Warwick Gyrfalcon & Merlin

Warwick Gyrfalcon

Blake's blog recently featured an excellent lingering rarity - the Warwick Gyrfalcon! As the work-week ended - I talked to Rick and Jeremy H about carpooling to see this bird and joined up with Jerermy H with high hopes of seeing this bird. I wanted to carpool to reduce my carbon footprint and also to have more eyes on the bird - not to mention good company. Soon after arriving in the prescribed area, we caught sight of this fantastic arctic beauty.  A life bird for Jeremy and myself!

Even though this photos are not too good, I had soul-satisfying views of this bird through Jeremy's scope. It soon flew off and even watching fly away was nice. Its a great bird!


An alternative post title was going to be: Gyr, Mer, Brr, & Jer!!!

Just as the Gyrfalcon flew off, a Merlin flew in for some nice looks though our scope.

Gyr, Jer and I spent some time looking for other good birds in the area such as Snowy Owl and Northern Shrike but were content to return home. Snow Buntings, Northern Harriers and Red tailed Hawks were abundant along the roadways. It has been a while since I've seen Snow Buntings so it was nice to see them. Did you know that the "all about birds" main photo for Snow Buntings is one of mine? See it here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting/id .

Good Birding!
Dwayne

Recent Life List Additions:

Mississippi Kite 394
Grey Flycatcher 395
Sabine's Gull 396

Gyrfalcon 397

Birding Hiatus Birding... In February

A few weeks ago, in early February, I had seen a White-winged Dove at Rondeau and a friend of mine (Jeremy Birder) asked me if I had seen the abundant Common Redpolls at the Rondeau Visitor Center. I honestly did not see any... and that bothered me! I recall on that last visit that I had stopped many times as I drove to see small flocks of... wait for it... American Tree Sparrows! So today, I took some time in the morning and went back to Rondeau Park to go birding. 


While driving through Tilbury, I saw three or so Red-tailed hawks along the 401. Hundreds of American Crows were seen as well. The road leading to Rondeau had an American Kestrel and Horned Larks. I could hear them singing as I drove! (Note: this was written on Saturday Feb 23rd)

At Rondeau, I stopped by Rick & Anne's Cottage, and they graciously allowed me to view their feeders, which are host to these elusive Common Redpolls I have been seeking. Sadly, just as I arrived, Rick mentioned that a Cooper's Hawk was perched directly above the feeders and spooked the birds that were feeding. I actually saw it buzz around back towards the visitor center. Great!  So I waited, and waited. Slowly, after what felt like over an hour, some birds returned. Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tree Sparrows, American Goldfinches, Downy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse (mice?) , White breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wrens, more American Goldfinches... but no Common Redpolls. Just as I was about to give up on seeing them, I saw what I thought might be a House Finch, or perhaps a Purple Finch? No... my elusive nemesis bird ... a single Common Redpoll!

Just two or three of these arctic beauties made themselves observable to me, .... very fleeting looks, this one above stopped in at tree-top level for a second -- then vanished! Definitely not soul-satisfying views.

I attempted to find the Ross's Geese and Snow Geese at Rondeau, but sadly (and I see this more and more) there is no access to the shoreline. Every street that runs up to Rondeau Bay, with the exception of Brock Street in Shrewsbury, is chained off with "Private Property" and No Trespassing signs.  I couldn't even salvage a diagnostic photo. Also, I had my scope in my wife's car today ... it wasn't my day to see these

As a chance consolation, Kory Renaud texted me with a Snowy Owl Surprise at some intersection in Essex. Upon arrival, I searched and searched but came  up empty. All I had seen was two Horned Larks, and a flock of 20 or so Snow Buntings. Finally, I found the owl after scanning the field for a third time.

Distant, heavily cropped photo of a Snowy Owl. It is a heavily barred juvenile just left of center. Can you see him?

Good birding!
Dwayne

Bonus Pic:

Trumpeter Swan at Lakeview Marina in East Windsor (Lifer! #318!)

10 of the 20 or so Bald Eagles at Peche Island in East Windsor

Lakeshore CBC and Season's Greetings

This past Saturday, I joined two excellent birders, Kory Renaud and Jeremey Bensette to assist in counting birds for the Lakeshore CBC.  Our group did the South end of the circle (yellow bottom in the picture above). One area of the circle we were happy to bird was the Maidstone Conservation Area. It turns out, the twenty hectare site was a little bit of a dud, but was still interesting to walk. We saw common seasonal species such as Chickadees, Red bellied woodpecker, Morning Doves and Downy Woodpeckers. The site boasts an old Indian Signal Tree (see below).

Indian Signal Tree

Some highlights of our counting was an adult Bald Eagle, and two or three run-ins with major flocks of Snow Buntings. One or two of the fields we stopped by had 120+ Horned Larks. At our post-CBC luncheon, we learned that one of our star birders, Tom Hince found some major rarities near Peche Island, including a Black legged Kittiwake and a Northern Waterthrush. Our final species count for the CBC was 69.

Amazing photo of Snow Buntings and a few Horned Larks

I was hoping to find a Lapland Longspur in this flock, but no dice. Last January, I found a flock of Snow Buntings, Horned Larks and Lapland Longspur while viewing the Mountain Bluebird in Shetland Ontario. Here was a flashback video from that morning:

Last night, I drove out to an area which is reputed for Short Eared Owls, and saw them. Of course, they start to fly at dusk so photographing them is difficult and might require better staging techniques than I am privy to. I noticed a dog-like creature which may have been a Coyote walking through this field as I was observing the Owls. Some photos below have horrible white-balance settings taken as dusk:

Short Eared Owl... Amazing winter specialty. 

I hope to put together a good summary for 2012. I also want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy and Birdy New Year to everyone! December 21st of course was the Winter Solstice which marks the shortest amount of daylight in the year. So Happy Winter Solstice as well!

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Bonus Photo: Eastern Bluebirds... Just for Karen :-)

Mountain Bluebird and Other Winter Specialties

This morning, I twitched a Mountain Bluebird that was recently found by Pete Chapman in Shetland Ontario. All week, great Ontbird postings were submitted giving generous information on the location and foraging habits of these female Eastern and Mountain Bluebirds. Luckily, Blake Mann mentioned he was going to see this bird today and I made an effort to meet him on Kerry Rd this morning.

 

As the postings suggested, the birds were found pretty close to the road on the east side, either perched on corn stubble or in a roadside Cedar or Maple tree.  These photos are not that great. I was in my car and looking eastward in the early morning. Again... Backlit Bluebirds!!! On the west side of the road, there was a really close flock of Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs (see photos below).

 

Below I have three photos of a nice flock of Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and singles of Lapland Longspur in the mix. All three of these birds are not rare, but to me a nice seasonal treat that I only see on a few occasions per year. Can you find the Lapland Longspur?

 

Good Birding,
Dwaynejava

Running a Fool's Errands...

A friend of mine recently mentioned seeing a Short eared Owl at some crossroads in Essex County, and with the sunny weather today (Friday), I couldn't help but drive out to try and see it. My friend described  my attempt to go look for it as "Running a Fool's Errands"... I couldn't help but make reference to this poetic description of my attempt to find this rare bird. Anyway, I went for a little drive in the county after work and looked in the vicinity (from my car) and ended up not seeing the Owl.

As a consolation prize, I did notice a beautiful Eastern Bluebird perched proudly in golden sunlight as I left (indeed, this may have been the best birding moment of the day for me). Moments later, a raptor flying through a field turned out to be a beautiful Rough legged Hawk. A Sharp shinned Hawk went over my car a few minutes later. I also saw a string of Wild Turkeys along a ditch that were over 30 in number.

I finished up my trip at an old intersection in a farmer's field that I visited last year with the Ojibway Group in Amherstburg. Snow Buntings(20), Horned Larks (40) and Lapland Longspurs (8) were hanging out, at close range... But much to my sadness, my camera was not locking focus so many of my shots were simply ruined. I chose a few below but I apologize for the lack of sharpness.

Out of hundreds of photos, I went back and found this one 'gem'. The remainder are all blurry. Thanks Stuart for the insight on the snow-blinding effect on auto-focus.

The snow buntings are very rare in my personal experience. A flock went overhead during the Point Pelee CBC but this is probably the second time in my birding experience that they were hoping along on the ground in front of me.


I've been really sick lately with a bad, lingering cold. I must have had a cold for over 3 weeks now. I regret saying that I might back away from birding/blogging until I'm over this cold. A small hiatus if you will to recuperate and get better. I've been running on a deficit for the last few weeks.


Good Birding,
Dwaynejava

The one that got away...

Just a short posting today. I went out to Holiday Beach for one last attempt at a Rough legged Hawk with no luck at seeing it. On the way to Holiday Beach though, I stopped near a farmers field because many birds flying low over the roadway caught my attention. There were many Horned Larks around. I photographed the one above but many of my other photos did not really turn out very well, I think my lens fogged up a little. It's funny, Horned Larks are supposed to be common in Essex County, but this is only the third time seeing one.

 As I entered Holiday Beach, I noticed a Northern Flicker was flushed from beside the road and flew into a nearby tree. I had great looks at it but every time I grabbed my camera, it flew away further. A (late?) Ruby Crowned Kinglet, Downy Woodpecker and a Tree Sparrow were hanging around as well.

On the tower, I was happy to see Jim P this morning and we talked about birding while watching distant Eagles around the marsh. I was complaining to Jim I've never really gotten a good photo of a mature Bald Eagle. I've even gotten nice photos of Golden Eagle but no luck with the resident Bald Eagles. As we were scoping distant eagles, I saw something dark over my head 15m above the tower... Mature Bald Eagle...  By the time I got focused on him, he was well past the tower. (hence the photo above of this Eagle flying away from me). He's the one that got away. Poppycock! ...Balderdash!....& Horsefeathers!

Good birding!
Dwayne

Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Coopers Hawk and a few other Winter holdouts...

Lifer! Horned Lark and others...

-
Horned Lark hanging out with a Lapland Longspur - Thanks Paul & the Ojibway group for the great afternoon!



I went with a birding group today that is hosted by the Ojibway park naturalists. This week's destination was Holiday Beach.  Even though the weather and light outside was cloudy and cold, it turned out to be a pretty good walk.

As we left the park, the group leader suggested we stop by a farmers field where a farmer had a feeder. Many Horned larks were hanging out, and even a Lapland Longspur!

 

 

At Holiday Beach, I was greeted by the group of four birders who pointed out a raptor in the distance ... An adult Bald Eagle. They joked that we may as well go home now. As we entered the park we saw three woodpeckers: A skylarking Downy, a Red Bellied and Norther Flicker Perched in distant trees. We had several distant run ins with the Northern Flicker.  At one point, Paul, our group leader Pished a Cardinal, Brown Creeper and White Breasted Nuthatch into our views. 

 

 We noticed flotillas of Canada Geese on the water. The photo below shows Fermi in the background.

Soon before we left, a second pishing session attracted a Golden Crowned Kinglet, a White Throated Sparrow and some Black Capped Chickadees. Finally, as we left, a Yellow Rumped Warbler saw us off as we were leaving. A typical winter turnout with a nice mix of birds! The Horned Lark was a lifer. The Lapland Longspur and Coopers Hawk are technically not lifers, but they are better photos then my original ones. Sharp-Shinned and Coopers Hawks are very similar in appearance so I have had a definite ID on a Coopers until today. The photo above is probably a female coopers hawk, because it was huge!

Happy Birding!

Dwayne