Hi all!
I did get out to the lagoons this afternoon but unfortunately the first
one was now bone dry and devoid of any birds. The second held almost all
the shorebirds I saw to-day - clustered along the very limited edges between
rocky areas -
Least Sandpiper - 7, Semipalmated Sandpiper - 2, Baird's Sandpiper - 1,
Lesser Yellowlegs - 8,
Short-billed Dowitcher - 1, Solitary Sandpiper - 1, Semipalmated Plover
-1, Spotted Sandpiper -1.
I did not see/hear one Killdeer. There were also 4 female/juvenile?(not
showing much of a head).
The third lagoon, which held a large number of shorebirds a couple of
weeks ago, to-day had high water and contained only few Wood Duck and a
dozen Green-winged Teal.
I did not walk to the last lagoon as it too had high water, but saw
Spotted Sandpipers flying across it.
I had another hour to kill, so drove down Mollard Line and saw a female
Northern Harrier near Greenway Rd and about 20 Horned Lark - including a
couple that resembled Glenn Coady's in the August issue of Ontario Birds. I
walked the Riverside Trail, which was quite lively with Warblers -
Chestnut-sided - 5/6, Blackburnian - 4/5, Magnolia -3/4, Nashville
-2/3 and singles of Black and White, Canada and Common Yellowthroat. There
were also Baltimore Orioles, Cedar Waxwings a Red-headed Woodpecker and
Swamp and Field Sparrow. Pretty good half hour - I don't think I had a
better 1/2 hour this spring - which just says I had a lousy one.
Cheers! Maris
Directions : The lagoons are on Mollard Line about 1km west of Hwy#81, 1st
cocession sout of Grand Bend. If you drive past the lagoons to Greenway Rd.
and turn right you will come to Hwy #21 - turning left will shortly bring
you to the Pinery PP gates on your right.
Maris Apse - OFO SALES
10094 Red Pine Road, Box 22,
RR #2 Grand Bend ON N0M 1T0
(519) 238 - 8415
