Summer Season!

We are now getting into the summer season already.  Soon, fall migration will begin.... (oh no!).
Shorebirds are still heading north though, and I have been checking Stewart Wetland each morning since I work nearby.

Habitat has been great lately since the water level has been drawn down.  Elsewhere, water levels are highest they have been in many, many years.

Some of the expected shorebirds recently have been Dunlin, Semipalmated Sandpipers and plovers, White-rumped Sandpipers, and some 'latish' Least Sandpipers.  Today there was a rather late Pectoral Sandpiper.

This time of year is good for some gulls, including Laughing.  I was just talking about Laughing Gulls (or lack thereof) to Marianne Reid last Saturday, and sure enough some have shown up since then!  I will be checking along Lake Erie tomorrow.

There are still good birds to be found and I will have to keep track!  I write the Ontario summer report for North American Birds (NAB) and also keep track of Point Pelee sightings for summer (June-July).  No time for slacking!

Great Egret

Now that May is over, the Great Canadian Birdathon 2017 has passed.  I saw many birders out during the month tallying species in the name of conservation.

This year, I raised $520.00 without much asking.  A portion of that will stay locally for the Sydenham Field Naturalists.  I have sent in all money and it has been received by BSC.
Many thanks to all who supported me!

Scene at St. Clair NWA a couple days ago

Weekend Birding and Birdathon

The past couple of days have finally seen some decent birding opportunities.  Saturday saw a decent push of migrants, while Sunday was even better.  Friday was a different story.
Frankly, I have never seen such a lack of birds for the date (May 12).  Rondeau Park was dead as a doornail as I put it!  By noon I nearly fell asleep.  There was simply no place to go or nothing to do in the park, so I headed towards Blenheim.  Some migrants found the few woodlots in Chatham-Kent, such as Sinclair's Bush.  I had a nice walk there Friday afternoon, finally adding Great-crested Flycatcher to the annual list.

In the evening I made a long walk out the marsh trail at Rondeau Park.  The wind had died and it was a very nice evening.  Willow Flycatchers had arrived in small numbers, and I heard Least and American Bitterns.  One Virginia Rail made some noise, and the highlight, was a King Rail making some kek kek kek sounds.  Apparently, King Rails were present last breeding season.
Another nice find was an American Tree Sparrow. Usually these are long gone by this date!

Saturday morning dawned cool, but clear.  Steve Charbonneau and I checked out south point trail and it was evident there were some new arrivals.  Yellow-throated Vireos were singing.  The highlight was a female Dickcissel that gave us some trouble ID-ing as it was high in a tree.  Crappy photo not worth showing!
We narrowly missed seeing the Kirtland's Warbler that Josh Bouman found in the campground. In fact, we had just talked to Josh about 15 minutes previous!  We made a valiant effort to refind it, but to no avail.




This weekend I chose to do the Great Canadian Birdathon.  It was a good choice as there really had not been many birds around until Saturday.  The timing was right around 11:20 Saturday morning as I finally got a look at a Hooded Warbler.  I had missed several previous ones and they had not been as plentiful as usual anyway this year.  There were several other warblers around it as well to make the list.
I find it works out better starting around mid-day on a particular day.



Saturday afternoon, the Kirtland's Warbler was refound by Steve Charbonneau and Mac McAlpine at beach access 2.  It is remarkable that it was relocated in a different spot!  I was not far away, so raced to the scene to see the unique warbler. It remained in the shrubbery while I was there, so no stellar photos!

Kirtland's Warblers have made a remarkable comeback in recent years, and several are seen in Ontario each spring.  It has even been taken off the Ontario Review List for southern Ontario.

Saturday evening was the annual big walk out marsh trail along with Mac and Steve.  We have been doing this for over a decade as part of the Big Day.  We did fairly well.
Least Bitterns must be doing well, as we heard a total of 7.  How many are actually out there, we wonder?

Sedge Wrens have been absent the last couple of years, perhaps due to the high water levels.

Sandhill Cranes numbered 9!

One of the weirdest birds out there was the White-winged Dove.  We heard it singing along the forest edge.  For whatever reason, it comes to the marsh at dusk!   It was also noted last year by Reuven Martin at the same location.
The dove is one of the strangest birds I have ever seen, as it has been here three seasons now.  It continues to frequent Lakeshore Road and puts sticks on shiny chimney tops!

Last night was one of the warmest nights so far this May.  I got up early to hear several Whip-poor-wills.
I continued to tally birds, especially in the middle of the park.  A large influx of  songbirds had arrived overnight which was nice to see.  Many warblers, including Tennessee and Blackpoll were singing away.  Tennessee Warblers were all over the place, but were not around previously.
There were lots of tanagers, thrushes and vireos to sort through.

I do not usually carry a camera while doing a Big Day, so no photos.

By 11:20 this morning, I had tallied 125 species within the park.  There were several other species reported that eluded me, but that is how birding goes!

Recent Sightings and upcoming Great Canadian Birdathon

Birding was a bit slow this week depending upon where one was looking.  A few nice rarities were found though, in the province this past week!
Other migrants are trickling in.
This evening I ventured out to Mitchell's Bay area after work.  A cool west wind was blowing (it has been quite windy the last few days!), but better than a north wind.

2 Glaucous in this photo

Yellow-headed Blackbirds were certainly due in, and nobody had reported any yet to my knowledge.  I walked the south shore trail noting a few gulls in the field.  I picked out an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and two Glaucous Gulls among the usuals.


I had seen an adult Glaucous earlier in the week, but a second one was a bonus.  I only had the Canon G16 and the gulls were way off, so no good photos!

American White Pelicans show up at the Bay annually on migration, so I expect some to be reported soon!

On my return walk along the trail, I noticed some blackbirds collecting in the ploughed field.  I kept watch with Yellow-headed in mind.  Indeed, I soon picked out at least 3 males with their yellow heads standing out in the crowd!  Two are in the photo below to the bottom left.

LOL!

The birds were moving around quite a bit, but I saw 6 males for sure, and there were likely more.
So, they're baaack!

photo from the archives

I think they just came in as Steve Charbonneau was in the area in the morning and did not detect any.  Last year the blackbirds were moving along the edge of this field when they first came in, before they settled in the marshes.

Soon it will be the month of May and we will be in the thick of things with migration.  It is also the time for Big Days or Birdathons!  The Great Canadian Birdathon with be upon us soon.
Once again I will be picking a day in May to do a 24h Birdathon to raise money for Bird Studies Canada and the local naturalist club (Sydenham Field Naturalists).
This year's theme is Birding for Conservation.

2017 BSC shirt logo

Each person has their own style of doing a Birdathon.  Some go "all out" and do a lot of travelling where others pick a particular area.  Rondeau Park is always included in my day.

Rondeau May 2016 (photo by Mike Irwin)

I have been doing a big day almost every year to some degree since my early years of birding.  In the good 'ole days, I used to go along with Steve Charbonneau and Pete Chapman.  We would start late afternoon in the pastures (when there were pastures!) north of Wallaceburg, then go to St. Clair NWA for the evening.  The next day would be an early start at Rondeau Park, then we would check out Blenheim Lagoons and/or places in between.

On to the weekend.......

May Begins....

Sunday, I was again at Rondeau Park.  Not much was to be found as the weather was miserable and very few birds.  Naturally, things turned around today since it was Monday!  As usual I had to be at work, so no birding for me.

No Birds-No Birders

It took quite a bit of time to find anything on Sunday as I walked long distances.  Once again, Northern Waterthrushe was the most popular warbler type.  I also heard a Louisiana Waterthrush singing back in a slough.

The best spot seemed to be along Harrison Trail south of the VC, but that is not saying much.  There were 4 Pine Warblers together and 3 Nashville Warblers in another spot, among other birds.

White-throated Sparrows were everywhere as one would expect at this time.

Chipping Sparrows were numerous in the burn areas.  Soon a Clay-colored will be found.

On the way home I stopped at Peers Wetland, and birds were more numerous it seemed. Tree buds are more advanced inland and more food is available.

Eastern Kingbird

Many more Yellow-rumped Warblers were in the small area of Peers compared to Rondeau Park. (I had only 3 at Rondeau!).

More Yellow Warblers as well!

Swallows were numerous, patrolling the wetland in search of food.

Today, nothing had changed in my area, but I expect different tomorrow.

Peers Ring-necked Pair (long-staying)

The month of May is the time for the Great Canadian Birdathon (formerly Baillie Birdathon).  It is a chance to raise some money for bird or conservation projects when birders pick a 24h period to find as many birds as possible.

I have done the Birdathon for many years and direct a portion of the money towards the Sydenham Field Naturalists.  As always, I will be in the Rondeau birding area. Date to be determined.

Anyone who is interested in pledging an amount can contact me for details at email:  boatmannATkentDOTnet

I have already collected a decent amount locally.