A link to the report can be found here: Point Pelee birds 2012
Check it out!
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| Bell's Vireo - Point Pelee National Park |
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Point Pelee annual report.
The excellent annual report for 2012 in the Point Pelee birding area (including Point Pelee National Park, Leamington, Wheatley harbour, Hillman Marsh, etc) has just come out. Alan Wormington spent countless hours working away at it and it looks quite good. Last year birders found a cumulative 293 species, which is the second highest total ever for the Point Pelee birding area. Check it out for details on the Kelp Gull, Vega Gull, Brown Pelican, Bell's Vireo, and more!
A link to the report can be found here: Point Pelee birds 2012
Check it out!
A link to the report can be found here: Point Pelee birds 2012
Check it out!
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
More from Pelee
When this gets posted, I will be on a jet across the Atlantic ocean to visit the beautiful Laura Bond. My next post should have photos of European birds!
Anyways, about a week ago I visited Ontario's banana belt for a few days - specifically the Point Pelee area. I was going to post some photos from that trip, but then excursions to Haldimand County, the Collingwood and Owen Sound areas, and Toronto got in the way! Anyways, here is a day by day summary of the trip.
March 10:
Drove from Cambridge down to Point Pelee. I had my first migrant Turkey Vulture of the year just outside of Cambridge, then ended up seeing 0 more the rest of the trip!
The highlight for the drive down by far was a Common Raven flying over the highway just outside of London in Middlesex County.
I checked the Rondeau area in the afternoon, though I could not find much of interest. No little white geese to speak of! There was quite a high number of waterfowl in Rondeau Bay, though much of it was too distant to ID. Ridgetown lagoons was great with 6 Canvasback, 48 Tundra Swans, and my first big flocks of blackbirds being highlights for me!
From here it was off to Point Pelee - specifically the Couture Dyke to search for the Greater White-fronted Geese that had been reported on and off throughout Hillman and the onion fields. There was a huge number of Canada Geese back here, and by carefully scoping them I found a flock of 8 Cackling Geese mixed in. Cool! I scanned the large flocks of wigeon and pintail, though I couldn't find any rarities mixed in. I was specifically looking to find a Eurasian Wigeon all weekend, to no success. The White-fronted Geese weren't here unfortunately.
While I was driving the onion fields, I got a text from Kory Renaud that he and Sarah had just found the target geese in a field just south of Hillman Marsh. I was pleasantly surprised to see 34 of them, though they were quite distant! This was not only a new Pelee bird for me, but the first time that I had ever seen more than 2 together in Ontario.
Jeremy Bensette drove up while I was looking at the geese. We spent the rest of the daylight checking out some areas near NW Hillman Marsh.
The first two Tree Swallows of the year were combing the air above the shorebird cell for insects. This was the earliest I had seen this species in Ontario, beating my previous best of March 13 (from last year).
We finished the day by listening to a pair of Great Horned Owls dueting, while the occasional Long-eared Owl flew past and at least 4 American Woodcocks "peeent"ed. A great day!
March 11
Jeremy and I started the day by birding Point Pelee National Park. We checked out the tip area, though it was very quiet for passerines. Presumably the strong winds had something to do with that!
I was happy to spot two 2nd winter Iceland Gulls sitting on the tip. This was another new Pelee bird for me! There was a 2nd winter Glaucous Gull and an adult Lesser Black-backed here as well. Some ducks were migrating past, including a few small flocks of Green-winged Teal and a Horned Grebe.
While walking the park road, we ran into Alan Wormington who had just found a Snow Goose just outside of the park gate. This would be another new Pelee bird for me. We made a brief check of several locations in the park and found quite a few sparrows, though they were all American Tree, Song, and Dark-eyed Junco. A highlight was a group of 5 Eastern Meadowlarks in Sparrow Field.
Fortunately, the Snow Goose was right where it was supposed to be!
We checked the flooded onion fields extensively and combed through thousands of Ring-billed Gulls. Several Glaucous and Lesser Black-backed were mixed in, but none of the hoped for Mew or California Gulls! 5 Greater White-fronted Geese were mixed in with a flock of Canada Geese along Mersea Road 19.
Also, I realized that female pheasants can really blend in to corn stubble.
Here's a funny looking pheasant - a young male maybe? To be honest I know next to nothing about this species.
We went back into the park, but didn't see a whole lot. I finally got my first Rusty Blackbird of the year in a flooded slough just north of the Visitor's Center. We ended the day scoping the thousands of ducks at the shorebird cell at Hillman in strong winds and rain. We thought that the newly-erected shelter/blind would provide some protection from the elements, but it did the opposite! The horizontal rain went right through it, and its design acted like a wind tunnel! We were better off standing outside of it.
March 12
I had a later start than usual, but the cold and windy weather did not seem very inviting for birding. I checked Hillman Marsh out briefly, including the south end, but didn't see much of interest. Later on I heard that Alan had found 43(!!) Greater White-fronted Geese, a new high for Point Pelee and presumably southern Ontario as well. I basically worked my way back to Cambridge along the north shore of Lake Erie. There were some birds here and there, and the highlight for me was finding 4 Snow Geese at the Aylmer WMA. A Northern Shrike was also in the area. Notable for the area were 3 Long-tailed Ducks at the Port Stanley sewage lagoons. Long-tailed Ducks are hard to come by on Lake Erie, so to get 3 together at close range was nice! I also had 6 Canvasbacks at the Aylmer sewage lagoons.
Anyways, about a week ago I visited Ontario's banana belt for a few days - specifically the Point Pelee area. I was going to post some photos from that trip, but then excursions to Haldimand County, the Collingwood and Owen Sound areas, and Toronto got in the way! Anyways, here is a day by day summary of the trip.
March 10:
Drove from Cambridge down to Point Pelee. I had my first migrant Turkey Vulture of the year just outside of Cambridge, then ended up seeing 0 more the rest of the trip!
The highlight for the drive down by far was a Common Raven flying over the highway just outside of London in Middlesex County.
I checked the Rondeau area in the afternoon, though I could not find much of interest. No little white geese to speak of! There was quite a high number of waterfowl in Rondeau Bay, though much of it was too distant to ID. Ridgetown lagoons was great with 6 Canvasback, 48 Tundra Swans, and my first big flocks of blackbirds being highlights for me!
From here it was off to Point Pelee - specifically the Couture Dyke to search for the Greater White-fronted Geese that had been reported on and off throughout Hillman and the onion fields. There was a huge number of Canada Geese back here, and by carefully scoping them I found a flock of 8 Cackling Geese mixed in. Cool! I scanned the large flocks of wigeon and pintail, though I couldn't find any rarities mixed in. I was specifically looking to find a Eurasian Wigeon all weekend, to no success. The White-fronted Geese weren't here unfortunately.
While I was driving the onion fields, I got a text from Kory Renaud that he and Sarah had just found the target geese in a field just south of Hillman Marsh. I was pleasantly surprised to see 34 of them, though they were quite distant! This was not only a new Pelee bird for me, but the first time that I had ever seen more than 2 together in Ontario.
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| trust me, about 20 of the White-fronted Geese are in this photo! |
Jeremy Bensette drove up while I was looking at the geese. We spent the rest of the daylight checking out some areas near NW Hillman Marsh.
The first two Tree Swallows of the year were combing the air above the shorebird cell for insects. This was the earliest I had seen this species in Ontario, beating my previous best of March 13 (from last year).
We finished the day by listening to a pair of Great Horned Owls dueting, while the occasional Long-eared Owl flew past and at least 4 American Woodcocks "peeent"ed. A great day!
March 11
Jeremy and I started the day by birding Point Pelee National Park. We checked out the tip area, though it was very quiet for passerines. Presumably the strong winds had something to do with that!
I was happy to spot two 2nd winter Iceland Gulls sitting on the tip. This was another new Pelee bird for me! There was a 2nd winter Glaucous Gull and an adult Lesser Black-backed here as well. Some ducks were migrating past, including a few small flocks of Green-winged Teal and a Horned Grebe.
While walking the park road, we ran into Alan Wormington who had just found a Snow Goose just outside of the park gate. This would be another new Pelee bird for me. We made a brief check of several locations in the park and found quite a few sparrows, though they were all American Tree, Song, and Dark-eyed Junco. A highlight was a group of 5 Eastern Meadowlarks in Sparrow Field.
Fortunately, the Snow Goose was right where it was supposed to be!
We checked the flooded onion fields extensively and combed through thousands of Ring-billed Gulls. Several Glaucous and Lesser Black-backed were mixed in, but none of the hoped for Mew or California Gulls! 5 Greater White-fronted Geese were mixed in with a flock of Canada Geese along Mersea Road 19.
Also, I realized that female pheasants can really blend in to corn stubble.
Here's a funny looking pheasant - a young male maybe? To be honest I know next to nothing about this species.
We went back into the park, but didn't see a whole lot. I finally got my first Rusty Blackbird of the year in a flooded slough just north of the Visitor's Center. We ended the day scoping the thousands of ducks at the shorebird cell at Hillman in strong winds and rain. We thought that the newly-erected shelter/blind would provide some protection from the elements, but it did the opposite! The horizontal rain went right through it, and its design acted like a wind tunnel! We were better off standing outside of it.
March 12
I had a later start than usual, but the cold and windy weather did not seem very inviting for birding. I checked Hillman Marsh out briefly, including the south end, but didn't see much of interest. Later on I heard that Alan had found 43(!!) Greater White-fronted Geese, a new high for Point Pelee and presumably southern Ontario as well. I basically worked my way back to Cambridge along the north shore of Lake Erie. There were some birds here and there, and the highlight for me was finding 4 Snow Geese at the Aylmer WMA. A Northern Shrike was also in the area. Notable for the area were 3 Long-tailed Ducks at the Port Stanley sewage lagoons. Long-tailed Ducks are hard to come by on Lake Erie, so to get 3 together at close range was nice! I also had 6 Canvasbacks at the Aylmer sewage lagoons.
Monday, 18 March 2013
More from the Western Grebe photoshoot
Here are a few more shots from the grebe bonanza on March 16th at Colonel Sam Smith Park in Toronto.
I must say, it was a nice change to spend some time focused solely on photography, as opposed to birding while taking the occasional oppurtunistic photo. It had been a while since I had done that despite that being a New Years Resolution of mine. By watching the Red-necked and Western Grebe interact for over an hour, I learned a lot more about each species than I normally would as a birder.
This is another example of the "cormorant wing stretch" that this bird seemed to enjoy doing every 10 minutes or so. I am not sure if it was actually trying to dry the wings somewhat, or if it was some sort of display.
Another example of the "bellyflop display". About half a second after assuming this pose, it was then bellyflop in a not so graceful manner!
Every now and then a Red-necked Grebe would tell it off.
And to close, a basic "field guide style" shot.
It certainly wasn't an "ideal" photoshoot - I wish I was lower to the water (my lens was about 30 inches above the surface), there could have been fewer ripples, and the birds could have been just a touch closer. But all told, I was pretty happy to get a series of a Western Grebe, especially since it is a rarity in Ontario.
I must say, it was a nice change to spend some time focused solely on photography, as opposed to birding while taking the occasional oppurtunistic photo. It had been a while since I had done that despite that being a New Years Resolution of mine. By watching the Red-necked and Western Grebe interact for over an hour, I learned a lot more about each species than I normally would as a birder.
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, Ontario |
This is another example of the "cormorant wing stretch" that this bird seemed to enjoy doing every 10 minutes or so. I am not sure if it was actually trying to dry the wings somewhat, or if it was some sort of display.
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, Ontario |
Another example of the "bellyflop display". About half a second after assuming this pose, it was then bellyflop in a not so graceful manner!
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, Ontario |
Every now and then a Red-necked Grebe would tell it off.
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| Western and Red-necked Grebes - Toronto, Ontario |
And to close, a basic "field guide style" shot.
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, Ontario |
It certainly wasn't an "ideal" photoshoot - I wish I was lower to the water (my lens was about 30 inches above the surface), there could have been fewer ripples, and the birds could have been just a touch closer. But all told, I was pretty happy to get a series of a Western Grebe, especially since it is a rarity in Ontario.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Western Grebe photoshoot
Part two of this set of photos can be viewed here.
This evening I had plans to pick up my parents from the airport in Toronto, after they had been on a 10 day trip to tropical Costa Rica (I'm not jealous at all...). I decided to leave in the mid afternoon, stopping along the Toronto waterfront to do some birding. I was hoping to see the Harlequin Duck that had been reported at Colonel Samuel Smith Park.
Unfortunately I couldn't locate the Harli, but I noticed that the long-staying Western Grebe was swimming in the harbour with some Red-necked Grebes. Seeing a potential photographic opportunity as the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds, I climbed down the bank and set up my tripod and camera among the rocks.
There were about 8 Red-necked Grebes in the harbour as well as the Western. They seemed to tolerate my presence and as a result I was able to get some images that I was happy with.
Another common "display" that the Western Grebe would do involved crouching really low to the water, with its neck down as low as it could go. It would then start flapping its wings just under the surface of the water, raising its body out of the water. Though it never did "dance" like I've heard Clark's Grebes do on their breeding grounds. This was just an exaggerated flap.
Check out that beautiful wing stripe! Not that grebes fly much during the day, but that is how obvious the wing stripe is on a vagrant Western.
This photo helps illustrate the structural differences between a Western and Red-necked. Western has a thinner neck, longer thinner bill, and overall more slender appearance. The clear demarcation between the white "fore" neck and black "hind" neck is pretty distinctive as well.
At one point, I noticed the Western Grebe getting dangerously close to being directly in line between the CN Tower and I. I hastily removed my teleconverter, re-attached my lens, and was just able to squeeze both the bird and the tower in the same frame. I doubt anyone else in the entire world has a photo of these two things together! :)
More photos coming tomorrow!
This evening I had plans to pick up my parents from the airport in Toronto, after they had been on a 10 day trip to tropical Costa Rica (I'm not jealous at all...). I decided to leave in the mid afternoon, stopping along the Toronto waterfront to do some birding. I was hoping to see the Harlequin Duck that had been reported at Colonel Samuel Smith Park.
Unfortunately I couldn't locate the Harli, but I noticed that the long-staying Western Grebe was swimming in the harbour with some Red-necked Grebes. Seeing a potential photographic opportunity as the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds, I climbed down the bank and set up my tripod and camera among the rocks.
There were about 8 Red-necked Grebes in the harbour as well as the Western. They seemed to tolerate my presence and as a result I was able to get some images that I was happy with.
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| Western and Red-necked Grebes - Toronto |
At times the Western Grebe would do what I would assume is a "display", though I haven't looked into it. It would assume this position before doing a bellyflop.
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, Ontario |
Another common "display" that the Western Grebe would do involved crouching really low to the water, with its neck down as low as it could go. It would then start flapping its wings just under the surface of the water, raising its body out of the water. Though it never did "dance" like I've heard Clark's Grebes do on their breeding grounds. This was just an exaggerated flap.
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, Ontario |
Check out that beautiful wing stripe! Not that grebes fly much during the day, but that is how obvious the wing stripe is on a vagrant Western.
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, Ontario |
This photo helps illustrate the structural differences between a Western and Red-necked. Western has a thinner neck, longer thinner bill, and overall more slender appearance. The clear demarcation between the white "fore" neck and black "hind" neck is pretty distinctive as well.
 |
| Western and Red-necked Grebes - Toronto, ON |
At one point, I noticed the Western Grebe getting dangerously close to being directly in line between the CN Tower and I. I hastily removed my teleconverter, re-attached my lens, and was just able to squeeze both the bird and the tower in the same frame. I doubt anyone else in the entire world has a photo of these two things together! :)
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| Western Grebe - Toronto, ON |
More photos coming tomorrow!
Friday, 15 March 2013
Birding in northern southern Ontario
On March 14th I left my usual stomping grounds of southwestern Ontario between Hamilton and Point Pelee, venturing north to Collingwood and Owen Sound. I normally wouldn't go birding up there in mid-March, however I had agreed to give a presentation to the Owen Sound Field Naturalists in the evening so I made a day out of it, birding along the way.
In southern Ontario, spring has more or less arrived. Yes, there is still snow on the ground, and the salamanders and frogs haven't awakened yet. But the sun is feeling warmer, the days are longer, and many early spring migrants have returned. Quite a few Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are back, along with waterfowl, Killdeer, American Robins, and the first Song Sparrows. When I was in Pelee a few days ago it felt like a typical mid April day.
But that is not the case further north! In many areas the snow is still 20-30 cm deep, with blowing drifts across the roads. The only spring migrants that I saw (apart from some waterfowl) were American Crows and Ring-billed Gulls. Nowhere to be seen were Red-winged Blackbirds, and I did not cross paths with any robins. On a few occasions I slowly drove the perimeter of a concession block, stopping periodically to look and listen. Several times the only species I saw were American Crows and European Starlings. The temperature was cold and the strong northwest wind was brutal.
But I did see some birds! Early on, a highlight was a flyover Red Crossbill north of Shelburne in Dufferin County. It was my first RECR since early December, according to my records. Maybe they are back on the move again, after being absent all winter?
Eventually I made it to Collingwood, and I spent about 4 hours driving along the coast to Owen Sound, periodically stopping. This is a beautiful drive (hugging the picturesque shoreline in many stretches) and I can definitely see some rarity potential. There are several little harbours and rocky shoals that look perfect for vagrant waterfowl, shorebirds, or gulls.
Horned Grebes made several appearances and I saw a total of 6. A Pied-billed Grebe was also fairly notable in one of the marinas in Owen Sound - it is presumably a spring migrant.
All the expected winter ducks were present, including White-winged Scoter, Redhead, Long-tailed Duck, both scaup, and 3 mergansers. Several sharp looking Ring-necked Ducks were new arrivals. The highlight for me though was a group of 5 Black and 9 White-winged Scoters just west of the harbour in Meaford. Out of the 5 Black Scoters, 1 was an adult male, 3 were immature males, and 1 was an adult female.
Black Scoters are not too common on southern Georgian Bay, and it turns out that this was the first time some had been reported to Ebird from Grey County. Cool to see!
So that's that. I still have plans to make one more Point Pelee post; probably tomorrow.
In southern Ontario, spring has more or less arrived. Yes, there is still snow on the ground, and the salamanders and frogs haven't awakened yet. But the sun is feeling warmer, the days are longer, and many early spring migrants have returned. Quite a few Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are back, along with waterfowl, Killdeer, American Robins, and the first Song Sparrows. When I was in Pelee a few days ago it felt like a typical mid April day.
But that is not the case further north! In many areas the snow is still 20-30 cm deep, with blowing drifts across the roads. The only spring migrants that I saw (apart from some waterfowl) were American Crows and Ring-billed Gulls. Nowhere to be seen were Red-winged Blackbirds, and I did not cross paths with any robins. On a few occasions I slowly drove the perimeter of a concession block, stopping periodically to look and listen. Several times the only species I saw were American Crows and European Starlings. The temperature was cold and the strong northwest wind was brutal.
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| Northern Pintail - Collingwood harbour |
But I did see some birds! Early on, a highlight was a flyover Red Crossbill north of Shelburne in Dufferin County. It was my first RECR since early December, according to my records. Maybe they are back on the move again, after being absent all winter?
Eventually I made it to Collingwood, and I spent about 4 hours driving along the coast to Owen Sound, periodically stopping. This is a beautiful drive (hugging the picturesque shoreline in many stretches) and I can definitely see some rarity potential. There are several little harbours and rocky shoals that look perfect for vagrant waterfowl, shorebirds, or gulls.
Horned Grebes made several appearances and I saw a total of 6. A Pied-billed Grebe was also fairly notable in one of the marinas in Owen Sound - it is presumably a spring migrant.
All the expected winter ducks were present, including White-winged Scoter, Redhead, Long-tailed Duck, both scaup, and 3 mergansers. Several sharp looking Ring-necked Ducks were new arrivals. The highlight for me though was a group of 5 Black and 9 White-winged Scoters just west of the harbour in Meaford. Out of the 5 Black Scoters, 1 was an adult male, 3 were immature males, and 1 was an adult female.
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| Black Scoters - Meaford, Ontario |
Black Scoters are not too common on southern Georgian Bay, and it turns out that this was the first time some had been reported to Ebird from Grey County. Cool to see!
So that's that. I still have plans to make one more Point Pelee post; probably tomorrow.
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Haldimand County geese and other fun birds
I'll get to making my second post about my Point Pelee trip soon. In that post, you can look forward to outstanding photos of Greater White-fronted Geese from about a km away, among other things. The pixelation in the photos is breathtaking. But in the meantime, I'll talk about the great day I had today, birding Haldimand County with Barb "Barbed Wire" Charlton.
Despite the occasional snow squalls, cold temperatures, and brisk wind, we headed out for the wilds of Haldimand County, located between Long Point and Niagara. I always enjoy birding this part of Ontario. It is relatively underbirded, the rarity potential is very high, the human population is low, and there are quite a few natural-ish looking areas, such as grasslands and weedy fields, which are often home to an abundance of species. Driving the backroads, periodically stopping in decent looking areas or when you encounter a flock of something, is a great strategy to birding the county.
I'll jump straight to the highlight of the day. At one point, Barb and I got out of her vehicle to scan a field containing geese plus a white blob (which ended up being a barnyard goose). As I was scanning with my scope, Barb noticed a flock of geese way off in the distance with her binoculars, flying towards us. I got on them with the scope and immediately noticed a smaller goose with the Canadas. After they came a little closer I realized it was a Brant!
We ended up jumping back in the car and following them until they touched down in a field. Sure enough, there was the Brant hanging out with the geese!
There are a couple of theories on the origin of this bird. One option is that it is a local overwintering bird. After all, 6 were seen on January 5, 2012 not more than 10 or 15 km away along Lake Erie. Perhaps it is one of those birds? However, shortly thereafter Lake Erie froze over and the majority of the geese departed.
Another option is that it is a "spring migrant". Brant normally migrate through eastern Ontario in late May/early June however there have been a few super early spring migrants. According to Alan Wormington, one showed up southeast of Ottawa on March 17, 2010. Another early spring record was from Peter's Corners, Hamilton on March 21, 2009.
Another example is Whimbrel. They also are late May migrants, however last spring one was seen in Prince Edward County on March 23/24! A Long-billed Dowitcher (usually late April/early May migrants) showed up near Ottawa on March 21, 2012 as well. So super early birds do occur!
A final possibility is that it is a bird that wintered a short distance away where there was open water - perhaps south of Lake Erie somewhere. It's plausible that it caught up with a group of migrant Canada Geese and ended up in Ontario.
Regardless of the origin of this bird, it was a pretty cool find!
We had a number of other interesting sightings throughout the day. 4 Ring-necked Pheasants was notable since they can be a tough bird to come by in most of Ontario. I wonder if the ones we saw were "wild" self-sustaining pheasants, or someone's pets.
We saw two Snow Geese in flight in the Dunnville area as well (one was a blue morph). A couple of Pileated Woodpeckers were also a treat to see, rounding out the sightings for us. Of course, the typical spring migrants for the date were in abundance - Killdeer, blackbirds, Tundra Swans, dabbling ducks, Horned Larks, etc.
Tomorrow I have a presentation to give in Owen Sound so I will leave sometime in the morning and do some birding on the way up. Maybe the Harlequin Duck is still around, or perhaps I'll stumble upon something else interesting.
Despite the occasional snow squalls, cold temperatures, and brisk wind, we headed out for the wilds of Haldimand County, located between Long Point and Niagara. I always enjoy birding this part of Ontario. It is relatively underbirded, the rarity potential is very high, the human population is low, and there are quite a few natural-ish looking areas, such as grasslands and weedy fields, which are often home to an abundance of species. Driving the backroads, periodically stopping in decent looking areas or when you encounter a flock of something, is a great strategy to birding the county.
I'll jump straight to the highlight of the day. At one point, Barb and I got out of her vehicle to scan a field containing geese plus a white blob (which ended up being a barnyard goose). As I was scanning with my scope, Barb noticed a flock of geese way off in the distance with her binoculars, flying towards us. I got on them with the scope and immediately noticed a smaller goose with the Canadas. After they came a little closer I realized it was a Brant!
We ended up jumping back in the car and following them until they touched down in a field. Sure enough, there was the Brant hanging out with the geese!
There are a couple of theories on the origin of this bird. One option is that it is a local overwintering bird. After all, 6 were seen on January 5, 2012 not more than 10 or 15 km away along Lake Erie. Perhaps it is one of those birds? However, shortly thereafter Lake Erie froze over and the majority of the geese departed.
Another option is that it is a "spring migrant". Brant normally migrate through eastern Ontario in late May/early June however there have been a few super early spring migrants. According to Alan Wormington, one showed up southeast of Ottawa on March 17, 2010. Another early spring record was from Peter's Corners, Hamilton on March 21, 2009.
Another example is Whimbrel. They also are late May migrants, however last spring one was seen in Prince Edward County on March 23/24! A Long-billed Dowitcher (usually late April/early May migrants) showed up near Ottawa on March 21, 2012 as well. So super early birds do occur!
A final possibility is that it is a bird that wintered a short distance away where there was open water - perhaps south of Lake Erie somewhere. It's plausible that it caught up with a group of migrant Canada Geese and ended up in Ontario.
Regardless of the origin of this bird, it was a pretty cool find!
We had a number of other interesting sightings throughout the day. 4 Ring-necked Pheasants was notable since they can be a tough bird to come by in most of Ontario. I wonder if the ones we saw were "wild" self-sustaining pheasants, or someone's pets.
We saw two Snow Geese in flight in the Dunnville area as well (one was a blue morph). A couple of Pileated Woodpeckers were also a treat to see, rounding out the sightings for us. Of course, the typical spring migrants for the date were in abundance - Killdeer, blackbirds, Tundra Swans, dabbling ducks, Horned Larks, etc.
Tomorrow I have a presentation to give in Owen Sound so I will leave sometime in the morning and do some birding on the way up. Maybe the Harlequin Duck is still around, or perhaps I'll stumble upon something else interesting.
Monday, 11 March 2013
Point Pelee update after 2 days
I'll make this one short and sweet, and I'll do a longer writeup (with photos) when I get home tomorrow.
The spring like conditions of Point Pelee is certainly a welcome change! Yesterday the temperature was as high as 16 degrees Celcius in parts of southwestern Ontario, and today was close to double digits (though with a healthy dose of rain). Walking around today, it certainly felt and looked like a typical day in April! No snow, relatively warm air temperature, south winds, flooded fields (that were full of ducks), thousands of blackbirds, and thousands of Ring-billed Gulls everywhere.
Some highlights so far:
-1 Common Raven near London on the drive down
-34 Greater White-fronted Geese in the onion fields yesterday (a new Point Pelee bird for me, and the first time I had seen more than 1 at a time). Thanks for the text, Kory! There were only 5 in the fields today, so maybe the big group has left.
-8 migrant Eastern Meadowlarks included 5 in Sparrow Field and 3 in the onion fields today
-1 adult white morph Snow Goose today in the onion fields, another new Point Pelee bird for me. Thanks, Alan!
-2 Iceland, 2 Glaucous, and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls today, both at the tip and in the fields. Iceland Gull was my 3rd new Point Pelee bird so far this trip!
-huge numbers and diversity of ducks. New arrivals include Wood Ducks (19 today), Northern Shovelers, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, etc. So far, no rare ducks have been located! With the growing numbers of wigeon and teal, it seems only a matter of time until a Eurasian Wigeon or Common Teal drops in. 2 Long-tailed Ducks flying by the tip this morning were nice to see.
-first migrant aerial insectivores!!!! 2 Tree Swallows yesterday. Spring is here!!!
-at least 4 American Woodcocks peenting and displaying last night (plus hooting Great Horned Owls, and a Long-eared nearby)
-a group of 8 Cackling Geese off of the Couture Dyke yesterday
So to recap, we've had a great diversity of species, including some relatively early migrants. I have managed to pick up 3 new birds for my Point Pelee list, so that means I am even closer to passing Alan's all time Point Pelee list. A matter of time! ;)
Tomorrow I will probably do some birding around here for the morning, then work my way back along the lakeshore.
The spring like conditions of Point Pelee is certainly a welcome change! Yesterday the temperature was as high as 16 degrees Celcius in parts of southwestern Ontario, and today was close to double digits (though with a healthy dose of rain). Walking around today, it certainly felt and looked like a typical day in April! No snow, relatively warm air temperature, south winds, flooded fields (that were full of ducks), thousands of blackbirds, and thousands of Ring-billed Gulls everywhere.
Some highlights so far:
-1 Common Raven near London on the drive down
-34 Greater White-fronted Geese in the onion fields yesterday (a new Point Pelee bird for me, and the first time I had seen more than 1 at a time). Thanks for the text, Kory! There were only 5 in the fields today, so maybe the big group has left.
-8 migrant Eastern Meadowlarks included 5 in Sparrow Field and 3 in the onion fields today
-1 adult white morph Snow Goose today in the onion fields, another new Point Pelee bird for me. Thanks, Alan!
-2 Iceland, 2 Glaucous, and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls today, both at the tip and in the fields. Iceland Gull was my 3rd new Point Pelee bird so far this trip!
-huge numbers and diversity of ducks. New arrivals include Wood Ducks (19 today), Northern Shovelers, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, etc. So far, no rare ducks have been located! With the growing numbers of wigeon and teal, it seems only a matter of time until a Eurasian Wigeon or Common Teal drops in. 2 Long-tailed Ducks flying by the tip this morning were nice to see.
-first migrant aerial insectivores!!!! 2 Tree Swallows yesterday. Spring is here!!!
-at least 4 American Woodcocks peenting and displaying last night (plus hooting Great Horned Owls, and a Long-eared nearby)
-a group of 8 Cackling Geese off of the Couture Dyke yesterday
So to recap, we've had a great diversity of species, including some relatively early migrants. I have managed to pick up 3 new birds for my Point Pelee list, so that means I am even closer to passing Alan's all time Point Pelee list. A matter of time! ;)
Tomorrow I will probably do some birding around here for the morning, then work my way back along the lakeshore.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Pelee for 3 days
Later today I will be leaving for Ontario's banana belt, with a plan to spend most of my time in the Point Pelee area. After a bit of a slow start to spring, at least compared to the last couple of years, finally we are getting some warmer temperatures and south winds. The snow is slowly melting, and there is open water to the south of where I am living in Cambridge.
While rarities are super rare in early March, some species do show up this time of year. Townsend's Solitaires and Varied Thrushes have a history of being found in March in Ontario. Ontario's first ever Furriginous Hawk was found on March 17, 1990. Gulls such as California and Mew (3 records each) are a possibility. Common Eider has 5 March records. Tufted Duck, Mountain Bluebird, Western Grebe, Common Teal, Green-tailed Towhee, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, and Black Vulture all have multiple March records for Ontario.
Rare geese also have a tendency to be found in March. Apparently the large flock of Greater White-fronted Geese is still being seen at Hillman Marsh so hopefully I can add that one to my Point Pelee list. I have actually never seen more than 1 at a given time in Ontario.
Snow and Ross's Geese also are fairly regular this time of year. Pelee had some a few weeks ago, and the flock totaling around 10 Ross's Geese may still be in the Rondeau area.
Early spring means lots of ducks and so I expect to have hundreds or even thousands of Redhead, scaup, American Wigeons, Black Ducks, Mallards, Northern Pintail, and other species to sort through. It won/t be long until the first spring Blue-winged Teal shows up, and I am hoping to cross paths with one! Eurasian Wigeon is always a possibility this time of year. That would be another new Pelee bird if I can find one.
Check out this checklist from NW Kentucky (only 1000 km southwest of Pelee). Migrant shorebirds!!! It will still be some time before we start to see Least Sandpipers, yellowlegs, and Pectoral Sandpipers in Ontario, though.
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13265841
Blackbirds will be around, Killdeer should be littering the fields, and Song Sparrows will have arrived. Common birds they are, but definitely a welcome change of scenery after the long, cold winter! Tree Swallows hit Lake Erie yesterday, so some of these should be around as well!
Often, white-winged gulls migrating back north are seen on Lake Erie this time of year. I still need Iceland Gull for my Point Pelee list, so maybe that nemesis will finally fall this week. Speaking of potential new Pelee birds, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Northern Shrike, Bohemian Waxwing, and California Gull fall in that category.
We are forecasted to have a good amount of rain tomorrow, but there should still be tons of migrants around. I'll try to update my blog in the evenings. If you do not hear from me, it is likely because I have not seen anything interesting. I will probably stay in the Pelee area until Tuesday evening.
While rarities are super rare in early March, some species do show up this time of year. Townsend's Solitaires and Varied Thrushes have a history of being found in March in Ontario. Ontario's first ever Furriginous Hawk was found on March 17, 1990. Gulls such as California and Mew (3 records each) are a possibility. Common Eider has 5 March records. Tufted Duck, Mountain Bluebird, Western Grebe, Common Teal, Green-tailed Towhee, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, and Black Vulture all have multiple March records for Ontario.
Rare geese also have a tendency to be found in March. Apparently the large flock of Greater White-fronted Geese is still being seen at Hillman Marsh so hopefully I can add that one to my Point Pelee list. I have actually never seen more than 1 at a given time in Ontario.
 |
| Greater White-fronted Goose (November 29, 2012; Waterloo, Ontario) |
Snow and Ross's Geese also are fairly regular this time of year. Pelee had some a few weeks ago, and the flock totaling around 10 Ross's Geese may still be in the Rondeau area.
Early spring means lots of ducks and so I expect to have hundreds or even thousands of Redhead, scaup, American Wigeons, Black Ducks, Mallards, Northern Pintail, and other species to sort through. It won/t be long until the first spring Blue-winged Teal shows up, and I am hoping to cross paths with one! Eurasian Wigeon is always a possibility this time of year. That would be another new Pelee bird if I can find one.
Check out this checklist from NW Kentucky (only 1000 km southwest of Pelee). Migrant shorebirds!!! It will still be some time before we start to see Least Sandpipers, yellowlegs, and Pectoral Sandpipers in Ontario, though.
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13265841
Blackbirds will be around, Killdeer should be littering the fields, and Song Sparrows will have arrived. Common birds they are, but definitely a welcome change of scenery after the long, cold winter! Tree Swallows hit Lake Erie yesterday, so some of these should be around as well!
We are forecasted to have a good amount of rain tomorrow, but there should still be tons of migrants around. I'll try to update my blog in the evenings. If you do not hear from me, it is likely because I have not seen anything interesting. I will probably stay in the Pelee area until Tuesday evening.
Friday, 8 March 2013
Blast from the past (September 13, 2008)
Time for a new feature on this blog! When I have absolutely no new material, I will post photos from days gone by. I have quite a few photos from my pre-blog days, mostly of my many trips to look for reptiles and amphibians, so I might as well try to get some of them on the blog at some point.
Back in mid September of 2008, a sizable Atlantic hurricane was making its presence known on the Gulf Coast of North America. At this point I had only just started to look at birds, with herps easily taking the #1 spot. Birders see potential hurricanes as a source of fantastic birding, due to the large number of displaced birds brought on by the storm. Rare vagrant species from the Atlantic are always on the radar. Herps are obviously never displaced by hurricanes in Ontario, though their day to day lives may be impacted.
In mid September the remnants of Hurricane Ike were traveling north to Ontario after coming up from the Gulf Coast. While this tropical storm did not bring any rare birds to Ontario for a variety of reasons, it did cause a lot of rainfall in a 2 or 3 day period.
September 13 had a high of 23 degrees C, a low of 18 degrees C, and a total of 27 mm of rainfall. I decided that I would spend my evening frogging!! With the warm weather and the heavy rains, all of the local species would be on the move.
Wood Frogs were one a frequently encountered species hopping across the road. This species occurs north of the Arctic Circle in some areas. In this part of Ontario it is easy to find in deep, dark, deciduous forests, where it breeds mainly in ephemeral wetlands.
A close-up of the head...
While it rained on and off for the whole evening I managed to keep my photography gear dry by taking photos inside of the van. I opened up the trunk and set up a photography "studio", consisting of a tray with a pile of leaves and other natural looking artifacts. That way I could take a species like the below American Toad, place it in the "studio", fire off a few frames, and then release it on the other side of the road, away from all dangers. It was quite effective!
American Toads were the 2nd most frequently encountered species with about 30 seen in all. Normally by mid September it can be quite tough to find toads, especially at the end of a long, dry period. The rains caused all toads to move at once!
I tried some results with a home made diffuser that I attached my flash. It softened the light and diffused the shadows. The only drawback was the large catchlight visible in the eye of the toad below.
Without a doubt the most abundant species was the Green Frog, though the Northern Leopard Frog wasn't far behind. I come across North Leopard Frogs most often when passing through semi-open areas with long grass. They seem to prefer more open habitats, such as the grassy meadows in the floodplain of a river, to the darker forests. However they are fairly common even in the forests.
How could I forget about Gray Treefrogs? On this night I only came across 3, however several more were heard calling. Each Ontario frog has its own window in which the males will vocalize. Wood Frogs are usually done by the middle of May, though Gray Treefrogs start up then and sing all summer long. The heavy rains on this night seemed to spur on a few desperate males to try their luck.
And the most abundant species, the Green Frog. Any permanent body of water seems to have this species and they are particularly common in the Carolinian tracts of forest in the area. Unfortunately there were probably just as many dead Green Frogs as alive ones. Even in areas such as this which sees limited vehicle traffic, the death toll is high.
Finally, near the end of the night I encountered two Spring Peepers. This frog is often one of the first to sing in the early spring - their incessant "peeeeep! peeeeep! peeeeep!" continuing all night on most warm March and April evenings. It was great to come across a few of these after going all summer with only occasional sightings.
The following night had a low of 18 degrees C and a total of 15mm of rain fell, so I was back at it. I will detail the findings of that night in a later post.
Back in mid September of 2008, a sizable Atlantic hurricane was making its presence known on the Gulf Coast of North America. At this point I had only just started to look at birds, with herps easily taking the #1 spot. Birders see potential hurricanes as a source of fantastic birding, due to the large number of displaced birds brought on by the storm. Rare vagrant species from the Atlantic are always on the radar. Herps are obviously never displaced by hurricanes in Ontario, though their day to day lives may be impacted.
In mid September the remnants of Hurricane Ike were traveling north to Ontario after coming up from the Gulf Coast. While this tropical storm did not bring any rare birds to Ontario for a variety of reasons, it did cause a lot of rainfall in a 2 or 3 day period.
 |
| Hurricane Ike track (September, 2008) |
September 13 had a high of 23 degrees C, a low of 18 degrees C, and a total of 27 mm of rainfall. I decided that I would spend my evening frogging!! With the warm weather and the heavy rains, all of the local species would be on the move.
Wood Frogs were one a frequently encountered species hopping across the road. This species occurs north of the Arctic Circle in some areas. In this part of Ontario it is easy to find in deep, dark, deciduous forests, where it breeds mainly in ephemeral wetlands.
 |
| Wood Frog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
 |
| Wood Frog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
A close-up of the head...
 |
| Wood Frog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
While it rained on and off for the whole evening I managed to keep my photography gear dry by taking photos inside of the van. I opened up the trunk and set up a photography "studio", consisting of a tray with a pile of leaves and other natural looking artifacts. That way I could take a species like the below American Toad, place it in the "studio", fire off a few frames, and then release it on the other side of the road, away from all dangers. It was quite effective!
 |
| American Toad - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
American Toads were the 2nd most frequently encountered species with about 30 seen in all. Normally by mid September it can be quite tough to find toads, especially at the end of a long, dry period. The rains caused all toads to move at once!
 |
| American Toad - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
I tried some results with a home made diffuser that I attached my flash. It softened the light and diffused the shadows. The only drawback was the large catchlight visible in the eye of the toad below.
 |
| American Toad - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
Without a doubt the most abundant species was the Green Frog, though the Northern Leopard Frog wasn't far behind. I come across North Leopard Frogs most often when passing through semi-open areas with long grass. They seem to prefer more open habitats, such as the grassy meadows in the floodplain of a river, to the darker forests. However they are fairly common even in the forests.
 |
| Northern Leopard Frog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
 |
| Northern Leopard Frog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
How could I forget about Gray Treefrogs? On this night I only came across 3, however several more were heard calling. Each Ontario frog has its own window in which the males will vocalize. Wood Frogs are usually done by the middle of May, though Gray Treefrogs start up then and sing all summer long. The heavy rains on this night seemed to spur on a few desperate males to try their luck.
 |
| Gray Treefrog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
And the most abundant species, the Green Frog. Any permanent body of water seems to have this species and they are particularly common in the Carolinian tracts of forest in the area. Unfortunately there were probably just as many dead Green Frogs as alive ones. Even in areas such as this which sees limited vehicle traffic, the death toll is high.
 |
| Green Frog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
 |
| Green Frog - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
Finally, near the end of the night I encountered two Spring Peepers. This frog is often one of the first to sing in the early spring - their incessant "peeeeep! peeeeep! peeeeep!" continuing all night on most warm March and April evenings. It was great to come across a few of these after going all summer with only occasional sightings.
 |
| Spring Peeper - Regional Municipality of Waterloo |
The following night had a low of 18 degrees C and a total of 15mm of rain fell, so I was back at it. I will detail the findings of that night in a later post.
Monday, 4 March 2013
"Fun" blog stats
The last time I checked, it was still cold, windy, and generally winter-ish outside, so don't expect any fresh, exciting material! Time for a "filler" post.
Turns out, a significant proportion of my "audience" is from Sweden. Tack så mycket!
With my car going in for repairs on Wednesday, I will be confined to Cambridge for the next few days. Apparently my car will crash and possibly injure and/or maim me or any bystanders if I try to drive it long distances, and I don't really want that happening. It's not like I'm missing out on any exciting birding, though! Despite Brandon's optimism, the north winds over the last few days failed to produce much of anything interesting, though I suppose something could very well still be lurking out there. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for an Ivory Gull to show up, but just by saying that I'm afraid that I have jinxed it.
So without further ado, I will talk about some interesting blog milestones...
Yesterday my blog rolled over 200,000 all time page views (the 100,000 mark was reached last September). The most popular month was November 2012, or right around the climax of my big year. The numbers have declined since but I still get a steady readership, even with the lull following a big year. Thanks all for following along!
The top referring blog has always been, and continues to be, Blake Mann's excellent blog. Check it out!
My top two posts (based on page views over the past month) are Dickcissels and Car Troubles (June 11, 2012) and Leavin' this Town for a little while... (April 3, 2012). The third most popular post isn't even close. I have no idea why these two posts are so popular, since they aren't anything special (one of them does not even have photos!) and they were not posted recently. One of the great wonders of the interwebs.
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| Leamington long-range forecast |
Above is the long range forecast for Leamington, Ontario. As you can see, the temperatures are finally going to increase and will be maybe slightly above average for the next two weeks. It won't be long til we are overrun with blackbirds, Killdeers, waterfowl, and more in Ontario. Tree Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Fox Sparrows, etc won't be far behind! I am thinking about making a trip to the Pelee area maybe on the weekend/early next week. While I don't expect to see much apart from the usual suspects for that time of year, I do love making early spring trips to that part of Ontario. Everything is a few days ahead compared to here and it really starts to feel like spring!
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Finally, some rarity news from across the continent...
Northern Lapwings have made an impact on the east coast this winter with perhaps more records than normal. One theory is that the weather systems surrounding and influencing Superstorm Sandy may have brought some over from Europe. Here is the latest example; a bird from North Carolina. It is one species that I definitely still have on the radar as a new addition to Ontario's avifauna.
Another Slaty-backed Gull - this one from Oswego Harbour, New York.
A Neotropic Cormorant was found in Salt Lake City, Utah. This seems like a really bizarre record, especially in late February! Maybe it is just the first this year in their continuing range expansion north. I think that it is one species that might become more common in the future in Ontario.
Bruce MacTavish's blog has some distant photos of one of the recent Newfoundland Ivory Gulls. Some additional photos of a different bird, taken by Ian Jones, can be seen here...
That's all I have for now!
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