Northern Oak Hairstreak at Reid CA in Wallaceburg ON + ... wait for it... FOY Dickcissel in Lambton!

Northern Oak Hairstreak at Reid CA

Those that read my end of year summary (published back in Jan) might recall that one of my nature viewing goals this year was to finally catch up with the Northern Oak Hairstreak.  I must admit that I have tried at least once or twice for this butterfly in the past with and dipped. So this year, I made an honest effort to go see this butterfly in the middle of its flight time (June 20?). Kit and  I left Windsor at an ambitious time of 7AM and arrived (still early) at Reid Conservation Area, on the shores of the Syndenham River just a little ways north of Wallaceburg. It was still quite brisk and perhaps the butterflies were still warming up as we arrived. After searching for over an hour, I started heading out to the road. But, as luck would have it, an older couple arrived, and I figured I would see if they could have better luck finding this nickel sized fluttery beast. Also, a text message from Blake suggested to "be patient".  So... after about ten minutes with the older couple, I found a hairstreak walking along a stem several inches below the flowers of an Indian Hemp plant. This is my fourth buttefly lifer species this year, and I think I am at about 120 species photographed.

Northern Oak Hairstreak

An interesting thing about the Northern Oak Hairstreak is that there are two major types within the species. The primary type was called a Southern Oak Hairstreak, and when the northern species was added, they thought of calling the northern one a "Northern Southern Oak Hairstreak" and the southern version a "Southern Southern Oak Hairstreak". Now, they just call it an Oak Hairstreak and locals can add Southern or Northern as they like. 

Another interesting thing about this butterfly is that (as far as I know) there is only one population known in all of Canada - north of Wallaceburg, and it was Blake Mann who discovered it. Imagine looking at the field marks of a hairstreak butterfly (with its large white "M") and saying: "what is this? this isn't in any field guides!". So a special shout out to Blake for his keen observation and his leperodoptic contributions to Ontario and Canada butterfly watching.

Reid Conservation Area

*(note: as I write this posting tonight, I am listening to an Indigo Bunting singing in my back yard, with distant Wood Thrushes, Song Sparrows, Red bellied Woodpecker, House Wren and occasionally a Great crested Flycatcher! (ebird checklist)  Also, there are House Sparrows chirping... this is Windsor after all...)

Other butterflies seen include about 3 banded hairstreaks, lots of Common Wood Nymphs, Eastern tailed Blue, 1 Question Mark, 4 Eastern Comma, lots of small European Skippers, 1 Red Admiral and of course, 1 Oak Hairstreak. 

European Skipper on Indian Hemp

After seeing the hairstreak butterfly, Kit and I met up with Lambton birder Sean J who was checking out a hay field not far from Reid CA. Upon getting out of our car, we heard the songs of Dickcissel (FOY!) , Bobolink, Savanah  Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark and more.

From this point, we had a decision to make - go to Strathroy for more grassland birds (Upland Sandpiper) or perhaps head back towards Windsor and stop by Rondeau and perhaps try for an Acadian Flycatcher (both of these would be lifers for Kit). We ended up going to Rondeau to try for the Flycatcher.

Good Birding & Lepping!

Dwayne

Skunk's Misery OFO Trip

This posting is about the Skunk's Misery OFO Trip that took place on June 2nd, 2013. I'm a week late posting about this trip, but it just so happened that my Rondeau Trip the following day (Monday June 3rd, 2013) was a little more blog-worthy. Skunks Misery [map] is a one of the largest remaining tracts of Carolinean Forest in southwestern Ontario. According to Thames Talbot Land Trust: "The heart of Skunk's Misery is a 1200-ha complex of old-growth hardwood forest and swamp in Middlesex County, connected by wooded ravines to the Thames Canadian Heritage River to the south."(TTLT)

Our group met up at the Newbury Hospital and quickly proceeded to the first Skunks Misery forest path (Near Concession Dr and Sassafras Rd). Our first hour seemed to be the most productive. Some highlight birds seen were:

Chestnut sided Warbler
Golden winged  Warbler
Blue winged  Warbler
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Eastern Towhee
Indigo Bunting
Ruby-throated Humingbird
Black billed Cuckoo
Yellow billed Cuckoo (heard)

Scarlet Tanager
Hooded Warbler
Mourning Warbler (heard)
Red eyed Vireos
Pileated Woodpecker (flyover)
Acadian Flycatcher (heard, but not seen)

 

Our group did not see a Cerulean Warbler this year.  We heard but did not see an Acadian Flycatcher, although I ended up seeing one the following day at Rondeau.


I had a chance to meet two birders on this OFO trip:

Paul Nicholson, who writes columns for the London Free Press:
http://www.lfpress.com/2013/06/06/the-world-outdoors-skunks-misery-a-pleasure-for-birders

And Tianna Burke who expertly found a Tree Wood Frog and showed the OFO group. She was mentioning that she has a blog. Check it out! http://ramblingofawildflower.blogspot.com/ . I was pretty amazed to hear that both Paul and Tianna were fans of Nerdy for Birdy!

Out-of-focus Tree Wood Frog

After the Skunks Misery walk, the group went on to Ridgetown and Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. I believe they saw White winged Scoters which was really late and out of place for that species. Blake and I agreed to break away from the group to try and find some grassland species from an area near Strathroy Ontario, just 20 minutes northwest of Newbury.  We were hoping to find Upland Sandpipers and Grasshopper Sparrows, but no such luck on this trip.


Savannah Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlard, Horned Lark, Eastern Kingbirds, and lots of Rock Pigeons were around. I was hoping to see Grasshopper Sparrows, but no such luck this time. I must have looked at 100+ sparrows through my binoculars or scope... But this is how birding goes...There are no guarantees. If you want guarantees, you need to go to the zoo or an aviary. :-)

There were thousands of Rock Pigeons around... I wonder why?

Our group leader had a summary report mentioning about 75 species seen during the afternoon. A good day with some great birders! Be sure to read Paul's Writeup on this trip, and Blakes!
http://www.lfpress.com/2013/06/06/the-world-outdoors-skunks-misery-a-pleasure-for-birders
http://burgbirder.blogspot.ca/2013/06/birds-and-leps-at-skunks-misery.html


Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Sources:
TTLT, "Skunks Misery", Thames Talbot Land Trust, ND, WEB, June 9, 2013, 
http://www.thamestalbotlandtrust.ca/index.php/skunks-misery
 

Upland Sandpiper and a Drive through Glencoe and Newbury Ontario

Awesome bird. Taken while sitting in my car. Life bird 302!

Having the day off today, I treated myself to a trip to Glencoe and Newbury Ontario, which are about 1.5 hours north of Windsor. They are both between Chatham and London. Some areas near Glencoe have been recently highlighted as having some nice habitat for grassland birds and Newbury as you might know is where "Skunks Misery" is, which is Southern Ontario's largest stand of Carolinian forest.

I was not expecting to see this. It wasn't singing its tell-tale song.

Trip Summary: 
The Glencoe area has a nice grassy meadow area near the intersection of Calvert & Kerwood which had Bobolinks, Eastern Kingbirds, Savannah Sparrows and a surprise: Dickcissel!

Moving south on Calvert, I turned left onto McArthur Rd which had amazing pasture habitat to the East. I stopped my car (luckily) to photograph some Savannah Sparrows, when a Bobolink just happened to perch on a fence near the road, then, I hear the wolf-whistle call of an Upland Sandpiper! Two birds (along with a brown headed cowbird) flew in and perched really close to my car. Wow! I did not really think I would be lucky enough to find Upland Sandpipers, especially after not seeing it in Carden Alvar. A gorgeous female Bobolink perched on the fence as well, so this area was really productive for me. I'm glad I stopped here!

Amazing bird, with a cool song. Its been recently described as the "robotic R2-D2" sound by another blogger.

A nice look at female Bobolink. Not as conspicuous as the male.

Yet another Upland Sandpiper along McArthur Rd. I saw a total of 3. Very exciting to see this.

Skunks Misery in Newbury Ontario
Newbury was only about 15 minutes south of Glencoe, and was on the way home, so I figured I would stop. The Skunk's Misery OFO trip leader emailed me some basic tips for birding the area. Basically, Drive the "rectangle" along Concession Rd, Dogwood Rd, Centreville Rd  and Sassafras Rd, and walk any pathways that are visible along this perimeter (see image at the bottom of this posting). One path I walked near Concession and Dogwood had a really wet swampy area that was ideal habitat for Acadian Flycatchers, and I did see a flycatcher momentarily, but was unable to identify it. Crows, WB Nuthatch and Robins were seen. Red eyed Vireos sang incessantly from the forest canopy.

Hairy Woodpeckers used to be called Canadian Woodpeckers. Can we switch it back?

Another pathway I walked (along Centerville rd) had calling Eastern Peewees, Ovenbirds, Orioles, Black billed Cuckoo, a yellow warbler and Hairy Woodpeckers.

Incredibly, as I drove out of the park, I heard a very loud, raspy singing call from a tree along the road. I was sure it was a flycatcher call, but to my absolute amazement, some movement and twitching in a road side branch gave flashes of blue, a cerulean blue... Cerulean Warbler! I even saw two other birds skulking around and I almost feel that a female CW was around, but I was unable to get a good look with my binoculars or camera.

Endangered species... Cerulean Warbler

Cerulean Warblers are the fastest declining neotropical warbler. This warbler requires large tracts of mature forest to breed in, and suitable breeding grounds are dwindling. According to (Wikipedia), not only have its summer breeding grounds been destroyed, but now, its wintering grounds are as well. Cerulean Warblers winter in an area that just so happens to be the perfect place to grow coffee. They can live in Shade-Grown Coffee habitat, but, more money, more coffee can be generated in full-sun coffee plantations, so shade-grown coffee (and their forests) are being destroyed at an amazing pace. On top of all this, this threatened species is a common victim of Brown Headed Cowbird Parasitism (ROM). Kristen Martin's Natura Tours blog has a cool write-up and images of how Michigan's DNR is assisting Kirtlands Warblers by trying to reduce Cowbird Parasitism with Cowbird traps. Check out her page here.

After Glencoe & Newbury, I was actually going to try to visit St Clair NWA in hopes of seeing Least Bitterns, but I was starting to get a severe headache at this point. I was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. I guess wearing pants and a full sleeve shirt,  with only three small bottles of water in 90+ degree weather is not a good idea.

Good Birding!
Dwaynejava


Life List Summary: Upland Sandpiper #302



Sources:
Wikipedia, "Cerulean Warbler", 31 May 2012 , WEB, June 20, 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerulean_Warbler

ROM, "Cerulean Warbler-Species at Risk",  Royal Ontario Museum, July 2011, WEB, June 20, 2012
http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=124


Resources:


This Google Map Screenshot shows A,B,C which are visuals for a recent ontbirds posting regarding pasture habitat attracting Upland Sanpipers. 

Calvert Rd and Thames Dr are near point A. McArthur Rd between Walker's line was really productive.

Screenshot of Skunks Misery. Drive the rectangle along Concession Rd, Dogwood Rd, Centreville Rd  and Sassafras Rd.

These new trailhead signs show the county owned forest and the trails. This one was on Concession Rd but another one can be found accross the road from the Newbury Hospital.

Park benches in "Skunks Misery"

Willow Flycatcher and the Challenge of Empidonax Flycatchers

Amazingly, Willow Flycatchers were not on my life list.

I've seen many of the empidonax flycatchers over the last few years, but have reluctantly added them to my life list, because to be honest, I felt that adding them would be insincere. I'm not alone in this confusion. I was happy to know that even bird banders at the Holiday Beach banding station in the fall admitted to not knowing which of Alder/Willow a flycatcher in hand was. In fairness, it did not vocalize and the wing length ratios did not help either. The bander marked it down as a "Trails" flycatcher. Even the whole North American birding community was unable to realize the distinction between the species before the 1970s! So this week, as I was walking the Ojibway Tallgrass Prairie, I was happy to hear a very loud, clear, distinct, raspy and scratching "Fitz-bew!" and was able to take the above photo of it. I even took video, so that I could really go back and compare the sound in my video to the sounds of the Willow Flycatcher page on Allaboutbirds.org.

Its been said that the flycatchers are a very prehistoric bird. Their simple foraging strategy has served them well. Perch, wait for bugs to fly by and catch them, then return to your perch in a predictable looping flight pattern. This behavior along with their simple call is built into their DNA. Cornell University's site Allaboutbirds.org states: "Flycatcher songs are innate, not learned like those of most songbirds. Young Willow Flycatchers reared in captivity with Alder Flycatcher tutors sang typical Willow Flycatcher songs" (allaboutbirds.org). That is a very cool thought!

I think Flycatchers (and Gulls) might offer some of the most challenging identification problems to birders, so I would image that they are the last area that birders venture into. If you have the time, treat yourself to a quick scan of the following two or three links. This will really help you appreciate how greatly differentiated the flycatcher family is!

Here is an incredible list of South American Flycatchers:
http://carolinabirds.org/HTML/SA_Flycatcher_Tyrannidae.htm

And a much shorter list of North Amercan Flycatchers:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse_tax/65/
http://www.birds-of-north-america.net/flycatchers.html

Here are some Flycatchers I've seen and photographed over the last two or three years:

Least Flycatcher Holiday Beach (Fall 2010)

Yellow bellied Flycatcher - Point Pelee (Fall 2011)

Eastern Wood Peewee - Common in Eastern Deciduous Forests

Eastern Kingbird - Common and obvious to identify

Great Crested Flycatcher - Local breeder, but not often seen.

Western Kingbird in Windsor -Summer 2011

Western Wood Pewee (BC -Summer 2011)

Eastern Phoebe - An early Spring migrant

Vermilion Flycatcher, often seen in Belize, Mexico and SW US

Say's Phoebe - A western beauty

Some Flycatcher Notes:

Flycatcher	Call*	Notes
Eastern Wood Peewee	Pee- ya –weeeee (whistled)	Common Summer breeder in Essex Co.
Willow Flycatcher	Fitz-bew (buzzy and rhaspy)	Summer breeder in Essex Co.
Alder Flycatcher	Free Bee Yeer (buzzy and rhaspy)	More common north of Essex Co (Carden Alvar Breeder)
Acadian Flycatcher	Peet-ssah	Breeds in large tracts of forest (Rondeau, Skunks Misery)
Least Flycatcher	Che-beck	Seen in migration
Yellow Bellied Flycatcher	Chebunk	Seen in migration
Great crested Flycatcher	Weeeeap!(whistled)	Essex breeder at Ojibway and Point Pelee. Not easily found in my experience.
Olive sided Flycatcher	Quick-three-beers!	Have not seen one yet. Migrates late in May in a small window of time (usually while I’m working).

*Some call descriptions referenced from (Kaufman)

 

Wheatley Dickcissels & Other Pelee Area Birds

This Saturday, I woke up early and birded Wheatley, Hillman Marsh, Point Pelee and Leamington (each very briefly) and was able to get good looks at Dickcissels, Bobolinks, Savannah Sparrows, among others.
Wheatley gave nice looks at Dickcissels & Savannah sparrows. While scanning though, I was unable to find more than singles of the aforementioned birds. Robins and Red winged Blackbirds were abundant.

Savannah Sparrow

Hillman Marsh Grassland Birds
Bobolinks, Dickcissels, Indigo Buntings, Yellow Warblers and Willow Flycatchers were seen at Hillman Marsh.

Willow Flycatcher... singing next to Hillman Marsh Parking Lot

Point Pelee & Leamington
Point Pelee's Delaurier Trail at Point Pelee had Eastern Bluebirds, Orchard Orioles, Rose breasted Grosbeck, Cedar Waxwings, Black billed Cuckoo among other more common birds. Leamington docks had Red headed Woodpeckers (two pairs?) and a Northern Mockingbird!

I would love to see a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher one day. Perhaps a quick trip to Texas is in order... Probably not going to happen any time soon.

Good Birding,
Dwaynejava

Sources:
Kaufman, Ken. Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print.

Allaboutbirds.org, Willow Flycatcher, Cornell University, ND, WEB, June 17th 2012, http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willow_Flycatcher/id

Life list summary: Willow Flycatcher 301