ONTBIRDS for Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Time   [Ontbirds] Brantford to Long Point to Townsend - Gray Partridge, Swans, etc., etc.   Norman Murr   3:27am   [Ontbirds]HSR: Beamer Conservation Area (17 Mar 2008) 134 Raptors   reports(AT)hawkcount.or   9:03am   [Ontbirds]Ottawa Spring - Cedar Waxwings and Redwing Blackbird     10:31am   [Ontbirds]Northern Shrike - Kingston   otoole(AT)kos.net   12:36pm   [Ontbirds]Presqu'ile Killdeers, Rn and Pb Grebe   Doug McRae    1:13pm   [Ontbirds]Wolfe Island & Presqu'ile Park   Bill Bowman    1:37pm   [Ontbirds]Ottawa/Gatineau 17Mar08... Gyrfalcon, Townsend's Solitaire, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Partridge, Golden Eagle, Hoary Redpoll   Gordon Pringle    2:32pm   [Ontbirds]Nesting Cooper's Hawks, Ajax   Geoff - Birds   5:07pm   [Ontbirds]Northern Shrike just east of Courtice   Abel Zwart    9:05pm

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Subject: [Ontbirds] Brantford to Long Point to Townsend - Gray
         Partridge, Swans, etc., etc.
From: "Norman Murr" <normurr(AT)sympatico.ca>
Date: 18 Mar 2008 3:27am

Good morning all.

Yesterday Ian Cannell picked me up and off we went for a trip to Long Point and
on the way we stopped at the Brantford Airport where we had close up in your
face looks at a pair of Gray Partridge beside York Road just short of the
terminal building and here we saw the first Horned Larks that for some reason I
decided to count as we went along.

 After the success at the airport we then headed south to the Long Point area
and from there to the Townsend area near Jarvis.

 There was very little open water except for the creeks ( notably Big Creek
itself ) and some leads in Inner bay off Big Creek Marsh and the Townsend sewage
 lagoons are still frozen. As a result of the lack of open water there were
relatively few Ducks and fewer Gulls but despite this lack we did find some nice
 birds and below are a few of the highlights.

Pied-billed Grebe
Tundra Swan - approx. 8000 off, over and in Big Creek Marsh and the fields just
north of the marsh
A. Wigeon
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Bald Eagles - 2
Golden Eagle - 1
N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, Red-tailed, and Rough-legged Hawks ( 9 ) as
 well as several A. Kestrels and a Merlin.
Gray Partridge - 2
Sandhill Crane - 23 together in a field along A Concession Road near Hwy 59
Killdeer - 10
Horned Lark - 357
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted ( 9 ) and Red-breasted Nuthatches
Lapland Longspurs
Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, and Brown-headed Cowbird - several hundred
 of each

Directions:-
LONG POINT AREA - CENTERED ON PORT ROWAN

Port Rowan is southwest of Hamilton, to reach it you can drive south on Hwy 6
from Hamilton, passing through Hagersville and turning right, west in Jarvis
onto Hwy 3, drive to Simcoe and turn left, south on Hwy 24 and follow
this to Hwy 59, ( it curves to the west south of Simcoe) and your in the Long
Point Area.

Turn left (south) on Hwy 59 at Hwy 24 and Port Rowan is straight down Hwy 59
(about 6 kms) on County Rd 42 (Lakeshore Rd), Big Creek Marsh, etc. are just a
little further south of County Rd 42.

 Or you can exit Hwy 403 just west of Brantford. Exit at Hwy 24 S at Exit 91 and
 drive south through Simcoe and follow
it to Hwy 59, ( it curves to the west south of Simcoe) and your in the Long
Point Area.

The wood lots, fields, marshes etc. are north, south, east and west of Port
Rowan.

BRANTFORD AIRPORT 

Exit Hwy 403 at Hwy 24 South (9 km west of Hwy 24 North when coming from the
east). Drive south on Hwy 24 to Robinson Rd and turn left ( east ) on Robinson (
 the airfield is on your right ) and drive to Greens Rd. Be sure to watch all
the areas along the roads encircling the airfield and in the terminal building
area on York Road.

Norm Murr
Richmond Hill, ON

"Sils mordent, mords les"
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Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Beamer Conservation Area (17 Mar 2008) 134
         Raptors
From: reports(AT)hawkcount.org
Date: 18 Mar 2008 9:03am

Beamer Conservation Area
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 17, 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture              17             90             90
Osprey                       0              0              0
Bald Eagle                   3             15             15
Northern Harrier             1              2              2
Sharp-shinned Hawk           3              9              9
Cooper's Hawk                4             12             13
Northern Goshawk             0              1              1
Red-shouldered Hawk         11             26             26
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0              0
Red-tailed Hawk             84            270            271
Rough-legged Hawk            4              8              8
Golden Eagle                 1              2              2
American Kestrel             0              5              5
Merlin                       0              0              0
Peregrine Falcon             0              1              1
Unknown Accipiter            1              2              2
Unknown Buteo                1              2              2
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               4              4              4

Total:                     134            449            451
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:45:00 
Observation end   time: 16:30:00 
Total observation time: 8.75 hours

Official Counter:        Ian Richards, John Stevens

Observers:        Barry Cherriere, Bouwe Bergsma, Brandon Holden,
                  Clive Hodder, Colin Horstead, Ian Richards, Mike Street

Visitors:
In addition to the observers named, others assisting with the count
included: Brian Hawthorne, Eric Single, Dave Sked, Dave Langford, Eric
Holden, Sandy Darling, John N and Mike (from Dofasco), Kevin McLaughlin.

Weather:
Clear and cool with a moderate breeze from the northeast, becoming
progressively cloudy in the afternoon with very pronounced sun dogs and a
large ring around the sun.

Raptor Observations:
Flight paths were all over the sky from Ridge Road to beyond the escarpment
edge, often simultaneously.  Once past the tower, the birds were very well
backlit from the snow.  Highlight was an adult Golden Eagle directly
overhead that circled lazily for all to observe about 50-60 metres high.

Non-raptor Observations:
An early morning Eastern Phoebe and a few other spring arrivals such as
robins, grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and Horned Larks
========================================================================
Report submitted by Mike Street (mikestreet1(AT)gmail.com)
Beamer Conservation Area, Grimsby, ON information may be found at:
http://www.hwcn.org/link/niaghawk/

Site Description:
Beamer Conservation Area is located on top of the Niagara Escarpment above
the town of Grimsby, Ontario. The site is 1km south of the south shore of
Lake Ontario, 20km east of Hamilton, 40km west of Niagara Falls. 

Directions to site:
To get to Beamer CA, take the QEW to Exit 72, follow Christie St./Mountain
St. to the top of the escarpment, turn right on Ridge Road West, and go
1.6km to Quarry Rd. Turn right on Quarry Rd. and drive 100m to the
conservation area. Parking is normally available inside the park. If
parking at the entrance or on the roads, do NOT leave valuables in your
car.

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Subject: [Ontbirds]Ottawa Spring - Cedar Waxwings and Redwing
         Blackbird
From: <michael.broughton(AT)servicecanada.gc.ca>
Date: 18 Mar 2008 10:31am

For a nice sign of spring (not that I don't enjoy the Bohemians that I've run
into over the winter), but I ran into a small flock of about 15 Cedar Waxwings
happily gorging themselves in a crabapple tree on Castlfrank Road just south of
Hazeldean road as I was picking up my daughter from her sitter. Naturally, as
this is the one time I run into them when they didn't seem to mind me being
within a couple of feet of them as the tree abutted the driveway - I was without
 my camera.

I also caught a quick glimpse of my first Redwing Blackbird in the vicinity of
the Rideau Tennis Club at Riverain park yesterday. Now that the city has cleared
 the ice from the river, I expect that the bird counts will start rising
significantly along the Rideau over the next couple of weeks.

Good birding all!
Mike
_______________________________________________
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Northern Shrike - Kingston
From: otoole(AT)kos.net
Date: 18 Mar 2008 12:36pm

I was out for a walk today off highway 15 on Innovation Drive, and spotted
a Northern Shrike. Was able to get a good look at it before it headed out
into the field. No camera on me today.

Directions:

Off Hwy 401 take Hwy 15 south to Innovation drive. Turn left on Innovation
drive and follow the road around and it was sighted on the North side in
the field area.

Paul O'Toole
Kingston
_______________________________________________
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Presqu'ile Killdeers, Rn and Pb Grebe
From: Doug McRae <rdmcrae(AT)sympatico.ca>
Date: 18 Mar 2008 1:13pm

Greetings all,

Bruce DiLabio and I birded Presqu'ile today from the Government Dock  
(along Bayshore Rd.), and also checked the islands and Popham Bay  
from Owen Pt. this morning.  Mostly it was the usual suspects but  
there were some new birds too.  Highlights include:

1 Red-necked Grebe - half way across Bay offshore from Gov't Dock
1 Pied-billed Grebe - swimming in a mixed duck flock between Salt Pt.  
and the Gov't Dock
265 Mute Swan - counted from one spot (Gov't Dock)
15 Gadwall
2 Pintail
20 A Wigeon
700 Canvasback
20 R-n Duck
2 Lesser Scaup
8 Hooded Merganser
5 Killdeer - 3 in a group then 1 at Owen Pt., 1 over the park gate -  
all flying west to east into the wind
1 Carolina Wren - singing behind the Gov't Dock
1 Song Sparrow - singing at Gov't Dock
2 Pine Grosbeak - flying past Gov't Dock

Directions:  Presqu'ile can be reached by taking the Brighton exit  
south from Hwy 401, then follow the park signs down Ontario Street to  
the park gate.

Cheers,

Doug McRae

Doug McRae Nature Services
P.O. Box 3010
Brighton, Ontario
Canada K0K 1H0
613-475-5014
rdmcrae(AT)sympatico.ca

_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS(AT)hwcn.org
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http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Wolfe Island & Presqu'ile Park
From: Bill Bowman <wbowman(AT)ncf.ca>
Date: 18 Mar 2008 1:37pm

Tony Beck's birding group was at Wolfe Island on Saturday.  Highlights were four
 Snowy Owls and so many Rough-legged Hawks that we lost count.  Also seen were a
 couple of Kestrels, a Northern Shrike, two Northern Harriers, several
Red-tailed Hawks, flocks of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks, and three Red Foxes.
  Migrants included Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, an American Coot, and a
Killdeer.

 

On Sunday, we moved on to Presqu'ile Park for the Waterfowl Festival.
Highlights there were two Tundra Swans, a Hoary Redpoll, a Bald Eagle, and good
scope views of great rafts of ducks - Redheads, Long-tailed, Canvasbacks,
Greater Scaup, Mute Swans, and White-winged Scoters.  There were also smaller
numbers of American Widgeon, Common Goldeneye, Common and Red-breasted
Mergansers, Gadwall, Wood Ducks, Bufflehead and Ring-necked Ducks.  A truly
memorable weekend.

Bill & Barbara Bowman
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Ottawa/Gatineau 17Mar08... Gyrfalcon, Townsend's
         Solitaire, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Partridge, Golden Eagle,
         Hoary Redpoll
From: Gordon Pringle <parula(AT)magma.ca>
Date: 18 Mar 2008 2:32pm

- RBA

* Ontario
* Ottawa/Gatineau
* 17 March 2008
* ONOT0803.17

- Birds mentioned

Canada Goose
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
GRAY PARTRIDGE
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
GOLDEN EAGLE
GYRFALCON
Ring-billed Gull
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
American Crow
Horned Lark
TUFTED TITMOUSE
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE
Hermit Thrush
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Song Sparrow
Snow Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Redpoll
HOARY REDPOLL

- Transcript

hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
date: 17 March 2008
Number: 613-860-9000
For the status line PRESS * (star)
To report bird sightings, PRESS 1 (one)
Rare bird alerts are now included in the introductory message
coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Can. Nat. Capital Reg.), E.Ont., W.Que.
compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis  hagenius(AT)primus.ca
internet: Gordon Pringle  parula(AT)magma.ca

THE OFNC BIRD STATUS LINE @ 5:00 pm, MONDAY MARCH 17, 2008.

The first "official" day of spring is just a few days away, and both the
weather and a GYRFALCON continue to taunt us.  The most recent report of a
dark morph Gyr was on the 12th at the Trail Rd. Landfill. The bird has not
been seen since then but may very well still be around.  However, many other
birds at the landfill and along nearby roads included at least 6 
Red-tailed Hawks, a
dark morph Rough-legged Hawk, 1000's of Ring-billed Gulls, 5 Iceland and 4
Glaucous Gulls of various ages, several 1000 American Crows, and a large
influx of Horned Larks along with small groups of  Snow Buntings. At least 300
Horned Larks were also reported from the Ste-Rose are east of Ottawa 
on the 11th,
and 3 coveys of GRAY PARTRIDGE totalling up to 30 birds were also seen east
of Ottawa in the Alfred area.

The push to return to the breeding grounds is on in spite of the still huge
quantities of snow in our area.  Several groups of Canada Geese were noted
over the week, and a few more Red-winged Blackbirds are trickling in and
beginning to sing.  The first report of a male Greater Scaup on the Ottawa
River was on the 16th above the Deschenes rapids, 3 Bufflehead and 2 Hooded
Mergansers were also on the river at the Champlain bridge, and below the
rapids the wintering Hermit Thrush was still present. Other survivors
included the Hermit Thrush at the feeders on Hurdman Dr. near the Rideau
River on the 15th, a Song Sparrow that has evidently been present on
Glengarry St. since December, and last but not least the Townsend's
Solitaire in Parkwood Hills and the TUFTED TITMOUSE in Forest Park (Embrun)
are still around as of at least the 11th and the 16th, respectively.

Other noteworthy sightings were a Bald Eagle flying over Remic rapids 
on the 12th
and 16th, and an adult GOLDEN EAGLE in the Gatineau hills at Eardley-Masham and
Bradley Rds on the 16th. Many local observers have noted flocks of American
Crows numbering into the 1000's during the past season.  The Trail 
Rd. Landfill is
obviously one of their day-time destinations and there are several night-time
roosts around Ottawa, including the Ottawa General Hospital campus, the Rideau
River at Billings Bridge, and some parts of Kanata. Their numbers 
certainly seem to
be increasing in recent years. A continuing movement of large mixed flocks of
Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings was also noted in locations such as the Britannia
Conservation Area, and although the Redpoll numbers at the Hilda Rd. 
feeders have
dwindled considerably, both a HOARY REDPOLL and Common Redpoll of the
"Greater" subspecies were still sporadically visiting this spot on the 16th.

Thank you - Good Birding!

- End transcript

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Subject: [Ontbirds]Nesting Cooper's Hawks, Ajax
From: "Geoff - Birds" <avocet(AT)rogers.com>
Date: 18 Mar 2008 5:07pm

All winter a male Cooper's Hawk has set up a hunting territory in my yard, much
to the dismay of the cardinals and the now almost all eaten Mourning Doves. On
March 14th, he was joined by a young female. The courtship was not very flagrant
 and I have not seen any display flights yet, but she has been gathering nest
material for the last few days. Today, she started to tear apart a drey
(squirrel nest) and was seen carrying off small twigs and a few leaves to the
nest site.

Interesting opportunity to study this urban nesting.

Geoff Carpentier
Ajax, Ontario
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Northern Shrike just east of Courtice
From: Abel Zwart <zwartbirds(AT)rogers.com>
Date: 18 Mar 2008 9:05pm

Many afternoons, as I come home from work, I see a northern shrike in a 
maple tree just east of Courtice.  It's usually in one of the maple trees 
on the north side of Highway 2 about a half km east of Courtice Rd.  It's 
there probably half the time I drive by.

Directions.  Take the 401 east to Courtice road, and go north to highway 
2.  At the light, turn right or east, and look for the 20 foot maples along 
the north side of highway 2 about half a km east of Courtice Road.

_______________________________________________
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