[Ontbirds] Sandhills and Whooping Crane
There were approximately 500 Sandhill Cranes feeding in 3 locations between Elsinore and Jackson late today, almost all were visible from Highway 21. There was a Whooping Crane with the flock at Elsinore - white with the unusual moustache-like facial markings. The plants were too tall to see if there were leg bands on it. Does anyone have contact info to find out if the project is missing a bird? Cindy Cartwright Saugeen Shores ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
[Ontbirds] Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes in Eastern Ontario
A major flight of Snow Geese occurred today on the sod farm east of Casselman, about 30 minutes east of Ottawa. This is the traditional fall staging area that last year hosted Ontario's first Pink-footed Goose as well as all of Ontario's other regularly sited species. The geese are late, with only hundreds to a few thousand being seen until today. There were none present early this morning but about 25,000 at 10:00 and over 60,000 by noon. Most were Greaters with Lessers present and a small goose that could have been a Ross's or a hybrid. It was only seen in the air. A few kilometres away north of Ste. Rose near Larose Forest there were 62 Sandhill Cranes. This is not an area where cranes are normally seen. They were very skittish and were observed a field away. Brian Morin Directions: The Manderly sod farm is east of Casselman. Exit Hwy 417 at Hwy 138 and head south to Lafleche Rd. Turn right. This road is busy with heavy trucks heading to the landfill during the week. For Ste. Rose take the same exit and head north to Conc. 20. Turn left (north) on Ste. Rose Rd and continue until the forest. The birds were in fields on both sides of the road. Last seen to the west, two fields in. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
[Ontbirds] Greater White-fronted Goose - Reesor Pond, Markham
Stopped in at Reesor Pond after work and had a single Greater White-fronted Goose fly in with a flock of Canadas. Thankfully it was calling as it passed overhead. Also present were 13 Snow Geese, many Cackling Geese and numerous duck species. See eBird checklist for more details, and photos: http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist/S32244028 Reesor Pond is on the west side of Reesor Rd. immediately north of Hwy 407, in Markham. Good Birding, Iain ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
[Ontbirds] Holiday Beach Conservation Area (26 Oct 2016) 17 Raptors
Holiday Beach Conservation Area Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2016 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Turkey Vulture 0 39547 39994 Osprey 0 5 68 Bald Eagle 0136252 Northern Harrier 1218510 Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 3528 7540 Cooper's Hawk1290382 Northern Goshawk 0 2 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 0201201 Broad-winged Hawk0 50 6115 Red-tailed Hawk 1 1504 1656 Rough-legged Hawk2 3 3 Golden Eagle 0 12 12 American Kestrel 0282 1203 Merlin 1 32119 Peregrine Falcon 0 16 38 Unknown Accipiter0 5 7 Unknown Buteo0 19 24 Unknown Eagle0 0 1 Unknown Falcon 0 2 4 Unknown Raptor 0 1 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 1 2 Total: 17 45854 58134 -- Observation start time: 07:15:00 Observation end time: 11:00:00 Total observation time: 3.75 hours Official Counter:Sean Jenniskens Observers: Visitors: Bob Hall-Brooks came up the tower briefly before the rain to inform me that they banded 83 Northern Saw-whet Owls between last night and this morning! Weather: Today was a very chilly morning, with overcast skies and moderate NE winds. It started to sprinkle a little around 11:30 local time, and at noon the rain started and continued for the rest of the day, thus no count was conducted after noon. Raptor Observations: Small flight came before the rain. Surprisingly the Sharp-shinned Hawks were coming over fairly high, while everything else was low. Two Rough-legged Hawks were a nice treat, one adult female, and one was either a female of immature, both light morph. Non-raptor Observations: A small flight before the rain, 3,430 American Crows, and 25 Purple Finches migrated over before the rain came. Most notable was a Eastern/Yellow subspecies of Palm Warbler. For the full eBird checklist, go to http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32243542 Predictions: Likely some rain in the morning, but hopefully the afternoon will be sunny skies! Winds starting out in the SE and doing a full 180 to switch to the NW in the afternoon. Report submitted by Sean Jenniskens (seanjennisk...@hotmail.com) Holiday Beach Conservation Area information may be found at: http://hbmo.ca/ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
[Ontbirds] Cranberry Marsh Hawkwatch, 26 October 2016 - 522 Raptors
Cranberry Marsh Hawkwatch Whitby, Ontario Wednesday 26 October 2016 Total Species: 11 Turkey Vulture 298 Bald Eagle 3 Northern Harrier 6 Sharp-shinned Hawk 14 Cooper's Hawk 2 Northern Goshawk 3 (this is a minor irruption year) Red-shouldered Hawk 16 Red-tailed Hawk 165 (many Northern Red-taileds subspecies abieticola were noted) Rough-legged Hawk 3 ( 2 light morph, 1 dark morph) Golden Eagle 3 Peregrine Falcon 2 Unidentified 2 Total Individuals: 522 Observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter: Jean Iron. Many thanks especially to Eleanor Beagan and Jerry Ball. Observers: Rick LaForest, Karl Jennewein, Jackie McBlain, Bruce and Ann Falls. Other Birds: 14 Rusty Blackbirds feeding on the path, 2 Fox Sparrows, 1 Wilson's Snipe, 29 Wild Turkeys, 84 American Pipits, 45 Snow Buntings, 1000 Canada Geese and 3 Cackling Geese. Weather: Clear blue skies in the morning, temp -1C to start, light north wind becoming calm in the afternoon with overcast skies. OFO Fall Hawkwatching Guide http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/articles.hawkwatching Directions: Exit from the 401 at Brock St. in Whitby. Go south on Brock St. to Victoria St. Go west on Victoria to Halls Road. Go south on Halls Rd to the second walkway to Cranberry Marsh. Data will be submitted to HMANA and eBird. Jean Iron Toronto ON ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
[Ontbirds] Detroit River Hawk Watch (26 Oct 2016) 21 Raptors
Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2016 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 13 32366 33686 Osprey 0 5 23 Bald Eagle 1 56110 Northern Harrier 1100323 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 1732 4238 Cooper's Hawk0 60104 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 1148149 Broad-winged Hawk0130 17529 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0993 1127 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 1 7 7 American Kestrel 0 67545 Merlin 0 19 37 Peregrine Falcon 0 23 27 Unknown Accipiter0 2 5 Unknown Buteo0 32 41 Unknown Falcon 0 0 2 Unknown Eagle0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 1 12 Total: 21 35741 57965 -- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 10:00:00 Total observation time: 3 hours Official Counter:Dustin Brewer Observers:Andrew Sturgess Visitors: Our sole visitor today was Marianne, on vacation from Kentucky. Weather: We were cold and battered by wind coming off of the lake this morning. The temperature actually dropped between 7 and 8. Barometric pressure was exceptionally high, which seemed unusual given the overcast conditions. The rain began just before 10, at which point we retreated. The rain continued all day, so we did not return. Raptor Observations: Despite the sub-par weather conditions, we had a fairly good morning, despite seeing no raptors during the first hour. This lack of raptors in the first hour reassures us that not much will be missed now that, starting tomorrow, we begin the count an hour later. During the two hours after the first, before the rain started, we spotted a nice mix of migrants, including several Sharpies, a Northern Harrier which tried to sneak by (it was spotted at the last moment), a Bald Eagle, a Red-shouldered Hawk, 13 TVs, and a Golden Eagle. At least one non-migratory Osprey is still sticking around. Non-raptor Observations: A black river flowed overhead today, in the form of at least 1,500 American crows. We also spotted a large, round flock of what appeared to be Rusty Blackbirds, as well as several Bonaparte's Gulls. Predictions: Rain will be possible all day, though is most likely in the morning. The northwest winds that are predicted for the afternoon could provide favorable conditions for raptor-viewing. Report submitted by Detroit River Hawk Watch (greg_norw...@fws.gov) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.drhawkwatch.org ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
[Ontbirds] Pacific Loon amogst 100's of Common & at least 3 Red-throated Loons - Minet's Point, Barrie - Oct 26
Ontbirders, Just an update on at least 1 Pacific Loon being seen today at Minet's Point Park in Barrie. The adult bird (moulting to winter plumage but retaining some alternate plumage) was in amongst a minimum of 1,600 Common Loons today, viewing was perfect with cool temps (not too much heat haze off water), sun behind and very little wind. I had tried Kempenfelt Park (on the north shore of the bay) first but the birds were a little closer to the south side today. I did a sweeping estimate of the numbers 3 times to be sure, and always came within a couple of hundred, so I've gone with the most conservative number - there were more WAY out on Kempenfelt Bay towards the main lake. The PALO is noticeably smaller than the surrounding Common Loons with the standout characteristics of big white square blotches on the back (they really stand out) and the silvery nape (but this can be light dependent), as well as the smaller bill, held horizontally (comparing with Red-throated that almost always hold the bill above the horizontal). It was diving frequently today and once it went down it took up to 10 minutes to refind it amongst all the other loons. Also here were 2 female Black Scoters quite close to shore and at least 3 separate Red-throated Loons. A great lunchtime break for me. Regards & good birding, Frank Pinilla Richmond Hill, ON (working in Barrie) DIRECTIONS: >From Hwy 400, exit at Essa Road in Barrie, and head east 1.4km. Turn right on Tiffin Street and stay right as this turns into Lakeshore Drive. Follow Lakeshore 1.6km until the lights at Minets Point Road, turn left on Minets, follow to the park. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
