Greetings birders, This morning my wife and I hiked many of the trails in the north section of the Short Hills Provincial Park. Most notable finds were two Field Sparrows singing along the Swayze Falls' Trail, as well as a few Eastern Phoebes and a noisy Belted Kingfisher along the Twenty Mile Creek.
Also of note were numerous Tree Swallows at a couple of the bird-box areas, where also Eastern Bluebirds were present. At both sites (one at the central trailhead nexus, another at the Swayze Falls Trail north terminus plateau) a pair of bluebirds were making themselves known to the tree swallows, keeping them off their bird houses. One odd discovery at the Swayze Falls Trail north terminus bird boxes was the decapitated remains of a male Lesser Scaup. I'm not sure what predator would do this, or what else could lead to something like that. The location in question is not really near any potential scaup or duck habitat. Some non-bird related finds were several Eastern Ribbonsnakes, the deafening presence of lots of vocal frogs (my ears were ringing for a while after), some spring crocus flowers, and a lone Mourning Cloak butterfly. Short Hills Provincial Park is day-use only, and has no entry or parking fees. Parking lots are along Pelham Road, Roland Road, and at the end of Wiley Road. For the entrance I used, follow Pelham Road west out of St. Catharines, the parking lot will be on your left about a kilometre west of First Street Louth. Not many trail maps are posted on site, but last year I hiked most of them and added them into Google Maps which you can access on your smartphone or print out in advance. Some trails are muddy, expect many short moderately steep sections. Cheers Rob _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
