I stopped by Darlington Provincial Park this evening to for a quick look for shorebirds
On the central section of the beach there were the following
Sandpipers: 83 Least, 21 Spotted, 9 Semi-palmated, 13 Dunlin
Plovers: Killdeer 4, Semipalmated 2
If the small ponds remain on the beach and the birds are not excessively disturbed, the beach should get ALOT more shorebirds over the next 3 weeks.
Offshore lots of birds sitting on a flat lake
Loons: Common 22, Red-throated 6
1 Horned Grebe
5 Species of Gulls including Great Black-backed and Little
Waterfowl: 1200+ Red-breasted Mergansers, 420 long-tailed Ducks, 30+ Gadwalls( feeding on emrging midges offshore), 5 White-winged Scoters, 7 Bufflehead and 5 Common Goldeneyes
A 10 minute stop at the Oshawa Second marsh netted me 2 Black Terns, American Bittern, Sedge and Marsh Wrens
and a Sora
Direction:
Oshawa Second Marsh
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
www.secondmarsh.com and check the link for a trail map of
the area
Darlington Provincial Park borders the east side Oshawa Second
Marsh/McLaughlin Bay Nature Reserve.
To access the campground and park store area from the east.Take the Courtice
road exit from the 401 and follow the park signs. There is a small parking
lot at the gatehouse. Park here and walk the trail to the south. This will
take you into the campground area. The park store is just south of the main
office past the main gate.
