Another day at the beach, plus some passerines in Guelph

Well, it looks like I picked the wrong day to go to Van Wagners! David Bell and I drove down for most of the day yesterday, but today a lot more stuff is being posted. At least 14 Sabines' Gulls have been seen, as well as jaegers. A good variety of shorebirds are being seen at Windermere too...

Anyways, here's a recap on yesterday's sightings. I personally saw about 10-15 jaegers by the time we left at around 1:30 PM. Most were too far out to identify, though we did get at least 4 Parasitic and 1 Long-tailed (intermediate/light juvenile). I managed to photograph 2 of the Parasitics that were relatively close - however they were still too far away for good photos.

juvenile Parasitic Jaeger - Van Wagner's Beach, Hamilton

sub-adult Parasitic Jaeger - Van Wagner's Beach, Hamilton

A number of shorebirds were seen, including a single Whimbrel (before Dave and I arrived) and a few Red Knots (after Dave and I left, of course). Still, it was an enjoyable bay out at the beach.

By the way, we did check Windermere and the Red Hill stormwater pond as well, but all we came us with were 2 Stilt Sands (Red Hill) and a single Black-bellied Plover (Windermere).

Late last week I checked out the Guelph Arboretum for the first time all fall. There was a good diversity of passerines, with Mourning Warbler highlighting the 15 warbler species. A Yellow-throated Vireo was nice, as was a few Philadelphia Vireos, a Scarlet Tanager, and a few Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

Next weekend is the OFO convention at Point Pelee. I am going to be a hike leader this year, so I plan on heading down Thursday evening or Friday morning to do some scouting. Should be fun.

East winds at the beach

On September 7th I headed down to Hamilton to see what the forcasted east winds would bring to Van Wagner's beach. Due to the previous evening's festivities I was unable to drag myself out of bed til about 9:00, but eventually I was on my way and arrived at the beach around 10:00.

A few other birders were already there scanning the lake, including David Bell from Guelph and his girlfriend, as well as Brett Fried and Erika Hentsch. We spent some time scanning and eventually had less than satisfactory views of distant jaegers. Eventually, one pair came from the north close enough to identify as a Long-tailed and a Parasitic.

Later in the afternoon we checked out Windermere basin and the Red Hill stormwater pond, with little to show for it. A few Stilt sandpipers were the only noteworthy thing (they were at Red Hill).

The others left to go back home, so I returned to Van Wagner's for a few more hours in the afternoon. The rain had finally stopped which was nice, and we were rewarded with many jaegers. The few that came close enough to identify were all Parasitic. Brandon Holden had a nice spot with a Sabine's Gull not too far out that I watched briefly.

Other birds seen in the afternoon were 3 seperate sightings of Black Terns, small flocks of sanderlings, 2 Red-necked Phalaropes (flyby) at least 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (I only got on 2 of them), and a smattering of Common Terns and Bonaparte's Gulls. At one point 10 Green-winged Teal flew directly overhead. A few Purple Martins rounded out the sightings for the day!

All in all it was not a bad day at the beach. If the winds continue from the north-east, we might get larger numbers of Sabine's Gulls plus the first Black-legged Kittiwakes of the season. Stay tuned.