Hi Ontbirders, Thursday evening and Friday morning, I was observing Great Egrets at Cranberry Marsh (at the east platform) and Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, east of Toronto. Thursday evening, from about 5:50 to 6:50 PM, there were 6 Great Egrets foraging in the little bit of water that is left in Cranberry Marsh. At 6:50 (sunset = 6:59), all 6 egrets left the marsh, flying to the east towards Lynde Creek. I walked over to the creek (about 400m), accessing its shoreline through some heavy bush, and located the egrets (7 of them) roosting in a shallow water area, just north of the largest island in the creek at 7:00. I continued watching until 7:05 and then left. Friday morning I arrived at the same observation point at 6:47 and within 10 minutes noted 7 egrets in the shallow water and 1 in a tree on the immediate shoreline. Six of the egrets left their water roost at 7:05 and the other 2 left by 7:12. I hiked back over to Cranberry Marsh and, sure enough, all 8 egrets were there foraging in the small puddle of water. As I have noted before, this is a wonderful example of how "closed" some of these foraging area-roosting site situations appear to be. I do not know if the egrets that are at Cranberry in the morning stay there all day but they would, at least, appear to return by late afternoon. There are traditional egret roosts along Duffin's Creek in the Ajax Rotary Park and at the mouth of the Rouge River, a few kms to the west, and, occasionally, at Oshawa Second Marsh to the east. If anyone has information on the number of egrets at any of these sites, I would love to hear about it. Many Thanks, Chip
Directions: From Hwy 401 in Ajax, take Salem Rd. South, go left (east) on Victoria Rd. Off Victoria Rd, Cranberry Marsh can be accessed in two ways. Go right (south) on Hall's Rd. toward Lake Ontario - there are two marked access points to the Marsh along Hall's Rd. The other way to access the Marsh is from the parking lot for the Lynde Shores Conservation Area, which is about a half km farther east (from Hall's Rd.) on the right. Hike down LaVey's Lane (there are maps posted near the parking lot) and follow it to the East Platform Observation Platform, which overlooks the marsh. To access Lynde Creek and potentially see the roost, follow a rough path that leads east from LaVey's Lane at the "Lara Ann (Gunter) Cole" memorial bench--- where the Lane abruptly switches from a North-South trail to an East-West trail. Once at the creek, follow a faint path south, looking to the north periodically to see if you can see any roosting egrets. Remember, they are only visible there during the first and last 20 minutes of each day!! _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
