Saturday before Ernesto hit I birded the Oshawa Second Marsh-Darlington
Provincial Park area
Highlights
Oshawa Second Marsh
Waterfowl: 9 species including 46 Wood Ducks, 17 Gadwall, 2 American Wigeon
and 1 Northern Shoveler.
8 Pied-billed Grebes
34 Common Moorhens
6 American Coots
1 Sora
7 Green Herons
1 Merlin
large foraging flock of Chimney Swifts, Purple Martins, and 4 swallow
species.
A mixed flock of warblers and chickadees were moving east along the barrier
beach forest/shrubs. Knowing chickadees= warblers in the fall I waited in
the se corner of the 2nd marsh for the flock to pass. It paid off with 26
warblers(11 species) moving with 5 chickadees. Highlights: 1 Hooded, 1
Cerulean, and 1 Connecticut.
Next I walked the Barrier beach between McLaughlin Bay and Lake Ontario. Pre
storm there was an algae mat from McLaughlin Bay Nature Reserve into the
west end Darlington Provincial Park.
Highlights
Shorebirds: 22 Sanderlings, 1 Ruddy Turnstone, 8 Semi-palmated Plovers, 3
Killdeer, 9 Spotted, 1 Baird's, 2 Pectoral, 5 Least, and 32 Semi-palmated
Flybys: Little Gull 1 immature (east), 1 Parasitic Jaeger imm (east),
several Bonaparte's Gulls and Caspian Terns.
Foraging in the low vegetation along a beach line was an early Nelson's
Sharp-tailed Sparrow and alot of Yellow-rumped Warbler 50+
In the middle of the barrier beach is a clump of mature poplars. I decided
to check out McLaughlin Bay there and flushed a moulting female Australian
Shelduck. We surprised the @#@ out of each of other. Obviously an escapee.
also had an Osprey perched in the Willows along N side ofthe bay.
In Darlington Provincial Park I ran into a small chickadee/warbler flock
that gave me two more species for the day.
Then the rain came and I had a wet walk to my truck.
Tyler
Directions
Exit from the 401 at the harmony Rd. Exit(419) in Oshawa. Go south on
Farewell St. Colonel Sam Drive. Turn East onto Colonel Sam Drive and follow
to the parking lot at the GM Headquarters. Park in the west parking lot
close to the marsh. The east (GM) platform is visible from the NW corner of
the lot.
For a trail map of the Oshawa Second marsh area visit
http://secondmarsh.science.uoit.ca/ and check the link for a trail map of
the area.
