Yesterday (Saturday, May 17), I joined Kevin Shackleton, John McLean, John Watson and Keith Dunn on their annual Baillie Birdathon. This is one of two West Humber Naturalists teams out of Kleinburg. There is a friendly competition between the two groups, both strictly bounded by the parameters of York Region and mutual honesty. The second team is birding today.
Our "squad" encountered 125 species for the day, three species lower than last year, but still decent, especially in light of the fact that shorebirds were virtually nonexistent. At the best of times, York Region has little shorebird habitat, but during our 340 kms. of driving, the flooded fields, sewage lagoons and pond margins we checked were absolutely devoid of sandpipers, plovers and their kin. Of the species we recorded, none of them were rarities, but there were still some interesting finds among them. Best bird was an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER observed in Pottageville (just west of Hwys. 400 and 9). Warblers were present in several areas, including Kortright Conservation Area just south of Kleinburg and Mabel Davis Park in Newmarket. We observed 22 warbler species in all, BLUE-WINGED, PARULA, CAPE MAY and BAY-BREASTED among them. We had SCREECH OWL and BARRED OWL just west of Newmarket, as well as several diurnal raptors including BROAD-WINGED HAWK, NORTHERN HARRIER, and COOPER'S HAWK. Other interesting birds were AMERICAN WOODCOCK, COMMON SNIPE, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, BROWN THRASHER, PILEATED WOODPECKER, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER and CLIFF SWALLOW. All in all, a very pleasant day of birding. It will be interesting to see how the second West Humber team fares today. To anyone who encounters shorebirds in York Region this month, I'd be curious to know what and where. Good luck to all Baillie Birdathoners across the province! Ron Fleming, Newmarket "Ronald J. Fleming" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
