Hello all, Yesterday evening at the big creek mudflats held lots of interesting stuff. The number of great-blue herons and great egrets remains very high. As well, we noted the following:
black-crowned night heron (25+ - mostly found in the trees on the northwest side of the creek, north of the bridge @ highway 20 & big creek) green heron (1) caspian tern (4) semipalmated plover (3) short-billed dowitcher (5+) bald eagle (1 - immature, flying around the mudflats, then landing amongst the herons) Holiday Beach, there were more herons, but not as much water remains there. Also, we saw large flocks (500+ birds) of what we believed to be blue-winged teal and northern shoveler. They were very high up, flying over the entrance to holiday beach. When we got up the hawk tower and saw no water, we wondered where these birds might be headed for the night. If anyone has any insight into this, please let me know. And i've posted a few photos of the area, at http://socr.uwindsor.ca/~bakerp/bigcreekjuly102005/ Have a wonderful evening. -Matt Big Creek is located ~ 5 km east of the town of Amherstburg adjacent County Rd 20, and ~ 1 km west of the village of Malden Centre. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Jul 12 20:35:19 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts20.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.74]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1C07763ED6 for <[email protected]>; Tue, 12 Jul 2005 20:35:19 -0400 (EDT) Received: from jean-bapu1sw48i.sympatico.ca ([69.158.102.81]) by tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.netESMTP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for <[email protected]>; Tue, 12 Jul 2005 20:40:16 -0400 Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.2.1 Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 20:40:22 -0400 To: [email protected] From: Jean Iron <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Subject: [Ontbirds]OFO News - June Issue X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:35:19 -0000 The June issue of OFO News will be mailed this week. Here are the contents of this 16 page issue in page order. 1. Final Season of the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas: Mike Cadman invites you to be involved in the final year of the Breeding Bird Atlas to make it the best information on the status of Ontario's birds. 1. Distinguished Ornithologist: Bob Curry outlines the achievements of Ron Pittaway who will receive OFO's Distinguished Ornithologist Award in 2005. 2. Book Review: Birds of Australia. Reviewed by Bob Curry. 3. OBRC Notes: Margaret Bain, 2005 chair, gives an update on the activities of the OBRC and the election of new members. 3. Email to the Editors: From Michel Gosselin of the Canadian Museum of Nature. 4. Book Review: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 9. Cotingas to Pipits. Reviewed by Geoff Carpentier. 5. Geese fouled Crawford Lake 700 Years Ago - Iroquoian cornfields led to guanotrophy: By John H. McAndrews. 6. Book Review: Curassows and Related Birds. Reviewed by Geoff Carpentier. 7. Bald Eagle Flip: Photos and story by Brandon Holden. 7. Learning by Mistakes - Case of the Arctic Tern: By Ron Pittaway 7. Waterfowl of Eastern North America: The latest in a series of pocket-sized photo identification guides by Chris Earley. 8 - 9. Great Gray Owl Observations 2004 - 2005: Ron Pittaway reflects on observations from last winter's irruption. Photos by Albert Kuhnigk and Jean Iron. 10 - 11. More Relative Abundance Maps: Andrew Courturier, Bird Studies Canada and Atlas Point Count Committee Member, shows why point counts will form "the single most important database in the province...for decades to come." 12. Publication of the Atlas: Al Sandilands, chair of the Atlas Publication Committee, reports that the Atlas is scheduled for publication in September 2007. 13. Late Season Atlassing: Mike Cadman encourages birders to fill important gaps in breeding evidence during July and early August when recently fledged young of many species can be easily confirmed. 14. 2004 Financial Statement: Treasurer Eileen Beagan details OFO's assets, income and expenses in 2004, which have been reviewed by an independent auditor. 15. Thank You OFO Donors: List of the many people who generously donated to the success of OFO in 2004. 15. Future OFO Field Trips: Dave Milsom, field trips coordinator, describes the upcoming guided trips to the end of October. 16. Turkey Population Catapulting: Ron Pittaway discusses possible effects of the burgeoning and spreading population. Enclosed with this issue is a registration form for the OFO Annual Convention & Banquet at Point Pelee on 10 - 11 September 2005. We thank the authors and photographers who contributed to this issue. Please direct membership enquires to Eleanor Beagan, membership secretary, <etbeagan AT sympatico.ca>. OFO memberships support Ontbirds. Jean Iron & Ron Pittaway OFO News Editors Ontario Field Ornithologists Toronto and Minden ON [EMAIL PROTECTED]
