A Pink-footed Goose was seen yesterday afternoon with Snow and Canada Geese at Westleys Point by Daniel Lafortune. There is a small flooded cornfield adjacent to the river at the bottom of 2nd line Rd. I did not see it this morning but there were only Canadas, ducks and one Snow Goose. If it is hanging out with the Snows, then it could be back at another time with a flock. From Hwy 401 take the Lancaster exit and continue ahead to South Service Rd. and continue 5 minutes east until you get to the bend in the road at the overpass. There was no power in Lancaster so proceed as if lights are stop signs. Only the Shell service station was open.
Reports continue of a nice concentration of Snow Geese in the Winchester area – about 10,000. Check both south of town on Cty Rd 43 as well as north of town near the sewage lagoons and adjacent fields. There are thousands of Lesser Snow Geese in the flocks. While it is not easy to separate the subspecies in the air by size, the giveaway is the high percentage of blue morphs, estimated by Tony Beck to be about 30-40%. In the flocks of Greater Snow Geese we are seeing only a very small percentage of blues. In recent years, far less than 1%. Farther east, the only concentration I'm aware of today is on the floodplain at Green Valley on Cty Rd 34 north of Lancaster. The water is at its peak following the recent storm so the birds are not near the road. I saw all of the birds to the east, many along the water's edge in fields, likely due to the high wind which is keeping all birds low today, only going up occasionally. A better view was on Cty Rd 34 just south of the valley. Take Concession 7 east at the top of the hill and continue 1/2 km to an open field with a commanding view of the floodplain and the geese, assuming they are still present. At one point I had about 30,000. Because of the considerable size of the flooded area, this could now be a roosting area rather than returning to the river. 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.
