Hello Ontbirders, On Wednesday May 21, I relocated the breeding adult female Red-necked Phalarope at the Nonquon Sewage Lagoons. It was in the first cell (the one closest to the entrance), along the east edge. I saw it anywhere from about 1/4 to 4/5 of the way south from the entrance road. Its location varied from the actual shoreline to about 10 m out. The bird was extremely tame. At times, it appeared to be associating with Blue-winged Teal, but that may have been an incidental observation. I saw it up to 7:15 pm. The bird is best seen by walking the berm / path between the easternmost cell and the next one west (cell 2). Other shorebirds present included:
1 White-rumped Sandpiper (seen on both the east and west edges of the first cell) ~15 Least Sandpipers 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper There were 80 Black Terns present, mostly over cell 2. Waterfowl in cell 1 included: 4 Blue-winged Teal 1 American Wigeon (male) 1 Northern Shoveler (male) 2 Lesser Scaup (male) 1 Redhead (male) 1 Ruddy Duck (female) Other birds of interest included a pair of nesting Ospreys, a Common Raven and a flock of 5 rather late Yellow-rumped Warblers. Tetraploid Gray Treefrogs were in full chorus. Please note that a permit is required to enter the lagoons. For your information, note that the gate is locked, and it is not possible to enter without the current (2014) access code (which you will be provided with when you get your permit!) Permits must be purchased in advance of entering the lagoons. They cost $10.00 annually. The permits may be purchased at the Durham Region Transfer Site located at 1623 Reach Rd, Port Perry during the following business hours .... Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. To get to the transfer station, travel north on Hwy 12 past Port Perry [Hwy 7A] to the next traffic lights [Regional Road 8 Reach Rd.] and travel east to #1623 on the north side of the road. The lagoons are located one road north of the transfer site on Concession To reach the lagoons, from Highway 401, take Simcoe St. (Oshawa) north to Port Perry. At the north end of town, turn left (west) at the stoplights onto Concession Road 8, cross Old Simcoe St. and proceed a short distance to the lagoons, on the south side of the road. Note – do NOT follow Regional Road 8 (the next road south of Concession 8). Note also that you CANNOT access the lagoons from the west, because the bridge is permanently out. Sorry for the late post. Good luck. We would most appreciate hearing of any other interesting sightings for our local Durham birding hotline, run by Rayfield Pye – thanks. Steve _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
