What have you seen at Burwash this month?  We'd like to know.

Some unusual birds and wildlife seen recently at Burwash. What was seen  How many seen today How many sightings this month When seen Where seen Who saw it Great Gray Owl* 1 1 January 9, 2005 zone 17 -  Seen at 10 AM, perching in trees along the road Andy & Libby Fyon River Otter 1 1 February 5, 2005 zone 26 - Otter was crossing the ice on the creek at about 1:30pm Andy Fyon Boreal Owl 1 1   February 13, 2005 zone 17 & 6 - The Great Gray Owl was perched in a tree along the fields and the Boreal Owl was perched on a pole along the Highway Jim Gomm Great Gray Owl 1 2  Swans 2 2 April 3, 2005 zone 26 - At 11 AM, on the creek to the NE of the iron bridge about 0.5 km from the bridge.  Andy & Libby Fyon  Elk 1 1   April 5 zone 11 - Sam the Elk was feeding in the fields. He has no collar but has his ear tag.  Losing his winter coat. Jim Gomm Northern Harrier 1 1 zone 11 - Harrier hunting in the fields Jim Gomm Sandhill Crane 1 1 zone 11 - Crane feeding in the field Jim Gomm  Elk 1 2  April 16 zone 17 - on the north side of road at 9am Sam the Elk was lying down. At 12pm, he was standing and grazing.  He has his rack   Andy & Libby Fyon  Elk 6  8   April 21 zone 11 - saw 6 elk feeding in the fields. They were close to the treeline. Jim Gomm   Swans 2 4 zone 17 - two swans in one of the lakes Jim Gomm  Moose 1 1    May 29 zone 26 - in the creek north of iron bridge Andy Fyon  River Otters 3 3 zone 46 - in the old beaver pond at 11:30 am Andy Fyon Elk herd a whole bunch zone 17 - in field to north of main road at 12:30pm Andy Fyon Elk 2 lots  June 2 zone 17  - a pair of elk  (one cow and one bull - not Sam) feeding in the field on south side about 300 yds past gun range.  Elk can be seen most evenings in small groups feeding in the field.  Jim Gomm Moose 5  6 June 2 zone 18 - In groups of two and one in the field within 200 yds of each other near Hwy 69.  All adult moose.  Jim Gomm Elk 1 many June 18 zones 11 & 18 Paul Morin Sandhill Cranes 7 7 June 19 zones 11 and 18 Paul Morin 2006 Elk 10 10 April 29, 2006 zone 17 -seen in the large open field on the north side of the main access road at 7:15 AM Andy Fyon Elk 15+ 25 April 30, 2006 zone 17 -feeding in the large field on the north side of the main access road, at the forest edge on the north limit of the field. 7 AM Andy Fyon Quail 1 1 May 20, 2006 zone 39 - Have seen four of them in this area.  It is very nice to see.  This was the first time ever seeing one. Don Boucher Chukar** 2 2 May 21, 2006 zone 17 - before big pond. My wife Margaret and I saw this bird on fri and again today. Sunday may21.We have positively identified it as a chukar.Such an unusual bird .has anybody else seen it.We saw two together. Bob Miller Chukar** 6 8 August 6, 2006 zone 24 - My friend and I saw approximately 6 of these birds by the side of the road and were unsure of what they were. Bri 2008 Chukar** 2 2 May 18, 2008 zone 24 - The two birds were walking the main road before the entrance to the road that goes to the abandoned elk pen. Pat Carrière Chukar**  (see note below, next to the photo of the Chukar) 1 3 May 19, 2008 zone 15 -  i recently spotted a chukar Shelley Watkins  Chukar Partridge 2 5 June 21, 2008 zone 17 - The pair was sighted running down the road about 7:30 a.m. Katherine Huck Northern Harrier, immature 1 1 September 29, 2008 zone 16 - We saw the bird at lookout point, hunting within the fields close to the top of the lookout. It flew very close to the top, where we were standing, then over the sand pit area. We had never seen this species of bird before and needed to do a little research. It helped with the other post that mentioned a sighting some years ago. It was also our first visit to the Burwash area. Beautiful! Key characteristics of the bird: orange under belly and white bar on the top of lower back. Will Herd of Elk 30-40 30-40 November 3, 2008 zone 11 - 30-40 Elk in a herd in the field beside the new millitary construction. Herd looked healthy and there were a couple very large bulls. Ethan Armit *photo posted below ** possible explanation for unusual Chukar sightings at Burwash is given next to the bird's photo below. Zone locations given on table above can be seen on the Sighting Zone Map Tell us what  unusual wildlife you have seen at Burwash this month.  Look on our map to determine the zone of your sighting. Then fill in our Sighting Form. To see the wildlife sightings from past months and a map showing their locations, click here. Chukar Partidge               photograph ©2006 Bob Miller Chukar Partidge (Alectoris chukar) - May 21, 2006 The identification of the bird as a Chukar Partridge (Alectoris chukar) was confirmed by Ron Hammerstedt (CEO and Senior Forester, Natural Resource Planning Services Inc., British Columbia), The strong black flank barring and the black throat outline are definitive. Male and female are similar.  This is a species introduced from Asia.  In North America, it occurs mostly in the drier, western United States and into the arid portions of south-central British Columbia.  Because in Ontario a sighting is deemed to be unusual, this occurrence may be related to the recent dog trials held in Burwash. May-June 2008 - Apparently the Chukar partidges have managed to survive the winters in the Burwash area or more have been introduced. Eastern Milk Snake - May 22, 2004 photograph ©2004 Andy Fyon Elk herd sighting - December 9, 2003 photograph©2003 Ken McCausland Great Gray Owl sighting - January 9, 2005 photograph©2005 Libby Fyon Juvenile Bald Eagle - December 28, 2003 photograph©2003 Ken McCausland