this is water
treatment plant property.
Cheers,
Andrew Keaveney
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