Yesterday morning, between 0713 and 0715, I watched 18 Great Egrets disperse from their tree roost along Carroll's Point below the Woodlawn Cemetery in Hamilton. At 0708, from south end of the High Level Bridge, I noted 17 egrets visible in the trees below the cemetery close to the water's edge. At 0713, 12 of them left the roost en masse and flew to the west, towards Cootes Paradise. Over the next two minutes, 6 more egrets left in 1s and 2s, also flying to the west; obviously there was one additional egret roosting in the trees which wasn't visible to me at 0708.
Most Great Egrets will be leaving Ontario as November approaches. I urge those of you who have been monitoring and watching egret roosts to be vigilant during the next 2-3 weeks; please check your roosts 1-2 times per week and see if you can determine when your birds have left your roosts for good. I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks. J Chip Directions: From the intersection of the Queen Elizabeth Way and Hwy 403 in Burlington, take Hwy 403 West. Go past the exit for Hwy 6 North and take the next exit to the right (York Blvd?), go over the High Level Bridge and stop at the pull out immediately on the right. Then walk back to the south end of the High Level Bridge and scan the far shore (to the NE) looking for white spots among the trees. The egrets usually roost fairly close to the shoreline just due east of a large orange marker buoy in the water. It's best to be there at dusk and wait for 10-15 minutes for most of the egrets to arrive or about 30 minutes before official sunrise and wait for 10-15 minutes for them to disperse. Sunrise on Thursday was 0735. Good luck. _______________________________________________ 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
