Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 I had an "Oregon" Junco beneath my feeder here in Paris today. I'm not sure how often they are seen in this area but it's the first one I've seen in Ontario.

 Regards,

Harold Stiver
Paris, Ontario
hstiver@home.com
 
 

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 This morning at my bird feeders I had the following interesting birds:
 
 

• Evening Grosbeaks - 20+
• Pine Siskins
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Hairy Woodpecker

The usual suspects of course:
Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy, Goldfinches, house finches, etc.

 Hopefully, we will see an influx of northern birds this year!

Scott Fairbairn
RR2
Ingersoll, Ontario
N5C 3J5
sfairbai@netcom.ca
 
 

Unmistakable European Goldfinch at our tube feeder today, sharing with the American goldfinch, and behaving like it was one of them. Looked just like the picture in Peterson.

 We have also had chickadees, juncos, cardinals (two pairs), white-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, pine siskins, American tree sparrows (maybe only one), a passing yellow-rumped warbler (I think - fall plumage!), robins, grackles, a cowbird, house finches, one (and only one) house sparrow, a red-winged blackbird, as well as daily hordes of low-flying blue jays. Not only the European goldfinch today; also a common redpoll and half a dozen evening grosbeaks. The only other place we have ever seen evening grosbeaks is Mount Carleton Provincial Park in NB.

 We live on a country property with mature trees on 5th Side Road, just east of Trafalgar Rd, between Milton and Georgetown. We have a chalet feeder in black sunflower, a tube feeder in niger, a suet block, and a tray in millet, very popular with the juncos.
 
 

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 Hello Ontbirders,

This report comes from Chris Mitchener who lead a very successful OFO trip to Westmeath Dunes, near Pembroke on Saturday 2 October.

 Birds and Beach in Westmeath PP - October 2, 1999

 Westmeath Provincial Park is a rare landform in Renfrew County and in Eastern Ontario being a large sand spit, enclosing Bellow's Bay. Migrating birds respond to this rare habitat by munching the 60 acres of wild rice in the bay and disappearing into the reeds, sedges and grasses on the mile of wild sand beach. Ducks fly over constantly, making a bee-line for the rice. Great Blue Herons patrol the flooded vegetation at the edge of the Ottawa River as there are thousands of young Leopard Frogs, both green and dark morph, hopping about.

 A dozen birders met at the Westmeath Municipal dock with expectations of seeing a lifer, the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (NSTS). It was chilly and calm, perfect Autumn birding weather. We left in a line of cars heading for Sand Point Rd. and the beach just west of the provincial park. When we arrived, we were surprised to see a beautiful Trumpeter Swan. This unbanded bird, most likely the offspring of the introduction program in southern Ontario, had the straight culmen, the white 'V' of the forehead feathering where it met the bill and the pink bottom lip. It is the first occurrence for the Pembroke Birding Area.

 Flushing sparrows from the beach vegetation is one thing...identifying them is another. It took practice before we all had good looks at the NSTS. They appear light gray when flushed, lighter than the Song, Swamp and Savannah sparrows, also seen, and some reported seeing a yellow wash on the throat area when flying. Their tails are hard to see as they don't make a big production of pumping them, and because they are shorter. A lifer for some, Ontario birds for others, but a treat for everyone as their presence was exhilarating.

 Forty-one species were observed during the outing, including Brant, Gadwall, White-rumped Sandpipers, Lapland Longspurs, Rusty Blackbirds, Pine Siskins and many American Pipits. Thank you to the birders who ventured from many places in Eastern Ontario and who made the trip a social success.

 Chris Michener
Golden Lake, ON
 
 

Jean Iron
President, Ontario Field Ornithologists
9 Lichen Place
Toronto, Ontario M3A 1X3
Canada
jeaniron@globedirect.com

Web Page: www.interlog.com/~ofo

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 It seems obvious but thought it worth reminding folks that if the Common Crane has left Quebec it's route will almost certainly take it over some part of Ontario. All cranes found in southern Ontario for the next little while should be checked carefully.

 Mike
 
 

Gord, the Canada Geese are moving South now. Have seen a line of them over the passed couple of days. I live in Southern Ontario.
 
 

Hi - I have just found your web-site. Would like to report a sighting of a pair of wild turkeys near our farm in a wooded area near the Irvine Creek, just north of Fergus. Saw these at dusk about a week ago.
 
 

I continue to be impressed by the number of birds singing along the backroads in this area. This morning I followed Nassagaweya First Line all the way up from Sideroad 10 to Sideroad 25. The most productive area was a couple of kilometres north of Sideroad 10. At one spot, I had four species of sparrow singing - Field, Savannah, Song, and Chipping. At least two, and possibly four Indigo Buntings were at this same location, plus White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Downy Woodpecker, and several other common species - and all this from the car!

 On the outskirts of Guelph itself the bird life is also quite lively. A walk along the south side of the Eramosa River east of Victoria in the mid-afternoon produced another 4 singing male Indigo Buntings, a female Baltimore Oriole, and at least a dozen each of Eastern Kingbird, American Goldfinch, Cedar Waxwing, and Black-capped Chickadee. There were a few warblers around as well, but they were too elusive for me to identify.

 Good birding,
 
 

Hi Gord,

 Over the past several days, I've been exploring many of the backroads between Campbellville and Guelph, and in the process have come across a number of interesting birds. Many of these roads pass through a lot of good bird habitat, and are also very lightly traveled, making it easy to drive slowly and scan for birds.

 One of the best roads has been the Nassagaweya 4th Line (the first north-south road east of Guelph Line, accessible by taking Guelph Line north from Hwy 401, then turning east/right on Sideroad 10). A couple of kilometres north of Sideroad 10, there is a small wetland, where a Ruby-throated Hummingbird was feeding on jewelweed on Wednesday (Aug. 4) morning. Both on Wed. and yesterday (Aug. 7) there was a beautiful male Common Yellowthroat right out by the road at this location. A White-breasted Nuthatch was also heard calling yesterday.

 Further north on Nassagaweya 4th Line, just south of Sideroad 15, I was surprised to find a female Purple Finch standing in the middle of the road on Aug. 4. A couple of kilometres to the north of Sideroad 15, there was an Alder Flycatcher singing to the west. Other species seen along Nassagaweya 4th Line on both days include Kingbird, Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Great Blue Heron, Goldfinch, Barn Swallow, and Song Sparrow.

 Another productive road is the Nassagaweya 1st Line (the second north-south road west of Guelph Line). South of Sideroad 25 there was another Alder Flycatcher singing yesterday morning, and in the cedar lowlands north of Sideroad 25 I was surprised to hear a Winter Wren in full song, also on Aug. 7.

 Further west again, Watson Road (Wellington Road 46) has had a couple of good birds as well. On both days, there was a male Indigo Bunting singing from the wire by the side of the road just a few hundred metres north of Wellington Road 37. Up near the intersection with Stone Road, there have been 2 male Bobolinks.

 Another area of interest is along the Nassagaweya-Puslinch Townline south of Wellington Road 37 / Halton Sideroad 30. The terrain here is somewhat rolling, and the vegetation rather sparse, and it looks to me like it would be suitable habitat for species such as Eastern Bluebird, Upland Sandpiper, Grasshopper Sparrow, etc. Although I didn't spot any of these species this week, it's of course not the best time of year to be searching for them. I will try to remember to make an effort to come here and look next spring. In the meantime, I would appreciate hearing from anyone who is familiar with the breeding birds of this particular area.

 Good birding,
 
 

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 There are 2 Trumpeter Swans on the Severn River 1 km downstream from lock 42 (west of Hwy 11). Neither swan has tags or bands.
 
 

April 18, 1999

 An early evening stop at the viewing platform on the north side of the Wildlife Area gave us several excellent views of a pair of SHORT-EARED OWLS. The pair were actively hunting the grasslands around the dykes and ponds. They even responded to our mouse squeaks and squeals.

 Other birds seen included MALLARDS, WOOD DUCK, RINGED-NECKED DUCK, HOODED MERGANSER, Am COOTS, RED-NECKED GREBE, GREAT BLUE HERON, Am KESTREL, TUNDRA SWANS (12), Am WIDGEON, GADWALL, BUFFLEHEAD, and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS

.

April 18, 1999.

 A rainy afternoon provided us with some interesting birds in Grey and Morris Townships. I was up to scouting out a BBS route in the area.

There were WOOD DUCK and MALLARD at the bridge in Jamestown, COMMON MERGANSER, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, and FIELD SPARROWS along the Middle Maitland River northwest of Brussels.

 The best area for birds were the pasture lands along CTY RD 25 east of Walton. These fields held a very pale NORTHER ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, 6 RED-TAILED HAWKS, CANADA GEESE, MALLARDS, DUNLIN, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS.

 The rain helped us out!
 
 

Hi Gord,

 At Mountsberg Conservation Area late this morning, the highlight was an Osprey on the nesting platform nearest the main parking lot. Also visible in this area were 12 Ring-necked Ducks, 25 Tree Swallows, 8 Common Mergansers, and 1 female Hooded Merganser.

 At the north end of the Mountsberg Reservoir (accessible by driving north from the main entrance), there were a further 52 (!) Ring-necked Ducks, as well as 3 Pied-billed Grebes, 1 Coot, and a pair of Hooded Mergansers.

 Good birding,
 
 

During a trip to the Grand Bend area today, most of the swans were located to the north of the village.

 A field 1.4 kilometres west of Dashwood on Highway 83 had several thousand swans in it, while thousands more were located at the corner of Kippen Road and Blackbush Road north of Grand Bend. I believe those roads are located in Hay Township, but it may be the next one municipality north.
 
 

Hi,

 Just wanted to mention that four trumpeter swans are at the Narrows Locks causeway north of Crosby, ON (about 40 min. from Kingston ) There are 2 adults that are paired and an immature bird, as well as another adult (or sub-adult; there still is a bit of grey on it)

 I've had a good flock (75) of snow buntings and two pairs of horned larks at my feeders here north of Gananoque for about a week - although today (Sunday) the snow buntings were down to about twelve.
 
 

Hello Folks

 Better late then never! My name is Jeremy Inglis and I am VC of the Bancroft Field Naturalists Club. We are a young club (~1.5yrs) and perhaps have some learning to do with respect to formal reporting and links to other clubs and organizations such as yours. However, these things come with time. Anyway, I would like to report the results of the Second Annual Bancroft CBC to you-I just purchased this PC about a month ago and still have lots to learn but I'll give it a whirl.

 Count Date: December 28, 1998
Participants: Ten participants broke up into 4 teams covering NE,SE,SW and NW quadrants within an approximate 15 km radius of Bancroft. We also had 6 feeder watchers report observations.
Weather: Sunny, occasional cloudy periods, temps ~ -2C.
Results: We considered the count very successful considering the small number of participants. The AM was most successful with much bird activity and vocalizing. Total number of species for the day was 33. Below are species and number observed.
 
 

• Black-capped Chickadee-471
• Blue Jay-233
• Evening Grosbeak-98
• Pine Grosbeak-10
• Pine Siskin-6
• White-winged Crossbill-34
• American Goldfinch-501
• Purple Finch-301
• Tree Sparrow-70
• Snow Bunting-387
• Red-breasted Nuthatch-39
• White-breasted Nuthatch-10
• Downy Woodpecker-15
• Hairy Woodpecker-12
• Black-backed Woodpecker-1
• Pileated Woodpecker-5
• Junco-17
• Brown Creeper-1
• Grey Jay-19
• Crow-37
• Raven-122
• Starling-109
• Golden-crowned Kinglet-23
• Bohemian Waxwing-290
• Cedar Waxwing-31
• Mourning Dove-9
• Rock Dove-78
• Ruffed Grouse-14
• Northern Shrike-1
• Red-tailed Hawk-2
• Northern Goshawk-2
• Bald Eagle (imm.)-1
• Common Loon-1

The loon was a surprise- it managed to find a piece of open water in Baptiste Lake. Other highlights were the waxwings which were observed in one area near Albion Lake where they were feeding on Winterberry and possibly High-bush Cranberry. The bald eagle was seen in a deer yard north of Baptiste Lake where they are observed quite regularly, particularly where wolf-killed deer carcasses exist.

 Well, those are the highlights. I did not know if I should "post" these results or pass them on to you two-I obviously chose the later. I will leave it up to you as to if and what you may want to pass along to others. If you have any questions concerning the results or anything else in the Bancroft area please contact me at the email address below.

 Very Much Enjoy Your Web sites
 
 

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 There are two Varied Thrush coming to a feeder in the hamlet of Harlem, Ont. While the female has not been seen for two days, the male is coming regularly. The best time is from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM but they have been seen from time to time during the day.

 Directions; take the 401 to Kingston and then go north on Hywy 15 for 58 km which will bring you to the outskirts of the town of Portland and a road on your right called Harlem Rd. Take Harlem Rd for 7 km and you will come to the "Cripps" home. There is a number of feeders in front and a cemetery just past on your right.

 Mrs. Cripps has stated that she wishes to share these birds with as many people as posible and to knock at the front door and she will let you in to the living room where you can wait and watch in comfort. She told me that if anyone is standing within reasonable viewing range outside, the birds will not come to the feeders.

Please sign the guest book before you leave.

 The male showed up four times yesterday. when I was there, between 8:00Am and 9:00 AM
 
 

Hi - we saw a bluebird two days ago near our house on our farm north of Georgetown. Is this unusual?
 
 

Did I miss the onset of spring? Sunday, January 24, 1999 delivered twenty robins to my Georgetown(west of Toronto) Ontario backyard.
 
 

 Providing raisins, berries, currants will help to sustain the Robins for the winter.

 Gord Gallant .... gallantg@interlog.com

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 Saw the gray partridge today,on the concession road "behind" the Brantford airport--I believe it's Green St.They were on the road at the corner of Green and Robinson? Robertson?. The family in the home at that location have been feeding them regularly and are birder-friendly. The feeder behind their house has been extemely active recently, with many Snow Buntings and Horned larks.
 
 

Hi Gord,

 Yesterday and today I spent much of the day at Mountsberg Conservation Area near Campbellville. Yesterday, with the cold wind blowing, very few birds were active. The highlight was two or three Snow Buntings which I saw circling the parking lot on a few occasions throughout the morning and early afternoon.

 Today birds were much more active. Around the visitor centre there were Juncos, Tree Sparrows, and a few Blue Jays, as well as a flock of 9 Am. Goldfinches. Closer to the raptor centre there were a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches and Golden-crowned Kinglets in the trees, mixed in with a large group of chickadees. Further down, near the elk enclosure, there was a Brown Creeper, again in the company of several chickadees.

 I made two brief stops along the lakeshore on the way to Mountsberg this morning. At Guelph Line, there were a few Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye, but nothing else. However, just to the east at Sioux Lookout, there was a Harlequin Duck close to shore, along with 1200+ Scaup (difficult light as I was looking toward the sun, but all that I could see clearly were Greater), and some more Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and a few RB & Common Mergansers.

 Good birding,
 
 

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 Several flocks of Gray Partridge have been reported over the past week in and around the Brantford airport which is west of Brantford along highway #53. One flock was around the airport administration building, they have also been seen along the first east-west road on the north side of the airport and also along the west side of Rest Acres Rd. (no. 24) behind the hydro sub station about 1/2 mile north of no. 53.
 
 

Sighting reports originating from the ONTBIRDS mail server network are repeated courtesy of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

 Here is a quick summation of the Woodstock CBC:

 51 Species in Total (lowest in 10 years)

 Highlights:
 
 

• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
• 10,000+ Crows (New High)
• 5,000+ Ring-Billed Gulls (New High)
• 8 Greater Black Backed Gulls
• 8 Gadwall (New High)
• 5 Green Wing Teal (New High)
• 10 American Robins (New High)

Record numbers of Canada Geese were also observed. Highlight of count was a mourning dove huddled up to an American Kestrel with a mouse (I guess the silhouettes really do look alike!)
 
 

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