Northern Saw-whet Owls

This is the time of year when large numbers of Saw-whet Owls are moving through. Since they are nocturnal, we do not see them very often. However, bird banders do!

During the day they will roost in coniferous trees or dense tangles. They will even roost in deciduous trees in thicker areas. They are sometimes hard to spot while roosting.

Obviously they are active at night hunting for food and migrating.

This past Sunday night, Holiday Beach Banding Station apparently caught 70, a new record. The previous week, Long Point Bird Observatory set some new records with Old Cut banding 98 on the 11th, and 117 on the 12th. The Tip station banded 83 on the 12th.

So, there are many more around than you think!

They are quite approachable while roosting. Some try to winter in our area, and are found on Christmas Bird Counts or birding field trips. One usually tries to look for them in coniferous stands. On occasion, they will be found where there are no coniferous trees, as was the case on a Christmas Bird Count on Walpole Island. We found an owl in a fairly open deciduous forest.

Sometimes during the day, you can be alerted to the presence of an owl when small songbirds are noisy and agitated. The songbirds will congregate around a roosting owl. I have found several owls in this fashion.

Comet Holmes

I am also interested in astronomy. Whenever a comet comes along, I try to see it. Presently, Comet Holmes is visible to the naked eye in the constellation Perseus. Just look in the NE sky beside the constellation Perseus when it is fully dark after sunset. You will see a fuzzbull. No tail is visible on this one! Binoculars are recommended.

Comet Holmes was first discovered in 1892 when it "exploded".

Last week it "exploded" and became very bright.

For more information, just Google "comet Holmes".

Raptor Movement Day

Today (Sunday) I went to Rondeau Park and area. There were not many passerines. The only species of warbler now, it seems, is Yellow-rumped. There may be a few late individuals of others species to be found yet.

South Point Trail was not too productive, so Jim Burk and I headed over to Marsh Trail. We took a long walk out about three-quarters of the way. Lots of sparrows were to be seen or heard and a few more Yellow-rumped Warblers. Fox Sparrows finally made an appearance this weekend. They seem to be late this fall. A number of Eastern Towhees were still around. Pine Siskins were flying through all morning, as well a few Purple Finches.

On our return walk, it was evident that it was going to be a good day for hawk and raptor migration. We did see an Osprey on the way out, but the first raptor we looked at was a Golden Eagle. Several Red-tailed Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper's and Harriers were also seen. A second Golden Eagle was also sighted.

I later headed over to Terrace Beach south of Morpeth and found a bonanza of hawks, vultures and eagles. I saw another three Golden Eagles within a half hour. Hundreds of Turkey Vultures were also kettling. One can see along the lakeshore for a long distance as the photo shows.

Golden Eagles are always nice to see, but are becoming increasingly common. If I saw five in about an hour and a half, I wonder how many really passed through today?

The wind was light out of the NW, ideal for hawk migration along Lake Erie. It pushes them south until they hit the lake. Since these raptors do not cross large bodies of water, they follow the shoreline until they find a crossing point.

It was actually a nice day to be out birdwatching!

Another White-faced Ibis

Today I went to Hillman Marsh near Point Pelee to look at a White-faced Ibis. It was confirmed last Monday,and not having time to get there during the week, I prayed that it would stay until the weekend. It did!

Ironically, last week, one showed up near Hamilton. I don't normally chase after birds, but I was tempted to go for that one. I decided to be patient, and luckily, one showed up not far from home right away.

I arrived just after 8 a.m., and about twenty minutes later, the ibis flew in to its feeding area. What an interesting bird! It fed very actively, catching minnows and other things. It seemed to follow around the many Greater Yellowlegs that were also feeding there. (One Long-billed Dowitcher was also among the yellowlegs).

There have only been a few records of this species in Ontario until recently. This is Pelee's third record that I am aware of. The first two in Ontario were in 1995 east of Toronto. The third record was one north of Pelee Park near the Days Inn on May 5, 2003. In 2004, one was south of Wheatley, but remains undocumented. Last year in early October, a White-faced Ibis was found with several Glossy Ibis's near Long Point. So, by my calculation, there now have been seven White-faced Ibis's in Ontario!

I tried taking some photos of the bird, but the lighting was very poor. I post the best one, but it is mostly a silhouette.

After viewing the ibis, I went to the Tip of Point Pelee. It was very active with gulls and ducks, but no rarities that I could see. The very strong west wind made things quite active.

Maybe this strong wind will blow in something else of interest!

Sunset to Another Weekend

As the sun was setting over Walpole Island, flocks of blackbirds were continuously heading southward. They were likely going to roost somewhere on the island.

Today seemed even windier than yesterday. I went back to Rondeau and noted many flocks of blackbirds there as well. Strangely, Pine Siskins were mixed in with them. There were still lots of Pine Siskins moving today.

I noted more kinglets than the day before.

Still no shorebirds at Blenheim, but that has been the case many times this year. Besides the ducks, I did see a number of sparrows, and even a couple of Pine Siskins. The siskins were at the gate to greet me. I think that is a new species for me at that location!

The nicest sparrow was a Vesper on the mud in cell 5. This back cell has dried up once again due to lack of rain. Other sparrows included Lincoln's, Swamp, Song, Savannah, White-throated and White-crowned.

It would have been a good time to check out Rondeau's marsh trail for Sharp-tailed, but the wind quashed that idea.

An immature White-crowned Sparrow at Rondeau appeared to be of the gambelii race. One had to work hard to get the birds to come out today in this wind.

Looks like more seasonable weather will return on Tuesday.

Birding/Butterflying in the Wind

Today (Saturday) was an interesting day. There was a gale force wind out of the WSW. I would have preferred a NW wind for going to Point Edward on Lake Huron, but we take what we get. Despite the wind, it was a nice day.

I chose to go to Erieau and Rondeau. There was lots of action at the Erieau pier, but no rarities. A SE wind would have been better! There was only a handful of Bonaparte's Gulls among the hundreds of Ring-billed and Herring. Bonaparte's seem to be few and far between so far this fall. Getting late for seeing a Sabine's Gull. That species has never been officially recorded for the Rondeau area.

Over Rondeau Park, I noticed a huge flock of Turkey Vultures coming off their roost. Could have been 100. They were all over today. In fact there has been a huge number of them this fall.

In Rondeau Park, large numbers of Goldfinches and Pine Siskins were moving along the lake into the wind. It seems amazing how fast they go heading into the wind. There were also flocks of Cedar Waxwings. I tried looking for a Bohemian, but no luck. There are only a couple of records of Bohemian for Rondeau, and they are in February.

Also of note were quite a few Purple Finches. It could be a good finch fall as this type of bird is exiting the north in big numbers. When I got home today, there were about a dozen Pine Siskins at my feeder!

A number of butterflies were around today even though it was very windy. I noted at least eight species. The rarest was Fiery Skipper (see photo of one on this blog at the right). I was not able to get a photo of one today though. I saw one in Rondeau, and two later at Blenheim Lagoons. Hard to spot in that wind!

Several Common Buckeye were still around. I have seen so many of those this year. I got a photo of one today (see attached) where I had the Fiery Skipper. This time of year we see the Rosa form, which is reddish underneath.

Other butterflies included Monarch, American Lady, Red Admiral, Orange Sulphur, Cabbage White and Eastern Comma.

There were no shorebirds at Blenheim Lagoons. Lots of different ducks, including Ring-necked which we did not see last Sunday on the OFO outing. As well, several American Coots were present. We did not see those last Sunday either!

Not sure what I will do tomorrow. Probably go back to Rondeau!

Last Ride and More Sparrows

The weather was absolutely beautiful today--no wind and very warm.

This evening I took one last ride in my boat as the sun was setting. It will be blocked up for the winter next Monday. Flocks of blackbirds were going over, and a few gulls were patrolling the St. Clair River. Where did the summer go?

I am seeing lots of sparrows and juncos at Brander Park every morning now. (I'm still hoping for a Sharp-tailed there!) Not many warblers except a few Yellow-rumped now. I did get a Nashville this morning though. Another Phoebe was flycatching. There were lots of those this past weekend too.

The Northern Wheatear was not seen after Monday. I know lots of people got to see it. I would imagine that some of those who missed the one on Amherst Island came to get a look at this bird.

I am not a bird chaser for the most part, so I remain patient and hope that rare birds cross my path, or show up near by. It is certainly frustrating when one travels a great distance for a rare bird, and misses it. But that is part of the game. It all comes down to being in the right place at the right time. I have come across some good rarities over the years, fortunately.

Anyway, fall is a nice time for birding, and we can look for more birds from the north in the coming weeks, and hopefully some rarites.

Looks like this weekend is going to be very windy. It could make for some interesting birding.

OFO 25th Anniversary Convention

The weekend of October 13/14 was one for the record books. The OFO Convention was very successful and enjoyed by everyone. The change in weather a few days before brought in many birds to make it an interesting weekend.
A record high number of people attended the convention at Point Pelee. A record number of bird species was seen on the field trips. A new species record for the Rondeau area was seen, although not originally found by an OFO participant.
I led a field trip in the Rondeau area on Sunday. We found a total of 93 species for the day. The best bird was a Northern Wheatear that Jim Burk discovered at the Shrewsbury dock. We received word of it just after lunch, and rushed down to find it feeding at the pier.
This thrush will be a new species for our Rondeau list.
I had a group of forty-some people, and lucky for them they were in the area! It was a life bird for most of them, including myself.
The Northern Wheatear nests in Greenland and NE Canada. It occasionally makes it south in September or early October, but there are only a few records for southern Ontario. It was Ontario's second this fall.
The day was going quite well for us, and this rare bird put the icing on the OFO Anniversary cake. Jean Iron has some excellent photos of the Wheatear on her website at: http://www.jeaniron.ca/
OFO conventions usually involve an entire weekend of field trips, with a dinner banquet Saturday evening. It is a time for some good birding and good comradarie. Old acquaintances are renewed, and it is a wonderful social event.
I always look forward to attending these functions. I have been attending them since 1996 when one was held at Hamilton. The field trip that time was at Van Wagners Beach and we hit paydirt! It was good day for seabirds as many jaegers were seen, including all three species for Ontario. Several kittiwakes (both adult and juvenile), loons and other birds. It was a memorable event!
OFO conventions are always worthwhile events.
Check out the OFO website: http://www.ofo.ca/
All for now........

Change in Weather

Well, I think we now have more seasonable weather! Birding was not very good in that uncomfortable hot weather we had previously. Not many birds were around for the most part.
Wednesday evening I checked out some of my local birding spots. One was MacDonald Park along the Snye near Walpole Island. I found a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers. They must be moving through in bigger numbers now as I also found a couple at Brander Park, Port Lambton. The Orange-crowned tends to hide in the underbrush, hence sometimes hard to find. Therefore they are always nice to see.
This morning I checked out Brander Park, Port Lambton as I always do. It is right near my place of work, so I can check it first thing in the morning or after work. Many birds dropped in overnight, as there were a few warblers including Orange-crowned, Nashville, Black-throated Green and Yellow-rumped. There were also Hermit Thrushes, both kinglets and White-throated Sparrows.
This spot at the south edge of the village of Port Lambton is a migrant trap. I have been birding there for twenty years and have accumulated an impressive list. There is a variety of habitat, including the open area of the park, a large pond, the woodlot, the St. Clair River, and the sewage lagoons in behind. My list includes everything on the property or what I have seen flying over or adjacent to it. It presently stands at 194 species.
I have seen some excellent birds there. Those include the White-winged Tern in May 1991 that showed up at the lagoons. It was a first record for Ontario. The best bird that I have found was a Virginia's Warbler in May 2003. As usual, I was all alone and nobody else saw it. It was accepted by the OBRC (Ontario Bird Records Committee) as Ontario's 5th record.
Northern Bobwhite used to found behind the woodlot. When I first started birding, they could be heard along the railroad tracks near the sewage lagoons. One day I flushed one in the woodlot. They have not been seen there in many, many years. The Bobwhite it still on Walpole Island though, which can be seen from Brander Park.
This change in weather should finally bring some northern birds in. I will be checking out Point Edward on Lake Huron since there is a good NW wind to bring in seabirds.
This weekend is the 25th anniversary of the Ontario Field Ornithologists at Point Pelee. I will be attending that, and will be leading a field trip at Rondeau Park on Sunday. It should make for some good birding!

The Passion of Birding

This is my first post, so I will give some background information.
I have been birdwatching for twenty years now, and it is my passion! I find nothing more enjoyable than getting out into the outdoors and looking for birds and other forms of nature. I also look for butterflies in the summer.
Finding a rarity or something unusual is always exciting. I have found a few rarities over the years, and it all comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Seeing a Sage Thrasher out my bedroom window one morning many years ago is right up there! That Ivory Gull on the St. Clair River really got me excited in December 1995!
My favourite place to bird is Rondeau Provincial Park in south Chatham-Kent. I have seen over 300 species of birds in or around Rondeau. One of the best ones that I have found there was a Swainson's Warbler in May 1995.
I have been writing a nature column for over five years on the internet in CKTimes. (Click on the link at the right of the blog). In it I write about local sightings or nature topics, and I also post photos that I have taken of nature subjects.
With this blog, I will have more opportunity to post sightings and photos when they come along.
This past Thanksgiving weekend was far too hot, and put a damper on birding. At Rondeau Park, lots of sparrows had finally come in. A few warblers were around, but mostly Yellow-rumped, as expected. Two Osprey were nice to see out marsh trail there.
All for now, and I will post when the opportunity arises.