The movement of mostly Greater Snow Geese has temporarily calmed. The main flight left a week ago and flocks that held back have been a few thousand here and there in areas north of the St. Lawrence. We could see some geese retrace their flight from Quebec back into Ontario in the next week or two. We may also see a small flight (several thousand) of Lesser Snow Geese which are usually a couple of weeks after the Greaters move in. These flocks have a much higher percentage of blue morphs than the Greaters. They offen show up first around Chesterville in fields along the South Nation River.
Lake St. Francis east of Lancaster is open and will serve as a night roost for birds that are feeding in corn fields north of Lancaster up to Green Valley on Cty Rd 34. Later the birds will mostly head to the Ottawa River. With milder weather this weekend, flooded fields in areas east of Bourget along the Cobb Lake Creek floodplain and along the South Nation River north of St. Isidore will be worth checking. Up to now they have been largely frozen. Other flooded fields may also be attractive to geese and puddle ducks like Pintails and early Green-winged Teal. There is little snow left in fields near the St. Lawrence compared with areas north of Hwy 417. Brian Morin _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
