We are in the early days of waterfowl migration with both Canada and Snow Geese beginning to move. Today there was a report of up to 10,000 Snows migrating high downriver over Cornwall. There is currently open water from Iroquois west but there is none available on the Ontario side further east. That will change but not likely by the weekend. The Snow Goose movement today over Cornwall involved birds that will head into Quebec. Later others will follow and some of these birds may move around and return west once the river opens and fields become exposed.
The Seaway opens March 22 and in advance the Coast Guard icebreaker will open the shipping channel. That begins this weekend. All of the water along Cty Rd #2 from Upper Canada to Cornwall, except for a small area at Long Sault, is frozen and will have to melt. There is no access to the Long Sault Parkway. All regional water sources are frozen and there is still snow cover in fields but some corn stubble may show this weekend. In the early days of goose movement, areas from Iroquois to Cardinal usually produce results and could be checked this weekend. This has the potential to be an excellent year for Snow Goose observation once the river begins to open up further east because ice is a big attraction for the geese. The area east of South Lancaster at Westley Point will be a prime attraction. Brian Morin -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: birdnews@ontbirds.ca. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at birdn...@ofo.ca. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
