August 5 2018 (Sunday) Durham Region & Lake Ontario Marshes

Leader: Rayfield Pye, John Stirrat.

The holiday weekend and the promised heat may have lowered attendance but fourteen OFO members still had an enjoyable day at Cranberry Marsh and Darlington Provincial Park. Overall total was 46 species. Some of these as follows:

We started well with an Osprey fly over with a relatively large fish in its talons. Over on Hall's Road we had Wild Turkey and Gray Catbird.

The lack of water in the marsh cut down on waterfowl with only Mute Swans (on the lake), Canada Geese, Mallards and Green-winged Teal recorded. Warblers were limited to Yellow and Common Yellowthroat. The only sparrows were Song and Swamp. Eastern Kingbirds were the only flycatcher. Shorebirds were Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs.

Darlington gave us American Redstart, Red-eyed and Warbling Vireo, Baltimore Oriole, Cedar Waxwing, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, White-throated Sparrow, American Raven, Great Blue Heron, Northern Mockingbird, Chipping Sparrow, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers plus Northern Flicker.

The beach had a couple of Caspian Terns with the loafing Ring-billed Gulls but the hoped for remaining Piping Plover chick didn't make an appearance and is surely on its way to the Gulf Coast. A consolation prize for me was three Sanderlings on the beach.