On March 27th Lev Frid had an early PINE WARBLER singing at Kortright Kortright Conservation Area as well as several EASTERN PHOEBES and a FOX SPARROW. At the same location on March 31 Kristen Martyn had two EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, a N. FLICKER, and an early HERMIT THRUSH. Bill Thompson had an EASTERN MEADOWLARK singing outside the Schomberg Curling Club that same day. On April 2nd Craig Corcoran had some early TREE SWALLOWS at his property NE of Nobleton as well as a NORTHERN HARRIER; on April 7 he had his first SAVANNAH SPARROW - yet another "earliest date" recorded this spring.
A Saturday morning hike with Kevin Shackleton and Mike Van den Tillaart at the North Tract (Vivian Forest) yielded numerous PINE SISKINS and GC KINGLETS as well as a few singing BROWN CREEPERS this weekend. We also had our first-of-season YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, and - for the first time in ages - a NORTHERN GOSHAWK. On Easter Sunday I visited the Cawthra Mulock reserve in NW Newmarket and had more Siskins, GC Kinglets, and Creepers as well as a male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, a singing FIELD SPARROW (he has been here since March 25!), three EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, a NORTHERN HARRIER, and two male EASTERN BLUEBIRDS. York Region is directly north of Toronto, on the south side of Lake Simcoe. Ron Fleming, Newmarket _______________________________________________ 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/
