2008: A Reflection on the Year (Part One--Birds)

sunrise at Rondeau Park

Another snowstorm is on right now, so I am housebound. I thought I would reflect on the highlights of this past year. I got four lifebirds if I recall correctly, plus lots of butterflies in the summer. It was an interesting year. I will focus on the birds for this posting. Two "nemesis" birds were eliminated from my want list.

Last winter there was an incredible number of diving ducks on the St. Clair River. Upwards of 35,000 I think. Most were Canvasback and Redhead. On January 27 I estimated 15,000 each of Canvasback and Redhead. A couple of White-winged Scoters and a pair of American Wigeon spent the winter on the river as well. Usually one would see about 15 species of ducks on a good day. Sadly, near the end of the winter, there was a large die-off of ducks. It was attributed to malnutrion.

Canvasback on the ice at Port Lambton

It was the year of the Redpoll. All four subspecies were seen in southern Ontario. I had one "Greater" Redpoll at the feeder for a time. At Sault Ste. Marie, Kirk Zufelt had all four subspecies at once! Redpolls were everywhere it seemed.

A Harris's Sparrow spent the winter at a compost pile near Erie Beach. It was elusive at times, but I did get good views of it. Nearby at Erieau, a Harlequin Duck spent several weeks in the harbour. I did have photos of it, but I seem to have lost them!

At Point Pelee, Shuster Trail was good for Purple Finches, Hermit Thrushes and a Gray Catbird.

Wintering Catbird at Point Pelee

Spring came, and birding seemed mediocre. April 26 was a fairly good day, as I visited both Rondeau and Pelee. About 13 species of warblers were around, including Hooded, Prothonotary, and Louisiana Waterthrush.

White-eyed Vireo at Rondeau April 26

34 Willets were at Hillman marsh. It turned out to be a good spring for Willets, as I saw many!

Willet at Rondeau south beach

May 4 was an excellent day, as Steve Charbonneau and I spotted a first alternate Western Tanager at Rondeau Park. It was a first record for the park. Interestingly, it was a banner year for this species in Ontario, as a total of six were recorded! Later in the day, we saw a Summer Tanager at Sinclair's Bush. I also saw the first Kentucky Warbler of the spring on Spicebush Trail. As well, a Harris's Sparrow was at the visitor centre.

Harris's Sparrow (photo by Alfred H. Rider)

May 10/11 was the Rondeau Big Day. I scraped up 142 species and highlights were 2 White Pelicans, 2 marbled Godwits, a Worm-eating Warbler, and a Clay-colored Sparrow.

On May 11 I headed over to Hillman Marsh and got the Mottled Duck. It was found by Dean Ware and represented the first record for Canada! Click here for photos of the duck by Steve Pike: Mottled The next day, I spent at Point Pelee and got the Black Vulture, a big nemesis bird for me. I had missed so many of those, it was really bothering me! That was the third life bird for the spring!

I spent May 14-16 at Rondeau and saw a number of birds. There were several Hooded Warblers, 2 Kentucky Warblers, Acadian Flycatcher, 8 Sedge Wrens (marsh trail). There was a large thrush fallout on May 15. Overall, it was rather quiet though.

On May 22 I noted an Orange-crowned Warbler singing at Brander Park in Port Lambton. It is not too often you hear that species singing in migration!

May 22 was an excellent day. We had 20 species of warblers at Rondeau, but many were the early types. We had all six vireo species. It was also a good shorebird day as about 15 Red Knots, several hundred Black-bellied Plover, several Short-billed Dowitchers and Whimbrel were seen off Erieau.

May 25 Steve and I saw a Grasshopper Sparrow on south point trail at Rondeau, along with a Savannah Sparrow. Obviously late migrants.

The last weekend in May was excellent, as the cool spring had delayed migrants. It was a good time at Rondeau. with lots of warblers and vireos and flycatchers.

A Bay-breasted Warbler on June 7 was getting late at Rondeau.

On June 8 during a cruise on the St. Clair River, I noted about 6-7 Redhead Ducks at the Bassett Channel. Not unusual, but nice to see. I never made it down the Johnston Channel this past summer in my boat. Lack of time and interest! I did note a Redhead on the Snye near the Walpole Bridge on June 15.

June 22 was a day to remember. I started at Moore WMA and noted a Blue-winged Warbler paired with a Brewster's Warbler. Butterflies were out and at Reid CA I found some hairstreaks. Foolishly I thought they were Banded, but at home on the computer screen, I realized they were not. Looking in books, I thought they looked like Northern Oak Hairstreaks, but that was hard to believe. I sent the photos to friends and they called it the Northern Oak Hairstreak (now properly called Southern "Northern" Hairstreak).

The "first" Southern (Northern) Hairstreak

There were several at this location, and over the next couple of weeks, many were seen. At first I had not realized the gravity of this discovery, but later it sunk in that I had found a colony--a first for Canada!! More on the butterflies later.

Shorebirds were plentiful at Blenheim in July and into August, but nothing too unusual. I spotted a female Ruff on July 27. On August 2, a Dunlin with one leg in breeding plumage there likely never made it north. It stayed for over a week. A Willet on August 6 was a nice find.

August 11-14 I spent on Pelee Island. Nothing special in birds, but butterflies were better. Migration was just starting, so not many birds. I stayed with the folks at the Pelee Island Bird Observatory. My friend, Adam Pinch was kind enough to invite me over.

Fish Point, Pelee Island

I spent September 5-7 on the Bruce Peninsula, taking in the Open House of the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory on the 6th. Weather was not great and not many birds were to be seen as a result. I heard both Great-horned and Screech Owls at night while camping at MacGregor Point P. P.

Wingfield Basin, Cabot Head

On September 14, I spent some time at the Tip of Point Pelee with Alan Wormington and Mike Tate. We had a good look at a Pomarine Jaeger as it flew by.

There were some good warblers days during the fall, but nothing outstanding. A Hooded Warbler on September 27 was interesting at Rondeau.

Things were uneventful for the most part for a while. On October 26, a large flock of about 30 Eastern Bluebirds at Rondeau was nice to see.

November 8 at Point Pelee Tip was excellent. Along with Kevin McLaughlin and Alan Wormington, we saw a total of 8 Cave Swallows, 22 Franklin's Gulls, 1 Little Gull, a Barn Swallow, and a banded immature Peregrine Falcon among thousands of other birds.

The next day was good at Erieau. There was a Franklin's Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Purple Sandpiper.

The north winds at Point Edward on November 15 proved excellent. I obseved a Pomarine Jaeger, another unidentified jaeger, a Red Phalarope, a Little Gull, 50+ Common Loons, 3 Red-throated Loons, a Bald Eagle, and about 20 Black Scoters.

On November 16 at Erieau, I saw my first Snowy Owl of the season. A Marsh Wren and a couple of Chipping Sparrows were on the railroad track trail.

Sandhill Cranes were moving that week with 9 at Port Lambton on November 19.

The Black-throated Gray Warbler discovery on November 23 was exciting. Jim Burk and I found one at the north end of Rondeau Park. It was the first record for the area!

On November 29, I noted several flocks of White-winged Crossbills at Rondeau. They were moving quickly in search of food, so no photo opportunities.

A nemesis bird on December 13 was scratched off my list when I saw the elusive Spotted Towhee at Point Pelee scratching in the leaves. . It was a nice day, and some good birds were around (which I did not see!). However, the towhee was good enough. That was the fourth life bird for the year.

On December 14 we had the Rondeau/Blenheim CBC. Weather was crappy, again! Later in the day, I saw two Snowy Owls, a Harlequin Duck, male Wood Duck, and a Black-crowned Night-Heron at Erieau. Earlier we had found two Chipping Sparrows at the north end of Rondeau's campground that had gone undetected by other counters.

There is still a little time left in the year, so who knows what will happen.