The very low level of the Ottawa River has exposed a rocky shelf on the north side of the Ottawa River Parkway just to the east of the Champlain Bridge. There were a number of shorebirds here at lunch time today (Aug 15):
A few Lesser Yellowlegs A half dozen Semipalmated Plover A Killdeer A half dozen Spotted Sandpipers Ten or so Least Sandpipers 2 very fine juvenile Baird's Sandpipers These birds allowed a close approach, although I didn't press my luck so as not to disturb them. This spot may be worth checking in the future -- maybe something more exotic will turn up. There is a parking lot off the Western Parkway. Paul Matthews Ottawa From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Aug 15 18:01:36 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from tomts5-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts5.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.25]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2F14E63F3D for <[email protected]>; Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:01:36 -0400 (EDT) Received: from sympatico.ca ([64.228.47.54]) by tomts5-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.06.10 201-253-122-130-110-20040306) with ESMTP id <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for <[email protected]>; Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:02:52 -0400 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:04:37 -0400 From: Stan Long <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.7 [en]C-SYMPA (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en,fr-CA MIME-Version: 1.0 To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Markham Great egret X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 22:01:36 -0000 5:30 this aft - 1 Great egret at Reesor Pond & Ruby-throated hummers in my garden - Reesor Pond lies just north of Hyw 407 on Reesor Road in Markham cheers - S Long From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Aug 15 18:29:59 2005 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from web88005.mail.re2.yahoo.com (web88005.mail.re2.yahoo.com [206.190.37.192]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 3B60F63DC5 for <[email protected]>; Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:29:59 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 57877 invoked by uid 60001); 15 Aug 2005 22:31:16 -0000 DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=s1024; d=rogers.com; h=Message-ID:Received:Date:From:Subject:To:MIME-Version:Content-Type:Content-Transfer-Encoding; b=pD2wE5dPF40yuxWNiDQIWBDnOQ4n/GhWwIAdY1v+a6duHuXTaEnxsE9EohJmAGH4xJV/Bf4uA5EAZn5eVQv864q/sScAE6ftOIlG0E5r7axAZYDQJmD0T8wk7Um8Qg8dXhKNtYhptmrbwp9ICaBP9j/8v1idKt7aQ1tR/hw94V4 ; Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Received: from [70.28.198.110] by web88005.mail.re2.yahoo.com via HTTP; Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:31:16 EDT Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:31:16 -0400 (EDT) From: RON FLEMING <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: OFO Bird Sightings <[email protected]> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]York Region Shorebirds X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 22:29:59 -0000 I bumped into Ron Pittiway at the Holland Landing lagoons today and we spent some time scoping shorebirds - an altogether pleasant and educational experience. Shorebird numbers were up from Saturday: 60+ Lesser Yellowlegs (both juvenile and adult birds in the mix); one juvenile Greater Yellowlegs; 28 adult Pectoral Sandpipers; one juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher; 8 Semipalmated Plover (one juvenile); about 20 each of Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper; approx. 20 Least Sandpipers and about a half dozen Sempalmated Sandpipers. There were about 250 Bonaparte's gulls present today. Flocks of Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal (20+ in each) and about ten Wood Ducks were also there, along with the ubiquitous Mallards. We did not see the Brown Thrasher or Cuckoo sp. observed Saturday along the western and southern edges of the lagoons, respectively. I did a solo mission to the Schomberg lagoons in the afternoon where numbers and variety were pretty much the same as this past weekend: about 40 Lesser Yellowlegs; two Greater Yellowlegs; ten Pectorals; about a dozen Least Sandpipers; four Sempalmated Sandpipers; two Solitary; plus numerous Killdeer and Spotties. I did not rediscover the Snipe which had been feeding along the western edge of the first cell on Saturday afternoon. Ron Fleming, Newmarket Directions: The Holland Landing lagoons are at the end of Cedar Street in the north part of Holland Landing, accessed by turning east from Yonge Street (look for the white wagon wheels in front of the house on the corner of Yonge and Cedar). Cedar St. is between Doane Road (on the south) and Queensville Sdrd. (on the north). There are four cells, the muddy edges of which are all worth checking but the second lagoon definitely offers the best shorebird habitat. You can walk the perimeter of the lagoons easily, checking for passerines along the fenceline vegetation as well as raptors and aerial foragers overhead (eg. Red-tailed hawk, Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Chimney Swift and various swallows). Holland Landing is just north of Newmarket and east of Bradford. The Schomberg lagoons are west of Hwy. 400. Take Hwy. 9 west to Hwy. 27 (which runs north out of Nobleton). Turn south and take the next left, which is Proctor Road (you will see a "Harvest House" furniture place on the east side of 27). As you approach the end of Proctor, turn right (south) just before the Schomberg Fire Hall. Park out of the way at the bend in the short gravel road. There is a gate, beyond which are three lagoons. The muddy perimeter of the first two ponds is best for shorebirds.
