| 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a whollyowned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@durhamregion.com facebook.com/newsdurham @newsdurham WHO WE ARE Vice President Dana Robbins Regional General Manager Anne Beswick Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Managing Editor Mike Lacey Director of Advertising Tanya Pacheco Director Distribution Jason Christie Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron Durham Advisory Council Dan Carter; Esther Enyolu; Jake Farr; Dr. Vidal Chavannes; Cynthia Davis; Elaine Popp/Don Lovisa; John Henry; Sue McGovern; Kerri King; Steve Yamada; Kelly LaRocca; Peter Bethlenfalvy; Dr. Steven Murphy; Norah Marsh; Tracy Paterson; Chris Darling; Christina Curry CONTACT US This Week Phone: 905- 579-4407 Newsroom: 905-215-0462 Sales: 905-215-0424 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-579-2238 Web: www.durhamregion.com Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at durhamregion.com Delivery For all delivery inquiries, call 905- 579-4407 or visit the Contact Us page on durhamregion.com. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT DURHAMREGION.COM Winter arriving in fits and starts made for some interesting results and records on Christmas Bird Counts over the holidays. And left unforgettable images dancing in my head. Close-ups of hooded mergansers, for example, classy little diving ducks already in courtship mode, the black-backed, orangesided males showing off their brilliant white "hammerhead" crests wherever grey-brown females gathered. And gather they did on the wide-open waters of Fairy Lake in Huntsville, where the weather itself broke records -- warm sunshine and not a single breeze all day to ripple the glassy surface. Best birding conditions of any Canadian Christmas Count I've ever been on! Plus Dennis and I found seven species of waterfowl in our little section of the usually frozen over count circle -- seven!! Major lakes were still open three days later for the Haliburton count, where common mergansers stole the show. Peering out past cottages through a veil of snowflakes, in much chillier conditions, I watched nine males practise synchronized swimming, black heads and white bodies all pointing one way, then the opposite as they came paddling back in formation minutes later. That same sheltered cove produced six goldeneyes, three hoodies and a herring gull, a good sampling of water birds being nudged southward by Old Man Winter. My waterfowl highlight on a count down in Durham the following day was a thousand greater scaup rafting together off a point in south Whitby, likely recently arrived from a freezing-up Hudson Bay. On every count, gazing up into the skies was just as productive as looking out at lakes, for winter finches were on the move. I had stellar views of whitewinged crossbills settling on the pointy tips of balsam firs and spruces in swampy areas as I "pished" them in with lispy alarm notes -- rose-pink males and honey-mustard-coloured females and young, the juveniles heavily streaked. Common redpolls were more abundant but less co-operative, bounding about over the treetops and chattering endlessly as they came and went together. Looking up, I found eagles as well -- an adult and juvenile circling majestically, dots high in the sky above the forested Big East River north of Huntsville. And two other adults, their white heads and tails visible through swirling snow, perched in trees before I walked over a ridge and flushed them, along with a mob of starlings, a dozen ring-billed and twice that many herring gulls, some 60 ravens and a handful of crows, at the Minden dump -- a bonanza of birds. Nature queries: mcarney1490@gmail.com or 905-725-2116. Metroland columnist Margaret Carney finds so much to discover and marvel at exploring the great outdoors. WEATHER AFFECTED CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS MARGARET CARNEY WAS ON THE MOVE TALLYING BIRDS MARGARET CARNEY Column Greater scaups often congregate in large groups, sometimes numbering in the thousands, called rafts. These diving ducks have a broad distribution and in North America winter along the warmer sea coasts, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. When the warm weather comes scaups head for areas including Newfoundland and Labrador, Hudson Bay and the northern parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Mike McEvoy photo DIVING DUCKS REMOVE FEES FROM DURHAM HIGHWAYS To the editor: Premier Ford states that the proposed four-lane Bradford bypass will not be a tolled highway and will be constructed/owned by Ontario. Notice how new four-lane highways in Transportation Minister Mulroney's home riding of York-Simcoe will not be tolled. The province also owns highways 412 and 418 and based upon this Bradford decision our local tolls should be removed as well on these two highways in Durham Region. JIM MCEWEN CLARINGTON READER QUESTIONS NEW LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES To the editor: I lived through the horror of almost 80 people dying at Orchard Villa, then the travesty of this government considering giving them even more beds and a 30-year license. The military having to come in was not enough for our local MPP, Peter Bethlenfalvy, and his government to consider avoiding making things worse. Now Rod Phillips, MPP for Ajax and Minister for Long Term Care, seems to think building even more institutions on the taxpayer's dime will somehow fix long-term care. It won't. It will just drive more old and disabled people into big facilities where they will be forgotten - out of sight out of mind. That is not how we should be treating our older citizens, who deserve our respect, not to be treated like throw-away people. Older people and people with disabilities do not want to end their lives in institutions, why can't the Ontario government get that? Why can't it properly fund home care instead of throwing more money at big long-term care corporations with less than stellar track records? Why can't they pay what they pay them to families to care for their loved ones? Why can't seniors live in group homes like younger people with disabilities if they need help? Why do they have to go into big institutions to get care? Maybe the local politicians are happy about this announcement but those who will be forced to live in those institutions because they have no choice are not, and we will vote with our feet come election time. RON ADDISON PICKERING SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT DURHAMREGION.COM LETTERS & COMMENTARY