19 keen and tired travelers made it to the far corner of the province. 17 even joined me out for the long walk past the big tree in Fred's marsh looking for Yellow Rails after dark. But unfortunately after much searching we all had to agree the rails were not there. After a dry spring, the Rainy River area recently received alot of rain which raised the Rainy River and Emo lagoons quite high. This may have limited the mud, but we located 15 species of waterfowl and a Horned Grebe in the lagoons .
The trip started with a convoy of birders on the road and 2 Marbled Godwits playing hide and seek with us in an adjacent pasture. After a few minutes They noisily flew up and over us. Everyone on the trip were able to see and be entertained by the Sharp-tailed Grouse. On Sunday morning a group of 7 grouse entertained us as they appeared to be taunting a Coyote in an open field. Other Highlights: Western Meadowlarks, Black-billed Magpies were widespread across the fields Multiple Leconte's Sparrows and Connecticut Warblers. At Windy Point visit we had Yellow-headed Blackbirds, American White Pelicans and a Forster's Tern Multiple Whip-poor-wills were heard. On the the night of the 6th they provided the soundtrack for a large Northern Lights show. A pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers who made sure all were given stunning looks A couple of Bald Eagles nests. One of which was a massive nest which showed how strong White Pines are. Clay-coloured Sparrow, Brewers Blackbird, Bobolink, and Sandhill Cranes were widespread with many seen and heard daily misses: Yellow Rail, Piping Plover, Eared Grebe and Franklin's Gull Total species for the trip: 138 Thanks to all who attended. Tyler Hoar Thessalon/Oshawa _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
