Expedition to Netitishi - Days 1 and 2

Introduction and drive up - October 27 and 28, 2016
Days 1 and 2 - October 28 and 29, 2016
Days 3 and 4 - October 30 and 31, 2016
Days 5 and 6 - November 1 and 2, 2016
Days 7 and 8 - November 3 and 4, 2016
Days 9 and 10 - November 5 and 6, 2016
Days 11 and 12 - November 7 and 8, 2016
Days 13 and 14 - November 9 and 10, 2016
Days 15 and 16 - November 11 and 12, 2016
Days 17 and 18 - November 13 and 14, 2016


October 28, 2016
Weather:  3 to -2 degrees C, wind SW 10-20 km/h, overcast, light rain late afternoon through evening
5 species
eBird checklist here

Fifteen minutes after leaving Moosonee by helicopter we could see the tall spruces of Netitishi Point and the surrounding ridge looming in the distance, and several minutes later we had landed, unloaded, and bid farewell to the pilot. We watched the helicopter lift off, and within seconds our only evidence of the outside world was the distant whirr of the blades as the helicopter continued back to Moosonee. We had made it!

As you can see our bird list was rather sparse for the day. Other activities took priority today - namely, choosing and cleaning one of the cabins. Apparently a young Black Bear was wreaking havoc along this part of the James Bay coast, breaking into some of the cabins and creating a huge mess in each one. Every cabin at Netitishi Point had been pillaged by the rogue bear.

We cleaned out one of the newer cabins - large, insulated with a proper roof - burning much of the garbage in one of the barrels around the camp. Luckily I brought a bunch of cleaning supplies and by the time that the daylight began to fade the cabin was in perfect condition.

The only birds worth mentioning for today were a pair of Black-backed Woodpeckers just south of the camp. In my experience, Black-backed is the more unusual of the two boreal woodpeckers at Netitishi - American Three-toed is much easier to come by.

October 29, 2016
Weather: 1 to 5 to 5 degrees C, wind ENE to NNE 15-20 km/h, overcast most of day and clear by dusk, light rain/mist in AM
42 species
eBird checklist here

When looking at the weather forecast for the first few days of the trip October 29 stood out, as moderate northeast winds had been predicted. Fortunately the forecast held, and though the birding started out slow, eventually flocks of ducks and other waterfowl began moving past.

Todd and I counted nine flocks of Brant totaling 801 individuals, as well as 2050 Long-tailed Ducks, 140 Black Scoters and 69 White-winged Scoters among 12 total waterfowl species. The winds were not ideal for large numbers of Northern Pintails and other dabbling ducks however; they tend to migrate mostly on north or west winds.

Brant - Netitishi Point, Cochrane District

Gulls and shorebirds are often well-represented this time of year at Netitishi during suitable weather conditions, and today was no exception. Among the migrating Herring Gulls we picked up singles of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls and nine Great Black-backed Gulls - the first of many to come as autumn transitions to winter. Dunlin and Sanderling numbers were down with only 50 and 110 of each, respectively, though plovers were well-represented as 74 Black-bellied and 6 American-Golden Plovers migrated past. We located a single White-rumped Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs as well.

Black-bellied Plovers - Netitishi Point, Cochrane District

During the early afternoon I went for a walk around the cabins and was pleasantly surprised to encounter two kinglets - one of each species - with a little flock of chickadees. The Ruby-crowned was getting quite late for the location. Two Brown Creepers were also seen, as well as a single American Robin, American Pipit and American Tree Sparrow. We were happy to observe several Pine Grosbeaks at close range as well.

It was a great introduction to James Bay birding and we finished with 42 species - it would end up being the highest single day species total of the trip.

Expedition to Netitishi - from Niagara Falls to Moosonee

Introduction and drive up - October 27 and 28, 2016
Days 1 and 2 - October 28 and 29, 2016
Days 3 and 4 - October 30 and 31, 2016
Days 5 and 6 - November 1 and 2, 2016
Days 7 and 8 - November 3 and 4, 2016
Days 9 and 10 - November 5 and 6, 2016
Days 11 and 12 - November 7 and 8, 2016
Days 13 and 14 - November 9 and 10, 2016
Days 15 and 16 - November 11 and 12, 2016
Days 17 and 18 - November 13 and 14, 2016


October 27, 2017

Getting to Netitishi Point is always a bit of an adventure, and it is an unusual situation when each leg of the journey goes by without incident, in my experience. However, this time the cards aligned and Todd and I made it to the coast as quickly as possible by means of car, train, taxi and helicopter.. Before I get into the details on our time on the coast, I will briefly mention our drive up and the sightings that we had.

My phone's alarm clock signaled the beginning of the trip during the wee hours of October 27. I usually have a hard time sleeping the night before a trip and this was no exception, though I was fortunate in at least catching 2-3 hours of shut-eye. By 4:30 AM I had arrived at Todd's place in Ayr. It was cold with a bit of sleet coming down as we played the tetris game, loading up his car with all our gear. I may have gone a little overboard with grocery shopping and it was a bit of a struggle to fit everything in! Better to be safe than sorry...

We made good time through Toronto, though decided to skip on birding the Barrie waterfront at dawn since the windy and snowy conditions were not conducive to searching for waterbirds, plus sunrise was still an hour away at this point. So northward we drove, our first birds of the day being some Snow Buntings that flushed from the roadside somewhere near Bracebridge (my bet was on Common Raven for bird #1 of the day). Eventually the ravens did show as the day brightened, and we even had a flyover Gray Jay somewhere in southern Parry Sound District. Surprisingly, this was a year bird for me!

Our first stop was the Powassan lagoons, one of my favorite stops along this stretch of highway since the sewage lagoons seem to ooze with potential and it is easily accessible off of Highway 11. Not much was happening during this visit however, just the usual Sewage Lagoon Ducks. One of the lagoons even exhibited a thin layer of ice, a stark reminder that autumn was nearly in the rear-view mirror.

After a brief, largely unsuccessful stop at a landfill north of North Bay we continued onward, stopping at the New Liskeard lagoons by early afternoon. We ran into local birder Serge Gendron here, and he showed us photos of a couple of shorebirds he had found in one of the cells - a White-rumped Sandpiper with some Pectoral Sandpipers. After bidding goodbye to Serge, we found and studied the shorebirds, encountering a few other odds and ends here including an unexpected female Long-tailed Duck. Even more surprising was who we ran into while leaving the lagoons. As two female figures approached us, we mentioned that the one almost looked like Barb Charlton. Sure enough, as they approached closer we realized it actually was Barb, along with Nicole Richardson. Funny running into them way up here in New Liskeard! Barb and Nicole had had a successful evening of owl banding at Hilliardton Marsh the previous night and showed Todd and I some pictures of Boreal, Northern Saw-whet and Long-eared Owls. Pretty cool!

Barb took a photo of Todd and I as well - thanks Barb.

Josh (left) and Todd (right) at New Liskeard lagoons - photo by Barb Charlton

Todd and I were eager to get to our hotel in Smooth Rock Falls before it was too late in the evening, so that was it for our birding stops. We pulled into the hotel by sunset, enjoyed our last hot showers for some time, and completed the last minute packing and organizing. Our hope was that we would be on the coast of James Bay by the following afternoon!

October 28, 2016

Most birders who visit Moosonee take the train up from Cochrane, but lately I have been happy getting on at Fraserdale. Fraserdale is a tiny settlement about 2 hours northwest of Cochrane, accessed by driving on Highway 11 for an hour west towards Smooth Rock Falls, followed by an hour north along a well-maintained road through the boreal forest up to Fraserdale. The drive from Cochrane to Fraserdale takes the same amount of time as the train, plus the road to Fraserdale has been, in my experience, excellent for finding grouse (my "best" grouse day was September 27, 2013 where Jeremy Bensette, Alan Wormington and I saw 13 Spruce and 4 Ruffed Grouse). Catching the train at Fraserdale also allows one to bird nearby Abitibi Dam, a massive hydroelectric dam that also has quite a bit of surrounding open land around the work camp, a magnet for unusual birds. Alan Wormington discovered two Northern Wheatears here, one in 1972 with Mark Jennings, and another in 1989 on his own. I can only imagine what would turn up here if it was birded regularly!

Spruce Grouse - road to Abitibi Canyon (September 27, 2013)

Back to this year's trip. Todd and I left Smooth Rock Falls before sunrise on October 28, making good progress up the road towards Fraserdale as the sun broke over the black spruces - one of my favorite sights. The grousing was a bit slow today (it is usually better early in the autumn) but we still managed to turn up one Spruce Grouse feeding quietly on the road shoulder.

Our check of Abitibi Dam was quite productive given the late date and frozen landscape. We observed our first "northern" finches of the trip including both Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, and Purple Finches. Todd spotted a sparrow feeding along the edge of one of the buildings adjacent to the dam - we were surprised to see it was an immature White-crowned Sparrow. This was unusual as most birds had already cleared out - even Dark-eyed Juncos were nowhere to be seen by this date, and American Tree Sparrows nearly so.

Walking around the work camp and some of the open fields, we encountered a few more interesting birds including a Northern Shrike that attacked two American Tree Sparrows, right after we had "pished" them up out of the grasses. Clever bird, using the distraction to make an attempt at the sparrows, though it was unsuccessful this time! We also flushed a Wilson's Snipe out of a frozen ditch - it is getting somewhat late for them as well. Eventually we had to get going to catch the train but it had been a good walk with some interesting sightings.

The train to Moosonee is one of the most reliable ways to find Sharp-tailed Grouse in northeastern Ontario - I have seen them from the train on nearly every trip to Moosonee. Todd was eager to spot some, as they would be a lifer for him. Views aren't the greatest in this setting - usually, they consist of watching a small group flushed by the train, flying away from us over the bog, but occasionally views are quite good if the birds are close.

Needless to say Todd was a little upset when I saw 5 Sharp-tailed Grouse during the literally two minutes that he had suspended his watch to use the facilities! Fortunately however, we would see two more flocks in the large boggy areas, finishing with 27 total individuals. We also spotted a flock of twelve Bohemian Waxwings as well as four Rough-legged Hawks, both year-birds for me, and by 2:00 PM we rolled into Moosonee.

Our helicopter was booked for 2:00 PM so it was a bit of a mad rush to collect all of our gear, flag down a taxi, and get to the airport. The roads were in the best condition that I have ever seen them in Moosonee so the taxi ride went smoothly, and by 2:30 we were boarding the chopper!

 The subsequent posts will cover our time at Netitishi Point.

2016-2017 Ontario winter bird list

Yesterday marked the first day of winter listing, the period of time running from December 1 until February 28/29 (this season: December 1, 2016 to February 28, 2017). I will be compiling the winter bird list in Ontario again this year, the results of which can be viewed at here. I will also post regular updates on my blog periodically, and will link to the winter list from the "Ontario Winter Bird List" tab (found in the top column above the title of my most recent blog post).

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch at MacDiarmid, Thunder Bay District, Ontario (January 27, 2012)

Approximately 346 species of birds have been recorded in Ontario during the winter period, with usually between 195 and 220 species recorded in a given winter. Last winter 221 species were recorded - our second highest total after the 224 species reported in 2011-2012. Some of the highlights from last winter included Pink-footed Goose, Smew, Northern Fulmar, Great Cormorant,  Rufous Hummingbird, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cave Swallow, Bullock's Oriole and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

Vermilion Flycatcher - Wallaceburg, Chatham-Kent, Ontario (December 19, 2015)

Just post your sightings to Ontbirds (if sufficiently rare), ebird.org or send me an email, and I will update the list accordingly and provide an update to Ontbirds every two weeks or so. That way you can check the list and inform me of any species that have been seen but are not present on the list.

We are off to a great start with the Crested Caracara in Michipicoten providing the first winter record for Ontario. Given the mild weather to start the period I think we have a really great chance of setting a new standard this winter.

Crested Caracara at Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

Crested Caracara in Wawa(!)

Crested Caracara is a species that for many years few Ontario birders seriously expected to see at some point in their lives. You could count on one hand the number of birders who had seen one in the province - heck, you would only need 3 or 4 fingers.

But in recent years there have been more and more extralimital records of Crested Caracara, particularly north along the eastern seaboard, as well as west into California and up the Pacific coast all the way to southern British Colombia. Numerous states and provinces have added Crested Caracara to their respective lists in recent years, including New Jersey (2012), Nova Scotia (2013) Delaware (2013), Maine (2014), West Virginia (2014), Alberta (2015) and Georgia (2016). I'm sure there are more than a few states/provinces that I have missed. There are a number of old records of Crested Caracara north of their range in North America, however many of those had been rejected on questions of provenance (concern about whether they were wild birds). Crested Caracara seems to have an established trend of vagrancy and perhaps some of these old records should be re-examined. It has been surmised that vagrant Crested Caracaras likely originate from the more numerous Texas populations, though a relatively small population is found in central Florida and could be the origin of some of the records from southeastern states.

Crested Caracara - Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

Ontario even has three prior records, though unfortunately none of these birds were very chase-able. All three records occurred in July, what is typically one of the slowest months of the year for rarities in Ontario. The first was a dead bird found by a lighthouse keeper at Victoria Island, Thunder Bay in 1892; the second, a one-day-wonder only seen by a lucky few on Pelee Island in 1994; and the third, a bird that was observed in the remote First Nations community of Fort Albany for 10 days in 2002.  So when a fellow by the name of Chris Eagles posted a photo of an unknown bird visiting his work site in Wawa, Ontario on November 28, and the photo was seen by a friend (Joanne Redwood, a Hamilton-area birder), identified as a Crested Caracara and posted to the Ontario Birds Facebook group, more than a little excitement was created. Unfortunately the site where Chris had seen the bird was off limits to the public, but the following day he observed it again at the aggregate pit and later it was seen on the lawn of a nearby restaurant. Despite the fact that the bird was not "pinned down" to one location, I quickly began making plans to chase the bird with several other people including Jeremy Bensette, Henrique Pacheco and Steve Charbonneau.

Steve and Jeremy met me at a carpool lot near Guelph late on Tuesday evening, then we picked up Henrique and prepared for a long night of driving. Steve drove most of the way, even though all three of the co-pilots were sound asleep at various points! By 5:00 AM I took over in Sault Ste Marie, and dawn was just breaking as we approached Wawa to begin our search.

We briefly examined the entrance to the aggregate pit, followed by a check of the restaurant property where the bird had also been viewed. We were without luck here, though a Northern Shrike was fun to see. I decided that driving the streets of the small community of Michipicoten would be a good bet, and set off down the familiar road to one of my favorite birding spots of the area. Not five minutes later I was pretty shocked to see a long-legged, black and tan bird with a dark cap walking on a lawn. I guess I was a little casual in pointing out the bird and it took a few seconds for the other guys to clue in that I was serious and indeed the caracara was no more than 50 feet from us!

first views of the Crested Caracara - Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

We frantically took our first few photos of the beast (such as the above photo), attempted to get a hold of the other carload of birders in the area, and posted a quick message to Ontbirds. Finally I was able to call David Pryor, and in minutes Tyler Hoar, Barb Charlton, and David roared up. At this point the caracara was roosting in a tree (digesting the multitude of earthworms it had pulled out of the ground, no doubt), but provided great looks for everyone. We were more than a little excited.

from left to right: Steve Charbonneau, Henrique Pacheco, David Pryor, Barb Charlton

Crested Caracara - Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

Tyler attempted to entice the bird out of the tree first with a road-killed Gray Squirrel, and then by offering up himself to the carrion-loving bird. It did not seem interested!

Tyler Hoar baiting the Crested Caracara

Eventually the caracara decided to resume its feeding, preferring to slurp down the numerous earthworms found in the lawns and on the driveways. It tolerated our approach by vehicle, allowing us a minute or two of point blank photos.

Crested Caracara - Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

Crested Caracara - Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

While David, Tyler and Barb soon left to embark on their long journey home, the four of us (Steve, Jeremy, Henrique and I) stayed for another half hour or so, as the photographic opportunities were just too incredible to pass up. Using the car as a blind, the caracara paid us no mind as it continued to pull out earthworms from the nearby lawns.

Crested Caracara - Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

A Crested Caracara had been present in Michigan for the last few months and there is speculation that this may be that very bird. Like many out of range Crested Caracaras, the Michigan bird was first spotted in mid-summer, and was seen by many birders as it frequented the town of Munising from July 1 to November 12, 2016. Looking at photos of the Munising bird from November 12, it appears to have very similar feather wear on the wing coverts and sure looks like the same bird.

Crested Caracara - Michipicoten, Algoma District, Ontario (November 30, 2016)

It was a very successful chase for us, and I wish good luck for everyone driving up to look for this bird. Crested Caracaras, despite being a species more associated with Central and South America, can be very hearty and have been known to survive extreme cold. If it wishes to continue to eke out an existence in Wawa it will have to make its way over to the nearby landfill where there will be a constant "food" supply all winter. The bird seemed healthy enough during our visit - maybe it will finally figure out which way is south and move to a more hospitable climate before winter really arrives in Wawa.

Created Caracara in Michipicoten, Algoma District

(From my Ontbirds post)

An update on the bird:

After refinding the Caracara in Michipicoten, we watched the bird for about 15 minutes until David Pryor, Barb Charlton and Tyler Hoar arrived, at which point the bird was perched in a tree at the intersection of Whitney Street and Superior Street. After some time the bird flew to the northeast and we relocated it on a lawn located on the south side of Brock Avenue, just west of the intersection with Queen Street. There is a lighthouse shaped shed in the backyard here. It was still walking around on the lawn when we left at 9:40 AM.   

Michipicoten is located on the west side of Highway 17, just south of Wawa. 

Good birding,

Josh Vandermeulen

Jeremy Bensette

Steve Charbonneau

Henrique Pacheco

Thick-billed Murre chase - Cobden, Ontario

Just before noon on Friday, Burke Korol made an exciting discovery as he was birding Muskrat Lake near Cobden, Ontario (about an hour northwest of Ottawa). The bird he encountered was an alcid, which he subsequently identified as a Thick-billed Murre. Thick-billed Murre breeds in large colonies on rocky cliffs in coastal parts of the Arctic, northern Europe, the Maritimes, Alaska, etc. It is truly a rare bird in Ontario, one that had only 3 records since the 1950s prior to the Cobden bird. Thick-billed Murre would occasionally arrive in Ontario in big numbers every so often, and usually separated by decades. One hypothesis is that these birds were moving west from the Gulf of the St Lawrence because of a change in their distribution or abundance of winter food, though frequently these flights were associated with strong east winds as well. During one of these murre "wrecks", 140 were counted by George North and Bill Gunn on November 26, 1950, an event that Bob Curry summarized in his excellent Birds of Hamilton. The last Thick-billed Murre flight into Ontario was in 1953 - who knows if/when the next one will occur! Since 1953, there have only been three records of Thick-billed Murre in Ontario, each involving single birds.

One of those records pertains to a bird that was discovered in Kingston by Janis Grant on December 3, 2013. That individual stuck around for two days and allowing a large number of birders to add it to their lists. Unfortunately I was working at the time and unable to get away to chase the bird. When word came in that Burke had discovered this bird near Cobden, I quickly made plans to drive up and look for it the very next day - I would not let another one slip by me.

Laura and I had plans on Saturday evening to attend my work holiday party, meaning that I needed to be back by 5:00 PM at the latest. My plan was to leave Niagara Falls at 2:00 AM on Saturday, arrive in Cobden shortly after sunrise, hopefully see the bird, and then race back to southwestern Ontario. Fortunately the plan worked, and the bird co-operated.

Thick-billed Murre - Muskrat Lake, Renfrew County

Thick-billed Murre (foreground) and Common Loon (background) - Muskrat Lake, Renfrew County

The best viewing of the bird was from the end of Summerfield Drive at the south end of the lake, and along with a contingent of Ottawa-area birders I watched the murre as it alternated between resting and diving. Fortunately the bird was well seen from the moment that I arrived at Muskrat Lake, allowing me to spend several hours observing and photographing the individual before I had to depart. Lev Frid and Amanda Guercio soon showed up - it was great to catch up with them - and Jeremy Bensette/Henrique Pacheco also arrived just as I was about to head home. It was a new Ontario bird for them as well.

Thick-billed Murre - Muskrat Lake, Renfrew County

The bird appeared to be in pretty good shape - it was active and alert, frequently diving to presumably catch fish, followed by periods of preening and resting. It is hard to know if it was successful in its fishing and if it will be able to survive for very long here in Ontario, away from the saltwater that it is used to. It is rare for a vagrant Thick-billed Murre in the interior of the continent to last more than 2-3 days. Interestingly it did nothing but preen for the last half hour that I viewed the bird - perhaps this is an indication of its worsening condition? I can only speculate.

Thick-billed Murre - Muskrat Lake, Renfrew County

The Thick-billed Murre can be aged as an immature bird, born earlier this year, by a number of features. These include its relatively small bill and duskier face and throat. Unfortunately the bird was just too distant when I was photographing it, but others managed better photos, such as the ones attached to this checklist.

Thick-billed Murre - Muskrat Lake, Renfrew County

Eventually I had to pull myself away from the murre to embark on the long, 5 or 6 hour drive back. But the murre would not be the only good bird I saw on the day - an Ontbirds post came through about a Plegadis ibis species (either Glossy or White-faced), in a small marsh on the east side of Port Hope. Fortunately my very next exit on the 401 was the Port Hope exit! 10 minutes later I was looking at the ibis, as it tried to blend in with the local Mallard flock.

one of these things is not like the other....

The bird was quite approachable, allowing me to fire off a number of photos from close range. The light, however was somewhat lacking and it was all I could do to take the somewhat OK photos shown in this post. Gloomy weather such as this can be pretty difficult to shoot in, especially given my camera setup, as I really have to push the ISO to come up with a fast enough shutter speed. 

probable Glossy Ibis - Port Hope, Northumberland County

Immature Plegadis ibises can be quite difficult to identify, and some individuals may not be identifiable at all. However I think this bird shows some features that look ok for Glossy Ibis, as opposed to White-faced Ibis. I would appreciate if anyone more experienced in immature ibis identification can chime in!

probable Glossy Ibis - Port Hope, Northumberland County

This is one of the latest ibises to show up in Ontario, though there are a handful of previous November records. I remember Alan Wormington once telling me about a long-staying Glossy Ibis that he eventually saw in early December for his "Winter List", but I do not have details of that record handy.

probable Glossy Ibis - Port Hope, Northumberland County

Despite the late date, this individual looked quite at home with the Mallards at this small wetland, successfully grabbing small fish periodically while I watched. Fortunately the weather will remain above the freezing mark for the next little while, but eventually it will be forced to vacate the province if it wishes to survive until next year. 

probable Glossy Ibis - Port Hope, Northumberland County

At one point I noticed the ibis training a wary eye to the sky (a distant gull was flying over) - I guess even heron-type birds have to constantly be vigilant of predators, especially duck-sized ones like ibises. 

probable Glossy Ibis - Port Hope, Northumberland County

Unfortunately my time with the ibis was short due to my obligations that evening, but the 15 minutes with the bird was well worth it. It was a rare opportunity to study one at such close range in Ontario, and I was happy to take a few ok photos as well. Previously my only photos I had of Plegadis ibises in Ontario consisted of very poor digiscoped shots of the bird that Tyler Hoar found at Oshawa Second Marsh last autumn, so it was nice to improve on those. 

2012 Big Year - list update

Back in 2012 I completed a Big Year in Ontario, finishing up with 344 species. It was an incredible year and I observed a lot of interesting species, however I have come to the understanding that I likely observed one fewer species than I claimed. Some of you may recall the California Gull that was present on the Niagara River from January 29 until February 20, 2012 which was found by Jim Pawlicki. I subsequently reported the bird on February 9 from the Adam Beck power plants, and thought I photographed the bird as well.

Looking back at my photos, it appears that the bird I had claimed as the California Gull was in fact not a California Gull - it was most likely a Herring Gull that appears to have a slightly darker mantle than the surrounding birds due to its angle, and several other features do not add up as well. Four and a half years later, I cannot remember if I simply photographed the wrong bird, or if I indeed misidentified the California Gull. Unfortunately I did not see any other California Gulls during 2012, so I have decided to remove it from my list. I guess we all make mistakes...

As such, my Ontario year list for 2012 now stands at 343. I guess it will make it incrementally easier when someone inevitably comes along and beats the record!

Back from Netitishi Point

Todd and I have returned from the windswept shores of James Bay after an awesome three weeks of northern Ontario birding. As usual for this under-birded part of Ontario, we were fortunate in observing a variety of species considered unusual for the area, as well as most of the regular species which are rare in the "Banana Belt" of southwestern Ontario where I live.

We observed five species on the Ontario Bird Records Committee (OBRC) review list for the Lowlands region of Ontario, including:
- Eurasian Wigeon - 1 male on Nov 3
- Harlequin Duck - 3 female types on Oct 30
- Western Sandpiper - 1 on Oct 30
- Sabine's Gull - 1 adult on Nov 11
- Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 adult on Oct 31

Harlequin Ducks - Netitishi Point, Cochrane District (October 28, 2016)

Additionally, a Western/Clark's Grebe was observed on Nov 11. If accepted by the OBRC this will be a new species pair for the Lowlands review list. In my original Ontbirds post I mentioned this bird was a Western Grebe; however I am not positive that I can eliminate Clark's Grebe, as unlikely as it is with no prior records for Ontario, based on the looks that I had of the bird.

The following observations are of species generally considered rare in this part of Ontario:
- 2 male Canvasbacks on Nov 2
- 1 Red-necked Grebe on Nov 5
- 1 Purple Sandpiper on Nov 5, 2 on Nov 8
- 1 Red Phalarope on Nov 9
- 5 sightings of Black Guillemot on 3 different days (Nov 6, Nov 8, Nov 9)

Birds that were fairly late included:
- 11 Snow Geese on Nov 9
- 1 male Gadwall on Nov 8
- 2 Surf Scoter on Nov 11
- 4 Hooded Mergansers on Oct 31
- 1 adult Double-created Cormorant on Nov 9
- 1 juvenile Northern Goshawk on Nov 14
- 1 adult American Golden-Plover continuing until Nov 7
- 1 Pectoral Sandpiper on Oct 30
- 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet continuing until Nov 7
- 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet on Oct 29
- 2 American Pipit on Oct 31
- 9 American Tree Sparrows on Nov 1, and 1 staying until Nov 7

As expected given the time of year, Gyrfalcons were regular and we finished with sightings on five days, involving at least four different birds. All of the expected boreal birds were accounted for, including Spruce Grouse, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Bohemian Waxwing, Evening Grosbeak (not actually too common in southern James Bay), Pine Grosbeak and Hoary Redpoll. Snowy Owls were frequently seen during the second half of the trip and one highlight was watching one repeated dive-bombed by a Gyrfalcon.

American Three-toed Woodpecker - Netitishi Point, Cochrane District (November 6, 2016)

The dominant wind direction at southern James Bay in the autumn is southwest in my experience, and this trend continued throughout this trip as we experienced southwesterly winds on all but four days. Strong southwest winds and warm weather occurred during November 6 and 7, with the temperature reaching a balmy 16 degrees on November 7. This caused numerous insects to be seen including several Mourning Cloaks, though we were unable to find any birds with southern origins associated with this weather event.

Mourning Cloak - Netitishi Point, Cochrane District (November 6, 2016)

A moderate northwest wind on November 3 instigated a good waterbird flight that included 4681 Brant, 3755 Northern Pintail, 102 American Wigeon, 89 Green-winged Teal, 1710 Dunlin, etc. Strong northwest winds on November 11 also caused a good flight dominated by scoters and Long-tailed Ducks, though we also observed 25 King Eiders (35 total were seen on our trip) and the aforementioned Sabine's Gull and Western/Clark's Grebe.

Finally, while not bird related, we had a couple of interesting mammal sightings. These included a Bearded Seal on Nov 10 and a Beluga on November 14. Ringed Seals were not observed despite usually being somewhat common at this location.

Arriving back in Moosonee on November 14, Todd and I stashed our gear at the local restaurant in town and went for a walk to the sewage lagoons and dump to see what was happening. We discovered a Mountain Bluebird at a cemetery located only a few hundred meters from the sewage lagoons - a rarity in Ontario, and in particular the Lowlands, with only one prior record (also of a bird in Moosonee), from May 8-11, 2011. We watched the little beaut for about 10 minutes as it foraged and perched on the headstones, before it flew up over the poplars towards the lagoons. For some reason I had decided to do the walk sans camera - after all, it was going to be a long walk carrying the thing and we weren't really expecting anything rare, given the late date. While Todd walked to the lagoons to search for the bluebird I hopped in a taxi to take me back into town to fetch my camera, returning an hour or so later. Unfortunately we couldn't re-find it despite spending the rest of the afternoon looking.

It was an awesome trip and I will be posting daily summaries in the upcoming weeks - stay tuned.

Quest for 400 - part 2

This post likely holds interest to only a select few - other birders who keep track of their respective state/province lists and try to add to them.

On January 14, 2014 I wrote a post titled "Quest for 400" where I predicted what bird species I would observe in Ontario to reach my goal of 400 species.. It was an idea that I had stolen from Brandon's blog. For those interested, Brandon's original post can be found here, and his update is located here. Since I will be on James Bay for three weeks with no internet access, I thought I would make a few pre-written posts that will auto-post on the blog....and this is one of them!

At the time of my original post, my Ontario list was 364, and now 2.75 years later it has climbed to 379. So let's get right to it - how well have I predicted the new additions? Here are my 15 additions in the past couple of years:

1. Smith's Longspur
2. Lark Bunting
3. Eurasian Collared-Dove
4. White Ibis
5. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
6. Mottled Duck
7. Wilson's Plover
8. Little Egret
9. Say's Phoebe
10. Pink-footed Goose
11. Bullock's Oriole
12. Vermilion Flycatcher
13. Black-necked Stilt
14. Ruff
15. Common Ringed Plover

Vermilion Flycatcher - Wallaceburg, Ontario (December 19, 2015)

In my original post, I figured that there were 25 species I was most likely to add while on my way to 400 (we will call them "Code 1" birds), and then I guessed 11 more species to round out the list to 400 ("Code 2" birds). I also provided a list of 18 other potential species which I guess you could call the "Code 3" birds. Out of my 15 additions in the time since, only 7 were "Code 1" species: Ruff, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Lark Bunting, Say's Phoebe, Black-necked Stilt, Smith's Longspur and Vermilion Flycatcher. A single "Code 2" species was added - Pink-footed Goose. And 2 "Code 3" birds were added - Bullock's Oriole and White Ibis.  The remaining 5 species you could say were not on my radar at all - Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Mottled Duck, Wilson's Plover, Little Egret and Common Ringed Plover.

Wilson's Plover - Toronto Islands, Ontario  (May 28, 2015)

I am now 21 species away from 400. What are the remaining "Code 1" birds? Well, I am going to cheat and create a new list of "Code 1" birds, since I think some of my guesses from the original post aren't that great...Here is the revised list of the Code 1 species - 10 birds which I think that I will add to my Ontario list before reaching 400.

1. Swainson's Hawk
2. Tufted Duck
3. Rufous Hummingbird
4. Ivory Gull
5. Swallow-tailed Kite
6. Tricolored Heron
7. Northern Wheatear
8. Cinnamon Teal
9. Barnacle Goose
10. Ash-throated Flycatcher

Swallow-tailed Kite - Nusagandi, Panama (March 14, 2014)

To get to 400 I will need another 11 species in addition to the 10 listed above. Here are my guesses:

Ross's Gull
Dovekie
Sage Thrasher
Western Wood-Pewee
Swainson's Warbler
Willow Ptarmigan
Ancient Murrelet
Snowy Plover
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Black-headed Grosbeak
Gray Kingbird


In my original post I predicted that I would be 32 when I saw my 400th species for the province. I have been averaging about 5 new additions a year for the past four years, though that rate will no doubt decrease as fewer and fewer possibilities remain out there. If I am able to maintain a pace of 4 new birds per year, than it will likely take 5 or 6 more years until I see species #400, or when I am 31 or 32.

Five rarities that will show up at Netitishi (eventually!)

By the time this auto-posts, Todd and I will have been on the coast of James Bay for a week, if all had gone to plan.

I've touched on the potential for rare birds to show up in southern James Bay in the past (in nearly every post I write about Netitishi, probably). Every expedition to Netitishi Point has found several notable species, some of which had few or no records for Ontario. But potential remains for a wide variety of seabirds and other ocean-going species which would be considered mega-rares if and when they are found. While it is unlikely that any of these will be seen on this year's trip, I am sure that the following species do show up or fly by from time to time. The question of course is whether anyone will be stationed at Netitishi Point when they do make an appearance!

Great Skua
This big arctic bully breeds in Scandinavia, Iceland and the UK, wintering throughout the north Atlantic where they terrorize gulls for fish and other scraps. Great Skuas regularly make it all the way to North American waters where they are not too unusual of a sight on east coast pelagics during autumn and winter. Given their tendency to wander, they likely make it to Hudson's Bay from time to time.

Great Shearwater
Like most seabirds, Great Shearwaters are known to wander over great distances. They breed in Tristan da Cunha and surrounding islands, located halfway between Africa and South America in the south Atlantic, and are one of few bird species to migrate to the northern hemisphere after completing their southern hemisphere breeding. Great Shearwaters are one of the most frequently observed tubenoses in the north Atlantic and regularly wander into Baffin Bay and further into the arctic. There are several records from western Hudson Bay.

Leach's Storm-Petrel
This species has been observed once previously in southern James Bay - a bird that Alan Wormington found on October 8, 1981 at the Attawapiskat waterfront. This is another super-abundant Atlanic tubenose species that is prone to wander.

Yellow-billed Loon
Thousands of loons migrate past Netitishi Point every year, yet most are too distant to see much detail on. The interesting thing about Yellow-billed is that their Arctic breeding range comes close to the western shore of Hudson's Bay and individuals were detected in northern Manitoba during the recent breeding bird atlas. While Yellow-billed Loons winter off the coast of Alaska, this species is prone to vagrancy and there are records throughout much of the lower 48 and southern Canada. It wouldn't take much for one to fly southeast instead of west, and follow the coast of Hudson's Bay into James Bay.

Ross's Gull
This is one species that should fly past Netitishi relatively frequently, I would think. This Arctic breeder, one of the most sought after of North American birds, is known to occasionally wander south into southern Canada and the United States, as well as into western Europe. In fact Ontario has almost a dozen records already, including the first provincial record which was a bird that Ken Abraham found in Moosonee in May, 1983. These gulls are fairly distinctive and should be a relatively straightforward identification if they are within ~2 km of land. In later October and November any small gull species is rare at Netitishi Point and will be scrutinized.