999,998 - 999,999 - 1,000,000 ... Thanks a Million

 

Back in 2009- 2010 I started birding and blogging and enjoying photography and now after 15-16 years.. Im still at it!

Sometime over the last week or so - this blog clicked its millionth view!!! 

To be honest, I think many views are maybe "bots" that scan the web , and some are probably people who might have google imaged a bird species featured on my blog..  but still. Its kinda neat to cross that seven figure threshold.

This morning, (saturday april 18th) I spent a few hours at black oak herrirage park in west windsor. 

I had a surprisingly good morning --- there was a warbler fallout at black oak - close to the detroit river - where I saw betwwen 50-100 breeding plumaged yellow rumped warblers, 10 Pine, 2 Yellow and 2 Nashville warblers. Lots of house wrens were singing. First of season blue grey gnatcatchers.  I noticed as I was leaving that merlin picked up a Baltimore Oriole!

But of course... Its a weekend and its crappy rainy weather!

Note: I might be the first person to see a Nashville Warbler in Canada in 2026!

Its fun to look up species for "current year" in the springtime in ebird.

As I write this.. Im tempted to twitch a mega rarity in Leamington - the Bakail Teal? (Sp?) but I have been cheap with my gas expeditures lately!

Lastly, I have been checking my rapberry pi bird sound analyzer which is running 24-7 off my back porch. Nothing too rare has been sensed so far... but one neat thing Ive noticed is that BrownThrashers have been very present this April so far!

Anyway.. Thanks for checking out the old blog... even after 15 years and a million pageviews (mostly bots) later...

Good birding,

Dwayne

Winter Wren, Sapsuckers & NOMO

 

The last week or so has been nice in Windsor. 

I try to go for a walk every day after work - and I have seen some neat birds. Hearing a Winter Wren singing while walking at Black Oak last week was pretty exciting.

I've had good luck with Yellow bellied Sapsuckers. I'm quite tuned into their calls and even their tree tapping sounds which are quick distinct from other woodpeckers.

I even heard, then saw a Northern Mockingbird at Black Oak. A lady from PPNP was already looking at it and got me on it. I had assumed (by ear) that it was a brown thrasher but was mistaken. 

Lastly, my local habitat has yeilded daily looks at YBSS, towees, Ruby crowned Kinglets and for the last few days, Brown Thrashers! I have to give credit to the rasperry pi computer running bird-pi audio software for reporting the bird to me. I heard it briefly today but was unable to find it. I love the song of a Brown Thrasher. Always makes me smile

Backyard Kinglet

Backyard Brown Thrasher

Black Oak Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

Good birding!

Dwayne

Easter Phoebe!?!?!

 

Hey All,

Today is Good Friday - a holiday celebrated by billions  of Christians all around the world. I went to Good Friday mass at the historic Assumption Church in Windsor and it slowly dawned on me that a bird was in the church! I identified it by its flight style, perch flycatch perch... I id'ed it as an Easter(n) Phoebe !

To my amazement, it perched in a few different areas but at one point, it landed on a perch in front of the cross!  I took some photos from my seat with my camera, which has a 10x optical zoom.

Part of me wants to beleive that in a small way - this was an Easter Miracle - and this beautiful migrant breifly paid hommage to the king of kings before continuing his northward migration.

This isnt my first good bird at Assumtion Church, occasionally I will see a Perigrine Falcon perch on the steeple. This church is close to the Ambasador Bridge - which has had many breeding peregrine falcons breeding and hunting from its high perches.

Back in the Dodge...

I had the day off from work and birded Black Oak Herritage park this morning and had my first of season Yellow Bellied Flycatcher. Its one of my favirite birds and I got some great looks at it! 

Hermit Thrush

Fox Sparrow

Horned Grebe

Amazingly, I was planting some perenial plant seeds on my back porch this afternoon and heard a woodpecker pecking on a Shagbark Hickory behind my house. Sure enough... it was another yellow bellied sapsucker. 

Backyard ybss!

Spring is officially started!

Good birding!

Dwayne

Birding Sedona AZ & the Grand Canyon

Lucy's Warbler - My first of 16 lifers on this trip!

I think this southwestern usa trip resulted in about 16 life birds - and one of my first new birds -a surprise- was a Lucy's Warbler! I was at a train area and a scrubby area nearby was alive with birdsong. Merlin revealed this warbler to me and I attempted to find it quickly. 

Sedona AZ was a town we passed through which was quite beautiful. The red soil and mind blowing geography really makes this place quite special. My family hike a nature trail called "devils bridge"... we didnt make it as we were weary after 1 mile into the path.

Anicia Checkerspot

My target bird from Sedona was a single bird species - a Juniper Titmouse!  Along the this great bird... I had seen a Juniper Hairstreak as well as a Brown Elfin flitting around the juniper and desert scrub habitat. 

Juniper Titmouse - in a Juniper

We moved on from Sedona AZ up to Flagstaff AZ, then William's AZ (famous for being part of "Route 66"--- the purpose being to visit the Grand Canyon. 

It was quite beautiful. This was a "Bucket list" item I had long wanted to acheive. I didnt make too much effort on birding but I did carry a camera on my shoulder to document any birdlife. Western Bluebirds, Mountain Chickadee, Stellars Jay and Woodhouse Scrub Jay were noteworthy birds that I noted. I would have loved to have seen a California Vulture but I dipped on this carion loving giant. 

Grand Canyon

Mountain Chickadee

Woodhouse Scrub Jay

Stellar's Jay

Checkered white (or Spring White)

I had some good luck with birds on this trip, but my butterfly watching efforts were relatively poor. Many butterflies simply flew off without landing which was quite upsetting. I occasionally wondered if I should just give up on lepidoptera observing... . But in the grand scheme... I can't complain. I am blessed that I can travel and show my family the vast beauty of North America. If I can do some modest birdwatching while doing that... then its a bonus on top of a blessing.

Good birding,

Dwayne

Lifer summary:

Juniper Titmouse 487

Woodhouse scrub Jay 488

Lucy's warbler 489