9:15 am .. Pringle Ave. Markham Estimated count of 130 Bohemian Waxwings . Flock was calling and perching in Red Maples and Black Pine, feeding on nearby crabapples and drinking meltwater from melting snow on house roofs. Pringle is north of Hwy 7, east of Markham Rd/Main St/Hwy48, West of 9th Line Thanks to Stan Long for the synopsis of the apple trees of this area! (It's amusing to watch some of the birds trying to swallow whole apples a wee bit too big for them!) Cheers - good birding. Yves On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 3:34 PM, Stan Long <stan.long@sympatico.ca> wrote: > > 3pm - 13.03.13 - my conservative estimate of a few minutes ago is that a flock of between > 300/400 Bohemian Waxwings are feeding on small apples with which many of the trees that > grow within this complex are loaded - under my nose at my front door they are feeding on > juniper berries - they replace a large flock of American Robins seen this morning. > This is a roaming flock and it should be noted that this area of Markham bordered by > Hwy 407 to the south, Markham Road to the West, Ninth Line to the east and Sixteenth > Avenue to the north contains a multitude of residential streets heavily planted with the > variety of apple trees that grow very small fruit. As winter progresses this fruit shrinks to > a size that can be swallowed whole by some bird species, the fruit as it matures also be- > coming more nutritious with a buildup of vitamins - there is one Japanese species that > owing to this increase in vitamin content is poisonous to children - though this species was > banned as a street planting 20/30 or so years ago in Toronto. > > Stan Long > > _______________________________________________ > ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. > Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca > For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ >

 This is a roaming flock and it should be noted that this area of 

At about 12:40 I saw a small flock of about a dozen Bohemians flying at speed on Hamilton Hall Road, which runs parallel to Pringle, one block south (and my first grackles of the season) but a slow drive through the neighbourhood did not reveal any more. Hamilton Hall Road runs east off Wooten Way, a short block north of Highway 7. Further north on Wooten Way there is a small park on the east side that has hosted flocks of American Robins this winter, but I found nothing there now. Barry Barry Kent MacKay Bird Artist, Illustrator Studio: (905)-472-9731 http://www.barrykentmackay.ca mimus@sympatico.ca Markham, ON -----Original Message----- From: ONTBIRDS [mailto:birdalert-bounces@ontbirds.ca] On Behalf Of yves scholten Sent: March-14-13 11:14 AM To: birdalert@ontbirds.ca Subject: Re: [Ontbirds] Bohemian Waxwings - Markham 9:15 am .. Pringle Ave. Markham Estimated count of 130 Bohemian Waxwings . Flock was calling and perching in Red Maples and Black Pine, feeding on nearby crabapples and drinking meltwater from melting snow on house roofs. Pringle is north of Hwy 7, east of Markham Rd/Main St/Hwy48, West of 9th Line Thanks to Stan Long for the synopsis of the apple trees of this area! (It's amusing to watch some of the birds trying to swallow whole apples a wee bit too big for them!) Cheers - good birding. Yves On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 3:34 PM, Stan Long <stan.long@sympatico.ca> wrote: > > 3pm - 13.03.13 - my conservative estimate of a few minutes ago is that > a flock of between > 300/400 Bohemian Waxwings are feeding on small apples with which many > of the trees that grow within this complex are loaded - under my nose > at my front door they are feeding on juniper berries - they replace a large flock of American Robins seen this morning. > This is a roaming flock and it should be noted that this area of > Markham bordered by Hwy 407 to the south, Markham Road to the West, > Ninth Line to the east and Sixteenth Avenue to the north contains a > multitude of residential streets heavily planted with the variety of > apple trees that grow very small fruit. As winter progresses this > fruit shrinks to a size that can be swallowed whole by some bird > species, the fruit as it matures also be- coming more nutritious with > a buildup of vitamins - there is one Japanese species that owing to this increase in vitamin content is poisonous to children - though this species was banned as a street planting 20/30 or so years ago in Toronto. > > Stan Long > > _______________________________________________ > ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. > Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about > ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ > _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/