The Snowy Owl observed by Ian Cannell and I near Bradford late yesterday was still in the same general vicinity at 8:00 this morning. The bird was just south of Jonkman's Corners, which is the crossroad where Simcoe Street runs south out of Bradford to cross over a little bridge and intersect with Canal Road. There is a stop sign here; no traffic light. By following Simcoe Road south (into the open field area) you will soon pass house #903 on the east side. A few metres past this house there is a yellow diamond-shaped sign indicating a jog in the road ahead. The owl was sitting in the field straight east of this sign, about 100 metres out from the road, on the ground. Now that a lot of snow has melted, the dark earth of this agricultural area has helped to reveal this big white owl. (Having said that, the melting snow has also revealed numerous white cans, cream-coloured debris, and silver containers, all of which can mislead an owl-seeker). This bird appears to be a juvenile male as it is not a pure white adult male, but is not as heavily barred as females tend to be. Although Muley Point in Orillia is by far the most reliable place for GGOWs, there continue to be some Great Gray Owls in the Newmarket area: one bird was hunting along the wide hydro cut that runs northeast from Dufferin about 2 kms north of Hwy. 9 (just down the hill from Miller Sideroad) at 7:30 this morning. While I was watching this bird, Keith Dunn drove up. He had just observed two other GGOWs in Holland Landing on his way down to the Newmarket area from Keswick - one was along 2nd Concession just south of Queensville Sdrd. and another was along Doane Road just west of 2nd Concession. I did not check on the Great Gray Owl which Ian and I observed yesterday afternoon on the west side of Keele Street less than a km north of Hwy. 9. Keith commented that the Snowy Owl on Ravenshoe Road in southwest Keswick has continued to be pretty reliable, still showing up this week in the general vicinity of house # 479, which is on the south side of Ravenshoe Road down in the flatlands west of Leslie Street. I checked the Holland Landing area for the Barred Owl photographed by John Taylor on Thursday evening, but could not find the bird. It had been seen near the eastern end of Algonquin Forest Drive (which I erroneously called Algonquin Court in an earlier post) around dusk that day. Barred Owls have occurred along this forested road before, but rediscovering them has always been a very hit-and-miss venture. Ron Fleming, Newmarket DIRECTIONS: Bradford is just east of Hwy. 400 and north of Newmarket. The Canal Road actually exits from the highway, as does Hwy. 9, which turns into Davis Drive when it enters Newmarket proper. By exiting Hwy. 400 at Canal Road, you can get to Jonkman's Corners easily by following Canal Road steadily eastward. There is a big stop sign where Canal Rd. meets Simcoe Rd. Turn right (south) to try for the Snowy Owl described above. By going back up to Canal Road, you can continue eastward until you come to another stop sign. By going left, you can follow Pumphouse Road south. This follows the canal. At the next stop sign, turn right (west) and the road will take you to Dufferin Street. You can follow Dufferin south to Miller Sideroad to try for the Great Gray that has been lingering there. Early morning and late afternoon are definitely better times to look for the Great Grays, at least in this area. Holland Landing is just north of Newmarket, which, in turn, is halfway between Toronto and Barrie between Hwys. 400 and 404. 2nd Concession is actually the northern extension of Main Street out of Newmarket; it changes its name when it crosses Green Lane. There are at least two GGOWs that roost somewhere in the woodlot on the east side of the road (private property); they come out to sit on the phonelines at the forest edge around sunrise then generally cross the road and hunt in the fields on the west side, near the snowmobile trails there. This is just south of the Queensville Sdrd. by about a km.
