A tour of Essex County

Today I decided to take full advantage of my day off and tour around, hopefully kicking up some cool birds and butterflies.
The first stop was Tilbury. This remains the best, easily excessible shorebird spot in the county and it wasn't bad today. There must have been a big influx of dowitchers as there were more than a dozen. 5 of them were Long-billed and a few juvenile Short-billed were around. I didn't get any photos as they were too far for my 300 lens. I did, however, grab a few shots of this closerish Lesser Yellowlegs.

juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs - Tilbury lagoons

Cormies!

Double-crested Cormorants - Tilbury lagoon

Next up was the Ridgetown Lagoons. I was actually disappointed as I thought that there would be more habitat than there was. The smaller cell did have mudflats, but the geese were hoarding them. There were, however, a handful of semi-sands, a single Least Sandpiper, a single Semi-Plover, and a couple Lesser Yellowlegs.

Blenheim was next on the agenda. I hadn't actually visited in a few weeks so I wasn't prepared for how terrible it would be. Every single one of the lagoons was filled to the brim with water, and even the sprinkler cells were completely dry! Highlights from here included Mallard and Starling. Well, there was still a single Semipalmated Sandpiper that I watched for a bit. I kind of felt sorry for it, "foraging" on bare dirt. I also scanned through about 500 Mourning Doves and didn't see anything interesting. On to Erieau!

Off the pier were various gulls and terns, including a 1st summer/2nd winter Lesser Black-backed. There were tons of people here hanging out on the pier, so I didn't linger. Off of Erie Beach I had a young Little Gull with the Bonaparte's, which I think is the first one of those for me this year.

Next I checked out Hillman Marsh, Wheatley Harbour, and the harbour by Sturgeon Woods. I didn't see anything unexpected, though I got a second Little Gull at the harbour by Sturgeon Woods.

The final stop was at a weedy field in Leamington to look for butterflies. 3 or 4 Common Checkered Skippers were nice!

Common Checkered-skipper - Leamington

As was this thing, which I think is a Fiery Skipper?

Fiery Skipper - Leamington

That's all for now. Overall it was a typical day for early August - hot weather, lots of driving, few birds, but a couple nice summering gulls/migrant shorebirds/southern butterflies.

This and that

Another week has come and gone with me unable to get out and go birding as often as I would like. I have been seeing a few things at work, including this Common Ringlet.

Common Ringlet - Windsor, Ontario

Common Ringlet has never been common in extreme southwestern Ontario, but it has been expanding as of late. The first Essex Co. record was only 10 years ago! This one location on my study site seems to be a hotspot for them - two days ago I had a high count of 6. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a record high count for Essex county?

Here is a neonate Butler's Gartersnake (regurgitating an earthworm) from the study site a few days ago. These guys have already tripled their weight since they were born (all my radio snakes gave birth between July 14 and July 27). They eat earthworms presumably every evening, and some then move under our coverboards to thermo-regulate and digest their meal.

Butler's Gartersnake - Windsor, Ontario

This 12-point buck is usually seen most days in one particular area of the study site. I happened to bring my camera with the new lens out in the field with me and got a few half decent shots in the fading light.

White-tailed Deer - Windsor, Ontario

Yesterday afternoon I heard from Russ Jones about a mysterious sighting of a possible Whooping Crane near the St. Joachim exit. I called Steve Pike and he mentioned that a friend of his who knows birds saw a "large white bird with black wingtips and a black face" fly over him while he was driving on the 401. This person saw the bird land in a field on the south side of the road. I guess another possibility is that this bird was a wood stork.

Dan Riley and I decided to check it out. We didn't find anything, so we continued on to check the Tilbury lagoons.

4 species of herons were present including 18 Great Egrets. This is the most that I have seen there this summer, and so I continue to hold out hope for a Cattle Egret, or maybe a Little Blue Heron! Reddish Egret would be nice too...

Great Egret - Tilbury Lagoons

This Black-crowned Night-Heron kept a watchful eye on me. It was one of five seen.

Black-crowned Night-Heron - Tilbury lagoons

There were decent numbers of shorebirds present of 10 species. The highlight were the dowitchers - 2 were definite Long-billed Dowitchers, and 2 were Short-billed. The two LBDOs were hanging out together up close, providing a great oppurtunity to study their plumage. The darker back, rounder body shape, more distinct lower half of eye-ring, and patterning on the undertail coverts/flanks were easy to see. 1 bird was most likely a female as it had an extremely long bill.

Thats all for now. I hope to do a round of shorebirding tomorrow, hitting up some of the hotspots in Essex/Chatham-Kent.

There's no place like home.

Today I had very little on the agenda, so I slept in and went for a few hikes in the afternoon and evening. The first place I went was the Grand River. It is only about 2 kms from my parent's place in Cambridge and I place that I spent many hours at as a kid.

There were hoards of bikers and dog-walkers on the trail, but once I headed off into the bush I didn't see another soul (except a hobo who had set up camp).

I tried to photograph some insects, even though the light was kind of crappy at mid day.

Cabbage White - Grand River, Ontario

I'm not really sure what species of skipper this is and I don't have any reference books nearby. It was feeding on Joe Pye weed.

Tawny-edged Skipper - Grand River, Ontario (thanks to Kirk Zufelt for the ID)

Ebony Jewelwing - Grand River, Ontario

Little Wood-Satyr - Grand River, Ontario

The bird life was what one would expect for mid afternoon on a 30 degree day in mid-August. Not much was singing! Among the usuals (Indigo Buntings, E. Kingbirds, SOSPs, etc) there were a few highlights, such as a Belted Kingfisher, 40+ Chimney Swifts hawking insects, Osprey, and a few shorebirds. There were 3 Lesser Yellowlegs and 2 Least Sandpipers mixed in with about 30 Killdeer on a rocky island. This is the first time that I've ever seen migrating shorebirds at the river.

Also interesting to see were 2 presumably summering Common Mergansers.

Common Mergansers - Grand River, Ontario

I didn't see too many herps today but I stopped to grab a quick shot of this Northern Leopard Frog.

Northern Leopard Frog - Grand River, Ontari

This evening I checked out a few of my favorite areas to the southwest of Cambridge. I photographed this Question Mark,

Question Mark - North Dumfries, Ontario

and saw a nice variety of Grassland Birds. They included Eastern Bluebird, Savannah and Grasshopper Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Merlin, Killdeer, Eastern Kingbird, and Brown Thrasher.

Grasshopper Sparrow - North Dumfries, Ontario

All in all, nothing to crazy was found but it was nice to check out some of my regular spots that I have somewhat neglected in recent years.

Shorebirding - July 31

I decided to finish off the month of July by doing a round of shorebirding to the northwest. Brett Fried and Erika Hentsch joined me, and the goal was to check out the conditions of a few lesser known lagoons on our way to Grand Bend.

The first stop was the Mitchell lagoons. To be honest, this location really sucks right now. The only bit of shorebird habitat was the narrow island. All we found were:
8 Lesser Yellowlegs
5 Least Sandpipers
1 Semipalmated Sandpiper
1 Spotted Sandpiper
a few Killdeer

The next spot was the Seaforth Sewage lagoons. I had no idea if there was even access to this place. The gate was open however so we drove right in. All the lagoons were very full, but there were a few scattered LESAs and LEYEs around the edges. The highlight for me though was a leucistic Mallard!


We continued on to the Hensall lagoons. The gate was locked and no trespassing signs were everywhere. We didn't want to be shot, so we continued to Exeter.

This was actually probably the highlight of the day. As we arrived, we saw a Vesper Sparrow flush from the road. After parking the buzzing notes of Grasshopper Sparrows were everywhere. Other sparrows seen here include Field, Chipping, Song, and Savannah.

While checking out the numerous swallows we were surprised to see an all white thing. I managed to get some shots from a very long distance with the new lens, and it appeared to be an albino or leucistic tree swallow. The day of abnormally plumaged birds continued.

leucistic Tree Swallow

Also, check out this swallow. Unlike the nearby Cliff swallows, this one had a dark forehead, much like a Cave Swallow. However the throat pattern seemed more in line with Cliff. Can anyone provide any insight?

Petrochelidon swallow - Exeter sewage lagoons

Petrochelidon swallow - Exeter sewage lagoons

In comparison, here is a normal Cliff Swallow from further down the wire.

Petrochelidon swallow - Exeter sewage lagoons

Water levels were high but there were still a good variety of ducks. Only a few common shorebirds were present.

The last stop was Grand Bend. Unfortunately there were not really any huge numbers of shorebirds like we expected. I saw my first Semi Plovers of the fall, and there were also a bunch of Solitary, LEYE, LESA, semi sands, etc. No Pectorals, Dowitchers, Stilt Sands, Baird's, Greater Yellowlegs etc. Quite dissapointing actually. The White-throated Sparrow was still singing strong, and we also had a bunch of Bobolinks near the entrance. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Eastern Phoebe rounded out the sightings. At this point the day was getting quite warm so we called it quits and headed back home.

Bobolinks - Grand Bend sewage lagoons

In defence of listers

[I will admit it. I am a lister. I keep track of all the birds that I see, keep year lists, county lists, state and province lists, yard lists, a life list, etc. I also enjoy the non-listing aspect of birding, such as the other day when I watched a Field Sparrow sing incessantly from its perch atop some dogwood for 10 minutes. It was cool!]

First off, I apologize in advance for this rant, as I want to keep this blog more on the subject of bird sightings, as well as sharing a few photographs. Well on second thought, I won’t apologize because I’ve been meaning to type this for a while! 

Neotropic Cormorant - Wheatley, Ontario (found by B. Holden)

It seems that in the birding community in North America, there is a general consensus that “twitching” a bird to add it to a list is something to be frowned upon. Before I jump into that, I’ll clarify the term for those readers who may not be up to snuff on the newest birding lingo. You see, birders are crazy and we have a whole new language to describe our peculiar activities. “Twitching” a bird is essentially the act of traveling to a location with the sole intention of seeing a previously reported bird. Often, rare vagrants stay put in an area for a few hours (or even a few years, as was the case with Ontario’s only Heerman’s Gull), so other birders may have a chance to glimpse these rare birds. Additionally, many birders often keep lists, which may be one of the mechanisms that drives the “twitching”. For me in particular, I keep an Ontario list so when a Mountain Bluebird showed up near Hamilton this past spring, part of the motivation I had to see it was driven by the fact that I was missing that species on my Ontario list. Check out a poorly phone-scoped photo of the bird below, possibly the best photo I’ve ever taken: 

Mountain Bluebird - Stoney Creek (found by C. Edgecomb, B. Charlton, R. Dobos, D. Don)

One article in particular really rubbed me the wrong way. It is entitled “The Filth of Twitching” and is available here. http://birding.typepad.com/youngbirders/2011/06/the-filth-of-twitching.html

In the article, the author describes twitching a bird as “a despicable, deformed beast that consumes the innocent birder”. He describes going to look at a Lesser Sand-Plover in California, and seeing many birders arrive, look at the bird for 10 minutes, add it to their list, and move on.  The author sees this behaviour as despicable because the bird was seen as a quarry or prey. The birders were seeing the bird, "collecting" it (adding it to their list), and moving on to the next rare bird. The author seemed to have the high and mighty opinion that HIS way of birding was the only correct one (spending lots of time studying the bird, perhaps not seeing it only as something to be “collected”), and these filthy twitchers weren’t doing it right. 

Black-throated Sparrow - Port Burwell, Ontario (found by A. Allenson)

To me, I find it nearly impossible to describe behaviors as right or wrong. I see very few black and white issues in the world, and this is another gray issue.  There is no rule that states that the only good birder is the one who doesn’t chase rare birds. What birding means to one person is completely different than what it means to another birder, and I find it very offensive to call someone out on their style of birding, just because it isn’t the way you do it. If chasing birds and adding it to a list is what gets you off, then by all means do that! If you enjoy watching the ecology of birds in your garden more than anything else in birding, then by all means do that! Essentially, do what feels right to you and don’t worry if other people frown upon it.

I’m going to use an analogy that may be a little extreme, but here goes. Ok, birding is like religion (that’s right, I went there). Just like there are different religions, there are different styles of birding. I think that someone should choose a religion or belief system that seems exactly perfect for them, and no one should tell them that it is wrong to have that belief system. Same with birding styles. I also hate it when people attempt to force their belief system on others, telling them that all other belief systems are incorrect. Same goes with birding.

So basically, this entire article can be boiled down into a few sentences:

(These are my thoughts and you don't have to agree)

There is no “right” way to practice the art of birding. People shouldn’t criticize other people because they do it differently. People should do whatever feels right for them, regardless of what other people think. Ultimately, we are all out there because we share a passion of birds, so let’s all get along! 

While the author pointed out many negative aspects of twitching, I’ll mention just a couple of the positive aspects of twitching.

-the thought of seeing a new bird can be the driving force to get us out of bed and out in the field

-it is a great way to run into old friends

-it can create a great sense of community (see this article: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1008739--rare-arctic-ptarmigan-causes-flap-when-it-stops-by-darlington-power-plant)

-it can bring you to explore other parts of the province that you normally wouldn’t check out

And that’s all for know! Let me know your thoughts. The next post will be actually about current bird sightings, I promise.

Baby sna-a-a-a-a-a-akes, yeah

I was listening to the song "Baby Snakes" by Frank Zappa earlier today, so I think it is appropriate to post this photo of one of the first neonate Butler's Gartersnakes we got last week. Isn't it cute......

Also, check out this map that Stuart Immonen made. It shows all of (or most of, at least) the sewage lagoons in southern Ontario. Definitely a great resource for someone looking to expand their reportoire of regularly visited shorebird/duck/wading bird spots. I haven't even heard of half the places, but I'm excited to check some of them out.
http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=215071390295034379940.0004a84783d0759ae0dcd&msa=0

That's all for know! I'm looking forward to doing a bit of birding this weekend and trying out the new lens which just arrived (Nikon 300 f/4 AF-S).

The snakes of Ontario - part 3

Part 1 - Eastern Gartersnake, Dekay's Brownsnake, Northern Redbelly Snake, Northern Ribbonsnake
Part 2 - Northern Watersnake, Lake Erie Watersnake, Queensnake
Part 3 - Eastern Milksnake, Eastern Foxsnake, Eastern Hog-nosed Snake
Part 4 - Northern Ring-necked Snake, Smooth Greensnake
Part 5 - Gray Ratsnake, Butler's Gartersnake
Part 6 - Blue Racer, Eastern Massasauga

This post will cover some of Ontario’s largest species – the Eastern Milksnake, Eastern Foxsnake, and Eastern Hog-nosed Snake.

Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum)

The Eastern Milksnake is one of the prettiest species found in Ontario, and also one of the most wide-ranging. They do range all the way from SW Ontario east to Ottawa (and beyond), and north to Manitoulin Island. Milksnakes are generally considered to be habitat generalists, being found in river valleys, deciduous woodlands, fields, barrens, alvars, and even residential areas. It seems that they prefer edge habitats complete with ample cover (for thermoregulation) and prey.

Eastern Milk Snake - Muskoka Co.

Eastern Milksnake - Flamborough, City of Hamilton

Eastern Milksnake - Bruce County

Eastern Milksnake scalation

Much of agricultural Ontario no longer can support populations as it once did, and Eastern Milksnakes are largely absent from most agricultural areas from Essex County northeast to the southern part of Georgian Bay. In the past, many fields were left fallow and large hedgerows were present. Nowadays, the trend to go to a more intense form of agriculture has eliminated many of the hedgerows and old fields which provide habitat for this species. Fortunately there are still many good areas in southern and central Ontario. This photo from the Long Point area shows a great Eastern Milksnake spot with long grass, coverboards, and most certainly a lot of mice.

Eastern Milksnake habitat - Norfolk Co.

On the Bruce Peninsula and in “cottage country” Eastern Milksnakes can often be found near open rocky areas. This unique habitat is also used by other species, such as Smooth Greensnake, Eastern Massasauga, and Eastern Foxsnake.

Eastern Milksnake habitat - Muskoka District

I’ve had a bit of success with this species around where I live in Cambridge. Their density here seems to be fairly low though. Here are some shots of local Eastern Milksnakes: 

Eastern Milksnake - Waterloo Region

Eastern Milksnake - Waterloo Region

 

Eastern Foxsnake (Elaphe gloydi)

A brief word about the latin name for this species: In the past, much of the New World and Old World species belonged to the genus Elaphe. In North America, the Bullsnakes, Foxsnakes, Cornsnakes, Ratsnakes, and others belonged to it. Recent genetic work has proposed a whole re-working of the genus, though there is still controversy over the validity of this work. For now, I’ll stick to calling them all Elaphe.

Eastern Foxsnake is a fascinating species that I have spent a lot of time with over the last couple of summers. I’ve been fortunate to see dozens of this species, even doing some radio-tracking of them. As a result I’ve managed to see some interesting behaviour and some cool individuals, such as this hypomelanistic animal that a friend of mine found.

Eastern Foxsnake

Eastern Foxsnake

Eastern Foxsnakes are one of the most “at risk” species of North American snakes. Their global range only includes a few counties along Lake Erie in Ohio and Michigan, as well as three-ish populations in Ontario, all relatively small in size. The reason for this decline is simple – they depend on lakeshore marshes and adjacent woodlots and farmlands, which are being destroyed at a very quick rate. Road mortality is also a strong factor for this species which spends a lot of time wandering around over large areas. We have seen movements of over a kilometre in a day with some of our animals.

Eastern Foxsnake - Essex County

For now though, they seem to be stable in parts of southern Ontario, and hopefully this continues!

Eastern Foxsnake - Essex County

Eastern Foxsnake - Essex County

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platyrhinos)

The Eastern Hog-nosed Snake is definitely one of the most bad-ass snakes in Ontario, perhaps second only to the Eastern Massasauga. Not only is this snake heavy bodied and capable of growing to a length over 4 feet, but it also has the most impressive display when provoked. While many snakes may, perhaps, strike at a predator when cornered, the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake takes this to a new level. This species will strike, flatten out its neck cobra-style, defecate on their own body (to make themselves as distateful as possible), and if all else fails, play dead.

Eastern Hognose Snake - Norfolk County

Despite this impressive display, the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake is a Threatened species in Ontario, mainly to the loss of their preferred habitat. Hoggies are specialists that rely on areas containing loose, sandy soil, as well as a high toad population. While many species are generalists when it comes to dietary preferences, Eastern Hog-nosed snakes subsist on a diet dominated by toads. The sandy substrate is necessary so they can use their upturned snout to dig out cavities in which they deposit eggs. This is quite an impressive feat for a snake!

Eastern Hognose Snake - Muskoka District

This photo here characterizes good Eastern Hog-nosed Snake habitat. The substrate is very sandy, there are brush piles and ample  vegetation to provide cover, and the canopy is fairly open so that the snakes can thermoregulate. Not visible in the photo is the series of ponds off in the distance that American Toads use to breed in.

Eastern Hognose Snake habitat - Norfolk County

The Eastern Hog-nosed Snake ranges in two bands in Ontario - one band stretching along the north shore of Lake Erie, and another band reaching from southern Georgian Bay east to the Kawarthas. The southern Georgian Bay animals are particularly interesting. Due to the lack of sandy soils, Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes here can be readily found on granite outcrops and shorelines.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Muskoka District

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Muskoka District

This individual was basking quietly under a juniper shrub, not 20 meters from open water.

Eastern Hognose Snake - Muskoka County

In late summer the eggs hatch and baby hoggies can be found regularly in some spots. Unlike the dark, patternless individuals pictured above, these neonates I photographed had a very strong dorsal pattern. Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes are one of the most variable species in Ontario, with some being jet black, others brown and blotchy, and others a brilliant orange/red. But all have that lovable upturned snout.

Eastern Hognose Snake - Norfolk County

I have decided that I will split up the remaining species (Smooth Greensnake, Northern Ring-necked Snake, Black Ratsnake, Butler's Gartersnake, Eastern Massasauga and Blue Racer) into three posts. Stay tuned!

Birding around Essex

I met up with Ken Burrell and 3 of his coworkers - Megan, Nate, and Charlotte - for a day of birding/butterflying around Essex County. Bird-wise, it was pretty quiet: Some Moorhens and various wading birds at Holiday Beach (though no Cattle Egret), Sanderlings at the tip of Point Pelee, and the shorebirds at Tilbury were probably the highlight. Amongst the regular hoard of Spotted Sandpipers and Killdeer, we also picked out:
4 Stilt Sandpiper
4 Short-billed Dowitcher
1 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Solitary Sandpiper
40 Lesser Yellowlegs
40 Least Sandpiper
20 Semi-palmated Sandpiper

Butterflies were also in the news. At Pelee we saw many Giant Swallowtails, some Spicebush Swallowtails, Emperors (both Tawny and Hackberry), and an American Snout among others. My highlight was finding a worn Juniper Hairstreak right next to the trail on the west side of the tip. No photos, though Ken might have grabbed some on his camera.

Despite the lack of "good" birds, it was an enjoyable and relaxing day away from work!

Finally some birding tomorrow

It seems that a few good birds have been moving around lately. Brandon and Kenny had a Cattle Egret at Holiday Beach, and Pointe Mouillee in Michigan now has 2 Little Blue Herons, the two Ibises (one a White-faced), an American Avocet, 5 Cattle Egrets, 2 Snowy Egrets, etc. It seems that wading birds are on the move! Additionally, White Ibises have shown up in Kansas and Missouri in the last couple of days as well.

At work, all of the Butler's Gartersnakes that I am radiotracking have given birth. It has been a hectic 3 weeks, but now I have the freedom to take the day (well, some of it anyways) tomorrow to NOT work. I am meeting up with Ken Burrell tomorrow, hoping to hit up some of the usual spots in Essex/Chatham Kent. Holiday Beach, Pelee, Hillman Marsh, Wheatley, Blenheim, Ridgetown, and Tilbury lagoons, etc. Maybe if I get lucky I'll cross paths with some good birds.  I still haven't seen a Stilt Sandpiper or Least Bittern for the year.

Sorry for the lack of real content lately. I'll have part 3 of the "snakes of Ontario' series up tonight, covering Eastern Milksnake, Black Ratsnake, Eastern Hognose Snake, and Eastern Foxsnake.

Back in June, Brandon Holden (www.blog.peregrineprints.com) posted a photo of the US drought map, showing a severe lack of rainfall in the southern states. Last Thursday's map is similar.

While this continues the possibility remains fairly high for southern species to escape the drought and head north into the upper midwest and Ohio. Brandon highlighted in his post (from June 25) the chance of Dickcissels, Little Blue Herons, and perhaps, if we are really lucky, another Neotropic Cormorant to be found in Ontario. Dickcissels seem to be around in some weedy areas in the SW corner of the province, and hopefully we willl soon get some wading birds with their post-breeding dispersal.

Cassin's Sparrow is another species that has ended up "in the news" a fair bit this summer. South Dakota is host to one currently, and many other states and provinces well north and east of its range have had records. Here is a video of one from Ohio:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveslager/5836908633/in/pool-437129@N20/

With August on the horizon, the diversity of shorebirds being found at lakeshores and sewage lagoons in Ontario is bound to increase. Avocets and Willets are being reported regularly in Ohio (plus my two avocets lately at Tilbury and Blenheim) so keep an eye out for these distinctive birds! Other rarer shorebirds could definitely show up as well, so scan those flocks for Curlew Sandpipers, Ruffs, or even Tattlers and Redshanks!

So what can we expect in the next little bit?
Not much, I don't think. I certainly don't want to be moving around in this 37 degree C weather we will be getting on Thursday (52 degrees with the humidity!!!????), let alone the birds.
Just across the river from me at Pointe Mouillee in Michigan, they are currently host to two ibises (one is a White-faced, the other is debatable) and a Little Blue Heron. I would love it if they decided to cross the Detroit River! Other notables recorded recently from Michigan include Blue Grosbeak, Mississippi Kite, Swainson's Hawk, Green Violet-ear (???!!!), and Mountain Bluebird.