Blue Grosbeak In Summer

 A short post today, as I finally went to view the Blue Grosbeak near Walsingham in Norfolk County.  I needed a change in scenery, so it was a nice trip!  Weather was good in the morning despite the forecast saying otherwise.

I found the bird right away, as it has been on territory since at least July 4 when Erik Van Den Keiboom found the young male.  I actually saw Erik today just before I left the trail!

Upon arrival, I could hear the bird singing, and then it took a few minutes to pinpoint its location.

It is pretty unique to find a Blue Grosbeak in Ontario in summer.  I recall a pair near Cedar Springs that showed up in May 1995 and stayed most of the summer.  We kept close tabs on it, and there was breeding evidence, but that never really came to the point of seeing young.

The next spring, a male was observed in the same location.

I have seen a couple others, but as overshoots in spring migration at Rondeau Park.

Back to Long Point area.  It is a fabulous place for birding and nature as there are many tracts of land set aside.  One can spend days in the area!

After viewing the grosbeak, I went for a brief walk at the St. Williams forestry station.  It was rather quiet for birds.  I have been there a few times in the past.

Next stop was down at Port Rowan Wetlands.  It too was quiet.  Upon arrival, I met up with Jeremy Hatt and Mark Field who were spending a day birding in Norfolk.

This is the former Port Rowan sewage lagoons which have been converted into a wetland with a surrounding trail.  It was created in the late 1990's.

I recall being here while it was a regular sewage lagoon.  On this very road is Ron Banks boat shop where I worked for a short period of time.   I spent quite a bit of time birding in the area in the evenings after work.

Clouds were building in the west after my visit to the wetlands, so I started heading back west towards home.  I encountered heavy rain for some time until I got to Chatham-Kent.  I decided to stop in at Blenheim Lagoons.  Much quieter than the previous day!

Two Wilson's Phalaropes were still  there, and no sign of the 'early' Horned Grebe.

Tomorrow is the Clear Creek butterfly count.  Looks like a decent day weatherwise.  Yep, the forecasts were wrong yet again!

OFO Convention and Recent Trip

This past weekend was the annual Ontario Field Ornithologists Convention--the location being Long Point and Port Dover area. The conventions are always a big affair with numerous field trips, dinners, and comaraderie.  It used to be a one-day event, but for many years it has expanded into a three-day event.  I have gone to each one since 1997, with the exception of two. 

I arrived at Long Point about 09:30 Friday. It was already hot and humid, a sign of things to come.  I looked around a bit, walking Big Point Marsh trail, then after lunch joined a field trip at Long Point Bird Observatory Headquarters.
We first took a look out over the inner bay where there were many ducks and a few Common Gallinules.

Common Gallinule

Along the trail, we spotted a late migrant Olive-sided Flycatcher, which is uncommon at the location.  Ironically, someone asked about this species here a while before we saw this one!

Yes, it is an Olive-sided!

It seems there has been a good showing of them this fall migration, since I have seen several.

Next stop was Port Rowan Wetlands down a dead end road.  It is a former sewage lagoon, with a superb viewing stand (made of steel!) and a concrete ramp.  I visited this spot many moons ago.  Just on this same road is a boat repair facility (Ron Banks) which I worked at for a short period of time .
There were  few Green Herons here, and about ten Common Gallinules among other things.  Even a Sora was calling at one point in the muggy air.

Green Heron

The evening was spent in Port Dover.  The "Birds and Beers" is a fun event.  There were several speakers, one of which was Doug McRae humourosly recounting the time he and Jim Richards were stranded  on High Bluff Island at Presqu'ile back in 1986.

Saturday dawned warm and muggy, as I joined the field trip at Old Cut and the Provincial Park.  Birds were few and far between due to the "too nice" weather.

Birders On the Beach!

There was a good variety seen though, including one spot in the Provincial Park.

After lunch, I joined the field trip at Port Dover and Townsend Lagoons led by Adam Timpf and Tim Lucas.  First stop was Silver Lake in Port Dover where we saw lots of waterfowl and a good variety of shorebirds in the sizzling heat.  It was a new birding location for me.

Birders at Silver Lake, Port Dover

At one point I spotted this Wild Indigo Duskywing.

On to Townsend Lagoons....a place I briefly stopped at only once before many years ago.
As we got out of the air-conditioned car, a large kettle of Broad-winged Hawks was circling overhead, followed by a Peregrine Falcon.
There were quite a few ducks at the lagoons, but few shorebirds.  Naturally, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper from the previous day was long gone!
Three Eastern Meadowlarks were in and out of the grasses as the temperature climbed.

The evening was the main event at the Port Dover Community Centre. 
The distinguished ornithologist this year was Dan Strickland, who worked in Algonquin Park. Among other things, he is best known for his research on Gray Jays (more appropriately called Canada Jays).
Ron Tozer introduced Dan, with a presentation preceding.  The presentation focused quite a bit on Gray Jays.

Although more field trips were planned for Sunday, I headed out early for more interesting sights to beat the traffic.  The drive from Simcoe was good, taking only 3.5 hours to Huntsville.  My destination was Algonquin Park, which will be covered in the next post.

No New Material

Its been a boring week.  This is a depressing time of year, at least on weekdays as I go to work in the dark, and the day is almost ending when I come home.  The chickadees seem to be the last birds of the day at the feeder now.  I have three or four right now, not surprisingly.  Some years I get none!
I knew something was up when I had a couple pass through the yard in August.  Signs of a mass movement to come?
I was going through some old photos in the archives to pass some time.  Brings back some memories of good times, such at the stay at the Tip of Long Point one summer.  The above photo of the moon I digiscoped.  Four of us stayed at the Tip station for four nights during July when the banding was in hiatus.
It was an experience I could not pass up, even though I had just started work with a new employer.

Long Point Tip at Dawn

Came across a photo of a Franklin's Gull taken at Erieau in fall 2007.  I was surprised none showed up as a result of that brutal wind last week.  In the past, strong westerlies sometimes bring in some Franklin's Gulls.

 Two years ago, while at Point Pelee Tip in early November, we (Alan Wormington, Kevin McLaughlin, myself) saw a flock of 22 fly past the Tip.  It was an excellent day with lots of birds including Cave Swallows (and two other swallow species), etc.  There is still time for some to show!
Speaking of Cave Swallow, here is another from 2007 at Erieau. A Cave with a Barn!

One has to go to Lake of the Woods near Rainy River to see hundreds of Franklin's Gulls in the breeding season.  This second photo (scanned from a slide) shows some on a trip there in July 1996.  That was an incredible trip that will never be equalled!  (Baird's Sparrow [just happened to be there when it was found by John Lamey!], Great Gray Owl, Piping Plover, Gray Jays, WW Crossbills, etc...).

Franklin's Gulls at Windy Point

Looks good for birding this weekend......I hope....

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.