On April 16 I headed back down to Port Weller (where else?) after finishing up some work in the morning. And once again there were several new species that were in. A Chipping Sparrow sang from near the parking lot, while my first warblers of the year appeared near the base of the pier - about ten Yellow-rumped and two Pine Warblers! I always get unreasonably content when I see my first bright yellow Pine Warbler of the spring.
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| Chipping Sparrow - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Pine Warbler - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Pine Warbler - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
Sometimes they are easy to ignore when one is searching for rarer species, but each of the common bird species is worth checking out, too! Below are a few of the regular birds found at Port Weller at this time of year.
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| American Robin - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Killdeer - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Song Sparrow - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Black-capped Chickadee - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
Ring-billed Gulls may be common, but they sure are attractive in breeding plumage with their crisp white and gray plumage, bright yellow legs and bills, and bright red orbital rings.
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| Ring-billed Gull - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Ring-billed Gull - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
Providing my first real rarity of the spring at Port Weller, I was surprised to come across this group of five young Trumpeter Swans in the bay just south of the east-west arm of the pier.
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| Trumpeter Swans - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
When I first spotted them at a distance I was hoping they would be American White Pelicans or something. Trumpeter Swans are still surprisingly rare in Niagara though in recent years they have become regular at Lake Gibson near Thorold. This however is only the second record for Port Weller that I am aware of. It would be really interesting to find out where these youngsters are from!
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| Trumpeter Swan - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Trumpeter Swans - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
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| Trumpeter Swan - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
On my way back to the car, this Hermit Thrush was hopping around on the trail. Spring!
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| Hermit Thrush - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
April 17 was an excellent day for exploring - warm and sunny! I birded the southern tier of Niagara for half the day and came up with a few fun finds. I ran into Blayne and Jean Farnan near the Humberstone Marsh north of Port Colborne. It was good to catch up but also fun to scope the four species of shorebirds in the field, including some early Dunlin. Driving around the nearby fields I turned up some Vesper Sparrows and an Eastern Towhee, while one of our Upland Sandpiper fields was worth a check next. Blayne and Jean had found the first pair of the season earlier in the day, and one was performing display flights upon my arrival. This Northern Mockingbird was imitating the Upland Sandpiper with its calls!
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| Northern Mockingbird - Port Colborne, Niagara Region |
Feeling lucky after the morning's success so far, my next stop was Mud Lake Conservation Area. A week or so earlier, Judy Robins had discovered a vocal American Bittern here, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear the fella "blonk-a-donk"ing away from a hidden spot in the reeds. A large number of ducks were in (mostly Gadwall, Ring-necked and American Wigeon), while a single Common Gallinule had joined the four or five American Coots.
My last stop of the day was Morgan's Point near Port Colborne. While Morgan's Point is a small park, it strikes me as having good rarity potential. Last spring I was thrilled to find an eye-level Cerulean Warbler here.
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| Cerulean Warbler - Morgan's Point Conservation Area, Niagara Region (May 8, 2018) |
The conditions looked decidedly wintry though, and no Cerulean Warblers were flitting around! The ice buildup in Lake Erie has taken its time melting, and there is still a ways to go given the large number of icebergs off shore.
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| Morgan's Point Conservation Area, Niagara Region |
The birding was slow on this visit but several butterflies were flitting around. I saw both American Lady and Red Admiral, two migrant species from the south that have appeared in good numbers in southern Ontario this week. There were also a few Mourning Cloaks, a species that overwinters in the adult form in Ontario and is often the first butterfly seen in the spring.
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| American Lady - Morgan's Point Conservation Area, Niagara Region |
Brown Creeper migration has been going steady for about two weeks now, and will start to taper off soon.
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| Brown Creeper - Morgan's Point Conservation Area, Niagara Region |
Yesterday morning I had a chance to bird for a few hours before driving to Bruce County for some amphibian surveys (I do actually work from time to time!). Of course Port Weller was my destination once again. While the birding was in general rather slow, the appearance of one species can sometimes change the feeling of the whole morning. This time, it was a meadowlark that I flushed from on top of the grassy knoll, located just south of the big pond. Any meadowlark at Port Weller is a rarity and I had never seen one there before. I managed a few record shots on both occasions that I flushed the meadowlark, and the photos appear to show an Eastern Meadowlark, my 210th bird species for the pier. For most people this would not be anything to write home about, but I guess I am not most people. I get unreasonably excited with the addition of a new species to my Port Weller list. :)
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| Eastern Meadowlark - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
A trio of Blue-winged Teal were consorting in the big pond, providing me with an opportunity to grab a few photos.
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| Blue-winged Teal - Port Weller east pier, Niagara Region |
That's all for now. The next month should be very busy and I intend to spend as much time as possible outside. It is the most wonderful time of year!
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