E Mar 5

Trip Leader: James Turland

Participants: Fred, Bonnie, Judy, Margaret, James, Stewart, Norah, Beryl, Alice, Judith, Liz, Bruce, Doug and BJ, Jim, Judy, Kerry, Melitta, Connie, Beryl

HI Everyone,

Well, its been a tough winter on the birds this year, and we saw evidence of it, as we sighted some diving ducks dead on side of the road. In spite of the winter and the shortage of birds in our area, James led us on a great hike today with some exciting high lights. I enjoyed seeing the green head of the Greater Scaup again, This is difficult to see unless the light is just right and the head is turned the right way. We saw the return of a large number Horned Larks; these harbingers of spring, signalled that this winter is finally coming to an end. It was a wonderful sight to see. Another sign of spring was the Eastern Towhee that had returned, a little early perhaps, but there he was in all his glory for all of us to enjoy.

The temperature today was minus 7 C, sunny skies and the winds were generally calm.

We visited local feeders in the Kincardine area, the sewage lagoons, areas south to Point Clarke and the surrounding fields.

Birds seen were,

• Wild Turkey (WITU)

• Mallard (MALL)

• American Black Duck (ABDU)

• Redhead (REDH)

• Greater Scaup (GRSC)

• Long-tailed Duck (LTDU)

• Bufflehead (BUFF)

• Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA)

• Rough-legged Hawk (RLHA)

• Mourning Dove (MODO)

• Rock Pigeon (ROPI)

• Herring Gull (HEGU)

. Snowy Owl

• Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBWO)

• Downy Woodpecker (DOWO)

• Hairy Woodpecker (HAWO)

• Blue Jay (BLJA)

• American Crow (AMCR)

• Red-breasted Nuthatch (RBNU)

• Horned Lark (HOLA)

• Snow Bunting (SNBU)

• Eastern Towhee (EATO)

• Dark-eyed Junco (DEJU)

• American Tree Sparrow (ATSP)

• House Sparrow (HOSP)

• American Goldfinch (AMGO)

• Northern Cardinal (NOCA)

• European Starling (EUST)

Number of species seen - 27

Any errors or omissions, please contact sender