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The Oakville Beaver, Tuesday December 21, 2004 - A5 Birding appeals to aging baby boomers Continued from page A1 at a glance. She uses her binoculars to verify her sightings. "I love it," she says of her birding. "It's quiet, and you get out and enjoy nature." Plus, a fair amount of hiking is involved over varying terrain. A combination of amateur and pro fessional birders participate in the annu al Christmas Bird Count, with amateurs teaming up with more experienced bird watchers. "A second set of eyes really helps in spotting birds," concluded LeChasseur, who had taken me under her wing. "You have a good eye for spotting birds," she told me. Mark Peck, an ornithologist with the Royal Ontario Museum and an Oakville native, likes to `rough it' when he's bird ing, and trekked through the Fourteen Mile Creek ravine behind Saw-Whet Golf Club. "It's the best place to find birds," he said. " Bird counts started in North America in 1900," said Peck, who partic ipates in two Christmas Bird Counts each year, in Oakville and in MeafordThombury. " It was started by an ornithologist named Frank Chapman in New York City," he explained over coffee at Tim Hortons on Bronte Road where the group gathered before heading out at 8:30 a.m. "Before that, people would hunt them and shoot everything they could see. Chapman came of with the idea of counting the birds instead of shooting them. `That year, 75 bird counts were held P E TE RC .M cCUSKER / OAKVILLE BEAVER BIRD'S EYE VIEW: South Peel Naturalists Club members Ken Musgrave and Joyce Le Chasseur look for birds during the Christmas Bird Count at Bronte Creek Provincial Park on Sunday. including one in Toronto," he said. "Now we have 350 bird counts in Canada with about 12,000 participants." Birders can go out any day between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 to have their findings included in the 105th annual Christmas Bird Count. "The objective is to look at the status and distribution of winter birds in North and Central America. We look at trends and distribution of birds," said Peck. "Some species do well," he contin ued. The European Starling and American Crow are the most common species, but the number of crows has rfeally dropped because of West Nile Virus." It has also affected blue jays, chickadees and house finches. " House finches were introduced here from the southern United States during the 1980s and early 1990s and used to have big numbers, but they have dropped off considerably," Peck added. "We used to see hundreds of Blackcapped Chickadees, but now we're lucky to see one or two," said Ken Musgrave, . who coordinated,the Bronte area bird count. "West Nile Virus has really decimated them." Musgrave described the bird count as a "census." Other sightings include includes gulls, pigeons, woodpeckers, Northern ` flicker, blue jays, nuthatches, wrens, ' . mocking birds, cardinals and sparrows among others. Gavin Edmundstone, who counted along the waterfront, saw Red-necked Grebes, a Mute Swan, Trumpeter Swans, Mallards, American Black Duck, Red- . breasted Merganser, a Great Blue Heron, loons, and kingfishers among several other species. The Bronte bird count was the west ern end part of a 24-kilometre circular count that stretched from Burloak Drive to Port Credit - including the shore of Lake Ontario - and north to Derry Road * in Milton, that the South Peel Naturalist Club coordinated. The circular bird count was divided into six areas. Of the full day's outing, Peck con- · eluded, "it's an enjoyable exercise fo r ; birders young and old. You get to walk in the woods." He said birding appeals to a growing number of people aged 50 and up, who · retire early and are looking for new hob bies. All sightings are reported to Bird Studies Canada based in Port Rowan, Ont., 519-586-3531 or www.bsc- · eoc.org. Flat tire nearly turns deadly on QEW Several motorists are lucky to be alive in the wake of Sunday's multiple vehicle collision on the QEW at Bronte Road. According to Burlington Detachment OPP, the incident started around 6:55 a.m. when Burlington driver Verley 'faplay's Toyota Corolla suffered a flat tire and became disabled in the centre eastbound lane. At the same time Taplay, 51, exited her car, Burlington's Carol Boss, 26, swerved her Toyota Echo to avoid the Corolla and struck the left cement barrier. Moments later, Rita Steadman, 21, of Niagara Falls attempted to avoid hitting the Corolla with her Ford Escort, but struck the vehicle. Taplay was outside her car at the time of the collision. Boss was transported to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Taplay was taken to Hamilton General Hospital with lifethreatening injuries where she is listed in stable condition. Steadman was not hurt. The eastbound QEW was closed for approximately three hours while the police investigation was conducted. No charges are pending, however, wit nesses are being asked to contact OPP Const. Mike Zwarun at 905-681-2511. T im H o rto n s F r e e H o lid a y S k a tin g I t 's o u r w a y o f s a y in g t h a n k s Woman fends off would-be robber Halton Regional Police are investigat ing an assault on a woman that occurred early Dec. 15 outside the TD Canada Trust branch at 2325 Trafalgar Rd. At approximately 1 a.m., a 20-year-old female resident of Oakville parked her car near the front of the bank. As she emerged from her vehicle she was grabbed from behind by an unknown man, who placed his hand over her mouth. The woman resisted and fought off the suspect, who fled on foot along Rosegate Way. As a result of the assault, the female suffered minor injuries. The male sus pect may have also been injured in the struggle and might have sustained a facial injury and or a minor hand injury. Police are seeking the public's assis tance with any information that may lead to the identification of the suspect, who is described as an adult white male, 20 to 40 years of age, five-foot eight to six feet tall. At the time of the incident he was wear ing a black jacket, dark shoes and possibly a black toque. He suspect is believed to be a cigarette smoker. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Halton Regional Police Service Oakville Criminal Investigations Bureau 905-8254777 ext. 2215 or 2205 or calling Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). W e 'd like to thank you w ith a way to glide through the season w ith a smile: enjoy Free Holiday Skating, com plim ents o f yo u r local Tim H ortons. Let us show you o u r appreciation fo r being a part o f Oakville. Visit us fo r a schedule o f ice times and locations, then come on o u t and join in the fun. T o g e th e r W ith You, M a k in g G o o d T hing s H a pp en .