Drove early this evening (just after 6 p.m.) to Ravenshoe Rd. West at south end of Keswick. At the swamp/heron rookery on the west side of Bruce St. (runs north off Ravenshoe Rd. West), this season's first Great Blue Herons appeared to be arriving at this swamp. Seven were seen perched near the north end in trees, and while there, another 3 flew in. One appeared to be assessing one of the many nests in the rookery, but the others were remaining perched on tree limbs. Last year I observed over 70 arriving in 2 large flocks one morning, and by the next day, virtually all of the nests in the rookery were being occupied, so for those interested, the next day or two may repeat this "mass arrival phenomenon" I saw last year.
Other observations this evening were 1 Bald Eagle (presumably the female) continuing to sit on the nest, about half a dozen Song Sparrows are relatively new arrivals, and 11 Tundra Swans in a flooded field several hundred metres west of the swamp/rookery and just south of the cattail marsh at the south terminus of Cook's Bay on Lake Simcoe (viewable from Ravenshoe Rd.). Seven of the swans took flight towards the NE, but 4 remained in the flooded field. Directions: Ravenshoe Rd. is the southern boundary of Keswick, reached either by driving north on Leslie St., or for those coming from further afield, just north of the northern terminus of Hwy 404 at Woodbine Ave. Drive west on Ravenshoe Rd. The Bruce St. swamp/rookery is about 1 km west of Leslie St., running north from Ravenshoe Rd., which also continues west for about another 3 km on drained marsh agricultural land. Happy birding in this interesting rookery and area of our province! Steve Kinsley, RD (College of Dietitians of Ontario: Reg. # 1083) Nu Connexions: Your partner in nutrient analysis, Canadian food labelling and food photography services http://www.nuconnexions.com/ http://www.nutritionlabels.ca/ http://www.purspectivephoto.com/ Tel:(905) 478-8915 P.O. Box 269 Queensville, ON L0G 1R0 Canada _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - 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
