After spending the last 2 weeks in Algonquin, my son and I thought we were going to miss our chance at the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near Monticello so yesterday we made the drive out in steady rain. We immediately met up with a birder from Caledonia (sorry didn't get your name) who said that the Scissor-tailed had been recently spotted flying past. The three of us walked well out past the rock cairn into the fields but the best we could find were Eastern Kingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, etc.. The other birder left and my son and I returned to the van to get our scope, thought we would at least get a good look at the waterfowl in the marsh. We stood on the slight rise in the path offshoot (just past the rock cairn to the left) and scanned the marsh while watching for the flycatcher for another 45 minutes or so. We then took one last walk on the path west and just as we were walking through the small tree line, the Scissor-tailed flew directly past us! It perched right in the open for a good 5-10 minutes, then flew further east, back close to the rise in the path. We had great looks, saw it catch and eat a very large dragonfly.
Steve McAllister SWIFT Birding Software www.swiftbirder.com Great directions (for those like us, coming from the east) from Ron Fleming's post are below: > From Orangeville, take Dufferin County Rd. 109 west to County Rd. 25, turn right/north through Grand Valley and continue north to County Rd. 15, turn left and go through the hamlet of Colbeck to the next hamlet (Monticello; about 5 km west of County Rd. 25). The wooden blind and laneway are about 300 m south of the intersection of County Rd. 15 and East Luther Sideroad 21/22, on the west side of this road. The blind is clearly visible from the road, and the laneway is just south of this. Follow the main path WSW past the gate until you get to the plaque (it is mounted on a sort of cairn), then walk west past the No Hunting signs to the north-south line of trees and bushes. _______________________________________________ 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/
