Hello:
Jim Evans spotted a Great-Grey Owl just before dusk last night in
the
Finn Hill area. It flew over his fathers yard which is on one of
the cul
de sacs off the east side of Lake St. north of Mcnabb St. This
area
borders the top of Finn Hill. For anyone passing through this area
Finn
Hill borders the Trans Canada route through town. If your
approaching
town from the east, Highway 17 becomes Trunk Rd. the route turns
right
at Black Rd. At the next set of lights you look to the NW and there
is
large hill (Finn Hill) popular for tobogganing. There is a little
parking lot to the left passed the lights.To find Lake St. you
would
turn left at Mcnabb Ste. and then right at the first set of lights.
If
you continue up Black Rd. a fair amount of suitable habitat can be
found
on both sides of the road. According to Jim this is a fairly
regular
area to find Great-Greys on influx years.
Kirk Zufelt
Kirk Zufelt
Sault Ste. Marie,Ontario
Canada
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Dec 8 10:09:18 2005
Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Delivered-To: [email protected]
Received: from zproxy.gmail.com (unknown [64.233.162.199])
by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B2B216405D
for <[email protected]>; Thu, 8 Dec 2005 10:09:18 -0500 (EST)
Received: by zproxy.gmail.com with SMTP id 16so29125nzp
for <[email protected]>; Thu, 08 Dec 2005 07:09:18 -0800 (PST)
DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws;
s=beta; d=gmail.com;
h=received:message-id:date:from:to:subject:mime-version:content-type;
b=hNmXWHzIUPXJh4/41wYl8oZV1zJSZnLPoyvucfkLOTKRidrwX1uF3lqpfDm1Y0vQgoaL8RsyIWybE7R+YkHw9l1z9nFVExzwCvJOXlMnfESJ8rUeqTmm0XILDjam/0ZkqDZkpzyZG9OMaa2RPsqrOLdCl92yPN6MoOzOk4rNwVA=
Received: by 10.36.32.4 with SMTP id f4mr1006286nzf;
Thu, 08 Dec 2005 07:09:18 -0800 (PST)
Received: by 10.36.100.13 with HTTP; Thu, 8 Dec 2005 07:09:18 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 10:09:18 -0500
From: Mike Boyd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailman-Approved-At: Thu, 08 Dec 2005 10:21:27 -0500
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Disposition: inline
X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1
Subject: [Ontbirds]Niagara and Fisherville Birds
X-BeenThere: [email protected]
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1
Precedence: list
X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 08 Dec 2005 15:09:19 -0000
Dear Fellow Birders,
Yesterday several birders from the University of Guelph and myself spent th=
e
day birding on the Niagara Penninsula. The highlights were the female
Harlequin Duck and two Common Loons at Niagara-on-the-Lake, at least one
adult of each Thayer's and Iceland Gulls, however two of each may have been
present. At the falls there was a 2nd year Iceland Gull and six
Double-crested Cormorants below the Falls and an adult Lesser Black-backed
Gull above the falls. Overall there was a lack of gulls on the river, no
Little Gulls were seen, very few white-winged gulls and virtually no Great
Black-backed Gulls, also the sandpipers above the falls were not seen
either. To finish off the day we headed off to the Fisherville Raptor
Preserve and got there at sunset and were treated to at least ten Northern
Harriers and seven or eight Short-eared Owls hunting over the preserve.
Directions: Follow the QEW to Niagara Falls and then transfer to Hwy 420 an=
d
follow this to the falls. From here you can follow the Niagara Parkway to
any of the named places above, with Niagara Falls being the first spot, the=
n
Adam Beck further to the north and Niagara-on-the-lake at the northernmost
end of the Parkway.
To reach the Fisherville Raptor Preserve follow Hwy 6 south of Hamilton to
Hagersville, then turn left on Reg. Rd. 20 and then a right onto Reg. Rd.
53, then a left onto Conc. 6.
Mike Boyd
Oakville, Ontario
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Dec 8 13:17:57 2005
Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Delivered-To: [email protected]
Received: from smtp.vianet.ca (smtp.vianet.ca [209.91.128.40])
by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id BB4E164C81
for <[email protected]>; Thu, 8 Dec 2005 13:17:56 -0500 (EST)
Received: (qmail 8936 invoked from network); 8 Dec 2005 18:17:55 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO ?66.186.79.67?) (66.186.79.67)
by smtp.vianet.ca with SMTP; 8 Dec 2005 18:17:55 -0000
User-Agent: Microsoft-Entourage/10.1.0.2006
Date: Thu, 08 Dec 2005 13:17:00 -0500
From: Ron Tozer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: ontbirds <[email protected]>
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Mime-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Subject: [Ontbirds]Algonquin Park Birding Report: December 8, 2005
X-BeenThere: [email protected]
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1
Precedence: list
X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 08 Dec 2005 18:17:58 -0000
Birder reports from Algonquin Park this week remained limited in variety
of species and numbers of individuals observed. Small lakes are
ice-covered, and the larger water bodies will soon follow. There is about
10-15 cm of fluffy snow on the ground along Highway 60.
In the Highway 60 Corridor, small groups of PINE GROSBEAKS are
being seen on the road, especially after sanding following plowing. A
flock of 55 COMMON REDPOLLS was noted at km 36 today.
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, PINE SISKIN, and up to 15 Pine Grosbeaks
have been observed at the Visitor Centre feeders (km 43) during the past
week. A small flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS had been coming to the
feeders, but they have not been recorded there in the last few days.
Yesterday, there were three PINE MARTENS feeding on black sunflower
seeds at the Visitor Centre feeders, at the same time. At least one was
was always present throughout the morning.
Birders seeking Algonquin's "boreal" species (Spruce Grouse, Black-
back Woodpecker, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee) in the Highway 60
Corridor should concentrate on the three traditional areas which usually
produce the best results: the Old Railway from Arowhon Road (km 15.4
on Highway 60) to West Rose Lake, Spruce Bog Boardwalk (km 42.5)
and Opeongo Road (km 46.3). You will have to walk beyond the locked
gate on Opeongo Road, and four-wheeled drive may soon be needed to
access the road south of the gate, which is currently unplowed.
On the East Side of Algonquin Park, a birder travelling the Barron
Canyon Road all the way to Lake Travers on December 6 observed
small flocks of PINE GROSBEAKS on the road, several large flocks of
COMMON REDPOLLS feeding on Speckled Alder, two flocks of
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, and several RED CROSSBILLS
(of the resident form, with medium-sized bills, that feeds on White Pine
cones). Seven SPRUCE GROUSE were seen at Lake Travers (km 70),
where Jack Pine needles comprise much of their winter diet.
Visiting birders (often scarce here!) are asked to report their sightings,
(including locations, numbers and dates) to me ([EMAIL PROTECTED]).
Information about recent sightings is available in the Bird Sightings
binder in the Algonquin Visitor Centre lobby, and from staff.
Directions:
Algonquin Provincial Park is three hours north of Toronto, via Highways
400 and 11 to Huntsville, and then east on Highway 60. Get a tabloid at the
gate when you purchase your permit (required if you are going use trails or
go to the Visitor Centre). The tabloid has a map for locating the sites
mentioned above. There are km markers along the highway, from km 0
at the West Gate to km 56 at the East Gate.
Feeders at the Algonquin Visitor Centre can be observed during weekdays
(8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.) by entering the building through the staff entrance
and asking permission from staff in the adjacent Friends of Algonquin Park
office. The Visitor Centre exhibits, bookstore and restaurant will be open
to the public on winter weekends, and daily from December 28 to January 1,
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Access to the Barron Canyon Road in Algonquin Park is via the Sand Lake
Gate, which is reached as follows: turn south off the Highway 17 bypass
onto County Road 26, at a point 3.5 km west of the Forest Lea Road (about
9 km west of Pembroke); travel 300 metres, then turn right at the Barron
Canyon Road and drive 26 km to the Sand Lake Gate. There are km markers
along the Barron Canyon Road (e.g., Sand Lake Gate is at km 18). The
Barron Canyon Road is open to public access all the way to Lake Travers (at
km 70.5), and is normally kept plowed during the winter.
Ron Tozer
Algonquin Park Naturalist (retired)
Dwight, Ontario
