Delivered from the usually incessant vehicular bustle that has marred its existence for decades now, the hands of time seemed to turn back on Aurora's McKenzie Marsh this weekend. This precious little wetland just east of Yonge Street in the north part of suburban Aurora is bisected by St. John's Sideroad, which has now been closed for widening and will remain that way until December. With construction crews roosting elsewhere for the weekend and traffic entirely cut off by construction barriers, the marsh was granted a stretch of solitude it has not experienced in a long, long time.
After parking on Old Yonge Street just west of the marsh yesterday evening, I walked in to check for the American White Pelican that was seen by numerous birders between August 5-7. My visit was prompted by an e-mail from area resident Mary Carnahan, who rediscovered the pelican on Tuesday, August 10th while I was away at Manitoulin Island (one of the most reliable places in Ontario to observe Sandhill Cranes, by the way). The pelican was not evident, but I was surprised to see both Green Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron hunting right at the roadside, literally feet away from me as I walked the silent stetch of road between slumbering bulldozers and tall metal cranes. Even without the aid of my spotting scope, I easily observed 4 Pied-billed Grebes (2 young), 8 Common Moorhens (6 young), no less than 10 Black-crowned Night Herons (7 of them juveniles), 4 Green Herons (2 juveniles), 5 Great Blue Herons, 6 Caspian Terns, 5 Belted Kingfishers and 2 Spotted Sandpipers, all of them enjoying a freedom of movement that dovetailed perfectly with a strolling birder's most hopeful wishes. Despite the upheaval caused by construction during the course of each week, the combination of vehicular inactivity, increasing numbers of migrants, and family dispersal of several species, McKenzie Marsh could prove to be a worthwhile destination for local birders over the next several weekends. And, who knows, the White Pelican might still put in a cameo appearance. Ron Fleming, Newmarket
