Hi All,
The shorebird species variety was quite good at the Mitchell lagoons this past
weekend as
reported by several individuals:
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE - 2 individuals in the same cell
Black-bellied Plover - 2 flocks of 6 and 8
Lesser Golden Plover - flock of 4
Stilt Sandpiper - flock of 5 along with 3 other individuals in other
cells
Baird's Sandpiper - 2
Long-billed Dowitcher - 1 adult in worn plumage
Solitary Sandpiper - 3
Semi-palmated Plover - flock of 5
Lesser Yellowlegs - 50+
Greater Yellowlegs - 10
Pectoral Sandpiper - flock of 30+
Semi-Palmated Sandpiper- 5
Least Sandpiper - 100+
Killdeer - 20+
There's lots of great shorebird habitat so we should continue to get a good mix
of species. Thanks to Matt Oswald, Eric Jefferies, Jason McQuire and Ev and
Doug Brown for passing along their sightings. :)
Other sightings of interest:
Bobolink - flock of 50+
Black Tern - 1
This is the 2nd sighting of this species this summer in
Mitchell
and according to my own records prior to these sightings
we hadn't seen Black Terns here in 12 years!!)
Northern Harrier - 1 adult female
Red-tailed Hawk - 1 juvenile and 2 adults...suspected they nested nearby this
year
Blue-winged Teal - 20+
Green-winged Teal - 10+
Wood Duck - 20+
Pied-billed Grebe - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Good Birding!
Dave J Brown
Mitchell, ON
thebrowns at ezlink.on.ca
Directions to Mitchell Lagoons:
>From the East (Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, GTA) - take Hwy 8 thru
Stratford heading west to first lights in Mitchell (Wellington St) and
turn left (south) and continue till you hit the "T" intersection at the
ball diamond. Lagoon cells are straight back behind the ball diamond
and soccer fields and the sewage treatment plant. You can go straight ahead
on the gravel and park next to the berm.
>From the London area....take Hwy 23 into Mitchell from the south and
just after you pass the "Welcome to Mitchell" sign...watch for Frank
St...go right on Frank St and head down over the bridge till you get to
the ball diamond (will be on your right). Again...the cells are behind
the ball diamond and soccer fields. You can go straight ahead
on the gravel and park next to the berm.
>From Southampton area....take Hwy 21, to Goderich and then Hwy 8 to
Clinton and down to Mitchell, turn south on Hwy 23 to Frank St. and turn
left on Frank St. and head over the bridge to the ball diamonds (which
will be on your right). You can go straight ahead on the gravel and park
next to the berm.
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Subject: [Ontbirds]BOS Shorebird Trip to Rock Point
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Eight of us headed west to Rock Point, got past the early morning downpour
occurring closer to Buffalo and were able to bird the rest of the day with
only occasional light rain. We spent quite a while at Rock Point as there
were a fair number of shore birds to cull through: Semipalmated Plovers, a
few Killdeer, many Least, Spotted and Semiplamated Sandpipers, a number of
Rudy Turnstones, Sanderlings and Short-billed Dowitchers, two Stilt and one
Baird's Sandpipers, a Red Knot and a very interesting peep which Sue
O'Donnell spotted and which, after much discussion and checking through
guides, was probably an adult Western Sandpiper in winter plumage. It was
very pale and grayish on the back, with several small dark scapulars, light
streaking on the throat and extending down the flanks a bit, black legs and
an appropriately shaped bill although rather small and short.
>From Rock Point we went to the lower Mosaic ponds and then to the Mosaic
office area where we just happened to meet Georg Madsen, the operations
superintendent, closing up the office. He very kindly opened the gate so
that we could access the upper ponds. There were many Yellowlegs there,
mostly Greater plus both Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal and a gathering
of Caspian Terns. Next we went to the sod farms and had about 40
Black-bellied Plovers and a few Horned Larks on the east side of Hutchinson
Road. On Poth Road there were may Killdeer on earthen areas and as we
started to check out the last large field north of the road (through the
trees) about a hundred plovers flushed into the sky and headed west. A
moment later we were able to see a young Peregrine Falcon hopping around on
the ground apparently eating insects! At any rate he cleared the entire
field, which is very big, of birds.
We then visited the Long Beach Conservation Area where we had two more Stilt
Sandpipers and many peeps; the east side of Morgan's Point where we added
another Stilt and Baird's Sandpiper plus a Pectoral; and Windmill Point
where we had two more Baird's and 3 Pectorals.
A very nice day with a total of 16 shorebird species. Noticeably absent were
Solitary and White-rumped Sandpipers.
Mike Hamilton
