Orange Variant Scarlet Tanager

How rare is an Orange-Variant Scarlet Tanager? I have many photos of this wonderful bird. Here you can see the primaries, secondaries and terts! Scapulars and Coverts are all there in plain view.

The Scarlet Tanager was a weird occurrence tonight. An older gentleman waived me over to a spot on Tilden's Trail. I went over and saw this gorgeous, Orange Variant Scarlet Tanager. It was uncanny, it was so tame, it must have been hungry or distressed. I took many photos of it, then walked away from it. It would just sit on ground level branches just meters off the trail. It even landed on the trail itself and just stood there for a while. Three or four lucky birders along with myself just watched him flutter around in amazement. I even have a photo of this bird with a little shiny green Six-Spotted Green Tiger Beetle.

I stopped by PPNP tonight after work, and was a little let down with the lack of avifauna. My night was ruined by an annoying woman who was demanding that her son "Play da Song Patrick!!" to bring out a YBC. Then, the woman walked off the path stomping on the horsetail? plants along Shuster Trail. I called her out on leaving the path. I'm like, "You're not allowed to do that!  Just wait 10 minutes and it will be out again!".

Later, I saw a guy with not one, but two tripods (one on each shoulder) with DSLR's, Better Beamer Flash Heads Screens, Whimberley heads. Seriously... two???

"A bit of feathered sunshine. In his plumes dwells the gold of the sun. In his voice, his brightness and good cheer." – Frank Chapman 1907. 

I guess I'm guilty of being a photographer, but honestly, I make every effort to follow honest birding ethics. H. Oneil's book touched on the lack of etiquette that seems to be increasing each year.

The photos below are mediocre, but were taken with No Flash, No Tripod, No Ipod, No Blinds or set up posing stuctures.

 

 

 

My goal for driving out to PPNP was really to walk Woodland Nature Trail (WNT) and see the Prothonotary Warbler that has been reported over the last few days, but I did not see it. I wonder if somebody is confusing a Yellow for the later. Sora was seen on WNT by others but I was unable to find it. Somebody also pointed out a cute little Robin's Nest, complete with little baby Robin birds being fed by their mother.

Good Birding,
Dwaynejava

PS: Another birder pointed up and said, "there are purple finches in this tree". I'm yet to see a convincing male!

 

Great crested Flycatcher is a cool bird, but I just can't seem to get a great view on the bird.

Birding Point Pelee and Hillman Marsh

 

I headed out to Point Pelee this morning with the intention of being home in 5 hours. 2 hours of commuting to and from Windsor and one hour each for Delaurier Trail & the tip of Point Pelee and one hour at Hillman. I was hoping to see some early spring migrants such as Eastern Meadowlarks or Eastern Bluebirds but no such luck today. I did see the great horned owls near the Park entrance (no big surprise .... it lives there).

I started at Delaurier Trail, which is one of my favorite paths to walk at Point Pelee. I just love walking on the wooden pathways that cross over the flooded sloughs and channels. It was generally quiet though when I walked it though. Ander's Footpath was a little quiet as well, with the exeption of an Eastern Phoebe and some common blackbirds. The tip of Point Pelee did not seem very birdy to me today either. Just a few gulls and common birds around. East beach had some nice looks at Red breasted Mergansers and distant flotillas of ducks that I did not have the time nor optics to scan :-).

Some birds seen out at Point Pelee today include:
Great Horned Owl
Eastern Phoebe
Swamp Sparrow
Common Merganser
Red Breasted Merganser
Common Grackles
Northern Flicker
... as well as the typical regulars one would normally see.

After Point Pelee, I then proceeded to Hillman Marsh for about an hour. I ran into an excellent birder, Richard C. who had a fantastic scope that gave breathtaking views at some of the great birds at Hillman Marsh. I would almost say Hillman Marsh was a little better bird-wise today than Point Pelee.

My first looks at male Green Winged Teals.  This was a target species for me today.

Only the second time I've seen Wilson's Snipe. Many (7-9) were around Hillman today.

Hillman Marsh Birds Include:

Wilson's Snipe (several... 7 at one point)
Greater Yellowlegs (one)
Green winged Teal
Gadwal
Northern Shoveler
Bufflehead
Mallards
American Coot
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring billed Gulls

Tree Swallows
Killdeer

One G-Yellowlegs, a Killdeer, and 7 Snipe in the background!

Lots of gulls (Bonapartes Gulls) on the Hillman Shorebird Cell

There are three Wilson's Snipe on the left and one on the right

Tree Swallows were flying over the shorebird cell at Hillman this morning

I hope to bird these areas every weekend from April to May this year. Good times!

Good birding!
Dwaynejava