Hey folks, Amanda Guercio and I spent a lovely evening on the Carden Alvar today, highlighted by a singing Yellow Rail at Sedge Wren Marsh on Wylie Road.
The Yellow Rail started singing at about 7:05 PM on the west side of the marsh, quite a distance in. It sang intermittently every 10-15 minutes for the hour or so that we were there, and moved slightly closer (but still quite far). While we were quietly standing and listening, an American Bittern crawled past us within a few feet, giving crippling views. A male sang nearby - perhaps this was a female anxious to meet her prospective mate. Numerous Virginia Rails called and chased one another around. A handful of Wilson's Snipe were winnowing enthusiastically above. Add this to a rousing chorus of marsh songbirds and a distant hum of hundreds of Spring Peepers and Western Chorus Frogs from nearby ditches, and it becomes a very worthwhile and memorable nature experience. Earlier, we had great looks at a pair of Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes from the blind near bluebird box 10 on Wylie Road. WARNING: Wylie Road in places (including near Sedge Wren Marsh) is in poor condition and has large, water-filled potholes. A medium-high clearance vehicle is highly recommended. For those wishing to learn more about the alvar, its special birds and many places to explore - including directions to this and other sites, see Ron Pittaway's awesome Carden Alvar Birding Guide here - http://www.ofo.ca/ofo-docs/cardenalvarbirdingguide.pdf Directions to Sedge Wren Marsh: Go north of Kirkfield on Kirkfield Road 6 past the Lift Lock to McNamee Road. Turn right then immediately left onto Wylie Road and go north. There is a little parking area on the west side of the road before the marsh. Park here and walk down the road - do not park on the stretch of road in the marsh. Kirkfield is about an hour and forty minutes north of Toronto. For an ebird checklist including an audio recording of the rail, see here - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29315282 Cheers and Good Birding! Lev Frid & Amanda Guercio Huntsville, ON _______________________________________________ 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
