rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) (01/12/90)
I was interested to note that there is a Red-breasted Nuthatch in England this winter. This has been a big year for them in Ontario. For breeding shorebirds, I'd strongly recommend a trip to Churchill, Manitoba (on Hudson Bay) in mid- to late June. You can get there fairly inexpensively (ca. $500.00 flight from Toronto), and quite a variety breed there: Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary, Spotted, Whimbrel, Semipalmated Plover & Sandpiper, Least, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Hudsonian Godwit, and Red-necked Phalarope--to name some sure ones. Also, Churchill is a good place to tick Harris' Sparrow and Smith's Longspur. Churchill is actually on the edge of the boreal forest, but along the Bay (because of extreme cold & wind in winter) there is a "pseudo-tundra," which means that you get some of the arctic species there as well. Oh, and there are also Ross' Gulls. Delaware bay is apparently a spectacular place to watch migrating waders in spring (mid-May?), and maybe Cape May, N.J. Others on the net will know better than I. --Jim Rising -- Name: Jim Rising Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1 UUCP: uunet!attcan!utzoo!rising BITNET: rising@zoo.utoronto.ca