Monday 28 May 2012

A few more rarities

I'm making this one quick because I am short on time....I'm leaving for another birding trip in 6 hours and need to sleep.

The last few days have sure been a whirlwind. After returning home from the Curlew Sandpiper I had planned on relaxing at home for a few days. Well that changed, when I received a call the next morning from Alan - along with Kevin McLaughlin and Bill Lamond, they had found a Henslow's Sparrow at the tip of Point Pelee! This was a species that I was sure I would miss, since normally they are a late April/early May "migrant" in southern Ontario. In fact this was only the 3rd Henslow's that I had heard of in Ontario this spring.

I raced down and managed to re-find it in exactly the same spot with Andrew Keaveney and Mike Nelson after very little effort!

Henslow's Sparrow - Point Pelee National Park

That evening I went back to Hillman Marsh and managed to grab a few better photos of the Curlew Sandpiper. Pretty cool being that close to such a rare bird!

Curlew Sandpiper - Hillman Marsh CA

David Bell had found a Western Sandpiper at Port Rowan lagoons last night, so I raced down there today to try and get it. Fortunately it was still present, but distant so I couldn't get any decent photos.

And a quick stop in Backus produced a singing Louisiana Waterthrush and a few Blue-winged Warblers in 32 degree heat.

Blue-winged Warbler - Backus Woods

The next few days I will be in eastern Ontario, with a couple species in mind! They are Arctic Tern (code 2) and Kirtland's Warbler (code 4). I am currently sitting at 309 species for the year.

1 comment:

Brandon Holden said...

That HESP is really sweet given the date! Must be one of those birds from the James Bay breeding population.....