Good Morning
Yesterday Ian Cannell took Peter Beesley and me up to bird the Carden Alvar area and during a nice warmish day we had some nice birds.
PS - Peter Beesley is the English friend of Ian's who was with us on Wednesday when Ian found the Kirtland's Warbler, I had omitted his last name in my post.
At Carden besides the common E. Kingbirds, Bobolinks, and E. Meadowlarks we found Common Loon, American Bitterns, TV's, Broad-winged Hawk, N. Harriers, Ospreys ( including nests ), Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey ( on the way home ), Virgina Rails, Soras, Common Moorhen, Sandhill Cranes, A. WoodcockS, Wilson's Snipe ( including 6 to 8 of them perched on fence posts ), Upland Sandpipers, Common Nighthawks, Y-b Sapsuckers, Least and Great Crested Flycatchers, Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos, Cedar Waxwings, E. Bluebirds, Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Loggerhead Shrike, Red-breasted Nuthatches, House and Winter Wrens, Horned Lark, Purple Finch, Golden-winged, Nashville, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated blue, and Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ovenbirds, N. Waterthrushes, Swamp, White-throated, Vesper, Grasshopper, Savannah, Chipping, Field, Song and Clay-colored Sparrows, E. Towhees, Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, and Baltimore Orioles plus the more usual birds up there.
We also had two very interesting sounds and sights. As soon as I opened the car door and stepped out at the Sedge Wren parking area a very loud growling Black Bear sounded off and again repeated the growl a few minutes later but that does not stop birders :>)). On the way up Wylie Rd north of the Sedge Wren Marsh Peter spotted an animal on the road ahead and after putting our binoculars on it we discovered a Red Fox coming towards us carrying a large Snowshoe Hare ( Varying Hare ) in it's jaws. The Fox came within 50 yards of the car before heading into the brush.
Directions:-
CARDEN ALVAR INCLUDING WYLIE ROAD / THE SEDGE WREN MARSH / PROSPECT ROAD
Wylie Road is north of Kirkfield in Victoria County and Kirkfield itself is on County Road 48 east of Highway 12 and well north of Whitby and about 130 km from Toronto if you follow the roads and not a Crow.
From the centre of Kirkfield go north on County Road 6 passing under the Lift Lock on the Trent Canal and drive about 2
