Ontbirders, Today, at around 2.45 pm, I both saw and heard a single Fish Crow along the south side of Pittock Lake. The bird called a half dozen times [both single and double call-notes] and then flew west along the lakeshore, with two American Crows. I walked about a km west along the south side lake trail to see if I could re-locate the bird but it began to rain steadily and I turned back.
The Fish Crow was 1st seen about .5 km west of the Innerkip Road bridge and was last seen flying west towards the Lansdowne trail parking lot. If trying to re-locate, I would try this stretch of lake, especially along the exposed shoreline, although the bird could be anywhere in the vicinity. This is [of course] the 1st county record of this species and [to my knowledge] the only Ontario record any distance from the Great Lakes. If birds are truly moving inland from the lakes, they could well turn up anywhere in the future. Directions - a good place to start would be the Lansdowne parking lot. From Vansittart / Hwy 59, take Devonshire east to Lansdowne [four lights]. Turn left [north] on Lansdowne and follow the road to the lake and park in the lot at the road curve. Check the lakeshore and listen carefully anywhere in this area. Of course, the overwintering population of crows in the Woodstock area only numbers around 90,000, so it should be easy to re-find ;] Cheers, James Holdsworth, Biological Consulting Services 14 Marian St, RR#1 Woodstock, On, N4S-7V6 [519]537-2027 226-228-0093 [cell] [email protected] _______________________________________________ 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/
