I drove up to Ravenshoe Road in SW Keswick this morning to see if any Snowy
Owls have arrived yet but had no luck in that department. Still, I did observe
a Northern Shrike and a male Northern Harrier. The vegetable fields in the
western stretches of Ravenshoe Road are wide open and windswept, offering lots
of good hunting territory for Snowies when they do come down. At the western
terminus of Ravenshoe Road there is a forlorn extension of Yonge Street that
runs south for about 2 kms. It is a far cry from the bustling thoroughfare
that most people picture when they hear the name but, for birders who still
venture out on winter days, it can be productive for winter birds.
Returning from the desolate parts of Yonge and Ravenshoe I glanced north toward
Cook's Bay and saw two white objects in the field just west of the swamp near
Bruce Street. Thinking they would likely be gulls I almost passed by but,
fortunately, decided to take one last look before heading home to
Newmarket. Turns out they were the white heads of two adult Bald Eagles
sharing some prey in the field just behing property #760 (Green emergency sign;
green maintenance bldg).
In Holland Landing I observed another male N. Harrier and, in my own
neighbourhood, near Bathurst and Davis, a Sharp-shinned Hawk. York Region is
directly north of Toronto, about halfway to Barrie. Keswick sits on the
southern end of Lake Simcoe.
Ron Fleming, Newmarket
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