Winter Birding

Now that cold weather has set in, it is time to talk about winter birding (it comes once a year!). Some people keep "winter lists". From December 1 to the end of February some avid listers try to see as many birds as possible in that time frame. I do not keep such a list. I see what I see!

I suppose my winter birding really starts with the Christmas Bird Counts (CBC). They run from mid December to the first week of January every year. Many avid birders such as myself participate in several every season. It is a day of fun, something like a treasure hunt, and a day for socializing.

Locally, we start with the Kettle Point one that is hosted by Lambton Wildlife on the first Saturday of the count period. That is followed by Rondeau/Blenheim on Sunday.

Every count is different with regards to birds that you will find. On the Kettle Point, any blackbird is good, and sparrows are scarce. More of the finch types are there due to the conifers I suppose. At Rondeau, waterfowl are usually big in numbers, but one can expect a wide variety of birds. The Rondeau/Blenheim count sometimes tops the province in species. It is almost always in the top two or three anyway. Last year it was the highest in the province at 107 species. In the past, it has come in at a high of 113 if I remember correctly.

The next count locally is Wallaceburg, my home count. It includes Walpole Island where some good species are quite often found. Back in 2001, a Black-necked Stilt was recorded--a first for a Canadian CBC! We always do better when the weather is colder, as it concentrates birds, and more ducks and gulls are recorded in the St. Clair River.

The St. Clair NWA count is held around New Year's. Most times it is on New Year's Day when things are quiet for some reason. It relies heavily on waterfowl, therefore open water is beneficial. Last year with the mild weather record numbers or waterfowl were recorded. As well, this count tends to get big numbers of blackbirds.

The CBC's are always fun as surprises are always encountered.

In early January, some of us do a waterfowl count. I always do the St. Clair River. It is not until late December that numbers of waterfowl build up in the big river. The cold weather brings them in off the lakes. In recent years, it gets later and later it seems.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I spend lots of time on the St. Clair River looking at waterfowl and gulls. Sometimes surprises are found such as an Ivory Gull! A Red-throated Loon (see photo) was a rare find, although that was in late November. (The only one I have ever seen in the river!).

Other spots to go winter birding are in provincial parks to see wintering birds. Sometimes birds of several species flock together and that is what one looks for.

Once again, surprises can occur, such as was the case on January 11, 1998 in Rondeau Park. One cold, cloudy morning I had just started on south point trail when I heard some very metallic chip notes. I knew it was something unique, but I didn't see the bird right away. After some pishing, up popped a Nashville Warbler! (No photo available).

Later in the morning I alerted some friends, and they came to see the bird. Actually the bird stayed about ten days. I did not realize it initially, but this warbler was different than the usual Nashville we see in migration. The yellow parts were brighter, and the tail flicked constantly. As well, that peculiar metallic chip note was unique. These characteristics pointed to the ridgwayi subspecies from out west. It is a separate disjunct population of the Nashville Warbler that has its own characteristics. Some day these two populations of Nashvilles may be split, so that will constitute a new species.

In some winters, owls erupt from the north. Three years ago, Great Gray Owls came down south in big numbers. Once they find a good feeding spot, they will stay for a while. I remember going to a place near Orillia to see some Great Gray Owls. None came anywhere near here though!

In January and February, owls can be looked for. Whether it be in open pastures for Short-eared Owls, conifer areas for Long-eared Owls or Saw-Whet Owls, or just to look for roosting Snowy Owls, many species can be found.

There are lots of birds to look for in various habitats during the winter!

Got the Gannet!

My target bird for this weekend was a Northern Gannet. It didn't take long to see one! I joined in the annual Lambton Wildlife (LWI) birding trip to Niagara this past weekend. It is a birding trip to look for unusal birds from Hamilton to Niagara.

We started at Van Wagners Beach near Hamilton at 07:30 Saturday. The lake was calm and not conducive to seeing seabirds, but there were lots of ducks and gulls and other water birds out there. Upon arrival, I saw a large mass of birds to the SE in the distance. I quite quickly picked out a large dark bird that had a different flight. I knew it was a gannet, even at that distance. After about ten minutes, this Northern Gannet flew towards us and went by us at fairly close range. My day was made!

There have been quite a few gannets reported on Lake Ontario in recent weeks. It is hard to say how many were out there, but a total of four were reported at Oshawa yesterday. Considering the distance, our bird was likely a separate one, so at least five were seen on Saturday. Here is a link to the OFO photo page of one at Cobourg http://www.ofo.ca/photoalbums/album/Gannets/index.html

Gannets are reported on Lake Ontario every fall, but there seems to be more of them this year. The LWI trip has been ongoing for many years, and had always hoped to pick one up. That never happened until this year.

Continuing on to Gray Rd, we stopped to view a spectacle of ducks and loons. Both Common and Red-throated Loons were present and several species of ducks. Near Fifty Point CA we came across a Mockingbird.

First stop on the Niagara River was at Adam Beck. Not much of interest there, so we moved upriver to various spots, and even tried to chase a Black-headed Gull that was reported near Fort Erie.

Link to a photo of this bird: here A group from the New York side found that gull, as well as a Yellow Warbler. Most Yellow Warblers are gone by late August, so that is probably a record late for the area. Interestingly, I found a Yellow Warbler at the Falls on November 19, 1995 beside the old power house. It was apparently record late at that time.

We were not too succussful in finding anything of note. In fact there were very few gulls on the river. It was certainly the fewest gulls that I have ever seen on the Niagara River for this time of year. Maybe this trip could be labeled Niagara No-shows! It was disappointing in that regard, but we all had a good time. There were a couple of Lesser-Black-backed Gulls, Iceland Gulls and a Glaucous Gull reported by others that day, but it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time (as usual!).

Winter Gulls

Gulls are one of my favourite types of birds to look at in the winter. Some places attract gulls, like the Niagara River. I will be going there this weekend. Locally, the St. Clair River can be good during the winter, especially at the outfalls of industrial sites.

Many of the larger gulls will come down from the north to feed or winter at these sites. Some years are better than others, but I find the colder and icier ones are better. I've always said that gulls like ice!

One of my most exciting finds while birding was the discovery of an Ivory Gull on the St. Clair River. The date, etched in my mind, was December 23, 1995. I was making one of my usual Saturday or Sunday morning rounds up the St. Clair River. It was a bit snowy, and certainly cold, with lots of ice in the river. I pulled into one of the parks south of Lambton Generating Station, and there it was! I knew what it was, and after a brief look I knew I had to alert friends. That was the day before cell phones really got going, so I had to go all the way back down to Sombra to a pay phone.

As I usually did in those days, I called Steve Charbonneau first. He called others for me. First on the scene was Rob Tymstra from Sarnia who had to "pay" someone to get away from work.

Others soon followed, including Dennis Rupert who remarked that this was the last gull he needed for the area for his list.

The Ivory Gull stayed until the 26th and disappeared before it could be included on our Christmas Bird Count.

I met Steve Pike (photo by Steve) and Tom Hince there one day. At that time Tom was doing segments for the Discovery Channel, and he did one on my Ivory Gull!

Not every year is good on the river for gulls. Two winters ago, it was superb, but no real rarities showed. There were lots of Glaucous Gulls (I counted about 25 on the Sarnia waterfront one day--probably a record) a few Iceland and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. There were lots of gulls to look at that winter. A first basic Glaucous Gull is in the photo on the right.

On the St. Clair, the big gulls stay all winter, and in fact a Ring-billed may be hard to find.

The Niagara River is the gull capital of the province, at least in early winter. It is not unusual to see ten species of gulls in a day.

Last December a Slaty-backed Gull was found above the falls. It was only the second record for the river.

There are various spots on the Niagara River that are good for viewing gulls. The best are the overlook at Adam Beck, the old power house above the falls, Queenston docks and Niagara-on-the-Lake (mouth of river) for the evening flyby.

There are always lots of people looking, so you just ask them what they have seen. It is a good way to exchange information and get to the hot spots.

Hopefully I will have something to report from this weekend. We will be starting at Van Wagners Beach, Hamilton. I hope one of those Gannets will show, as it will be a life bird for me!

first basic Iceland Gull

Summer Memories Part Two

I took quite a few photos at Long Point, so I will post a few more here.
I mentioned Fowler's Toads and melanistic Garter Snakes. Here are some photos.















Some lake ships came fairly close. Great Lakes ships is another hobby of mine, and I was able to identify many of them, even at quite a distance. Actually I was into that hobby long before birding! Here is the Canadian Miner.
Every morning I checked the Tip at sunrise. This is the first morning.

















A scene of the lighthouse.











A scene on a morning hike up the south beach.

2007 Summer Memories

There wasn't much to report in the birding department today, so I thought I would post my adventure at the Tip of Long Point last July. I wrote an article for other media, so I just copied it here and added a few photos.

A TRIP TO THE TIP


I suppose you birdwatchers thought I went to the Tip of Point Pelee! No, I had an opportunity this past July to stay a few days at the Tip of Long Point. The Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) has a banding station out there, and in the off-season they like to have people stay and look after the facilities. It cost us nothing, and we had free reign of the place (at least to the boundary of the CWS property) to observe nature.
Maris Apse, Heather Campbell, Diane Salter and I were escorted by Stu Mackenzie on a boat to the Tip on July 19. We had four days of relaxation and nature exploration. Although the weather was threatening when we departed Old Cut, it turned out very nice.
The Tip has a long history, with the first lighthouse being built there about 1833, followed by a second, then the third and present one in 1916. There were various buildings there throughout the years, and the landscape has changed dramatically. The Tip was actually quite larger, but due to serious erosion over the years, it has shrunk. Foundations of old buildings are visible well off shore underwater. Only two buildings besides the lighthouse remain. A block building that housed the old fog horn stands as a banding lab. The last lightkeeper’s house, built in 1961, remains as the LPBO bander’s residence. This is where we stayed for four days.
In the old days when conditions were good, one could drive a car out the south beach 32 km to the Tip. In fact we found remains of a couple of old cars. Boat is now the only mode of transportation to the area.
The LPBO started banding there in the early 1960’s. In the 1970’s they had a cabin (later destroyed by fire), then a new banding lab was built. The lab was destroyed by a storm in 1985. By 1988, the lighthouse was automated, and the lightkeeper’s three-bedroom residence became available. Many rare birds have been seen at this location.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Fowler’s Toads and melanistic Garter Snakes. These are common at Long Point. After lunch, we checked out all the gulls and terns at the Tip.
In the morning and afternoon we would check the birds at the Tip in case any rarities showed up. At one point, I estimated over 2000 gulls and terns.
Each day we went for a hike in the morning and the afternoon to different locations. We looked at all forms of wildlife, and came across some interesting things. We saw over 60 species of birds and 20 species of butterflies.
Notable birds included a Whimbrel, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Woodcock, Least Bittern and an adult Whip-Poor-Will guarding a youngster. That was probably our most exciting find! There were quite a few Mockingbirds in the area, as well as Yellow-billed Cuckoos. We were a bit early for significant fall migration, but we did see an influx of Yellow Warblers on the second day. Bank Swallows were congregating by the thousands.
We were all interested in butterflies as well. The prettiest species encountered was the Common Buckeye, and there were several of those seen. The Eyed Brown was nice to see as well.
We looked at many plants. There are mainly only two species of trees at the Tip, including Red Cedar and Poplar with a few Weeping Willow, white Pine and Tamarack. There were some nice areas of Red Cedar savannah. We found quite a bit of Buttonbush, of which the butterflies were attracted to.
Stargazing was at its best out there, with little light pollution. I got up at 4 a.m. one morning to view the spectacle, and I was overwhelmed!
It was a unique experience that I would not hesitate to do again.

Point Pelee to Erieau

Today was just a day to look around and see what I came up with. I decided to start at Point Pelee. There wasn't a strong SW wind, but activity was good at the Tip. I met Alan Wormington there, and Adam Pinch a little later.

Of course, the most common duck was Red-breasted Merganser, but there were flocks of both scaup, some Surf Scoters, three or four Long-tailed Ducks, and mix of other common diving ducks. A couple of Horned Grebes were also present.

Lot of Bonaparte's Gulls were moving by, but nothing unusal with them.

At least one Red-throated Loon went by, and a couple of Common Loons were seen in the distance.

A number of American Pipits were flying over, as well a few Cedar Waxwings, goldfinches and Common Redpolls. A few large flocks of blackbirds were heading south as well.

On the Ander's footpath south of De Laurier, I came across a small but interesting group of birds. In it was a Brown Thrasher, a couple of Hermit Thrushes, a couple of White-throated Sparrows, a Carolina Wren, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. There were also a couple of Cardinals.

After stopping at Pelee Wings Store, I headed east to Erieau. Lots of Bonaparte's Gulls (see one of them in the above photo!) were in the harbour, but the highlight was the Franklin's Gull. It was still there! I managed to get a decent photo of it (see attached).

Next stop was McGeachy Pond. The lake was fairly calm, and I could see a large number of Horned Grebes. I estimated 90-100. They were quite spread out, but some were in small groups. Not another species of grebe!

Some scaup were also in a raft out there, as well as quite a few bonies.

Only one group of Cedar Waxwings was along the dyke feeding on Russian Olive (or whatever that plentiful non-native shrub is there!).

Last stop was Blenheim Lagoons. The highlight was a group of eight Wilson's Snipe in the first pond.

Lots of Red-tailed Hawks were around today. I did see a couple of sharpies at Pelee, and a Coop at McGeachy Pond.

Weather looks better for tomorrow...

Birds At Rondeau on Sunday

I'm a bit late in reporting birds from Sunday, but nothing too earth-shattering was seen. Some decent species and some impressive numbers were observed.

The weather was not all that great on Sunday, and later in the afternoon it rained. It was quite windy from the south. The results could have been better with nicer weather.

The main event was to do a waterfowl count in the afternoon, but in the morning we looked around the park. There were still a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets around. In the campground a large number of Cedar Waxwings were eating Red Cedar berries. Alas, no Bohemians! Too bad, as there as not been a recorded observation of that species in the fall at Rondeau.

Just before noon, we checked ducks off Terrace Beach, south of Morpeth. Mostly scaup and scoters hang out there. We noted all three species of scoters. Quite a number of Black Scoters have been there recently. The Black is the least common of the three.

At lunch time, I checked the lake off McGeachy Pond. That is where the gulls were! Hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls were feeding in the strong winds. The wind was almost unbearable, so I didn't stay long. Before I left, I did note a first basic Little Gull, several Horned Grebes, and a couple of Common Loons with hundreds of Red-breasted Mergansers. I'm sure I would have seen a kittiwake or jaeger if I had stayed longer.

After lunch, Jim Burk and I attempted to count waterfowl in Rondeau Bay. We started at Erieau. As an aside, The Franklin's Gull was still in the harbour. The accompanying photo is the best I could do with my equipment.

Going around the Bay, we noted thousands of ducks. Gadwall and American Wigeon seemed to be the most dominant of the puddle ducks. There were also a few thousand Canvasback. Almost all the usual duck species one could find at this time of year were noted. Scoters and other sea ducks were not noted in the Bay, but that is normal. Until final numbers are in, I would say over 20,000 ducks were in all of Rondeau Bay.

While in Rondeau Bay Estates, we noted a cold and lonely Barn Swallow on a wire. Highly unusual to have one this late. Perhaps it was the same one I saw last Wednesday with the Cave Swallow at Erieau. The photo shows the Cave Swallow with the Barn Swallow then.

Here are some numbers, thanks to Jim Burk:

Canada Goose - 1159Mute Swan - 20Tundra Swan - 75Gadwall - 8015Am. Wigeon - 6995Black Duck - 41Mallard - 1306Northern Shoveler - 141Pintail - 58Canvasback - 6157Redhead - 2944Ring-necked Duck - 417Greater Scaup - 5703Lesser Scaup - 2056Surf Scoter - 145White-winged Scoter - 10Black Scoter - 221Long-tailed Duck - 2Bufflehead - 332Common Goldeneye - 5Hooded Merganser - 64RB Merg - 566Common Merg. - 167Ruddy Duck - 869PB Grebe - 65Horned Grebe - 12American Coot - 4000.

Finches and Waxwings!

I certainly lucked out today. I had hoped to get Bohemian Waxwing and perhaps Pine Grosbeak for the year by going up to Pinery Provincial Park today. It didn't take long!

I started at Point Edward at first light. Some Black Scoters were in close, but not much else.

Brett Woodman from Kitchener happened to stop by as he was visiting relatives nearby. I met him a year ago there. He was keen on going to Pinery, so off we went.

We started along the river beside the campground. This is one of the better places in November for finches and waxwings. We first noted Common Redpolls flying over.

It didn't take long, and we spotted three Bohemian Waxwings. They were a bit distant, but nice to see none-the-less. A short while later, I heard the sound of a Pine Grosbeak. I immediately saw one alight the top of a Red Cedar. Then three more made an appearance. They flew right over our heads and landed in a tree nearby.

Next stop was the visitor centre feeders. Another female Pine Grosbeak!

Checking my records, it has been about 14 years since I have seen a Pine Grosbeak. That is a long dry spell!

We then checked the lake, but not much was out there. There were a couple of distant Common Loons.

Over at Burley Bridge, we encountered a large flock of Bohemian Waxwings. At least twently were feeding on wild grapes. We got close up views there, and some photos.

While there, a flock of twenty finch-type birds flew over quickly. I wasn't sure at the time, but playing recorded sound at home, made me sure that they were White-winged Crossbills.

Redpolls flew over in small groups all morning, but they seemed to be motoring on south.

Strangely, we did not encounter Evening Grosbeaks, but some have been reported lately.

Upon arriving home, I got an email that some Evening Grosbeaks were at Rondeau Park. I am doing some serious birding there tomorrow, so I am confident that I will get some then.

Cave Swallow Season

It looks like there is another mini-invasion of Cave Swallows this year. Each fall, around the end of October and November certain weather conditions are right for bringing Cave Swallows from the southern States into the northern States and southern Ontario.

In the past week, several have been reported, especially along Lake Erie. Today, I found one at Erieau! My intention was to look at Franklin's Gull that had been seen there on Tuesday. I did see that gull at first, but wanted to get a closer look, so I went to the other side of the harbour at Erieau. Before I even looked for the gull, I came across a Cave Swallow.

I then saw another swallow, but it was a Barn. It is very late for Barn Swallows, so that in itself is a decent sighting for this date.

The first major invasion of Cave Swallows was in early November 1999. I saw three at Erieau at that time. The last time I saw a Cave Swallow was in 2003 just outside Erieau.

The Franklin's Gull was a new species for my Rondeau list. It was long overdue!

On another note, it appears we are experiencing a major finch invasion this fall. Due to a very poor seed and cone crop in the boreal forest, the finch types are moving south. Already thousands of Pine Siskins have gone through. Some are staying at feeders, such as my own. I noticed one siskin today looked like a female Eurasian type. They are popular cage birds so who knows where that one came from.

I have yet to see a grosbeak yet this fall, but I am sure it will be soon. Redpolls will be around this winter as well.

OFO Trip Grand Bend-Pinery

Today I joined in with the OFO field trip led by Maris Apse. It was one of those rare days when the weather was decent and so were the birds! We saw about 70 species during the day--an excellent total.

We started at the Grand Bend waterfront to see what was on the lake. Ducks included all three scoter species and some scaup. A Horned Grebe flew by, and two loons came into view. The loons were the highlight, as one was a definitive basic Red-throated (uncommon), and the other was a juvenile Pacific (rare!). Just as we were leaving, I spotted a Little Gull.

At the Grand Bend sewage lagoons a variety of ducks were seen plus a large number of Canada Geese. A lone white Snow Goose was with them. Coots were also present, as well as several Bonaparte's Gulls.

At least ten bluebirds were along the road there--always nice to see in colder weather.

Off to Pinery Park and we saw Cedar Waxwings, Purple Finches, Tufted Titmice, two Bald Eagles, two Pied-billed Grebes, and a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker.

A Northern Shrike was near the Port Franks golf course.

At Kettle Point, not much was moving, but we did add Dunlin and Great Black-backed Gull.

At Forest sewage lagoons we added Northern Pintail and Wilson's Snipe.

It was a pleasant day to be with birding friends and to see lots of birds.

Redpolls On the Move

Today I started at Erieau with a beautiful sunrise. I had hoped to come across a Cave Swallow or two, but it was not to be. I did, however, get a couple of Common Redpolls going over--the first ones of the year. Many places farther north have reported them, so I knew it was a matter of time.

I made a stop in Rondeau Park, but not much was to be seen. I then decided to head over to Hawk Cliff east of Port Stanley. A big mistake! Hardly any hawks. Common Loons (2) outnumbered hawks for a while! There were many bluebirds passing over, as well as Pine Siskins and Cedar Waxwings.

Enough was enough, so I quickly left and headed back west. I make a short stop at the Port Stanley lagoons. A Wilson's Snipe was near the viewing stand. There were several geese, ducks and gulls, but nothing noteworthy.

Next stop was the overlook south of Morpeth where I had seen many ducks and grebes earlier. There were lots of scaup and scoters and a few loons. Quite a number of Horned Grebes were present on the lake today.

At Blenheim lagoons there were lots of ducks, but nothing special. Two Northern Mockingbirds were along the SE fence. I think that is a new species for me there!

A lot of driving for very few birds. I think I will head north tomorrow!