Point Pelee for the Long Weekend

This weekend I decided to head down to Point Pelee for the long weekend. Laura was flying home to be with her parents in Nova Scotia on Thursday night, returning back into Ontario the following Tuesday, so I decided on taking Monday off work and take advantage of the stat holiday to make it a four day weekend.

When I get back home I will start editing my photos and put together proper posts, but for now I will post a few images that I have edited so far. It has been an awesome weekend so far with quite a smattering of rare birds and a few early records.  Along with birding a combination of warm weather, early spring wildflowers, a variety of cool herps, and an abundance of butterflies has led to a fantastic weekend.

4 (of 7) Black-necked Stilts - Windsor, Essex County

Black-necked Stilts - Windsor, Essex County

Trumpeter Swan - Leamington onion fields, Essex County

5 (of 36) American Avocets - Hillman Marsh CA, Essex County

Lark Sparrow - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Marsh Wren - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Piping Plover at Port Dover beach

On April 11, a birder by the name of Sheila Chevarie discovered a Piping Plover resting on the beach at Port Dover, west of the harbour entrance. She posted it to a Facebook group during the morning of April 12, at which point word was made public to the wider birding community. With no pressing things on my agenda that afternoon, I decided to make the drive down to Port Dover to check the bird out. Piping Plovers are one of my favorite species we have nesting here in Ontario and I had never seen one this early in the spring.

As I pulled into the parking lot at the beach, I could already see the plover resting along the shoreline. That was easy!

Piping Plover - Port Dover, Norfolk County

Like most Piping Plovers we see on the Great Lakes, this individual was banded. Piping Plover is an Endangered species in Ontario, largely due to the fact that this species' preferred breeding habitats, sandy beaches, also happen to be quite popular with humans. Groomed beaches lack the necessary cover and hiding places to protect nests and young plovers from predators, while human foot traffic and off-road vehicle use also has a demonstrable impact. Fortunately, Piping Plover numbers appear to be on the rebound in southern Ontario and elsewhere in the Great Lakes, in no small part due to direct conservation actions. In many places where the plovers nest, sections of beach have been cordoned off and a protective cage with gaps large enough for the plovers to traverse are placed over top of the active nest. Just in the last few years Piping Plovers have returned to beaches that they had avoided for years, including Presqu'ile Provincial Park and Hanlan's Beach on the Toronto Islands among others. With the gradual increase in the number of successful broods, perhaps Piping Plovers will continue to expand their range to other beaches in the Great Lakes.

Piping Plover - Port Dover, Norfolk County

Piping Plover - Port Dover, Norfolk County

According to the Long Point Sightings Board, this individual is the oldest known Piping Plover in the Great Lakes! Appropriately named "Old Man", he was born in 2002 at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the northeast part of Lake Michigan, making him over 14 years old.

Piping Plover - Port Dover, Norfolk County

Interestingly enough, as I was watching and photographing the bird it became apparent that his gait was a little unusual. A close look with binoculars revealed the root of this problem - he was missing his left foot!  It is hard to say when he lost his foot and the leg appeared to be quite swollen despite the wound looking somewhat healed over, so perhaps it was a relatively recent injury. Even with this impediment the plover appeared to be doing fine and was having no trouble hobbling along the shoreline to pick at morsels in the muck and sand.

Piping Plover - Port Dover, Norfolk County

It was a worthwhile few minutes spent with this Piping Plover. I wish him all the best as he continues his 15th spring migration!

Piping Plover - Port Dover, Norfolk County

A run around the county

Early to mid April is one of my favorite times of the year. Usually we have a warm spell or two in March (or even late February, such as what happened this year), but it is not until early April that it really feels like spring is here.

Bird wise, spring migration can be apparent as early as February, as Horned Larks and various waterfowl arrive during the first warm spells of the year. By March, waves of blackbirds, gulls, robins and waterfowl pass through southern Ontario, but the birding can still be quite slow, especially in the woods where only the winter resident species can be found. But by early to mid April, new pulses of migrants arrive regularly with "first of season" species noted almost daily. The woods can be alive with flocks of kinglets and Brown Creepers, a variety of newly arrived sparrows add their voices to the fields and forest edges, and the incessant calls of Western Chorus Frogs, Spring Peepers, and Wood Frogs emanate from many wetlands and flooded fields. On sunny days snakes can be found, and new insects are emerging with each passing day and warm spell, while a variety of early spring wildflowers are pushing through the soil. It really is an exciting time of year to be a naturalist!

Eastern Comma - Wainfleet Bog, Niagara Region

I arranged my schedule to be clear for Monday, with the exception being an an amphibian survey I had to complete during the evening. The previous few days had seen long-distance winds originating from Oklahoma and northern Texas flowing straight to the Great Lakes, likely bringing with it new batches of migrants.

I made a quick stop south of Niagara Falls to see an Osprey nest, my first for Niagara this year. Field Sparrows and Chipping Sparrows were singing in the area, also the first I had encountered this year. I drove some fields in the north part of Fort Erie, fields that have been productive in the past. One location (flooded field near Stevensville United Church) produced a single Lesser Yellowlegs, the first of the year for me, though there was no sign of the really early Solitary Sandpiper I had found a few days earlier. A stop along Netherby Road produced a good variety of ducks as usual, including ~130 Green-winged Teal. Try as I might I couldn't pick out any Eurasian individuals mixed in! I have been checking this field regularly over the past month, but neither Eurasian Green-winged Teal nor Eurasian Wigeon have made an appearance yet.

The Douglastown Sewage Lagoons held a good variety of waterfowl (nothing too unusual), as well as a few landbirds in the woods including my first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the spring. I stopped in at Morgan's Point Conservation Area next, located on the north shore of Lake Erie west of Port Colborne. There was a strong onshore breeze and few migrants were around, though I did turn up about a dozen Northern Flickers and a singing Tufted Titmouse.

By noon I had found myself at the Wainfleet Bog where I walked around for the next two hours. I was mainly looking for snakes, and while I struck out on my main target this time (Smooth Greensnake), I did see quite a few other herps, insects and even some interesting birds!

I think the next butterfly is a Gray Comma but I could be mistaken. Wainfleet Bog is evidently a good location to find this species, according to records submitted to e-butterfly.org.

Gray Comma - Wainfleet Bog, Niagara Region

A couple of Eastern Towhees sang from the young birches as I traversed the bog, while my first Purple Martins of the year hawked insects high in the sky. An Osprey regularly flew over as well, no doubt a bird nesting somewhere in the vicinity.

The highlight of the walk though was a Common Raven which flew over once, calling. It was a species long overdue for me in Niagara Region as they likely nest in a few parts of the county and are often reported by others. This was my fourth new Niagara bird in the past week, following sightings of Forster's Tern, Wilson's Snipe and American Bittern.

I drove back across the county to Niagara Falls, stopping to check the part of the Niagara River above the falls. Black-crowned Night-Herons and Great Egrets had returned to the nesting colony by the old barge, while the first two Northern Rough-winged Swallows of the spring were catching insects over the river.

Red-winged Blackbird - Port Dalhousie, Niagara Region

On my way to Hamilton to complete my evening amphibian survey, I made a quick stop at Port Dalhousie to check out the harbour and see what was around. A few Fish Crows are likely nesting in the area and have been fairly reliable at the harbour, though I was more interested to see if any other rarities had dropped in - hoping for an Eared Grebe or something.

As I was watching a few newly arrived Caspian Terns as they flew around, a smaller, daintier tern suddenly appeared in the harbour. It was a Forster's Tern! I quickly ran back to get my camera and fortunately the tern reappeared after a tense five minutes of nothing. This was my second Forster's Tern for Niagara, the first occurring on April 5, 2017 at Port Weller. I believe the April 5 bird was a record early spring migrant for Niagara Region.

Forster's Tern - Port Dalhousie, Niagara Region

Forster's Tern - Port Dalhousie, Niagara Region

It was a great day of birding in Niagara and I finished with around 75 species. Things will just keep getting better over the next few weeks - it really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Canada Goose - Port Dalhousie, Niagara Region

Journey to the Southern Cone: Part 9 (Patagonia: Punta Arenas to Sierra Baguales)

Introduction
January 8, 2016 - Santiago area, Chile
January 9 and 10, 2016 - Quintero pelagic, Parque Nacional La Campana, Chile
January 10, 2016 - Farellones, Chile
January 10-11, 2016 - Embalse El Yeso, Chile
January 12-13, 2016 - Nothofagus forests in Talca, Chile
January 14-15, 2016- Chiloé Island, Chile
January 16-17, 2016 - Chiloé Island penguins, Puerto Montt, Chile
January 18, 2016 - Patagonia: Puerto Montt to Sierra Baguales, Chile
January 19, 2016 - Patagonia: Sierra Baguales to Tierra del Fuego, Chile
January 20, 2016 - Patagonia: Tierra del Fuego, Chile
January 20-24, 2016 - Punta Arenas, Chile to Puerto Deseato, Argentina
January 25-26, 2016 - Valdes Peninsula and Las Grutas, Argentina
January 27-28, 2016 - San Antonio Oeste, Punta Tombo, and Bahía Blanca, Argentina
January 29-30, 2016 - Buenos Aires, Argentina


January 18, 2016

Our plane landed during the middle of the night after a largely uneventful flight to Punta Arenas, deep in the heart of Patagonia. Due to the late hour of our arrival, we decided on trying to catch a bit of sleep in the airport before dawn came around. It was one of those situations where i was glad that I had packed my thermorest and lightweight sleeping bag, even though cargo space in my 40L pack was at a premium.

Hotel Aeropuerto

Eventually the horizon began to brighten so after a few hours of fitful sleep, we were on our way by taxi to the city center where we had a rental car booked.

Before long we were on our way in our new Renault Fluence, the cleanest that the car would be for the next three days. Punta Arenas, though the largest city in the region, is a relatively small city of 120,000 inhabitants so traffic was not an issue as we left the town and followed the highway into the interior. Black-browed Albatrosses, Magellanic Cormorants and Dolphin Gulls were easily seen along the waterfront in town, a nice start to this leg of the trip!

As we drove further from the coast and towards Torres del Paine and the Andes, the landscape opened up into vast plains and grasslands, while sheep roamed intermittently. We passed a few wetland areas on the drive, stopping to find Magellanic Oystercatchers, Chilean Flamingos, Coscoroba Swans, and both Upland and Ashy-headed Geese. Occasional Andean Condors were seen overhead as well.

roadside birding north of Punta Arenas

The birding was a little slow in areas, particularly in sections of vast grasslands where not much else broke up the landscape. However Lesser Rheas, our first rheas of the trip, were an exciting lifer, regardless of how common they ended up being. A roadside stop in suitable looking habitat produced a singing Austral Canestero, another target species we were hoping to nail down in this area.

Lesser Rhea - Patagonian steppe near Sierra Baguales, Chile

Lesser Rheas - Patagonian steppe near Sierra Baguales, Chile

Lesser Rhea - Patagonian steppe near Sierra Baguales, Chile

Lesser Rhea - Patagonian steppe near Sierra Baguales, Chile

By late afternoon the distant peaks of Torres del Paine were much closer and we turned on a sideroad to access some nearby mountains, known as the Sierra Baguales. Well known for its mixture of steppe, tall cliffs, and dense scrub with the occasional creek cutting through, the Sierra Baguales provide habitat for a number of localized species. Most of the species found in the extreme southern Andes can be found in these mountains. These specialties of the region included White-throated Caracara, Dark-faced and Cinnamon-bellied Ground-Tyrants, Least Seedsnipe, Band-tailed Earthcreeper and Yellow-bridled Finch.

Sierra Baguales, Chile

The Guanaco is one of two species of camels found in the Southern Andes; the other species being the Vicuña. The domestic llama originated from the Guanaco, while the alpaca is a domesticated form of Vicuña. Guanacos proved to be quite common throughout the steppe of Patagonia, eking out a living in an inhospitable environment. They also were easily seen in the Sierra Baguales, their silhouettes obvious from miles away.

Guanaco - Sierra Baguales, Chile

Lesser Rheas evidently were not restricted to the lower elevations either, as they roamed some of the pastures in the foothills.

Lesser Rhea - Sierra Baguales, Chile

Lesser Rheas - Sierra Baguales, Chile

As we climbed higher in elevation, we passed the occasional roadside wetland, some of which were occupied by Crested Ducks and Silvery Grebes. Several South American Snipe flushed from another wetland, while a good variety of other waterbirds were present.

Silvery Grebe on nest - Sierra Baguales, Chile

Silvery Grebes - Sierra Baguales, Chile

Crested Duck - Sierra Baguales, Chile

Crested Ducks - Sierra Baguales, Chile

Silvery Grebe - Sierra Baguales, Chile

This Southern Lapwing, acting agitated because of our presence, more than likely had a nest nearby.

Southern Lapwing - Sierra Baguales, Chile

It was evening by the time that we were high enough in the foothills to search for some of our main targets. Unfortunately the birding was fairly quiet despite the time of day, and we had no luck with our main targets. Our first Cinnamon-bellied Ground-Tyrant was our only new addition, though we enjoyed hiking through the picturesque landscape and watching the Greater Yellow-Finches and various sierra-finches as the day approached its end.

Sierra Baguales, Chile

Adam in the Sierra Baguales, Chile

self portrait - Sierra Baguales, Chile

Sierra Baguales, Chile

As the sun set behind the Andes we found a good spot to park for the night, and I set up my sleeping mat outside while Dave and Adam planned on sleeping in the car. Due to our latitude it was well after 11 PM when darkness finally descended.

our campsite in the Sierra Baguales, Chile

campsite in the Sierra Baguales, Chile

Journey to the Southern Cone: Part 8 (Chiloé Island penguins, Puerto Montt)

Introduction
January 8, 2016 - Santiago area, Chile
January 9 and 10, 2016 - Quintero pelagic, Parque Nacional La Campana, Chile
January 10, 2016 - Farellones, Chile
January 10-11, 2016 - Embalse El Yeso, Chile
January 12-13, 2016 - Nothofagus forests in Talca, Chile
January 14-15, 2016- Chiloé Island, Chile
January 16-17, 2016 - Chiloé Island penguins, Puerto Montt, Chile
January 18, 2016 - Patagonia: Puerto Montt to Sierra Baguales, Chile
January 19, 2016 - Patagonia: Sierra Baguales to Tierra del Fuego, Chile
January 20, 2016 - Patagonia: Tierra del Fuego, Chile
January 20-24, 2016 - Punta Arenas, Chile to Puerto Deseato, Argentina
January 25-26, 2016 - Valdes Peninsula and Las Grutas, Argentina
January 27-28, 2016 - San Antonio Oeste, Punta Tombo, and Bahía Blanca, Argentina
January 29-30, 2016 - Buenos Aires, Argentina


January 16, 2016

We managed to flag down a taxi in town and the driver was willing to take us across the island to where a colony of Magellanic and Humboldt Penguins can be found. We arranged for him to wait for us while we checked out the colony, and then to take us back to Ancud after we had had our fill of the penguins.

It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed the scenery on route to the penguin colony. Finally by late morning we were here!

Chiloé Island penguin colony

It is a common tourist activity for the many backpackers and other visitors on Chiloé Island to visit this particular penguin colony, and the local infrastructure is set up around this endeavor. We signed up for a boat tour of the colony (it is inaccessible by foot), then headed back to the beach to see what birds were around. This Kelp Gull obliged my request for photos.

Kelp Gull - Chiloé Island, Chile

Kelp Gull - Chiloé Island, Chile

Dave (left) and Adam - Chiloé Island, Chile

Eventually we were ushered into a boat with a number of other tourists to view the colony from up close.

This contraption was used to transport people towards the boat resting in shallow water, to prevent their feet from getting wet.

It was an incredible hour on the boat, observing the numerous Magellanic Penguins from up close. The only downside was that they packed so many of us onto the boat, and certain individuals had a tendency to stand up, thus blocking the views for those of us not fortunate enough to have a seat along the edge of the boat. It was more than a little frustrating at times, but eventually all three of us had great views of each of the species found at the colony. I will let the photos do the talking...

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Occasional Flightless Steamer-Ducks were loafing around the colony, as well as a few Kelp Geese (our first of the trip!).

Flightless Steamer-Duck - Chiloé Island, Chile

male Kelp Goose - Chiloé Island, Chile

The above Kelp Goose is a male, while the female below is quite difference in appearance.

female Kelp Goose - Chiloé Island, Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Magellanic Penguins - Chiloé Island, Chile

Cormorants were well represented here with three species; Neotropic, Red-legged, and our first Magellanic Cormorants. The Red-legged were easily viewed as they nested not far from the penguins.

Red-legged Cormorants - Chiloé Island, Chile

Red-legged Cormorants - Chiloé Island, Chile

While the colony was dominated by Magellanic Penguins we did come across at least six Humboldt Penguins. Some of the ways to tell Humboldt from Magellanic is the presence of a single breast band (vs two in Magellanic), and extensive pink at the base of the bill. We were thrilled and relieved to see this species, as it would be our only shot at it during our trip. Magellanic Penguins would later prove to be quite common further south in Patagonia.

Humboldt Penguin - Chiloé Island, Chile

Humboldt Penguin - Chiloé Island, Chile

And how could we forget the mammals...a single Marine Otter, and several South American Sea Lions.

female South American Sea Lion - Chiloé Island, Chile

female South American Sea Lion - Chiloé Island, Chile

Eventually it was time to return to the shore, where we disembarked and met our taxi driver again. We decided that we would explore the area for another half-hour or so before heading back to Ancud. Right next to the bay where the penguin colony is located, there is a hill one can climb that overlooks the stunning coastline; Dave had taken his mini-scope so that we could scope the throngs of Sooty Shearwaters that were streaming by. This Patagonian Sierra-Finch welcomed us at the top.

Patagonian Sierra-Finch - Chiloé Island, Chile

The views were breathtaking...

Chiloé Island, Chile

Chiloé Island, Chile

While scanning the Sooty Shearwaters, we spotted some distant whales; due to the size of their blows we surmised that they were Blue Whales! The waters around Chiloé Island host a summering population of this species, the largest animal in the world.

Chiloé Island, Chile

These lizards were also in abundance within the low vegetation along the cliff edges.They are in the genus Liolaemus, like many of the lizard species in Chile. It is not known how many Liolaemus species can be found in Chile, but the number could be over 100! Many are endemic to very tiny geographical areas.

Despite the difference in appearance I am pretty sure that both of these individuals are from the same species - Liolaemus pictus. 

Liolaemus pictus - Chiloé Island, Chile

Liolaemus pictus - Chiloé Island, Chile

Eventually we decided to get going so we hopped in the taxi for the relatively long drive back to Ancud. By 4 PM we had booked a bus and were back on the ferry, saying farewell to Chiloé Island. I highly recommend this island for anyone travelling in this part of Chile! The scenery, food, and of course the penguins and other wildlife will make it more than worth your while.

ferry to Chiloé Island, Chile

We arrived in the city of Puerto Montt and set off to find a hostel, which fortunately did not take too long. And the view from the front yard wasn't bad either! We were right adjacent to the police station, which was either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.

harbour in Puerto Montt, as viewed from our hostel

January 17, 2016

Back when we were still on Chiloé Island we managed to book an internal flight from Puerto Montt south to Punta Arenas, located within the heart of Patagonia. Our flight did not leave until late in the evening on January 17 meaning that we had a full day to "kill" while in Puerto Montt.

making friends at breakfast - Puerto Montt, Chile

There were few remaining bird species for us to target as we had done quite well on the trip up to this point; the main miss being Pincoya Storm-Petrel of course. We walked down to the harbour to inquire with some of the fishermen about the possibility of chartering a boat to deeper waters to search for the bird, but we were unsuccessful in that regard. Instead we decided to take a bus along the coast to the southeast to where there was a ferry crossing a section of open water that was maybe 2-3 km in length. At least we would be on the water, and hopefully the storm-petrels would show!

La Arena, Chile

Well, the ferry ride wasn't too exciting and we did not so much as sniff a storm-petrel! Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

After arriving back in Puerto Montt, we continued our trend of only eating the healthiest of dinners. We were a fan of the extra large beers that were available at every restaurant.

Later that night we were finally on our flight to Punta Arenas. Dreams of King Penguins, albatrosses and Magellanic Plovers were in our heads...