Warm weather early this week brought an influx of birds to this area north of Toronto. Many of them may wish they'd stayed south for another week. TREE SWALLOWS arrived Tuesday morning, at least 30 of them strafing the western fields of the King City Campus of Seneca College. I observed another half-dozen along the canal in the Holland Marsh west of Newmarket on Wednesday. Other migrants observed at Seneca College on Tuesday were EASTERN MEADOWLARK, NORTHERN FLICKER, BROWN CREEPER, NORTHERN HARRIER, BELTED KINGFISHER, and several ducks including RING-NECKED, WOOD, BUFFLEHEAD, HOODED and CM. MERGANSER. Brian Ogden led me to a GREAT HORNED OWL nest on the college property. Later that same day, Peter Wukasch found another GHOW nest along Pumphouse Road in the Holland Marsh between Bradford and Newmarket. In Keswick, which is situated at the south end of Lake Simcoe, Michele Potter had the first BLUE-WINGED TEALs of the spring on Tuesday. they were in the pond that sits on the north side of Ravenshoe Road about 2 km west of Woodbine Avenue. Also present there were AMERICAN WIGEON, NORTHERN SHOVELER, numerous Canada Geese and some GREEN-WINGED TEAL. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE observed there last Friday and Saturday have NOT been reported since. At the bridge in River Drive Park (Holland Landing), Michele Potter had two pair of PIED-BILLED GREBES on Tuesday.
Ron Fleming, Newmarket York Region is directly north of Toronto, halfway to Barrie. _______________________________________________ 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/
