Hi Ontbirders: Just back from trying to view the Greater Snow Geese along the St. Lawrence River. As Brian Morin mentioned from his posting of yesterday, most of the geese have flown. All of the ice near Wesley Point is now gone so I guess the birds left with the ice. However, in travelling east along the South Service Road, just past where Third Line comes down to that road over the 401, there is a bay on the right and it was still frozen over. Taking a short unmarked dead end dirt road off to the right through a field towards the river, its possible to walk the last bit to the shore and have a view over the frozen bay. I roughly estimate there were up to 40,000 birds along the edge of the ice (at one point a large number flew up and I estimated that about 20,000 were in the air with about the same number still on the ice edge. They are distant from the viewing point (perhaps half a kilometre away). Still, a spectacular sight while they were wheeling in the air above the river. I saw no other snow geese anywhere along the river or in any of the fields driving to the site from Ottawa (Highway 417 east then south on County Road 34 to the 401).
Good birding Peter Hall Directions: To access this area from the 401 take exit 814 (Lancaster cty rd 34) go straight ahead and follow cty rd 2/south service road eastward. Drive east along this road past Third Line Road coming in from the north to where you can see a bay on your right still frozen. Take the short unmarked dirt road to the right to the end of the dead end then walk the very short distance to the edge of the bay. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
