T minus 22

In 22 days, the year 2012 begins and I start my big year, though I won't actually be in the province until January 6. With it being only 3 weeks away, I thought I would start to strategize on how I would spent the first month of the year.

Several people have offered advice so far. For instance, Russell Cannings advised me to clean up on any rarities that are in the province before trying for any winter specialties. Alan Wormington mentioned that I should clean up on all of the owls, finches, and other winter specialties before the end of February/March, so I don't have to worry about them the following winter. This would enable me to spend all of November and December chasing rarities, instead of getting caught up on trying to find a Boreal Owl or Red Crossbill or something.

And so that's exactly what I am planning on doing! There are several species of birds in the province right now that would great birds to start off the year. Several are even code 4 birds (remember the codes?). Unfortunately the Razorbill didn't make it. However, Niagara is still hopping with a Slaty-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Franklin's Gull, and the Black Vultures. The Franklin's Gull I'm not too worried about. However, I plan on being in Rainy River in late May when Franklin's may not have arrived yet. The birds that end up in Ontario usually breed across the border, and spend the summer in Rainy River and area. So if I can grab the bird in Niagara, it might save me the hassle of trying to wrangle one up later in the year, especially if I can't turn any up in Rainy River in late May.

Black-legged Kittiwake is the other one which I'm not too worried about, since I should pick this species up in the late fall doing a lakewatch somewhere. However, if I could get it at Niagara, where it currently is super easy at the whirlpool, it would save me a bit of effort later on in the fall.I have a feeling that both the Kittiwake and Franklin's will leave before the new year, as they usually travel with Bonaparte's Gulls (numbers of bonies at the Niagara River will drop off substantially by the new year).

juv Black-legged Kittiwake at Niagara Falls

The Slaty-backed Gull, originally found my Kevin McLaughlin on December 3, is one that I really am crossing my fingers for. In 2008, a Slaty-backed Gull was found at the same location on December 13. It hung around until late January at least, and I managed to see it on January 24, 2009. I am hoping this one follows a similar pattern!

And finally, the Black Vultures. They are seen sporadically at best, but  there are up to 5 birds which roost near the Niagara River and travel to a landfill on the American side. This landfill is really interesting - a landfill is one of the things which can entice vultures to overwinter!  I'm willing to put in a day or two at least searching for just this species in January if they are still being sporadically seen.

There are other good birds that have been seen recently in Ontario, birds that I am very interested in. Varied Thrush and Spotted Towhee near Thunder Bay, Pacific Loon in eastern Ontario, Barrow's Goldeneye and King Eider in several spots, etc. The Christmas Bird Counts usually turn up a few rarities as well.

Owls are starting to worry me a bit - while Snowy's are clearly having an erruption year, everything else seems very quiet....I haven't heard of any reports of Great Gray Owl, Boreal Owl, or Northern Hawk Owl from any location south of Attawapiskat! As well, I have only heard of 1 report of Northern Saw-whet Owl this month, and 0 reports of Long-eared Owl. Maybe it just means that owls are late this year, possibly due to the warm November and 1st week of December we had. At any rate, between rarities I hope to do some traveling to pick up all the winter specialties, even if I have to go nearly to James Bay to search.

It will be very interesting to see how the next few weeks play out.

What a day on the Niagara River

Yesterday I spent the entire day birding the Niagara River with Brett Fried and Reuven Martin. The rarest birds in Ontario right now include Black Vulture, Razorbill, Slaty-backed Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, California Gull, etc. THey all happen to be at the Niagara River now too!

We arrived at the Control Gates bright and early but failed to see the adult Slaty-backed Gull that was found by Kevin yesterday. I did spot an interesting gull mid-river and got Reuven and Brett on it. It showed all the characteristics of an adult California Gull. Also seen here were our first Bonaparte's, Ring-billed, Herring, Lesser Black-backed (2 1st winter, 1 adult, 1 3rd winter), and Great Black-backed Gulls. There was also an interesting bird I observed briefly that had the mantle color of a California Gull but with pink legs and a light eye (hybrid perhaps?). 3 female Harlequin Ducks (as opposed to the 2 seen previous days) were hanging out on the breakwall as well.

Photo of Harlequin ducks to be posted here

Moving down the river, we stopped at the whirlpool to look for the Kittiwake. No luck there, so we continued on to Adam Beck. Here, we had great looks at an adult Thayer's-type gull, as well as our first Kumlien's Gulls of the day. We were up to 8 species of gulls for the day. After hearing reports that the Kittiwake was back at the Whirlpool, we hurried over and had great looks as it circled with the bonies. I couldn't believe the size difference between the two species!

Photo of the the kittiwake will be posted here

Sometime later that morning we headed back to the Upper Falls, and immediately got on a darker mantled gull that had all the field marks of the adult Slaty-backed Gull. A group of birders nearby, including some very good gullwatchers, had the bird much closer and confirmed its identity of the Slaty-backed Gull. Two 1st cycle Glaucous gulls were also present.

I was surprised to spot the Purple Sandpiper on the traditional rocks near the barge. It had jammed itself into a tiny crevice and was nearly impossible to see!

With 11 gull species under our belt, we headed back downriver to search for Franklin's and Little. Franklin's was no problem, as it was sitting in "the usual spot" at the roosting rocks, just upriver at Adam Beck. We only needed Little for a 13-gull day!

We skipped Queenston and headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake to search the Bonaparte's Gulls that would be flying past. Eventually they started streaming by, and the OFO group also stopped by. We managed to get 3 adult Little Gulls go past - 13 gulls for the day! As far as I am aware the adult California gull was only seen by a few other parties throughout the day.
By the way, no luck with the Razorbill or Black Vultures, though both were seen on the day.

Another great day at the river!