Hi Ontbirders, This morning, Kathy Felkar, Mike Burge and I arrived at the Hamilton Wetlands near Demorestville (Prince Edward Co.) about 6:30, 22 minutes before official sunrise and waited for the Great Egrets there to disperse from their roost; they had been seen in the wetlands at mid-day on the 5th. We were not disappointed....at about 6:46, 3 egrets lifted up from their roost site back in the trees and flew northward, over the road (Hwy 14) and towards Muscote Bay of the Bay of Quinte. A minute later, 3 more egrets lifted up...followed somewhat by a final straggler. These birds followed the same course, over the road to the north and towards the Moscote Bay. This is getting late for egrets in southern Ontario...though last year there was a single egret at this roost until 11 November (2014).
Cheers, Chip Directions: From the new Bridge on Hwy 14 in Demorestville in Prince Edward County, go west 2.5 km. on your left, you should see a No Trespassing sign, a sign with a large red dot on it and a T-bar fence post with a tennis ball on top of it. Park your car here and watch directly to the south, over the water and into the swampy area beyond. You won't see the egrets roosting from the fenced; they are too far back in the swamp....but they will fly nearly right over you as they cross the road. I suggest being there about 20 minutes before official sunrise....to make sure you do not miss them. Today, the egrets left the roost about 6 minutes before the Googled sunrise time (6:52) for Picton! _______________________________________________ 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
