[Ontbirds] Winter Wren, Short-eared Owls near Thickson's Woods, Whitby - directions

[Steve LaForest]

Ontbirders,
Sorry - my previous posting did not include directions.
 
Steve LaForest   stevelaforest at hotmail.com
 
Directions:
Thickson's Woods -
Exit Hwy 401 at exit #412, and go south.  Shortly before you reach the end of the road, you will pass William Smith Drive on the right (west) side.  Immediately past that, on the left (east) side is an unsigned road that leads to the entrance to Thickson's Woods.  The property is marked by a large green sign at this intersection.  Please use the turn-around as indicated and park on the north side of this road.
 
Waterfront Trail & Short-eared Owls site -
Just beyond the road into Thickson's Woods, Thickson Road veers off into a parking loop.  The Waterfront Trail heads west from that point, and the kestrel, harrier, and Short-eared Owls were seen to the west of there.


From: stevelaforest at hotmail.comTo: ontbirds at hwcn.orgSubject: Winter Wren, Short-eared Owls near Thickson's Woods, WhitbyDate: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 15:50:35 -0500


On Friday January 4 at Thickson's Woods in Whitby, I saw some interesting birds from late afternoon to dusk.  If you walk the road along the north side of the woods, down past the corner, you reach a beaver dam where Corbett Creek flows through a culvert under the road.  Near the dam, there was a SONG SPARROW and 2 SWAMP SPARROWS, along with several American Tree Sparrows.  There was also a WINTER WREN nearby.  It was calling loudly, and showed itself intermittently.  By backtracking about 20 m from the dam towards the woods, you reach a site where the tree cover on the southwest side of the road becomes more dense.  The wren was at the bottom of the slope here.  All of these birds were seen shortly before sunset. Proceeding into the woods at the marked pathway, the main trail leads to the bird sightings book.  Please record your sightings there.  There are two GREAT HORNED OWLS, both calling loudly at this time of day.  The most reliable spot to find one is a White Pine tree about 30 m due north of the bird sightings book.  A second owl was in a another white pine immediately south of that one.  Please stay on the trail while in the woods. Return to Thickson's Road, and follow the road into a parking loop.  Am AMERICAN KESTREL (male) and a NORTHERN HARRIER (female) were present just west of there in late afternoon.  At dusk, this has been an excellent site in recent years to find SHORT-EARED OWLS.  I walked the Waterfront Trail westward from 5:10 to 5:40 pm, and found up to 7 birds, perching and hunting the fields here.  In the darkness, it's hard for one observer to be sure of an exact count.  The birds are more concentrated at the trail end nearest the Thickson Road parking loop - there are few if any at the eastern end, near South Blair St.  Birds may be seen flying on both sides of the path, as well perching in the small trees, on the fence and sometimes on the large hills to the south.  Please do not disturb or harass either the Short-eared or the Great Horned Owls. Good birding, and sorry for the late posting.Steve LaForest  stevelaforest at hotmail.com

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