Good evening all.
Today Ian Cannell and I went up to the Holland Landing Sewage lagoons to check out the shore birds and following is a list some of the birds we found there.
Green-winged Teal, many Mallards, 34 Wood Ducks, 1 Northern Harrier, 75 plus Killdeer, 9 Semipalmated Plovers, 75 plus Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 8 Solitary Sandpipers, 6 Spotted Sandpipers, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 32 Least Sandpipers, 1 Baird's Sandpiper, 7 Pectoral Sandpipers, 2 Stilt Sandpipers, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher, and 50 plus Bonaparte's Gulls.
Before we went to the sewage lagoons we went up to Hochreiter Road just north of the lagoons on Bathurst Street and following is a list of some of the birds we found there.
2 American and 1 Least Bittern, 2 Green and 6 Black-crowned night-Herons, Wood Ducks, Virginia Rail, 12 Common Moorhens, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfishers, Eastern Phoebes, and Marsh Wrens and at the end of Bathurst Street we saw 500 plus Bank Swallows on hydro wires along with 12 Purple Martins.
As usual, Ian was not finished after the sewage lagoons and we headed up to Tiny Marsh Northwest of Barrie and again we did alright as far as the birding went despite the fact that a lot of the breeding birds have departed to bunch up somewhere else before heading south. At the marsh we found a family of Common Loons including the adult and 2 juveniles, 12 Pied-billed Grebes, adults and juveniles, Least Bittern, Trumpeter and Mute Swan families, lots of Canada Geese and Wood Ducks, 2 juvenile and 1 adult Osprey, Merlin, American Kestrels, Common Moorhen, Sandhill Crane, 41 Lesser Yellowlegs migrating past, 1 Solitary Sandpiper, Black and Caspian Terns, Belted Kingfishers, Alder Flycatchers, Eastern Phoebes, Eastern Wood Pewees, Marsh Wrens, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireos, Indigo Buntings and 5 Purple Finches.
Another great day to be out with the bonus of good company and interesting birds.
DIRECTIONS:-
HOLLAND LANDING SEWAGE LAGOONS
From Yonge Street North of Newmarket and North of Regional Road 19 (Green Lane East) turn right onto Regional Road 83 (Holland Landing Road) and drive down the hill and then veer right onto Regional Road 51 (Yonge Street, yes Yonge Street) and then drive north past Doane Road to Cedar Street.
Turn right (East) on Cedar Street and drive to the and of the Street and park at the nice new silver gate.
Do Not Climb the gate or fence but walk along the path on the left to the first orange stake. Turn right onto the path at the stake and this path will take you the very short distance to the road to the sewage lagoons.
HOCHREITER ROAD
From Yonge Street North of Newmarket and North of Regional Road 19 (Green Lane East) turn right onto Regional Road 83 (Holland Landing Road).
Drive Northwest along Holland Landing Road to where it becomes Bathurst Street and veer right up Bathurst Street ( Regional Road 38 ) at Toll Road and then drive North past Queensville Sideroad West and watch for Hochreiter Road on the left or west side of Bathurst Street.
The road runs from Bathurst Street to the Holland River.
TINY MARSH PROVINCIAL WILDLIFE AREA
Exit Hwy 400 at Exit #98 in Barrie and drive northwest on Hwy 26 to Midhurst (Hwy 26 veers left or west here). Continue straight ahead on County Rd 27 (Yonge St. Rd) thru Elmvale to a Y intersection. Take the left hand road at the Y (County Rd 6) and drive north to 1st Concession Rd (Tiny Flos Rd). Turn left (west) here (there is a Tiny Marsh sign here) and drive about 2 km to the Tiny Marsh parking area on your right.
Alternate Direction to Tiny Marsh
Exit Hwy 400 at Exit #121 and drive northwest on Hwy 93 to Waverly. Turn left (west) here and drive along County Rd 27 to county Rd 6 where it becomes 1st Concession Rd (Tiny Flos Rd) and drive the approx. 2 km to the parking area.
