The recent very cold nights have frozen standing water and slow moving creeks and shallow rivers. That has kept Snow Geese from frequenting a number of potential sites. On Cty Rd 34 at Green Valley there were a few hundred Canadas and 3 Snows with Riviere Beaudette showing as a narrow creek. Once it thaws again this will be a good site. At mid-morning there were no geese in any cornfields north and east of Lancaster but there were about 10,000 on the St. Lawrence west of Westley's Point off Glengarry Campground. No shore ice remains although there are still a few ice floes. At mid river, further east, there were about 40,000 on the water. All of these birds will leave the river to feed in cornfields. Afternoon feedings are usually later in the day. Fields along Cty Rd 23 north of Curry Hill have been good as has concession #3.
Looking north, starting tomorrow, with a day of much warmer weather followed by normal conditions thereafter, areas south of Navan, east of Bourget and especially along Cty Rd #9 at Riceville could have potential. Today there was a report of 1,000 along Frank Kenny Rd with about 20%+ being blues. It is likely that much of that flock was composed of Lesser Snow Geese, which arrive in their highest number about 2-3 weeks after the main flight of Greaters. Lessers have a much higher percentage of blues than Greaters. Brian Morin -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding physical distancing and non-essential travel. To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
