While hiking the Mono Cliffs leg of the Bruce Trail with my wife this morning I had very nice looks at (and earfuls of) three Common Ravens. There were numerous crows around and the ravens really dwarfed them as they flew by sqwonking gutturally. Also had a Pileated Woodpecker calling from the spillway and, on the 2nd Line across from the little cemetary, there was a very handsome looking Ring-necked Pheasant strutting along the roadside.
Directions: The Mono Cliffs trails run north from Dufferin Rd. 8, which runs between Airport Road on the east and Hwy. 10 on the west, north of Hwy. 9 and south of Hwy. 89. Best views of the ravens were from the look-out platform on the escarpment ridge, where it overlooks the glacial spillway below. This particular section of trail is best accessed by driving west past the Mono Cliffs Park sign and past the marvellous little Mono Cliffs Inn (great dining room upstairs; great little pub downstairs). At the stop sign, turn north and follow 2nd Line to its end. By walking straight north you end up with some great views eastward from the clifftops. Back home in the Newmarket/Aurora area I was pleased to see my first Red-winged Blackbirds of the spring at the McKenzie Marsh just east of Yonge Street on St. John's Sideroad. It took all the way to the Ides of March for them to arrive - the latest arrival of RWBL in the 20 years I've lived in York Region. Ron Fleming, Newmarket "Ronald J. Fleming" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
