Hi y'all,
This afternoon I, spent an hour at Grand Bend beach(in shorts and
sandals) watching ~100 Bonaparte's Gulls wheeling/ fishing just offshore
(looking/hoping for something more exciting, such as a first winter Little Gull
that I saw off Pinery Beach access #3 on Friday). I got home @ 4:30 pm to find
a dozen Pine Siskins competing for nyjer seed on both feeders, which the Am.
Goldfinches considered their own for the last month. This morning there was a
very fresh Painted Lady butterfly nectaring on our potted blue Salvia/white
Impatiens (I even got a nice video clip).
To update anyone contemplating the OFO field trip hereabouts on Sunday
Nov 4 (on OFO website but not 2007 FT list - meeting @8:30 am at Sobey's
parking lot). Yesterday, I did a quick scouting run around the Pinery, Kettle
Point and GBSL.
The Ausable Bird Observatory will finish banding operations on Riverside trail
Nov 1st(Peter and Kevin showed me the most colourful Orange-crowned Warbler
I've seen - yesterday). I hope the Visitor Centre and the road to Burleigh
bridge (2 ad.+ 1 juv. Red-headed Woodpeckers, 2 E.Bluebirds here) will be open
but I could not get a definite answer- yet.
At KP I saw 1 Black Swan (2 have been seen here on and off since mid-Aug)
to the north of the rocks, plus 4 Am.Tree Sparrows(winter IS coming). Near the
south end of Lakeshore Rd were 4 ad. Sandhill Cranes (here Fri as well) and a
mixed flock of ducks including 2/3 Black Scoter.
All 4 lagoons have high water with great variety of waterfowl including ~
20 Am. Coot, 2 Canvasback, 6 Redhead, ~12 ea. Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked
Duck, M. and F. Bufflehead, loads of both Green-winged Teal and N. Shoveler but
I saw no grebes here (there were 8 Horned Grebes off Pinery Beach #3 on Fri). 3
Snow Geese flew out with the huge flock of Canadas, when a Cooper's hawk flew
over lagoon #3 (presumably the same that I saw at GB beach on Thu -2 blue,1
white.) A single Rusty Blackbird at the 2nd. lagoon and a Great Horned Owl in
the woodlot along the south edge rounded out my sightings, except for a
well-worn American Lady butterfly and a 'jet-fuelled' skipper as I left.
Cheers! Maris
Maris Apse 10094 Red Pine Road, Box 22, RR #2 Grand Bend ON N0M
1T0 (519) 238 - 8415
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