Last weekend Mike Van den Tillaart and I hiked the Oak Ridges Trail where it crosses Seneca College's beautiful campus in King City. We had our first WINTER WRENS of the spring singing from the swamp east of Keele Street as well as numerous GC KINGLETS, N. FLICKERS and a BROWN CREEPER. Four AMERICAN WIGEONS, one RING-NECKED DECK, and six BUFFLEHEAD were swimming in the sewage lagoon on the southern edge of the property and a BELTED KINGFISHER rattled past as we were watching the ducks. At least 40 TREE SWALLOWS were criss-crossing the southwestern edge of Lake Seneca and an OSPREY flew by carrying a fish in its talons. Several TURKEY VULTURES tilted by, as well as a COOPER'S HAWK and a local RED-TAIL. Craig Corcoran had an early-ish SAVANNAH SPARROW northeast of Nobleton last Saturday and his first CHIPPING SPARROW of the spring Wednesday. On Friday Gene Denzel had a BROWN THRASHER visit his Thornhill yard and, at nearby Uplands Golf Course, a singing FIELD SPARROW. I finally caught up to my first EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and SAVANNAH SPARROWS of the spring along Keele Street in Kettleby this morning. Later, my dog and I hiked around the Cawthra Mulock reserve in northwest Newmarket and found a good variety of birds including our first PINE WARBLERS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, and FIELD SPARROWS of the spring. There was also a WILD TURKEY calling from the creek valley, a PILEATED WOODPECKER flying over Bathurst, and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK flashing its white undertail coverts in a flight display. In the pond at Cawthra Mulock we counted 24 Painted Turtles and one huge Snapping Turtle. Kevin Shackleton had a pair of swans fly into Bogart Pond in southeast Newmarket Monday morning - he checked them out and as best he could tell, they were TUNDRAS. During his morning walks he has had CHIPPING SPARROWS in his neighbourhood this week and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS at Fairy Lake this morning. East of Aurora, Al Johnson's pond is hosting a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS that he hopes will use his nest box for yet another year. Ron Flerming, Newmarket York Region is north of Toronto and south of Lake Simcoe. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
