First day at Pelee

Its been a fantastic two days! I currently have a place to stay tonight, thanks to the kind hospitality of Rick Mayos. Internet, the hockey game on TV, a shower, a bed...it doesn't get any better than this!

Anyways, I left home yesterday morning, making it to Pelee by 6:00 that evening. I checked out a number of decent areas along the way (Aylmer lagoons, Port Stanley harbour and lagoons, Ridgetown Lagoons, Blenheim, etc), without seeing a whole lot. Here are a few photos...

European Starling

Blue-winged Teal

American Toad

Lesser Yellowlegs

Savannah Sparrow

Dunlin

Hillman Marsh was fantastic, and it didn't take me long to find the White-eyed Vireo that was hanging around the banding nets. I watched the shorebirds for quite some time, eventually having a flock of 53 American Golden-Plovers land for 10 minutes before continuing on.

American Golden-Plovers

shorebirds!

A Short-billed Dowitcher also flew in, calling. After about 60 seconds it too took off, never to be seen again that evening. This is undoubtably one of the earliest spring records for Pelee - I'm not sure of what the record early date is, though Alan told me today. This is the best I got as it flew away...

Short-billed Dowitcher - Hillman Marsh CA

Yesterday I saw 12 new year birds, bringing me up to 195 for the year. Here they are, with their code in brackets.

Pectoral Sandpiper (1)
Dunlin (1)
Sora (1)
Solitary Sandpiper (1)
Bank Swallow (1)
Great Egret (1)
American Golden-plover (2)
Least Sandpiper (1)
Short-billed Dowitcher (1)
Forster's Tern (1)
White-eyed Vireo (2)
Gray Catbird (1)

It's on!

I know, its still only April 19 and we haven't hit the peak of migration and rarity season yet. But judging by what birds have been reported in Ontario the last 24 hours you might think its May already!

I have heard from several people that a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was banded by the crew at the tip of Long Point yesterday. I don't have any other details, but from what I've heard this would be the first one banded for Canada! Of course there is no way for me to get to the tip, Fork-tailed Flycatchers don't usually hang around very long, and there's always the question if you can count a bird which has been recently caught and banded. After seeing the Smew in December, Fork-tailed Flycatcher became one of my most wanted birds for Ontario.

A Whooping Crane was reported from Ingersoll (border of Oxford/Middlesex Counties) yesterday as well! This globally Endangered species has less than 500 individuals remaining in the wild. Occasionally the odd bird is seen in Ontario, but these aren't technically "countable"since they most likely come from a reintroduction program (birds breeding in Wisconsin and wintering in Florida).

taken from Wiki Commons

Finally, a Barnacle Goose was reported today from Peterborough! There is only 1 accepted Ontario record for this species - a bird that had been banded in Scotland. It was shot by a hunter in eastern Ontario. Several others have shown up around the province but since Barnacle Geese are regularly kept in captivity, the  origins of these birds are debatable. I wouldn't at all be surprised that this Peterborough bird is a wild one, especially considering the influx of Barnacle Geese into New England and eastern Canada this winter, but I doubt this one will be accepted by the OBRC. Pure speculation on my part since I don't know any details really about this Peterborough bird...for all I know it could have been banded in Scotland as well...If I go and see this bird, it will only count for my big year if it is accepted by the OBRC (them's the rules).

A few other things have been turning up as well, such as a Yellow-throated Warbler in Rondeau and a Dickcissel in Hamilton. Both of these I have classified as code 3.

I am spending the entire day today moving out of my house in Guelph, so no birding today. But tomorrow I start 6+ weeks of non-stop birding! I'll make a post soon about what my strategies for May are. In the meantime, I am probably going to check out the Peterborough Goose tomorrow if it is still around, then grab the Hamilton Dickcissel, and finally make my way to the south to hopefully see the Yellow-throated Warbler in Rondeau. I was originally going to go to Pelee Island for 4 or 5 days, but those plans are nixed since BOTH ferries are broken down. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise and a rarity will show up on the mainland. If I would be stuck on the island, it would take a considerable amount of time to make it to the mainland to check out a rarity, causing me to potentially miss it.

By the way, after finishing my exam yesterday, I did a bit of local birding....had some fun birds for Wellington, such as Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Vesper Sparrow, Caspian Terns, Pine Warblers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Broad-winged Hawk, etc. Picked up my first Winter Wren for the county too...
Caspian Tern and Broad-winged Hawk were both year birds, bringing me up to 183.

Things are a happening

Here are a few recent reports from around the Great Lakes....

Lesser Goldfinch in Pennsylvania (first state record)


Brown Pelican in Minnesota (third state record)


Eastern Kingbird  from Kitchener yesterday. They normally don't show up until the last couple days of April at the very earliest...this may be one of the earliest ever for Ontario?

Red-headed Woodpecker from Guelph...another super early migrant

Henslow's Sparrow from Point Pelee

Yellow-throated Vireo from Point Pelee

Magee Marsh, Ohio (April 15):
 -Hooded Warbler
-Ovenbird
-Yellow-throated Warbler
-White-eyed Vireo
-American White Pelican
-American Avocet

elsewhere in Ohio...
-9! Prothonotary Warblers on territory found by one observer in the middle of the state
-Cattle Egret in the northern third of the state
-Say's Phoebe present for several days now on Lake Erie
-White-winged Dove, same deal
-Black-necked Stilt, southwest Ohio
-Ibis sp., northern Ohio

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So yeah, things are really starting to happen, especially just across the lake in Ohio. Ohio starts getting the first wave of rarities usually a week or so before us, so expect a similar list of rarities in Ontario a week or so from now (hopefully)! 

Some predictions of mine between now and the end of April...

*disclaimer: I am in no way held responsible if none of these birds actually show up. It's a complete guess*

 

-Swallow-tailed Kite

-Townsend's Warbler

-Cinnamon Teal

-Ruff

-Snowy Egret

-Say's Phoebe

-Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

-Western Grebe

Hopefully we'll get a good dose of "lesser" rarities (most of these I have categorized as code 3).

-Yellow-throated and Worm-eating Warblers

-American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Willet

-Eared Grebe

-Le Conte's and Henslow's Sparrows

-Summer Tanager

-Glossy Ibis

-Laughing Gull

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It's been kind of frustrating so far while doing this big year because I have been stuck being a full-time student. While it hasn't really prevented me yet from chasing a rarity (you gotta have priorities), it has limited the amount of time I could be away. I would have loved to spend more days in the north for instance, but exams were calling me back! Additionally, I have been out of the province for 25 out of the 107 days this year. I've really lucked out that I haven't really missed anything while I have been gone! But, as of tomorrow morning, I will be done with school. That means that I can FINALLY go all out on this big year.

My last exam is tomorrow morning at 8:30. Hopefully by Friday I will be all moved out of my house in Guelph, all packed, and heading to Essex County. Unless there is a pressing rarity elsewhere, I will probably head to the island for a few days to find all the rarities before Kenny gets there ;).

Report from April 15

Yesterday afternoon, after coming out of my second last exam of my undergrad, I checked my phone and saw that I had similar texts from 3 or 4 different people....all along the lines of "So are you gonna chase it?" I checked my email and saw that Terry Sprague had posted a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that was present in Prince Edward County! This was kind of frustrating for me because I was supposed to be hosting a party that night, and I hadn't really planned to be away for the entire day on Sunday since I had my last exam on Wednesday morning. Brett let me know that evening at the party that he would be picking me up at 6 the next morning (I had no choice), so I guess that was settled.

I cursed a fair bit when the alarm went off the next morning, but Brett showed up on time and we were on our way! We arrived at the residence near Demorestville and the friendly homeowner informed us that it was last seen near the fence of the large field south of her house. She gave us permission to walk around back there, we promised not to sue her if we broke our ankles, and off we went. After 15 minutes or so I walked towards the back of the field, when I was surprised to look up and see this...

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Demorestville, ON

I called Brett over and we had excellent looks at the male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher as it hunted bees, flies, and grasshoppers. At times it flew over us, once only about 5 feet over our heads!

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Demorestville, ON

As of the 2009 OBRC report, there were 56 accepted records of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher for Ontario. 32 of these records were from late April through June, with most of the other records coming in October. Other than the Scissor-tailed in Thunder Bay on April 10 of this year, this is the earliest spring record for Ontario (April 14), surpassing the next earliest date of April 29, from Iroquois Falls in the Cochrane District. It is not that surprising that one would show up since we have had very strong south winds coming all the way up from Texas in the last few days.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Demorestville, ON

This appears to be a male in alternate (breeding) plumage, due to the very long tail, red in the underwing, and notch on P10. What a stunning bird!

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Demorestville, ON

We also heard and saw a Brown Thrasher here, year bird #177 for me. After spending an hour and a half with this bird Brett and I continued on. We decided to check out Thickson's Woods in Whitby hoping that a large amount of migrants had dropped in due to the strong south winds and foggy conditions this morning. We were in luck as dozens of kinglets (both species), Brown Creepers, and Yellow-rumped Warblers were present. I grabbed a few crappy shots of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, the first one I've photographed this year. Hopefully I can get a better shot to replace this one later this spring.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Thickson's Woods, ON

I added three new year birds at Thickson's - 4 vocal Pine Warblers, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher buzzing in the shrubby field just north of the paved trail, and 2 House Wrens along the paved trail.

We continued on to the Whitby Mental Health Centre where two male Harlequin Ducks had been reported on the lake, as well as a single Brant. I already had both of these for the year, but my Harlequins were in the middle of the Niagara River, and since I'm not entirely sure where the Ontario/New York border is, there was the possibility that I had actually seen them in New York waters. Despite the heavy fog, the 2 harli ducks were easy to pick out close to shore! The Brant was nowhere to be seen, unfortunately. With a bit of post-processing I was able to eliminate most of the fogginess out of the photos.

Harlequin Duck - Whitby, ON

Brett and I then drove up north of Uxbridge to the town of Udora. The previous evening I had received an email from a lady from Udora who had seen a Swallow-tailed Kite gliding over a field here. She wasn't sure if it was possible for one to be in Ontario (which is why she emailed me) but her description was spot on and I'm sure that's what she saw! We met up with her and along with her two kids we checked out the field where they had seen the kite. As Brett and I expected we were unable to find it. More than half of the Swallow-tailed Kites in Ontario, of which there are 15 accepted records, are single day observations of birds flying overhead. They don't tend to hang around very long!  Regardless, it was a great area to explore and we had a few interesting sightings including a large flock of 40+ White-winged Crossbills, pretty good for this late in the season.

We slowly made our way back to Guelph, stopping at a decent looking marsh along Ravenshoe Road just east of Woodbine along the way. There were close to 200 ducks here of which the majority were Green-winged Teal. Most took off as we set up our scopes, so we were unable to pick out any vagrant Eurasian Green-winged Teals with the group. Several shorebirds were also present and I added Lesser Yellowlegs (#181) to the year list.

It was a great day in the field! Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is a code-4 species in Ontario and makes the 10th bird I have seen this year that is a code 4 or higher. Like I have mentioned previously, I will need to see about 20 of these super-rarities this year to have a chance at breaking the record, so I'm halfway there. It is an exciting time of year, and it will only get better as the month goes on!

Scissor-tailed!

Almost as if on cue, I got my Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! I'm pretty sure Brandon predicted this one...

I'm going to make this post short since I'm working on 3 hours of sleep. I didn't get to bed til about 2:30 last night (hosting a party) and up at 5:30 this morning...full report from today coming tomorrow!

In short, Brett and I chased a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Prince Edward County this morning and were succesful after about 15 minutes of searching. We managed to get a ton of killer shots...here is an early edit.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Demorestville

I added 6 more year birds today - the flycatcher, as well as Brown Thrasher, Pine Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, and Lesser Yellowlegs. It was a great day in the field, and I'm now up to 181 for the year!

2 more weeks to go

Looking at the calendar, it currently says April 11. This means that we are only a single fortnight away from the most wonderful time of the year! April 25th (give or take 3 or 4 days) is usually when migration really heats up in southern Ontario and the first wave of neotropical migrants show up. Last year on April 24th I found a Snowy Egret and a flock of Willets,  and I also saw Brandon's Neotropic Cormorant. The following day I had an Eared Grebe and Eurasian Wigeon at the Blenheim lagoons. Other good birds seen in Ontario during the April 24-27 period included Black-headed Gull (Niagara), Townsend's Solitaire (Rondeau), Cattle Egret (Whitby), Yellow-throated Warbler (Van Wagner's Beach, Mississauga, Rondeau, Pelee Island), Worm-eating Warbler (Long Point),  Western Meadowlark (Pelee Island), Glossy Ibis (Pelee Island), Eared Grebe (Pelee Island), Prothonotary Warbler (Pelee Island), Western Grebe (Toronto). You get the idea!

This weekend is really starting to look good. Unfortunately I have 2 more exams - one on Saturday and my last exam of my undergrad career on the following Wednesday. Currently, strong southwest winds are forecasted for Saturday through Monday - hopefully strong enough to suck some southwestern species up from Texas! If my studying is going well I may sneak away for maybe Monday...we'll see.

In other news, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher showed up yesterday in Thunder Bay! I haven't heard any news on whether it is still around. Here is a shitty photo of the only Scissor-tailed I have seen in Ontario - one from Luther Marsh in the summer of 2010.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Luther Marsh (August 7, 2010)

By the way, I added three year birds yesterday in Guelph - Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, and Greater Yellowlegs.

Northern Trip by the numbers

I'm not back home in the south, so I figured I should put out a final wrap post about my whirlwind northern trip. Here are some numbers from the trip:

100: Total number of new "county ticks" I added. (For those who don't know, a county tick is a new bird seen in a county. For instance, I saw 27 new birds for my Thunder Bay District list on the trip, 2 new birds for my Haliburton County list, etc. I'm now up to 3243 county ticks for Ontario. Divided up by the 50 counties, that is an average of 65 species per county.)

72: total hours away

31: total hours spent driving

2828: Total km driven

50: Number of times I questioned my sanity for doing this trip

1: Times I was pulled over for going 91 km/h in a 60 km/h zone

1: Times I was let off and not given a ticket for going 91 in a 60

3: Number of moose/truck collisions I saw near Marathon

1: Number of moose I saw standing on the shoulder of the road during the night

3: Number of year birds I saw

155.9: The highest price of gas (per litre) I saw up north

So there you have it. The drive home was fairly uneventful - a few birds here and there, but nothing really notable. I didn't really stop to go birding, as I was eager to get home! From a big year perspective, the trip was a definite success. While it was a lot of driving for only a few new species it was a trip that I needed to do or risk not seeing those species for the year (Boreal Owl in particular). I saw the main 3 species that I was going for, and the 2 misses (Western Meadowlark and Sharp-tailed Grouse) I will see when I go up to Rainy River later on in the spring. Logistically the trip worked out great as my car had absolutely no problems, I had no collisions with moose, and I had no huge unexpected expenses. Michael and Martha were extremely helpful in Marathon and I really appreciated having a place to stay.

For the next little bit I won't get out a whole lot as I have 3 exams in the next 10 days. After that, all hell will break loose :)

Grouse, Owls, and Woodpeckers in the north

The alternate title to this post is "Cocks, Hooters, and Peckers in the north".

On Tuesday, I finally finished my final project for Evolutionary Ecology and I was excited to hit the road and head north. As I mentioned previously, there were a few species that I needed to knock off the list - species that I had hoped to see before spring migration really heated up. Those species were Boreal Owl, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and Spruce Grouse. If I could get these ones under my belt, the only northern birds I would need would be James Bay birds or Rainy River birds.

At about 9:30 I was on my way, headed straight for Algonquin Provincial Park. Spruce Grouse, though ranging throughout much of Ontario, can be notoriously hard to find, except in Algonquin at April! I was hoping to see a displaying male - something that I've never seen before.

I arrived at 1:00 AM and fell asleep to the sounds of Northern Saw-whet Owls hooting to each other. It was great to be back in the "north"! First thing in the morning, after unsuccessfully looking for the chickens along Opeongo Road, I went to the most accessible, reliable spot in the park - Spruce Bog. I was actually surprised when I noticed a male Spruce Grouse, in full display, standing at the side of the trail! The little guy was all puffed out, black neck feathers, red crest and all, with his tail sticking up right behind him. I was wondering where his lady friend was - he was probably wondering the same thing. At this point I realized I should get some photos, so I fumbled with my camera instead. This is all I could manage as he sauntered into the forest, realizing I wasn't a suitable mate choice. Maybe there are more lady-chickens in that direction. Best of luck, little guy!

Spruce Grouse - Algonquin Provincial Park

I spent the rest of the day doing not a whole lot other than driving, and I eventually made it to Marathon around 10:45 PM. Along the way I spent a few hours searching for Sharp-tailed Grouse east of Sault Ste. Marie to no avail. They are common in Rainy River District (where I will be going later in the spring), but I had never seen them and wanted to at least try here. At one point I took a break and went for a run down a side-road to stretch my legs. I noticed a flash out of the corner of my eye and watched a small, streaky, orangey sparrow flush into some bushes! Without my bins, it sure looked like a Le Conte's, but I wasn't sure and it was hard to get a clear, unobstructed view of it. By the time I had retrieved my optics, the thing was nowhere in site! That's how it goes, sometimes...Le Conte's breed in the area, but they normally don't show up until very late in April. I did see what looked like a Western Red-tailed Hawk soaring by in the area - definitely a highlight! It basically looked like a normal red-tail but completely black (still sporting the red tail though).

Welcome to Marathon (it was 16 cents cheaper in town, though)

As soon as I arrived in Marathon I drove down a side road which cut through some decent looking habitat. Michael Butler had Boreal Owls here once when doing an owl survey so I figured it was worth a try! At the first few stops, I didn't hear a sound...it sure was nice however being outside with the night sky completely lit up with stars. The fourth stop was a bit better as I heard a Northern Saw-whet Owl tooting in the distance. Suddenly, as I was about to go back in my car and continue on, I heard the telltale call of a Boreal Owl, way out in the distance!

The rest of the night was more of the same and after 15 stops I had 4 Northern Saw-whet Owls and 2 Boreal Owls (the second one much closer than the first). I parked my car on the side of the road, fell asleep, and it was morning much too quickly. At this point, I had my main target of the trip and anything else would just be bonus!

The next morning I met up with Michael who was free and able to go birding. The first spot we checked out, Peninsula Harbour, was a location where he had found a Western Meadowlark a few days prior (check out his post, http://northshorenature.blogspot.ca/2012/04/early-april-bird-notes.html). Unfortunately the western was no longer present, but a few other birds kept us occupied including a singing Northern Cardinal (rare in Thunder Bay District) and a few ducks.
Next up was a check of Pukawska National Park, where Barb Charlton and I struck out for Three-toed Woodpeckers with Michael earlier in the year. Unfortunately today was no different, and despite beautiful weather and a scenic walk, we couldn't turn one up. We suspected that while this part of Pukawska is a great wintering ground, they breed elsewhere. We did, however, see another chicken - this one a Ruffed Grouse. His lady-friend was also nowhere in sight.

Ruffed Grouse - Pukaskwa National Park

In a different area of the park, the male Redhead was still hanging out with a few goldeneye. Michael only occasionally gets this species in the area - usually about 1 per year.

Redhead - Pukaskwa National Park

We parted ways at this point. Michael recommended I try Neys Provincial Park - the only place in the area where he had seen Three-toed Woodpeckers outside of winter. I walked in, and I hadn't been going for more than 200 meters when I heard the distinctive drumming of a Three-toed Woodpecker to my right! One followed suit to my left a minute later. Despite some effort, they refused to come in and I continued on, satisfied but still wanting more. After about 20 minutes of not hearing anything of note, I came across a little flock of chickadees (both species), nuthatches, and kinglets. I played the Three-toed Woodpecker call note to bring in the Boreal Chickadee, and as I did, a real Three-toed Woodpecker called ahead! I had fleeting glimpses as he scaled the bark, only managing this photo.

American Three-toed Woodpecker - Neys Provincial Park

It turns out that in this area were 3 Three-toed Woodpeckers, all actively drumming and working the bark. I was ecstatic to get such great prolonged views of them. This was my 338th species of bird for Ontario, and my 300th "self found".

American Three-toed Woodpecker - Neys Provincial Park

On the way out, I stopped to photograph this female Ruffed Grouse. She let me get quite close, and I eventually sat down on the road next to her.

Ruffed Grouse - Neys Provincial Park

Ruffed Grouse - Neys Provincial Park

She slowly started walking across the road, taking care to stay "hidden" in the shadow that stretched all the way across, all the while keeping a wary eye on me.

Ruffed Grouse - Neys Provincial Park

Eventually she made it across and slowly stepped into the forest, confident I hadn't seen her!

Tomorrow I leave the generous hospitality of Michael and Martha and make my way back to the south. It was a great visit, though much too short. I would love to spend a lot more time in this area - there is just so much amazing, beautiful habitat.

Leavin' this town for a little while...

Guelph may be fun and all, but it leaves a little something to be desired with its birdlife! I guess it is putting its name on the map with the Mountain Bluebird earlier this year, and now the Fish Crows that have been hanging around campus (which, I might add, I haven't run into yet). But I'm ready to head back up north to where the really cool birds are. 

My itinerary will be something like this. It is definitely not static because the birds, the weather, or even my car may not co-operate (though she's been great lately, knock on wood). 

Today: 

-leave Guelph in the evening, sleep in my car somewhere near Huntsville

Wednesday: 

-be at Spruce Bog by sunrise and hopefully get Spruce Grouse, my only target. The males should be displaying by this time of year, spectacle I've never seen.

-hopefully be out of Algonquin by 8:00 AM at the latest, but will hang around till at least 10:00 if I need to.

-drive to Sault Ste. Marie and be there by early afternoon

-spend a few hours in the Soo looking for anything of interest around town - namely, Sharp-tailed Grouse. Fortunately, several friends have given me some information on good STGR spots near the Soo. If I don't see these guys however, I will still have many chances at them later in the year and almost certainly will see them in Rainy River. This bird would be a "lifer".

-hopefully leave the Soo by late afternoon so that I can be in Marathon by 9:00 or 10:00 at night. Try for Boreal Owls at several reliable-ish spots

-stay at Michael Butler's place in Marathon that evening (thanks Michael)

Thursday

-spent the morning searching specifically for American Three-toed Woodpeckers, a species that I've never seen before

-if I get my woodpeckers, that allows me to spend the rest of the afternoon birding around town

-if I still need my Boreals, I will try again Thursday night, but otherwise, I'll head back down south

-may potentially do some owling in the Soo that evening

Friday

-leave the Soo (or Marathon, if I'm still up there at this point) and drive home!

So there you have it. If all goes to plan, I will add 4 new year birds, half of them "code 2" (the grouse), the other half "code 3" (Boreal Owl, A. Three-toed Woodpecker). More importantly, these are the last of the boreal/winter "specialties" I need for Ontario this year, with the exception of Northern Hawk-owl, the Hudson/James Bay birds, and the Rainy River birds.

Of course I could add a lot more than four new year birds if I did a 3 day trip to Point Pelee instead, but all those would most likely be birds I'll see regularly the rest of the year. I have to do this northern trip because I most likely won't see any of them in southern Ontario anytime soon.

"EAGR"ly kicking off the month

I headed down to Long Point today with Brett, Barb Charlton, and Georg Hentsch. We didn't have any specific targets in mind, and we hoped to just bird the area. It was nice to do this for a change, as opposed to driving far away to "chase" a certain bird. The forecast called for intermittent showers, but we managed to stay dry for most of the day! At our first stop, Turkey Point, we scoped out some Little Gulls way out on the lake.

Scoping for LIGUs - Turkey Point

A few stops later, we ended up at the BSC headquarters. ALL the Tree Swallows were evidently back and checking out the nest boxes. This little guy wasn't too eager to move...

Tree Swallow - Long Point

There are a few belligerent cows in the Long Point area.

mooooooo

An unexpected surprise came as we stopped by at the viewing platform near the marina along the causeway to stop and chat with Ron Ridout, who was scoping the ducks on the bay. As we were about to leave, I took a look at a small black bird swimming in the channel (Brett had mentioned something about a coot there). Needless to say I was surprised when the "coot" turned out to be an Eared Grebe, in near breeding plumage! The rest of the day, anytime Brett saw a coot, we all double-checked ;)

Eared Grebe - Long Point

Despite Eared Grebes being labeled as a code-3 species in Ontario (uncommon but annual), I've had an abnormal amount of luck with this species, finding 5 individuals over the last 3 springs. On the other hand, I've only ever seen 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers, a species that migrates through southern Ontario regularly.By the way, for those who don't know, EAGR (from the title of this post) refers to the unique four-letter code that is used for every North American species.

Eared Grebe - Long Point

This was a year bird for all of us and we spent a bit of time taking photos of it diving for fish about 20 feet away. It was Ron's second for the Long Point birding area.

Eared Grebe catching a fish - Long Point

Spurred on by that success we headed over to Old Cut and then went for a walk in the Provincial Park. There were decent numbers of the typical spring migrants, including Fox Sparrows, Winter Wrens, both kinglets, Eastern Phoebes, and Brown Creepers. This banded individual thought he'd give the nets another shot.

Brown Creeper - Long Point

We all got our first Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of the year, but the photos leave something to desire! Several Mockers were in the park.

Northern Mockingbird - Long Point

It's good to see these signs around. We need more of these around Ontario!

We ran into a large group of birders from London doing their annual Long Point trip, led by the Platts. They had missed the Eared Grebe, so we promised to let them know if we saw it on our way out. Surprisingly, the cute little bugger was still diving around, going after fish! Their group was able to view it, with many getting good photos.

Eared Grebe - one last time

After a few more relatively unproductive stops in the Long Point area and the Townsend lagoons, we headed back home. The Eared Grebe and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker bring my year list up to 169.