My son and I visited the Carden Plain today in the rain. We were in the area from 6:30 AM until about NOON and didn't see another birder. The birding continues to be very good and definitely worth the trip. The following were the highlights:
about 30 Upland Sandpipers with one flock of 14 on Shrike RdLeast Bittern at the Prospect Rd marshSora and Virginia Rails at ProspectLoggerhead Shrike close to the road at the north end of Shrike Rd (about 2/3 of the way up)3 Sandhill Cranes wandering through the Prairie Smoke( and it is smokey now) just north of the cabin on Wylie Rd.Vesper SparrowClay-coloured SparrowGrasshopper SparrowWilson's SnipePair of Northern Harriers (over Prospect marsh)many Marsh Wrens in Prospect MarshSedge Wren ( south of the Sedge Wren Marsh on Wylie Rd)Alder FlycatcherSeveral Ospreys at Dalrymple and Canal LakesCommon Loon (Dalrymple) Green Heron (fly-over on Rd 48 just west of Kirkfield) Blue-winged Teal at ProspectCommon Moorhen at ProspectOther usuals at Carden except for Cuckoos and Golden-winged Warbler which I usually miss for whatever reason.On the way home we stopped at Reesor Pond (just South of Hwy 7 off Reesor Rd near Markham) we stopped and noted two Great Egrets (no shorebirds made their presence known) Directions(thanks to Norm M.): -CARDEN ALVAR INCLUDING WYLIE ROAD / THE SEDGE WREN MARSH / PROSPECT ROAD ALONG WITH A FEW AREAS SOUTHWEST OF KIRKFIELD Wylie Road is north of Kirkfield in Victoria County and Kirkfield itself is on County Road 48 east of Highway 12 and well north of Whitby and about 130 km from Toronto if you follow the roads and not a Crow. >From the centre of Kirkfield go north on County Road 6 passing under the Lift Lock on the Trent Canal and drive about 2 ½ km further north to where the road curves left or west. On this curve and on your right is McNamee Road, turn right here onto McNamee and drive east for about 300 yards and you will be at Wylie Road. This road is about 9 ½ km long ending at Alvar Road (a T intersection). Birding can be good on Alvar Road as well, either way. The Sedge Wren Marsh is about 5 ½ km up Wylie Road, you can’t miss it as it has the only bridge along the road. Park just to the south of and overlooking the bridge and walk the road. Birding is good all along the road and I find that the best birding happens when you park and walk both ways a km or two from your auto. This is a narrow road with little traffic but be sure to park in such a way as to not block the road or at the gravelled parking areas that you will find at several places along the road as you don’t want to rile up the locals. This is all private property but there really is no need to leave the road, nor should you. Please respect the property rights of the land owners. Other roads to check in the area areProspect (west of Kirkfield and south off 48 about 2 Km to public marsh), Shrike, Curl’s, Dalrymple, Eldon Station, Rockview, Doyle, Palestine, Creek View, and McNamee Road, etc. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
