Sunday Stuff and Some Shorebirds

 The unseasonable weather certainly caught up with us on Sunday.  It was just too nice and fewer birds were to be found.  I was certainly glad I went up to Ipperwash on Saturday, as Sunday appeared to be rather low key, and the Townsend's Solitaire was a no-show from the reports that came in.

I checked out Rondeau in the morning.  A good number of birds were near the "S-curve" on south point, including Eastern Bluebirds.

It was so humid, my camera fogged up at one point, as the following photo shows!

I stopped by Keith McLean Conservation Lands after the park.  The same old shorebirds were present, but co-operated quite nicely.

The two Hudsonian Godwits were busily feeding, gearing up for their trip to the south.

The Long-billed Dowitcher was also in the same mode.

A Least Sandpiper and a Semipalmated Sandpiper were in the mix.

Lots of Dunlin, as expected this time of year, were scattered about.

A Greater Yellowlegs was getting in on the action as well, but took a moment to preen.

I half expected to find a Red Phalarope, which is indeed overdue for the area this year.  Still some time for one though!

With the balmy weather, insects were out.  I did see a Common Green Darner at one point.

I was home be fore high noon and relaxed the rest of the day.  The next cold front, whenever that will be, should bring in a new mix of birds.

Peep Show at Blenheim

As many of you already know there is a calidris sandpiper at Blenheim Sewage Lagoons.  (these small sandpipers are affectionately called "peeps").  It was found November 13 by Steve Charbonneau and initially identified as a Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Things came to a head on Sunday when there was suggestion that is a Western Sandpiper.
While both species can occur in November, Western is more likely at a later date.
I saw the bird on Saturday under such brutal conditions (it was the weekend!) that I did not bring a scope.  I assumed at the time it was a Semipalmated Sandpiper as originally identified.

While I was birding at Sarnia on Sunday, I received an email saying that the bird was a Western.  I prompted Steve to look into it!

Steve sent out some requests for review and received several responses.  Of the 11 I looked at, five said it was certainly a Western Sandpiper, two said Semipalmated, and four said probably Western.
There will be more opinions to come no doubt.

These two species can be controversial at times and I have read debates on this before.  Sometimes there is not 100% agreement.

I looked at eBird records of both species in November.  Of course eBird is only as good as the data inputed, so I am sure there are more records out there.
I found that there were several records of Semipalmated Sandpiper early in November, while most of the Western Sandpiper records are mid to late in the month plus a couple of December records.
Western Sandpiper winters farther north, so it makes sense that records are later.

It seems more likely that the Blenheim bird would be a Western Sandpiper at this date.

Here are the late records of Western Sandpiper that I found on eBird in southern Ontario:
2 November 1997 Point Pelee
15 November 1970 Port Colborne
16 November 1997 Rodney
24-28 November 1986 Taquanyah C.A. (Haldimand)
1-3 December 1988 Oshawa Second Marsh
16 December 2001 Rondeau Provincial Park (2 birds) -CBC record -fide P. Allen Woodliffe

Personally I think is most likely a Western based on the photos I have seen.  Allen Woodliffe has some decent photos and I heard that there were some good ones taken today by others.  I only have access to the initial photos taken by Steve Charbonneau (see below).

One thing to look at is the bill.  Western has a longer bill and this seems longish to me.  However, there can be overlap as short male Westerns overlap with long female Semipalmated.  A Western also has a slight droop to the bill.  The second photo shows a hint of this.

Photos by Steve Charbonneau

Late update....
Mike Bouman has obtained some good photos and here is one.

photo by Mike Bouman

So what is it?

Stay tuned!

Sandpiper and Sparrow

Baby Red-winged Blackbird

Today I received an email with information on the tagged Semipalmated Sandpiper I saw at Hillman Marsh on June 2.  It is from Brazil, and was captured this past January!  Here is a portion of the email:

Thanks for submitting your report of the semipalmated sandpiper from the Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, ON. This bird was banded on 23 Jan 2012 at our study site, Coroa dos Ovos, state of Maranhão, Brazil. If you use the coordinates for the site (1°26'50.44"S, 45° 9'17.40"W) in Google Earth, you can see where it is. We haven't yet uploaded our data to the website which is why you didn't get any information about the bird when you submitted your report.

Best regards,

David S. Mizrahi, Ph.D.
Vice-president, Research and Monitoring
New Jersey Audubon Society

It is fun to hear back on these observations!

This evening I drove around a few back roads north of town just to see what was around.  It was quite windy, but one never knows what to expect.  A Western Kingbird, Western Meadowlark, a flycatcher?  There are still a few pastures or grassy fields to check though.  Nothing really good for Dickcissels though, but I tried.
I did find one really interesting bird, at least for this area.  A Clay-colored Sparrow!  It was in sort-of-sutiable habitat next to a pasture.  It was not one to expect in the local area at this particular time, and in fact I have never seen one here!  I also heard a Grasshopper Sparrow there.
I stopped at the "Bullfrog Pond" spot and found a large number of Little Wood Satyrs flying about.

I encountered a sizable Fox Snake as well.

A Mallard family was swimming in the pond.

Peep Show

This afternoon after some time in Point Pelee, I stopped at Hillman Marsh to see what was in.  Lots of "peeps" were in, but they were over on the far side.  I walked over to get a closer view.  They were quite close, affording good views of dozens of Semipalmated Sandpipers, Dunlins, about 12 White-rumped Sandpipers and a single Semipalmated Plover.  Lots of Bonaparte's Gulls were present as well.

Bonie Bonanza 

One Semipalmated Sandpiper was of interest since it wore a colour flag on its left leg.  The marker was blue with white lettering EMT on both sides of the flag.  I sent in the information to see what response I get.

I walked all the way around the cell, and some butterflies were out even though there was a gale force wind.  A single Fiery Skipper, which did not co-operate very well was of note.

Fiery Skipper at Hillman

A Common Buckeye, the first in a while, was also on the path.

In the morning I did some birding in the park, starting at the Tip.  Some birds were trying to fly off, but the gale force winds told them otherwise.  Besides countless blackbirds and Cedar Waxwings, a Black-billed Cuckoo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and about a half dozen hummingbirds made the attempt.
The only shorebird I saw was a Semipalmated Sandpiper that rounded the Tip.

A Good Wind at the Tip (for fall!)

Walking back, Kory Renaud and I heard a Mourning Warbler at the 42 sign.  It was quite elusive until I finally spotted it from the shelter.  It was singing happily almost like a Kentucky!
I walked back through the centre and heard only two Blackpoll Warblers in the migrant department.

Prothonotary Warbler on Woodland Trail

I also walked De Laurier and Anders.  A Swainson's Thrush was singing along Anders and a couple of cuckoos.  A Little Yellow butterfly was along here as well.

Giant Swallowtail (note missing tail)

On the way home I stopped at Tilbury Lagoons and noted more shorebirds.  Different for the day was a Short-billed Dowitcher.

peeps at Tilbury

There were also several Semipalmated Sandpipers and White-rumped Sandpipers.

I checked out Angler Line near Mitchell's Bay, but did not come up with anything of note.  One cannot see anything due to the phragmites!  A Great Egret was in the ditch along the road.