Pelee rarities day 3 and a dead gull...

This morning, Jeremy and I headed down to the tip nearly first thing in the morning, though Blake Mann and a few others had us beat...luckily we hadn't missed any Pacific Loons at this point, unlike yesterday! Before reaching the point, Jeremy and I stopped after noticing an Eastern Screech-owl peeking out of a hole in a tree near the Sparrow Field.

Fewer birds were flying by, though the winds continued strong out of the SSW. After a while of scanning through dwindling numbers of Common Loons, Red-breasted Merganers, all 3 scoters, and Horned Grebes filtering down the east side of the tip, Blake happened to notice a jaeger powering down the west side!

We all jumped up and got on the bird as it flew straight towards the point. I was really hoping for a Pomarine Jaeger, however the slender build and rufous tones on the bird made it clear that it was a Parasitic! Still, this was a good find since jaegers can be pretty scarce at Pelee. Despite a birder or rarely, several birders at the tip most days throughout the fall, only a handful are seen each season. This was my third Point Pelee Parasitic Jaeger after singles on September 24, 2010 and August 10, 2013. I didn't try for photos though Jeremy Bensette managed a few decent ones.

About an hour later, I was sitting on a strategically placed bench when Kory Renaud casually asked me if I wanted a new Pelee bird. He told me to look at the tip, and sure enough a Purple Sandpiper had landed there! Spot on!

I successfully managed to flush all the gulls off of the tip while the sandpiper stayed put, allowing me to take some half decent photos of the purp-etrator!

This was my second new Pelee bird for the weekend after the Bohemian Waxwing yesterday. I am slowly creeping up to #300...

A few Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks were repeatedly flying out to the tip before looping back around.

This bat was tucked away in a corner at the washroom by the tram stop. I think it is an Eastern Pipistrelle based on its tiny size, reddish forelimbs, black wing linings, and golden brown fir.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful sightings wise. A group of us checked DeLaurier for the Bohemian Waxwing, and only one or two people had brief glimpses at it, leaving many of us disappointed. There were thousands of Cedar Waxwings around and this bird could very well stay for a few more days or longer!

I later checked the south end of Hillman Marsh with Jeremy Bensette, turning up a Greater Yellowlegs and 10 Pectoral Sandpipers. About two dozen Dunlins were still hanging on - good numbers for the date!
The north end of Hillman Marsh as well as Wheatley harbour were both busts, so I continued on my way home.

Driving on Highway #3 along the lakeshore, I turned down the road leading to Erie Beach, hoping to see an interesting feeder bird or maybe something in a field. Cattle Egret perhaps?

That was not to be, but as I was driving along I glimpsed a dead gull on the road. As I flew past it, I was shocked to see it had a darker mantle! I had thoughts of Franklin's Gulls in my head when  turned the car around. What was the bird? You guessed it...

Gulls were feeding in an adjacent field and washing off in the lake, thus constantly flying across the road. It wasn't a very busy stretch, but this very unlucky Franklin's Gull made a slight miscalculation - its last.

I emailed a photo to several local birders. Funny enough, Steve Charbonneau (a resident of Erie Beach) mentioned finding a first cycle Franklin's Gull at the nearby Blenheim lagoons earlier in the day. He had passed by the spot (where I later found the dead gull) several times through the course of the day and did not see it. It was still warm when I happened across it an hour before dusk.

Not the way I prefer seeing Franklin's Gulls, but it is safely stored in my freezer and will be transported to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto when I get a chance. Hopefully my (non-birder) roommates don't open the suspicious plastic bag with my name on it in the freezer...

McGeachy's Pond near Erieau held hundreds of geese. I was surprised to see a group of 5 Snow Geese, but as I was pulling up they took off, with the Canada Geese staying on the pond.

Pelee rarities day two...

Another great day of birding at Point Pelee...

photo by Jeremy Bensette

I was a little late arriving at the tip this morning, and Steve Pike and Alan Wormington had already seen a Pacific Loon fly by with three Common Loons. That would have been a new Pelee bird for me. It didn't take long for another great bird to make a sighting. It was a juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake that Alan spotted, and it was close enough that we were able to take a few distant photographs.

Kittiwakes are pretty much annual at Pelee, and this was the second one this year after one seen in early January.

Not long later, I got on a second kittiwake flying south along the east side of the tip. This one was even closer and we were able to see it circling over the tip.

Other highlights included many pipits and Horned Larks, a bunch of Horned Grebes, two more Eared Grebes (including one that sat in the water offshore for a few minutes), a Merlin, a Long-tailed Duck, a Red-throated Loon, and many Common Loons. Not a bad morning at all!

Steve Pike and I birded together for the rest of the day and had a few notable sightings. The first was an Evening Grosbeak that we heard several times near the end of Shuster trail. A decent group of birds were there too, including many Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Later we checked DeLaurier. We ran into Alan who had spent several hours there, seeing a House Wren, Gray Catbird, and a bird that got away that might have been a Townsend's Solitaire. Steve and I had only walked south for about 15 minutes when we happened upon several groups of Cedar Waxwings. He saw a suspiciously large bird with them, yelled it out, and I got on it as well just before it landed in the trees. He thought it might have been a Bohemian Waxwing, though we both weren't certain that was what it was.

We walked up to the group of trees while the waxwings stayed there, feeding off a type of berries. The larger bird was there and it appeared to be a Bohemian! The rufous undertail coverts really stood out.

Other ID features include longer crest, gray body, larger size, and more drawn out, rattling call. Bohemian Waxwings aren't annual at Point Pelee and it was in fact my first and Steve's second.

We finished the day by checking the onion fields, Hillman Marsh, and Wheatley harbour. A ton of gulls were in the harbour but we weren't unable to turn up anything too interesting in the fading light. 

It was another great day in the Pelee area and we have high hopes for tomorrow morning.

Point Pelee rarity trip

While some birders are heading up to Netitishi this weekend, I took off and drove down to Pelee. I arrived late last night, slept in my car, and by morning stationed myself at the tip.

The winds were out of the southwest and picked up as the morning wore on. The forecast was for continued south winds for the full weekend, and the temperature was supposed to increase to a balmy 14 degrees. I was definitely hoping that a few good birds would be around.

View from the tip

There were a decent number of birds moving throughout the morning. Thousands of Red-breasted Mergansers, a bunch of White-winged Scoters and scaup, and dozens of Horned Grebes and Common Loons. At one point we saw a Red-throated Loon flying by near a Common Loon - a nice comparison of the two species.

In the late morning we had our best birds of the day in a pair of Eared Grebes. The first was flying with 3 Horned Grebes, heading east down the point. The Eared had a clearly smaller and duskier head, lacking the obvious white cheek patch of a Horned. It was also a little bit smaller and darker on the back.Eventually the four birds disappeared to the south.

Fifteen minutes later, Alan spotted an interesting grebe resting in the water by the tip. It too was an Eared Grebe! I walked out with my camera and managed a few distant shots.

I later noticed a different gull sitting on the tip. It had a darker mantle, but everything about it pointed towards a hybrid Herring x Great Black-backed Gull. Later on I saw a juvenile Lesser Black-backed with Kory Renaud.

Passerines were scarce today but I did scare up a few interesting things. Fox sparrows were the most frequently encountered sparrow in the park, and DeLaurier held a flock of at least 55 bluebirds. I was sorting through a flock of 25 (including the bird below) when 30 more flew overhead calling.

A surprise was a late Orange-crowned Warbler in the southeastern corner of sparrow field. It was all by itself, gleaning insects from some of the low plants and shrubs.

I later checked a few spots outside the park including Towle Harbour, Sturgeon Creek, the onion fields, and the south end of Hillman Marsh. Check out this thing...

There were 10 of them along with a few fat chickens in someone's yard...

I later checked Hillman before sunset and was surprised to find a diverse group of shorebirds at the north end of the marsh. Included with the Killdeers and Dunlins were two Pectoral Sandpipers and a juvenile Baird's Sandpiper! These were the latest migrants I had seen for either species in Ontario.

At dusk I met up with Jeremy Bensette and we went to a spot that hosts Long-eared Owls every winter. We waited until it was dark, but eventually several owls flew out of the cedars. We even recorded one barking a few times! Another one flew overhead carrying a mouse. It was a pretty cool way to end the day.

Probable Glaucous-winged Gull in Michigan and Ontario?

Those of you following the Michigan listservs or our listserv, Ontbirds, have probably heard about the Glaucous-winged Gull that has been reported at Port Huron, on both the Michigan and (for the first time today) on the Ontario side of the river. I'm not sure what the consensus is on its identification, but it is being eBirded in Michigan as a Glaucous-winged Gull. This eBird checklist contains two photos of the bird. Its a tough angle and hard to get a judge on the "stoutness" of the bill among other features, but it does kinda look like a Glaucous-winged Gull.

Glaucous-winged Gull is a western species that has strayed to the Great Lakes several times, and even twice to Newfoundland! However, it has never been confirmed for Ontario. You may recall that back in July of 2011 I picked this species as the #4 most likely species to be added to the Ontario checklist. Since then, some very unexpected species were added to the Ontario checklist (pending acceptance by the OBRC) in Thick-billed Kingbird, Kelp Gull, Brown-chested Martin, and Brown Booby. Who would have seen that coming?

This probable Glaucous-winged Gull in Michigan was first reported by Ryan Dziedzic to the "Michigan Listers" listserv on Friday, November 8 and had been reported on the 9th and 10th as well.

 Today, Sean Jenniskens posted to Ontbirds:
 "90% sure that I had the Glaucous-winged Gull that has been being seen from port Huron today at 2:35pm from Point Edward Lighthouse. It was first seen on the US Coastguard pier, but after about 5min of viewing half the gulls took off and I followed the gull in flight as it flew north towards a distant group of gulls on US shore."

The identification of a 1st cycle Glaucous-winged Gull is fairly straightforward - a big gull with a stout dark bill, finely patterned upperparts, and wingtips that are a milky brown color (matching the color of the rest of the upperparts). The angle of the head often gives a GWGU an "angry" appearance (as opposed to a more gentler expression, like what one would see with an Iceland Gull, for instance).

It gets more difficult though - Glaucous-winged Gulls freely hybridize, especially with Herring Gulls, Glaucous Gulls, and Western Gulls. In some parts of the Pacific northwest, Glaucous-winged Gulls and Western Gulls hybridize to such a great extent that it can be hard finding pure individuals!

For this to get accepted as a new species for the Ontario checklist, these hybrids will have to be clearly and unequivocally eliminated and detailed photos will probably be needed.

I have plans to spend the weekend in the Point Pelee area - more on that later. But this Glaucous-winged Gull might change my mind. Normally I would drop (nearly) everything to chase a potential new species for the province (see: Brown Booby)  but I'm kind of hesitant on this one. First, the gull hasn't been easy to find and has been playing hide and seek on the Michigan side, plus has only been reported once on the Ontario side. I did not see any reports from November 11 or 12. Second, it can be hard to get motivated to chase an "unspectacular" first for the province, if there ever was such a thing, such as a fugly 1st cycle gull. Third, who's to say that this thing isn't a hybird or a backcross as of right now? And of course it could disappear before I could have a chance to chase it on Friday!

Anyways, I guess we'll see how this one plays out in the coming days...

Netitishi day 6

Introductory Post
Day 1 and 2 - October 24 and 25, 2013
Day 3 and 4 - October 26 and 27, 2013
Day 5 - October 28, 2013
Day 6 - October 29, 2013
Day 7 - October 30, 2013
Day 8 - October 31, 2013
Day 9 - November 1, 2013
Day 10 and 11 - November 2 and 3, 2013

October 29, 2013
Weather: between -12 and -5, mostly clear with some overcast periods, winds variable NW to S 10-20 km/h.
44 species
Ebird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15556040

Despite cold condiions and winds that didn't really do much, we ended up having a pretty good day at Netitishi and ended up with one of the highest single day totals EVER for Netitishi point in late October - 44 species! :)

The day began with very cold temperatures. When I awoke to temperatures hovering below -12 degrees I immediately regretted my decision to not stoke my wood stove during the middle of the night. I think I got dressed in record time that morning.

We sat out at the coast and fortunately (from a temperature regulation standpoint) the wind was quite minimal, but unfortunately (from a seeing birds standpoint) the wind was quite minimal. Eventually as we sat there, wondering where the birds were, I heard an odd but familiar sound - Snow Geese! We looked up just in time to see a large flock (about 59 birds) heading due east over us. This was our second sighting of this species for the trip.

Snow Geese - Netitishi Point

Another Thayer's Gull made an appearance - this one flying close enough to shore to warrant some heavily
cropped photos. We saw a total of 4 Thayer's Gull during the trip - a juv/1st winter, a 2nd winter, a 3rd winter, and an adult.

Thayer's Gull - Netitishi Point

Throughout the trip only two species of raptors made regular appearances. The first was a juvenile Northern Goshawk which appeared to have claimed Netitishi Point as it's territory. It was seen usually once a day - either blasting through the spruce trees at approximately a million miles an hour, or terrorizing the Snow Buntings in the grasses between the spruces and the mudflats (also at a million miles an hour). The other regular species was Northern Harrier which was also seen daily (or nearly so). I would imagine that harriers cover a large territory, as we would often go several days between seeing what I presumed to be the same individuals.

Northern Harrier - Netitishi Point

Spruce Grouses were regular inhabitants of the woods around the cabins. On this particular day at least three were seen. I took the time to photograph one of the tasty looking chickens.

Spruce Grouse - Netitishi Point

As is often the case at Netitishi, some of the biggest highlights were the shorebirds! Today, Hudsonian Godwits stole the show. Nine birds flew by throughout the day, always in groups of ones and twos. That is one species that I never tire of seeing! Unfortunately none of them had white underwings...Some of these birds were possibly repeats but most were flying west to east (the usual direction of migrating birds at Netitishi). These sightings really were bizarre. Alan and Doug McRae did not have any HUGOs during their six week 1981 Netithishi trip after October 24, and I don't think any were seen on the 1996 autumn trip. None were seen in 2010, 2011, or 2012 - the only other late October through November trips to Netitishi. So WHY did we see so many HUGOs??? Who knows. But we weren't complaining.

Two Least Sandpipers were an interesting sight. They came in really close, flying east to west, and actually joined up with a swirling flock of Snow Buntings for a few seconds before turning around and flying back east. Our final interesting shorebird highlights were two Lesser Yellowlegs (Alan only) and three juvenile American Golden-plovers, both species that should be long gone in Ontario by this point. Though the same can be said for Least Sandpipers, Hudsonian Godwits, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Sanderlings - all regular-ish species on this trip.

Also, here is a photo of the World's Smallest Spruce Tree. I did not notice it at the time but apparently some currency was in the photo.

world's smallest tree

That's it for day 6 - stay tuned for days 7 through 11! Our rarest bird of the trip is still ahead...

Netitishi Day 5

Introductory Post
Day 1 and 2 - October 24 and 25, 2013
Day 3 and 4 - October 26 and 27, 2013
Day 5 - October 28, 2013
Day 6 - October 29, 2013
Day 7 - October 30, 2013
Day 8 - October 31, 2013
Day 9 - November 1, 2013
Day 10 and 11 - November 2 and 3, 2013

October 28, 2013
Weather: between -2 and -10, mostly overcast with no precipitation, winds NW to WSW, 30-60 km/h
38 species
Ebird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15555925

We finally received the winds we were hoping for! The wind began in the morning out of the NW at a moderate strength and continued to increase in velocity throughout the day, shifting more to the WSW. Northwest winds have a history of producing good birds at Netitishi, and the only bird of the trip that was rare enough to require documentation to the Ontario Bird Record Committee was seen on this day!

First off, here is a photo of Alan seawatching by the coast. This photo was actually taken on the 26th, during a nice calm warm day.

Alan looking for shorebirds

With the winds a-howlin' though today, sitting out in the open like that simply wasn't possible and so we nestled back further in the spruces, partially sheltered by the wind. Alan took it upon himself to begin construction of a new wind shelter.

With the northwest winds, the waterfowl were flying and a good variety was seen. We had 4 new waterfowl species for the trip list - American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, and the highlight - a Harlequin Duck!

Alan first spotted the bird as it cruised by heading the wrong way (east to west) right at the tide line. It was a sub-adult male, and I decided to forgo attempting shitty record shots of the bird in favour of zooming in to 60x with my scope and having a nice, satisfying look. 15 seconds later, the bird was gone, out of view to the west. Things happen quickly at Netitishi.

There are three previous records of Harlequin Duck for Cochrane District, though two of those were birds that Alan and I saw on last year's trip. Interestingly enough, both of those birds were also flying by at very close range. One bird nearly flew right into the shelter! We could have had Harlequin Duck for dinner.

Other waterbird highlights for today included 700 Mallards, 1100 Northern Pintails, 400 American Black Ducks, 1500 Brants, a Purple Sandpiper, and 2 Hudsonian Godwits.

Last year around the same time, we had similar conditions which instigated a gigantic waterbird flight. It was the most exciting day I have spent sea or lake-watching ever, and this is what we saw.We hardly left the coast for even a coffee break, instead staring through our scopes from dawn til dusk (For those of you not inclined to click the link, we had 24,100 Brant, 6,600 Northern Pintail, and huge numbers of other ducks. Oh yeah, and a fulmar).

So while the waterbird flight was the best we had seen all trip, it was a far cry from the goodies of yesteryear. Maybe most of the waterfowl had already left? Maybe the conditions were such that waterbirds were leaving the bay gradually this year, and not in one big push like last year?

The big story of the day was one little Red Fox that appeared while we were sitting there, scanning the coast.

Red Fox - Netitishi Point

On the 2011 autumn Netitishi trip, the crew befriended and over the coarse of a few days tamed a Red Fox. Foxy was nowhere to be seen during our trip last year, but this year Foxy (or Foxy II) was around! Many more photos to come, but here is a teaser...

Red Fox - Netitishi Point

Netitishi days 3 and 4

Introductory Post
Day 1 and 2 - October 24 and 25, 2013
Day 3 and 4 - October 26 and 27, 2013
Day 5 - October 28, 2013
Day 6 - October 29, 2013
Day 7 - October 30, 2013
Day 8 - October 31, 2013
Day 9 - November 1, 2013
Day 10 and 11 - November 2 and 3, 2013

October 26, 2013
Weather: between -4 and 1, sun and clouds + scattered snow squalls, winds ESE to NE 10-20 km/h
43 species
Ebird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15555677

Our third day on the coast started cold and sunny, but as the day wore on the temperatures increased and the wind shifted to the northeast, promoting a big Rough-legged Hawk flight. They began by mid-morning flying way out over the bay, but by noon the hawks were streaming overhead, including several kettles of birds numbering up to 15.

Rough-legged Hawks - Netitishi Point

We ended up with 83 for the day, a really high count, especially when you consider that no other species of migrating raptors were seen that day!

Rough-legged Hawk - Netitishi Point

Some of the specialty northern birds that people often visit Algonquin to see were the most common species around the cabins. These included Gray Jays, Boreal Chickadees, White-winged Crossbills, and Spruce Grouse. We ended up seeing Spruce Grouse almost daily, including this male that was sitting in a spruce tree near the wind shelter.

Spruce Grouse - Netitishi Point

It was a warm afternoon so I walked in the woods near the cabins, looking for songbirds. Throughout the walk I saw several species that may have been "reverse migrants" from the southwest winds we had experienced over the previous few days, including a group of Dark-eyed Juncos, a White-throated Sparrow, and some American Robins. A Brown Creeper exploring some of the largest spruces may be a bird that overwinters at Netitishi, since they have been seen regularly here late into the autumn.

Shorebirds included 16 Pectoral Sandpipers and a Semipalmated Sandpiper with a bad leg - record late for southern James Bay. Normally this species is mostly gone from even southern Ontario by early October. A group of 4 Black-bellied Plovers were also on the flats.

Black-bellied Plover - Netitishi Point

Seawatching was mostly a bust again, despite the winds shifting to the northeast for the afternoon. Our only Surf Scoter of the trip flew by, but even Brant and Long-tailed Duck were in reduced numbers. Some gulls lingered on the mudflats but few were flying by, with highlights being our only Iceland Gull of the trip and a juvenile Glaucous. We added 11 new birds to the trip list, bringing it up to 60.

October 27, 2013
Weather: between 0 and -5, mostly overcast with scattered snow squalls and heavy snow at dusk, winds SW 5-10 km/h 
35 species
Ebird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15555798 

By this point of the trip I was beginning to be really frustrated in the weather. The winds continued to lack a northerly component and we had a fourth day in a row with rather unexciting waterbird highlights. However, we did have a flock of 11 very vocal Snow Geese flying overhead first thing in the morning, a species that is never really common this time of year at Netitishi.

Alan looking (unsuccessfully) for waterbirds

One of the most interesting birds of the day was an adult American Golden-plover in alternate plumage in the grassy meadows east of the point. This is another species that should be gone by now, especially an adult bird as juveniles are the age class to migrate last in the autumn. If you click on the photos to see them full size you may see why this bird is hanging on this late into October...

American Golden-Plover - Netitishi Point

American Golden-Plover - Netitishi Point

One of the highlights for me was finding a Golden Eagle traveling slowly eastward over the tide line in the afternoon. It was a juvenile bird and the first one that I had ever seen in northern Ontario.

Later in the afternoon, as Alan and I cut through the ridge of spruces on the way back from the meadow, we stumbled upon a group of Boreal Chickadees. This species is often considered quite secretive, but I think that is more due to their nature of clinging to the depths of the spruce bogs. When you are in the realm of the Boreal Chickaee, they can actually be quite inquisitive at times, such as these birds which came as close as a few meters from us!

Boreal Chickadee - Netitishi Point

Boreal Chickadee - Netitishi Point

We also discovered an interesting peep that was with the group of Dunlin on the mudflats. It appeared to be a Semipalmated Sandpiper, albeit one with a very small, thin bill. Unfortunately though everything else about this bird makes it appear to be a fairly typical juvenile/1st winter Semipalmated Sandpiper, unlike the hoped for Little Stint! This bird smashed the record late date for this species by one day, previously set on October 26, 2013.

Semipalmated Sandpiper - Netitishi Point

Semipalmated Sandpiper - Netitishi Point

That evening the snow began and by dusk several inches were covering the ground. Just a typical mid October snowstorm...

cabins at Netitishi Point

Each day of the trip had continued to be interesting with several highlights along the way, and there was still a full week left to find some really rare birds!

Netitishi Days 1 and 2

Introductory Post
Day 1 and 2 - October 24 and 25, 2013
Day 3 and 4 - October 26 and 27, 2013
Day 5 - October 28, 2013
Day 6 - October 29, 2013
Day 7 - October 30, 2013
Day 8 - October 31, 2013
Day 9 - November 1, 2013
Day 10 and 11 - November 2 and 3, 2013

October 24, 2013
Weather: between -3 and 3 Celsius, overcast with brief periods of sun, winds WNW 20-40 km/h.
37 species
Ebird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15555364

We were finally able to get out of the coast after being stuck in Moosonee for two extra nights. There was just enough of a break in the weather for us to fly, and by mid morning we were on the coast for the first time in a year.

After setting up camp, we headed to the coast and watched a decent flight of waterbirds including 3500 Brant, Long-tailed Ducks, scoters, several puddle ducks, and one relatively rare bird in a Horned Grebe. Out of the several thousand Dunlin, we also saw several Black-bellied Plovers including an adult in mostly full breeding plumage!

Black-bellied Plover - Netitishi Point

It certainly continued to feel like the autumn of the Pectoral, as we saw several juveniles out near the creek west of the point ("the lagoon"). I had previously seen Pectorals on several of my stops on the drive to Cochrane, and we had seen some in Moosonee as well.

Pectoral Sandpiper - Netitishi Point

Our first Thayer's Gull was seen, and I also had an interesting gull flying west along the shore. It had the right mantle shade for a California Gull (slightly darker than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls) and appeared the right size. I thought I could see red on the bill but wasn't sure, and the bird was soon to the west and out of view. Hard to say for sure what it was!

We finished before dusk, made up camp and cooked a sphaghetti dinner on the one-burner. We were excited for our first full day of seawatching...

October 25, 2013
Weather: between 3 and -4 Celsius, mostly overcast with several snow flurries, winds WNW to SW 10-30 km/h.
Ebird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15555539

The wind was still southwest, preventing ducks from migrating past, visible from Netitishi. Numbers of waterbirds were disappointing, but we did have several interesting birds including a juvenile Goshawk soaring overhead. We ended up seeing the goshawk almost daily throughout the course of the trip, sometimes at very close range. Most of the looks were brief, of a big brown and white bird flying past us into a stand of spruce trees chasing a bird.

Northern Goshawk - Netitishi Point

At one point we noticed a dark bird flapping along way out over the bay. It took us a few seconds to figure out what it was, but it was finally obvious that it was a Short-eared Owl, flying with a distinctive, erratic flight. This was the first one I had ever seen in Cochrane District.

I chased some Sanderlings, Black-bellied Plovers, and Dunlins around in the afternoon at the lagoon.

Sanderling - Netitishi Point

Another interesting sighting was watching a Northern Shrike and Red Squirrel interact. The squirrel was on the ground, and the Shrike was only a few feet above it, sitting in a tree. Every time that the squirrel moved, the shrike would follow. It almost seemed like it was playing a game with it, but there was probably a reason for the behavior.

That night, two Great Horned Owls were hooting in the woods near the cabins as we sat around the campfire while the temperature dropped. It had been a good two days, even without any rarities. There were still 9 days in the trip left!

Back from Netitishi point - 2013 edition!

Introductory Post
Day 1 and 2 - October 24 and 25, 2013
Day 3 and 4 - October 26 and 27, 2013
Day 5 - October 28, 2013
Day 6 - October 29, 2013
Day 7 - October 30, 2013
Day 8 - October 31, 2013
Day 9 - November 1, 2013
Day 10 and 11 - November 2 and 3, 2013

This afternoon our helicopter arrived right on time, and within an hour we were at the hotel room. It always is a bit of a surprise to return back to civilization, to eat non-camp food, to see other people, and to not have to build a fire if you need to warm up.I must admit, it is kind of nice to be sitting here in the warmth of the motel room, but it won't be long until I will be missing the northern woods and James Bay coast. But anyways, on to the sightings!

Unlike last year where we seemed to hit the jackpot with rarities, this trip was a bit of a letdown. Additionally, numbers of migrating waterbirds were way down compared to last year, apparently with many species having already migrated through. However, as is always the case for Netitishi Point, we had some noteworthy sightings!

Townsend's Solitaire - October 31, 2013
As we were eating lunch one day, I was surprised to see a medium-sized bird land at the top of a Tamarack at the far end of the marsh. A few quick record shots and a brief look through the binoculars confirmed my suspicions - a Townsend's Solitaire! Alan and I had only a few seconds to view it before it disappeared, but we re-found it about half an hour later and were treated to great looks from only a few meters away. This is the first record for the Southern James Bay Region, and also the first record for Cochrane District. Photos to come!

Harlequin Duck - October 28, 2013
An immature male first spotted by Alan moving west right along the shoreline. There are only three previous records of Harlequin Ducks for Cochrane District, however two of those records involved birds that Alan and I saw last year!

Late shorebirds
We had several notable records of late shorebirds, including the following:
-12 Hudsonian Godwits were seen between October 28 and October 30
-a Semipalmated Sandpiper with a bad leg was out on the mud flats on October 26, 2013. Crazy late! To top that, we had a different SESA the following day.
-an adult American Golden-plover in breeding plumage was around on October 27, and we continued seeing juveniles until November 1
-an adult Black-bellied Plover in breeding plumage was last seen on October 28
-two Least Sandpipers were seen on October 29

Gyrfalcons 
One of the most spectacular wildlife experiences that I have experienced in a while occurred when a white morph Gyrfalcon buzzed us on October 30. It ended up making several passes at us, and alighted on a spruce twice, allowing prolonged views. The lighting was perfect, the bird was immaculate, and I was stoked to finally nail down some photos of my #1 wanted bird! Here is one "teaser" photo - lots more to come. It looks better full size!

Red Phalarope, Golden Eagle, Short-eared Owl
All three of these species are tough to come by in Southern James Bay, and all three were new species for my Southern James Bay list!

Typical northern birds
Some of the more common birds around the camp were Spruce Grouse, White-winged Crossbill, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, and Pine Grosbeak. One of the things I love about Netitishi...

Photo shoot - White-winged Crossbill

Back in late September on the Moosonee trip with Alan Wormington and Jeremy Bensette, we had a great opportunity to get some killer looks at White-winged Crossbills. Crossbills are notoriously hard to see well - most observations involve black specks flying against an overcast sky, with a few "jit jit jit" calls the only clue to the identity of the birds. Occasionally, if you get lucky, you may get some half-assed looks at a flock foraging on cones at the very top of a Spruce tree.

As we were walking down the railroad tracks just out of town, I stopped suddenly, noticing movement in a shrub a few feet off of the ground. Given the odd location, it took my brain a few seconds for it to register that this was a female White-winged Crossbill! A second later, Alan noticed a male on the tracks, only a few meters from our feet! Though the lighting was kind of dark and dreary, we were able to get some awesome looks and photos.