Humber Bay and Area Birding

I spent a couple of days in the Mississauga area birding and spending time with my very special friend Jo-Anne. There are many parks in the city and along the waterfront in which one can spend days visiting.
On Monday afternoon, we walked around Rattray Marsh. It was a nice afternoon but not many landbirds were found. I did hear some White-winged Crossbils flying over. In fact, almost every park we stopped at I heard crossbills flying over. Swans and ducks were on the lake.
In the distance, I could see the Ridgetown breakwater at Port Credit. This is an old lake freighter (built in 1905) that was purposely sunk there in the late 1960's for use as a breakwater. It is getting very rusted out now, and looks very sad. It used to be maintained with a frequent coat of paint, but that has not been kept up. I remember in March 2000 I went there to observe two Great Cormorants roosting on the forward mast. I had forgotten to take my cameral along for this walk, otherwise I would have taken a photo of the breakwater.



On Tuesday, we headed over to Humber Bay first thing. It was cold and windy, but we did see lots of things, especially waterfowl. It is a great spot for almost all the usual types of waterfowl. Trumpeter Swans are here, and we had some come right up to us looking for handouts.


All kinds of ducks were around including a pair of Northern Pintail, some Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shoveller, Gadwall and many divers.
Here too I noted crossbills flying over. There were a few landbirds, including one that flew into phragmites. I know it was something good, but it never came back out!
A beaver was swimming around, chopping off small shrubs for its lodge.

A local photographer informed us of a Long-eared Owl in the pines by the parking lot. We looked for it, but it must have moved on to another location.

By the way, just across Lakeshore Road from here, there is a Mr. Christies outlet store that sells cookies, crackers, and other goodies very cheap! We both loaded up on supplies!!
Next stop was Col. Samuel Smith Park at the foot of Kipling Ave. We heard there was a Snowy Owl at the marina, and sure enough, one was on the dock. A group from the Toronto Field Naturalists was just leaving after having a look at the owl.
We walked around a bit and I caught sight of a Northern Shrike. It set down briefly before moving on. Here I noted a flock of Common Redpolls flying through--the first I had seen in a long time.
Later on we visited another park within the city called Riverdale. I pished in a large flock of Chickadees, both nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Juncos, and Goldfinches. Crossbills were flying over here as well.
By this time it was clouding up and it was getting late in the afternoon.

Spring??

The weather continues to be rather bizarre. Yesterday the temperatures were at least 12 celsius. With all the snow on the ground, it created a dense fog that lasted most of the day. The Wallaceburg Christmas Bird Count was held yesterday, so counting birds in dense fog was a challenging task. We did very well considering the weather, ending up with at least 83 species.
Today, I checked the St. Clair River and noted a Ruddy Duck at Sombra and a Horned Grebe at Port Lambton. These two species were not noted yesterday, but due to the dense fog, they were probably around. Also, I saw three small ducks flying low to the water that could have been Green-winged Teal. I noticed them a bit too late, and could not get a handle on them. I cannot imagine what else they could be.


A MallardXBlack Duck hybrid (I assume) was at Port Lambton dock. It has been around most of the fall.



Yesterday and today, a large number of puddle ducks were reported, especially around Hillman Marsh near Point Pelee. Northern Pintail topped the list.

A pure flock of 42 on Walpole Island yesterday was seen by Jim Burk. Today, Alan Wormington reported 320 in the Point Pelee area among other ducks. As well, I observed a pure flock of 18 southbound at Port Lambton.

Alan Wormington classifies these as "(ridiculously) early spring migrants" that were sparked by the unseasonably warm temperatures yesterday. As we know, it has been a rather cold winter since late November, and everything had frozen up long ago. These ducks could only have come from the southwest, thinking it was spring already!

In Michigan yesterday, a flock of about 29 Tree Swallows was observed at Point Mouillee. Perhaps that had something to do with the warm weather as well.

Today, Jim Burk reported 8 Greater White-fronted Geese near Erieau, along with 120 Northern Pintail, 8 Green-winged Teal, and some others.

These birds will have to head south again, as winter has only just begun!

Ducks Abound! + Yardbirds

raft of Canvasback and Redhead

On this Christmas Day, I had some time to take advantage of the rare nice weather. I checked out the St. Clair River. Finally, thousands of ducks have arrived! Most are Canvasback and Redhead of course, with the other usuals.

Unusual were Long-tailed Ducks. They are normally seen at Sarnia and Point Edward, but not in the main part of the river. I saw four off Cundick Park just north of the Sombra village. Later I met Steve Charbonneau and Jim Burk south of Sombra and they had already seen about 40! There were quite a few at Sarnia this past Sunday, so some must have come down. Also, they had seen a White-winged Scoter off Port Lambton. One or two quite often winter on the river.

Speaking of scoters, I saw a female Black Scoter near Seager Park at the Monsanto barge. The Black Scoter is the least common of the three species and always nice to see. It is highly unusual to have one on the St. Clair River, but we have had them a couple of times before.

I did see a couple of Ring-necked Ducks in my travels. Maybe more will show later. Usually upwards of 50 winter on the river each year.

On immature Bald Eagle was on the ice off Terra Industries.

Lots of Mute Swans are on the river, not surprisingly, and likely a few Tundra are around as well. Tundras have been wintering on the river the last few years.

Hawks seem to be scarce in the countryside. I have both Sharp-shinned and Cooper's patrolling the neighbourhood here at home keeping feeder birds on their guard. The Sharpie paid a visit this morning.

Song Sparow at Sombra

Weather looks crappy again for the next couple of days unfrotunately, but I will be out tomorrow scouting around for the Wallaceburg CBC.

I thought I was done posting for today, but relaxing beside the window this afternoon, I watched for yardbirds. To my delight, I saw a male White-winged Crossbill fly in and alight on the spruce tree. It then flew over to the Colorado Blue Spruce and began feeding on the cones. I then saw a female. Later, I saw two males and a female perched in the Bur Oak tree. They soon took off flying high to the west. Probably gone for good! This is only the third time ever that I have had this species in the yard. Not surprising for this year since they are all over Southern Ontario. It is a rare treat to see these here since there is little food for them in this area.

White-winged Crossbills in Wallaceburg: male top, female bottom

A Look at Butterflies in 2008

Southern (Northern) Hairstreaks

This past summer and early autumn was quite exciting for butterflies. It was an exceptional year in my opinion for rarities and sheer numbers of some species. Some of the rare species were immigrants from the south. Butterflies will migrate something like birds. Weather conditions have much to do with appearance of certain species of butterflies.
Things seemed to get off to a slow start last spring with the cool and damp weather. In early June, I went to a new conservation area north of Wallaceburg and found lots of butterflies, including Juvenal's Duskywings. I knew this had to be a place to check frequently in the summer. In fact, many of the conservation areas have good spots to attract butterflies. Moore Wildlife Management Area has always been one of my favourites.
On 22 June, things really got going. I started at Moore WMA and then moved to McKeough CA. There I found a Baltimore Checkerspot which I thought was cool. There were many other species around as well. I then went to the new area just south of there. I found some hairstreaks, not realizing what they were at the time of photographing them. On the computer screen I knew they were something I had never seen before. After some research, I had a pretty good idea, but had to get some confirmation. Later that evening, I was told for certain that I had Southern (Northern Oak) Hairstreaks! These are very rare in Ontario! Since I had seen at least three of them, the possibility of a colony there was suggested. In the next few days I saw many individuals of both female and male in various conditions. Obviously I had discovered a colony—something never before seen in Canada!

I kept it relatively quiet, but told several friends whom I could trust. For about two weeks I observed the Southern Hairstreaks, until 9 July when I observed one very worn individual.
During my outings, I discovered Southern Hairstreaks at another location, many kilometers from the original location. It was probably a satellite colony at Moore. It was 29 June that I observed a worn male there. On 5 July, I found a fresh female at Moore.

abherrant Southern Hairstreak

It was really an exceptional year for hairstreaks, as I observed hundreds during the month of July where-ever their foodplants were abundant. Some milkweed plants had as many as ten individuals each! Banded and Hickory Hairstreaks were quite numerous, and to a lesser degree Coral and Edwards’.
Other species such as Gray Hairstreak were very abundant this past summer. I observed my first one of the summer at Southwold Earthworks, Elgin 6 August. I was quite excited as it was the first one seen in years for me. Other sightings included ones at Point Pelee National Park 9 August, 23 August, 3 September (3), 14 September, and Rondeau Park 21 Sept (3). I also had one on Pelee Island 11 August.

Another rare hairstreak from the south, White-M, made multiple appearances in southwestern Ontario. I was extremely excited to find one on Pelee Island 12 August.
The only Juniper Hairstreak was one I briefly saw at Point Pelee 9 August.

The Skunk’s Misery butterfly count 6 July was rather productive. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera along for the count. We observed a Green Comma which turned out to be a first record for Middlesex County. It is common farther north. Other species of note that day included Gray Comma (2), Baltimore Checkerspot, Meadow Fritillary, both Southern and Northern Cloudywing, and Compton’s Tortoiseshell. We also had several Coral and Acadian Hairstreaks.
At Reid CA, I found a nice colony of Broad-winged Skippers. It was neat to see these slow and weak fliers in amongst the reeds.

Also at Reid, I saw two Dukes’ Skippers, which was another excellent rare find, especially for Lambton County. I did not get photos of them, but I will be back next year!

Dukes' Skipper on East Beach Point Pelee

It was a good year for skippers. Horace’s Duskywings bred at Point Pelee and I saw a few individuals of that species in September.

A Peck’s Skipper at Point Pelee 3 September was significant as it was the first record within the park since 1996. Peck’s Skippers seemed abundant in late summer in many spots, and I observed a late one at Port Lambton 6 October.
Fiery Skippers made another annual appearance with many at Sturgeon Creek, Essex in October. I also saw some at Blenheim 12 October.


Many sightings of Common Checkered-Skipper were made by various people. I observed my first ever 11 October in Point Pelee National Park.

common Checkered-Skipper (head-on!)

Earlier that day I found the rare Ocola Skipper in Point Pelee. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was something special.

Ocola Skipper

Fritillaries were abundant as well. At Dorcas Bay 6 September I observed Aphrodite Fritillaries. Meadow Fritillaries were seen in various spots, and the rare Variegated Fritillary made a good showing in southern Ontario late summer and into fall. I observed one at Rondeau Park 20 September, and another the next day. This species had never been seen at Rondeau until that week.

Rondeau Variegated Fritillary

Cloudless Sulphurs were plentiful this past summer, especially at Point Pelee and area. Although I did not see one there, I believe I had one pass through my yard here in Wallaceburg 8 July.
During the summer and early fall, I got out as much as I could into the natural world to look for butterflies. Sometimes the numbers and diversity were staggering. It was really interesting and certainly exciting at times!

Winter Birds

With all the snow farther north from here, I decided to head to the Lake Erie shoreline where birding would likely be more interesting. I spent several hours in Point Pelee looking for good winter birds. There were many Yellow-rumped Warblers all over the place, along with Hermit Thrushes and some Purple Finches. I noticed lots of grapes, poison ivy berries and other berries still around for the birds.

Hermit Thrush with grapes

It was a dull day along the lake with a fine snow, so photography is poor.I started on the Chinquapin Oak trail and walked towards the cemetery. There were a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Hermit Thrushes there, along with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Some Golden-crowned Kinglets and Purple Finches too.

male Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I then decided to walk towards Tilden's Woods and found a larger flock of warblers, White-throated Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, etc. While on the Tilden's Woods trail where it crosses the old road bed, I happened to look up and saw a Sandhill Crane silently passing over. It was just by luck that I had looked up at that time, otherwise I would have missed it. A good bird for just before Christmas!
After getting back to the car, I headed to the Tip. Not many landbirds there, but some Juncos and White-throated Sparrows in the underbrush. No sign of the Spotted Towhee. There were lots of gulls at the Tip, while a couple of Northern Harriers came in off the lake.

The icy Tip

Later, at the beginning of Shuster Trail, there were more Yellow-rumps and Hermit Thrushes. I did see both Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks (adults) flying over. There was also a Rough-legged Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk.
I went back to the Chinquapin Oak Trail and found the kinglets again. I also saw a large flock of Starlings, and one all-white one stood out. I wish I had been able to get a photo of it.

On the way out of the park, I caught sight of an adult Bald Eagle near the gate.

I wanted to head over to Erieau, so I drove along the lake. I noted quite a number of Harriers heading west during the drive.
At Erieau, there were lots of ducks and gulls to look at, but it was so cold and windy I did not spend as much time as I would have liked to.
The male Harlequin Duck was still in the channel. At one point, I got a brief look at a juv Black-legged Kittiwake flying out near the end of the pier. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was on the ice on the Bay. At least one Double-crested Cormorant is sticking around.
There were several species of ducks plus several American Coots. A Great Blue Heron was under the dock overhang where the Black-crowned Night-Heron usually stands. At first I thought is was the Night-Heron!

It was getting late, so I headed home!

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.

Towhee Spotted!

The highlight of today was the fact that I saw the Spotted Towhee at Point Pelee! No more nemesis bird! It was very elusive in the underbrush just SW of the Tip washrooms. I missed it on my first pass, but saw it after Dave Martin caught a glimpse of it. We had just arrived at the spot, and Dave decided to scan the underbrush with his binoculars. Ironically, he put his binoculars right on the bird! You could not really see it with the naked eye. We watched it for a while until it disappeared further back. There is also an Eastern Towhee with it and White-throated Sparrows and Carolina Wrens.

That bird was a long time coming for me. I have missed others for various reasons.

I managed to get a few poor photos, but here is the best one.

This towhee was originally found by Alan Wormington about a month ago. It could possibly stay the winter.

I started the day at Rondeau just to scout around for the Christmas Bird Count which is on tomorrow. There were very few birds to be found. It was quite windy on south point trail, and from what I hear, it will be far worse tomorrow with rain. We cannot seem to win with the weather for this count in recent years. Always gale force winds.

There is lots of water in the sloughs with all the rain. Good footwear will be required as we will want to get out of the wind tomorrow and check some sloughs.

There have been quite a few Bald Eagles around Rondeau lately. Yesterday Irene Woods counted about seven. I saw four together on south point trail this morning. One adult and three immatures.

I think I saw more deer than birds first thing this morning! Here is a photo of some with eyes aglowing! Their noses should be glowing red this time of year...