This afternoon at around 3 pm. Steve Wilcox discovered a flock of 11 plegadis ibis along the A concession just east of the hamlet of Erieview. Always eager to get away from the tedium of the computer screen, Jody Allair, Fergus Nicoll and I dropped things at the office and drove out to see them for ourselves. The birds were still there feeding right beside the gravel road in a wet roadside ditch. We watched them for about 20 minutes through our binoculars and telescope from about 100 yards. At that distance, all we could tell was that they were plegadis ibis with a mixture of adults and first-winter birds. While Jody and Fergus headed back to the office, I retrieved my camera from home and headed back to attempt to photograph the birds. When I arrived just after 4 pm., the birds were still in the ditch. Approaching slowly, I parked the truck on the opposite side of the road and waited to see if the birds would wander down the ditch towards me. Sure enough within 15 minutes they moved towards me, feeding all the way until all of them passed by me at about 30 feet. While I was photographing them as they leisurely fed beside me, I noticed that one of the birds was a rosier gloss with a slightly paler head. Looking through the viewfinder of the camera, I could see what appeared to be a red iris. While I couldn't be 100% certain of it on site, after examining the photos closely tonight, the eye is a definite ruby red and the skin in front of the eye has a pink cast to it. In addition, the pale lines that edge the facial skin of the basic plumaged Glossy Ibis are absent. I stayed with the birds until about 6 pm. when a passing car flushed them and they flew back to the edge of a nearby farmyard about 200 feet off the road. Steve Wilcox said that when he looked for them at dusk, they weren't in the ditch though they may have remained nearby or flown off to roost in the marshes to the south. To look for these birds, take Highway 59 south towards Long Point. The A Concession is the first road on the right south of the 1st Concession (still about 2 km north of the Long Point causeway). If you get to the flashing light at Hwy 59 and Regional Rd. 42, turn around and go back north one road. Travel west on the A Concesssion down through the Big Creek valley and continue west towards the hamlet of Erieview which is about 1 km. west of Big Creek. Just before Erieview, you will leave behind the weedy ditches on both sides of the road and come to a somewhat neatly mowed roadside ditch filled with water on the north side. The Ibis were feeding along this wet portion. Photos of the birds will be posted soon on the Long Point Sightings Board http://www.bsc-eoc.org/lpbo/sightings.html From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Oct 2 21:19:21 2006 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from BAYC1-PASMTP08.CEZ.ICE (bayc1-pasmtp08.bayc1.hotmail.com [65.54.191.168]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3395363C43 for <[email protected]>; Mon, 2 Oct 2006 21:19:21 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Originating-IP: [65.95.93.154] X-Originating-Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from VALUED7B9600FA ([65.95.93.154]) by BAYC1-PASMTP08.CEZ.ICE over TLS secured channel with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.1830); Mon, 2 Oct 2006 18:27:33 -0700 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Norman Murr" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "ONTBIRDS" <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 21:19:01 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2869 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2962 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 03 Oct 2006 01:27:34.0796 (UTC) FILETIME=[1A9CBCC0:01C6E68B] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds] Toronto Islands - LeConte's Sparrow, N. Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Orange-crowned warblers, etc X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2006 01:19:22 -0000
Good evening folks. Well today was another one of those days on the Toronto Islands, no birders (their loss) but plenty of birds and beautiful weather. Rather be working, Nah ! I arrived at Hanlans Point shortly after 8 am and started birding close to the ferry dock and as I was walking around Margaret Liubavicius got off of the next ferry boat and joined me for a very nice day of birding. The LeConte's Sparrow was at the southwest corner of the airfield fence on Hanlans in the morning and to end the day we found a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow behind the houses (in The Meadow) on Wards Islands, A nice pair of bookends, so to speak. The LeConte's gave a stellar view as it sat on the chain link fence for up to 2 minutes at a time. Nice little bird. Some of the other Birds seen on The Islands were Cooper's Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, 54 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, N. Flickers, 39 Eastern Phoebes, 6 Blue-headed Vireos, Red-eyed Vireo, Gray-cheeked Thrushes, Swainson's Thrushes, 31 Hermit Thrushes, Brown Creeper, 13 Winter Wrens, American Pipits, 6 Orange-crowned Warblers, Pine Warbler, Palm Warblers, A. Redstarts, 10 Sparrow Species including Song, 14 Lincoln's, 16 Swamp, Juncos, Sharp-tailed, LeConte's, and Field Sparrows. Of course both Kinglets and White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows were common. A great day. Directions:- TORONTO ISLANDS (Wards Island to Hanlans Point - without side trips is 5 km) To get to the Toronto Islands from Queen and Yonge Streets on the TTC. If your on the subway southbound stay on it and get off at Union Station, walk south about 1 km to the ferry docks at the foot of Bay Street at Queens Quay and you are there. If in an auto on the Gardener Expressway or on Lakeshore Blvd, then exit at Bay Street and drive south to Queens Quay, there are lots of parking lots nearby (fee). There is a fee for using the island ferries ($6.00 adult / $3.50 for seniors & students) and to find out the sailing times you can phone (416) 392-8193. There are washrooms on the islands as well as the city side at the ferry docks and you can pick up a schedule at the docks or check on line. The 1st boat to Wards Island (my preferred starting point) is 6:35 am and the 2nd is 7:00 am Monday to Friday. The 1st is at 6:35 am and the 2nd boat is at 7:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. The 1st boat to Hanlans Point is 8:00 am and the 2nd boat is at 8:30 am Monday to Friday. The 1st is at 8:15 am and the 2nd boat is at 9:15 am on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. If arriving in early am you must obtain your ticket from a machine just inside the gate so be sure to have $1.00 and $2.00 and/or 25 cent coins before you arrive at the docks as there is no place to get change and the machine does not make change. (There is a change machine there if you want to chance it). There are coffee shops across from the ferry docks in the building on the northwest corner and they are open early. food and beverages on The Islands when open are very expensive i.e. soft drink $3.00 plus. For a detailed ferry schedule check the following web site. Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON Sils mordent, mords les --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Eliminate annoying spam! My mailbox is protected by iHateSpam, the #1-rated spam buster." http://www.ihatespam.net
