[Ontbirds]Re: Grey County, Thornbury/Collingwood area

[Sarah Richer]

Hello from the Georgian Bay Shore;

I have noticed that there currently is relatively little coverage of the birding in this area, hope I can start a trend?

Saturday March 15 - at around 1:00pm, I spotted a COMMON RAVEN flying from north to south, between the Georgian Bay lakeshore and towards the ski hills approx. 5 minutes west of Collingwood along Hwy 26, and it was carrying a small bundle of twigs in its beak; nest building-season already!
On my way out of Collingwood heading west towards Thornbury, I spotted an adult-plumage BALD EAGLE soaring westward approx. 40 m high, around 5 min west of Collingwood along Hwy 26, at around 2:00pm. 

On a country drive that same day I drove a route described in a booklet available from the Owen Sound Field Naturalists called 'Birding the Beaver Valley', which begins:
- on Hwy 26, 1 km east of Thornbury; 
- head south on County Road 2
- turn east on David McNichol road; 
- take the first right turn (onto 7th line), and turn left on 21st sideroad (your first stop sign).

Here, from this corner to where it turns south into Fourth Line, each day since March 5 I have regularly and reliably spotted flocks of between 5 to 20 HORNED LARKS, SNOW BUNTINGS and small coveys of WILD TURKEYS that have been a regular sight on that drive for the past 10 days for me. However, the NORTHERN SHRIKE that I have also spotted quite regularly within this same stretch for the past two weeks was not there Saturday, nor yesterday afternoon; so winter resident is gone, and winter migrants are still coming through. 

Happy Birding as the weather gets warmer,

Sarah Richer


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