Good afternoon yall.
Today I am home early for once and despite that Frank Pinilla and I had a pretty good half day.
We started out in the dark with October winds and temperatures at Big Creek Marsh and in between the calls and songs of Bull and Green Frogs, 75+ Marsh Wrens, 25+ Swamp Sparrows and many Tree Swallows and Purple Martins we were able to pick out the calls of a Pied-billed Grebe, 5 American Bitterns, 3 Least Bitterns, 2 Sandhill Cranes and 9 Common Yellowthroats. We also saw Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal and Willow Flycatchers.
Thanks to the cool wind we encountered relatively few mosquitoes on the marsh but be not fooled. If it ever warms up again they will be out in full force both at the marsh and in the wood lots, especially the woodlots.
After daybreak we moved off inland to some woodlots and here in the shelter (from the wind but not the cold) we found a few more nice birds including the following.
A pair of Wood Ducks with 7 half grown kids, 2 Broad-winged Hawks in display flight together, Wild Turkey, 6 Yellow-billed Cuckoos (seems to be a good year for Cuckoos), Eastern Screech-Owl, 5 Woodpeckers species (we missed Sapsucker) including Red-bellied, Hairy and 4 Pileated Woodpeckers, Eastern Wood Pewees, 8 Great-crested Flycatchers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Winter and House Wrens, Eastern Bluebirds, Veerys, Wood Thrush, many Red-eyed Vireos, 13 Warbler species including Blue-winged, Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, 7 Pine, Prairie, Black-and-white, Prothonotary, 11 Ovenbirds, 7 Hooded, and 2 Louisiana Waterthrushes, Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Eastern Towhees, 15 Chipping Sparrows and Bobolinks.
Most of the woodland birds were on their breeding grounds and some in endangered species areas (pedestrian traffic only) where you must tread softly as it is not only some of the birds that are endangered.
After the woodlot tromping we started for home and on the way Frank stopped on Greens Road on the west side of the Brantford Airport as frank read that Upland Sandpipers were seen here. We parked on the side of Greens Road and soon were enjoying 2 Upland Sandpipers in flight over the west runway as well as a couple of Eastern Meadowlarks, 3 Horned Larks, and a fair number of Bank and Tree Swallows Also heard here beside the road was a singing Grasshopper Sparrow.
Another great day to be out.
DIRECTIONS
BIG CREEK MARSH
Big Creek Marsh at Long Point is southwest of Hamilton, directly south of Port Rowan. To reach it you can drive south on Hwy 6 from Hamilton, passing through Hagersville and turning right, west in Jarvis onto Hwy 3, drive to Simcoe and turn left, south on Hwy 24 and follow this to Hwy 59, ( it curves to the west south of town) turn left, south on Hwy 59 and drive right down about 8 km and past the golf coarse and you will be on the causeway.
Drive on across the bridge and continue along the road until you see a gravelled parking lot on your right. Park here and go up onto the dyke where there is a viewing platform and the marsh is right in front of you. Another viewing platform is several hundred yards to your left and if the gate on your right is open (as it is now) then you may want to walk the whole loop watching and listening.
BRANTFORD AIRPORT - GREENS ROAD
Exit Hwy 403 at Hwy 24 South (9 km west of Hwy 24 North when coming from the east). Drive south on Hwy 24 to Robinson Rd and turn left (east) on Robinson (the airfield is on your left) and drive to Greens Rd. Be sure to watch all the areas along the roads encircling the airfield and at the derelict aircraft at the entrance to the airport.
