Hi there, Today, 28 October, there was a congregation of approximately 65-70,000 Snow Geese at the Manderly Sod Farm near the Lafleche waste facility (this site can be found via a Google search by searching "Lafleche Environmental Inc.") When we first arrived at approximately 8:45 AM, many of the Snow Geese were lifting off, some flying north and others flying east, presumably to feed in the corn fields. We decided to switch gears and bird some of the concession roads nearby. Concession Rd. 19, 20 and 21 held five Rough-legged Hawks (we tallied our sixth at Lafleche), three Northern Harriers and two Red-tailed Hawks. We also tallied approximately 250 Snow Buntings, 100+ Horned Larks (E. a. alpestris the dominant ssp. with small numbers of E. a. praticola throughout), 12 American Pipits and 6 Lapland Longspurs foraging near the sides of roads, and also in areas with low corn stubble. When we revisited the sod farm later in the day (approx. 12:15 PM) we enjoyed the sights and sounds of thousands of Snow Geese as they made their way to their roosting area, approximately 200 meters south of Lafleche Rd. They were flying right overhead, giving us tremendous views.
Directions: Manderly Sod Farm is approximately 12 km east of Casselman. >From the 417, take exit 58 and merge onto 138 S. Continue south to Lafleche Rd. Turn right (west) onto Lafleche from the 138. Today, the birds were congregating just to the south of Lafleche Rd. Have a great birding weekend, Jon _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
