Melting snow has created numerous flooded fields ideal for migrating waterfowl to visit, so I ventured out this morning to check the north end of Bathurst Street, which has traditionally been a good place for migrants. True to form, the flooded vegetable fields and sod farms north of Queensville Sdrd. on Bathurst contained several interesting waterfowl species, including: TUNDRA SWAN (4), one tagged TRUMPETER SWAN (#99 or 099 from what I could see), NORTHERN PINTAIL (20), GREEN-WINGED TEAL (6), BLACK DUCK (6), about a hundred Mallards, and a pair each of CANVASBACK, COMMON MERGANSER, and BUFFLEHEAD. There were, of course, numerous Canada Geese, one of which had a neck tag that looked like #11A6.
Back early at the heronry on the west side of the Bradford Canal were four GREAT BLUE HERON. There was also an early EASTERN MEADOWLARK calling from the fields on the west side of Bathurst north of Hochreiter Rd., plus numerous HORNED LARKS, grackles, red-winged blackbirds, and robins. There were several SONG SPARROWS and KILLDEER calling all along Bathurst in this area. A lingering NORTHERN SHRIKE was sitting prominently on a treetop on the south side of the road that goes eastward into the Holland River Marina. The most exciting sight for the morning was a male NORTHERN HARRIER taking runs at a juvenile NORTHERN GOSHAWK in the field just north of the woods and south of the first dike on the west side of Bathurst. The gos eventually flew into the woods and the harrier flew across Bathurst to patrol the marsh on the east side of the road. I later observed a female harrier hunting on the west side of Bathurst, south of the dike, while a lone coyote kept an eye on all the ducks on the north side. Directions: Bathurst Street is the same well-known road that runs north through Toronto, but once it reaches Davis Drive in Newmarket (Hwy. 9), it gets interrupted. To hook up with it again, you have to jog over to Yonge Street and fight your way through the ever-present traffic in north Newmarket. Travel north out of Newmarket toward Bradford and watch for the stoplight where Bathurst is once again indicated. This is just west of Holland Landing and just south of Bradford. You have to turn right, then an almost immediate left, at which point Bathurst turns north again over the railway tracks. Follow Bathurst all the way up, past Queensville Sdrd. and past Hochreiter Rd. (which can be well worth checking if the road is not a total quagmire) until you emerge from the trees to enter the flat lands east of Bradford and west of River Drive Park. The first dike trail on the left is a good one to walk, since it takes you out into the heart of the flooded fields and offers good views of the heronry straight west. A scope definitely increases one's chances of seeing good birds. "Ronald J. Fleming" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
