Seasonal November Birding Observations

Lapland Longspur

Rusty Blackbirds

I've had mediocre birding observations over the last few weeks. I haven't had as much time to bird as I'm taking night school courses at the U of Windsor along with full time work and parenting duties. I've had two or three major highlights though - I had my first Common Redpoll in Essex County yesterday at Point Pelee. Common Redpolls are a great bird for me. I've only seen them on a few rare occasions at Rondeau, never in Essex County.  A female Purple finch, as well as some seasonal raptors were seen at Point Pelee. I also had a Richard C. sighting aka LLB.

I think the photo above is a Franklin's Gull - I could be wrong- (let me down gently if I am).  I photographed it at Wheatley Harbour flying Southwest towards Hike Metal products (Essex Co). I'm quite certain I saw Franklin's Gulls in Calgary Alberta a few summers ago, so this is not a life bird, but its a first for Ontario and now a Chatham-Kent and Essex bird. It was exciting to read about these birds from Allen and Blakes' blogs over the last few days. Hopefully some stick around for more closer observation and study.

Closer to home, I've had some cool nature sightings just from my back porch. I've seen a Fox Sparrow briefly every weekend for the last three or four weeks, but when I grab my camera, its gone! But today, I finally saw this sparrow foraging along my fence line and had my camera close. Along with seeing a Fox Sparrow this morning I had 2-3 Eastern Bluebirds - ***mind blown*** perched on a tree in my back yard! Last weekend, I had an American Kestrel perched in my back yard as well. As I was looking at the bluebirds (couldn't get more than a diagnostic photo) and Fox Sparrow, a male deer walked by- pretty cool! I've also had Coyotes howling and barking after sunset last week, which is kind of scary. Red bellied Woodpeckers have been seen and heard with surprising regularity over the last few weeks as well.

Diagnostic Backyard Bluebird

I've had decent back-yard birds since I moved in this summer and fall migration season. I will need to compile a list of everything. I'm trying to keep an ongoing list with Ebird as well.

Good birding!
Dwayne

Thanksgiving Weekend Birding

Orange crowned Warbler Flitting About in the Delaurier Savannah Goldenrod

I walked West Beach of Pelee with Jeremy Bensette & Alan Wormington on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous, but overall it was quiet. My best bird might be a Red breasted Nuthatch- called out by Jeremy. I must admit that I heard the nuthatch call, but can't really distinguish between a white breasted and red breasted by their calls yet. Some birds seen include: Lincolns Sparrow, Kingfisher, Sharp/Coopers,  Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Horned Grebe, House Wren, Orange and Ruby crowned Kinglets ... but not much else was seen. 

Before my west beach walk I had stopped by Delaurier which was really good just north of the parking lot. The goldenrod was crawling with Kinglets with a Blue headed Vireo and at least three Orange crowned Warblers. I must admit I was confused between Tenessee and Orange Crowned, but the "blurry" chest and Yellow undertail coverts are diagnostic. Another Lincoln's Sparrow, Eastern Phoebes, Dark eyed Juncos were also abundant along the edge of the parking lot.

Before Delaurier, I went to Road 21 on the east side of Hillman Marsh which - to my amazement - was a dry farm field completely drained of water and birds from the weekend previous.  I also really wanted to go out to Blenheim SL this weekend, but I just did not have the 3-hour round trip time resources.

Seeing the Red breasted Nuthatch was one of the days highlights as I was not expecting to see any after reading this years Winter Finch Forecast. On the way out of the park, a Red-Morph Eastern Screech Owl caught my eye!

American Snout Butterfly on Shorts' Aster - Point Pelee

A few good butterflies were seen by Alan, Jeremy and myself:

1. E Tailed Blue
2. American Snout
3. Painted Lady
4. Question Mark
5. Cabbage White
6. Orange Sulphur
7. Clouded Sulphur
8. Common Buckeye
9. Monarch
10. Pearl Crescent
11. Mourning Cloak

It would have been nice to see a southern lepidopteric overshoot... You will have to go to Blakes blog to see the Ocola Skipper seen at Rondeau.

Some decent birds have been spotted in my back yard this week. Earlier in the week, I had another tail-pumping Palm Warbler flitting about. I had a Blue-headed Vireo this morning (Sunday) which blew my mind. Another great thing about my backyard is that over the last week or two, I have seen White crowned and White throated Sparrows, and on occasion, I hear partial white crowned sparrow songs --- while sipping my morning coffee!  I also noted some Yellow bellied Sapsuckers (from randolph street) while walking today, and when I went back to go take photos, I also noted a Juv red-headed woodpecker!

Happy Thanksgiving & Good Birding!
Dwayne

Birding Windsor's Oakwood Park in Early April

A favorite bird - Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

I signed my 5-year old son up for a soccer camp at Oakwood Community Center here in Windsor, and it dawned on me as I arrived that there is a decent little forest - which is part of the Ojibway Complex behind the building. The soccer coach instructed us parents to "leave for the hour" so I figured ... Why not check out the forest? One of my target species for this walk was a Carolina Wren, which I'm pretty sure should be common in this little forest.

As I walked through the parking lot to the adjacent forest, I was pleasantly surprised to see an American Kestrel perch in a nearby tree.  Just as I walked into the forest a little, I noted a small grove of Poplars (or Aspens???) which have historically hosted Yellow bellied Sapsucker at this time of year. Sure enough, I believe two males were foraging in the area and I got some great looks at them in the afternoon sunlight. Its a great pleasure to see these birds in migration... or on their breeding territory at Carden or Algonquin.

 

A family walk at Ojibway had a nice view of an Eastern Screech Owl in a nest box. Do you find anything weird about this nest box? Its about 12 feet up in the air... but it seems to have a weather-proof electrical outlet attached to it. What could it be for??? Do owls want to charge their smartphones during their daytime naps? Owls these days are so spoiled.
 
I'm thinking of attending a birding event at Shawnee State Forest in Southern Ohio (Ohio Ornithological Society Spring Conference) during the last weekend of April.  Some birds that are pretty common there include: Ruffed Grouse, Kentucky Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Carolina Chickadee - which would all be lifers [Ebird Chart for Shawnee State Forest]. I've never seen a female Cerulean Warbler and that would be an awesome bird to see for me as well. There are 20+ butterfly species in late April there as well (many of which would be lifers as well).  I'll see if I can get permission to go... ;-p  ...

Good birding!
DM

Dunlin & Green winged Teal

Carden Alvar Flashback .....

Point Pelee Piping Plover

This morning, I had heard my phone chime as new email had come in. Classically conditioned like Pavlov's dogs, I instinctively checked my email to see that Steve Pike and a Local Leamington Birder who goes by the name "afternoon shift" posted a Point Pelee peninsula Piping Plover! Much to the chagrin of my wife and two kids I kissed them adieu and fled to the southernmost point of Canada. Upon arriving to the tip, Jeremy Bensette hinted that I might best walk to East Tip (not East Beach!) through Sparrow Field. There it was, in perfectly front-lit perfection! At one point, we heard it singing or 'piping'! This little flufball of cuteness was for many years (and still is) "Endangered" because its preferred habitat is big wide sandy beaches. If you have a few minutes check out this amazing link documenting the life and habitat of the piping plover: http://www.audubon.org/plover

It soon fled from East Beach upon Kory's arrival to see the bird. But we agreed it probably flew back to the tip, and that guess was correct. At one point, a few birders were laying down on the sand to get better photos and I had noticed a lady with a dog was walking by - Did she think we were nuts? It just so happens that staying low to the ground lets you separate the bird from its background, making the bird jump out from its Gaussian-blurred background.

A couple of other cool birds seen today were four Tree Swallows (sitting on the sand!), an Eastern Phoebe, and a Long Eared Owl!

Last weekend, I tried to get a Purple Sandpiper at Pelee's Tip but dipped. I did get a breathtaking look at this Eastern Screech Owl... A dirt bird at Pelee but still amazing!

Tufted Titmice are easy to see at Ojibway Park during the late Fall and Winter months. Always fun to see these birds!

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

This is what a plover looks like at normal zoom range. Can you find it?

Note: At some point today on Sunday Nov 25, 2013 - My blog reached 100,000 hits!

Rufous Owls and Sparrows at Ojibway

Just a quick post today .... I had some cool pics I wanted to post from over the last week or so. Highlights were several Fox Sparrows at Ojibway Park, and a Rufous Eastern Screech Owl. Also, Kelly M texted me this week about Pine Siskins at her feeders which is a pretty nice winter finch!

It was cool to see the Fox Sparrows scratch the ground looking for bugs and possibly remaining seeds. They would do this funny 'shuffle' keeping their feet beside each other and scratching back and forth. I also saw a Tufted Titmouse, which is generally easily seen in the fall and winter months near the feeders. Tufted Titmouse is one of my *sparkbirds*!
 

Only 10% of Eastern Screech Owls are Rufous

 

Thanks to Kelly for the invite to see her feeders. Siskins are like goldfinch wearing camo.

 I had a great morning at Rondeau. I got to see Blake, Steve and Ric... A few great birds are in store.

 Good birding!

Mid-week Birding at Pelee

Dropped into Pelee on Thursday after work. The first stop was Hillman Marsh, where earlier in the day it was reported that a Marbled Godwit had been seen. What an awesome bird.  It was quite close, but the harsh, mid afternoon sun did not provide optimal lighting for photos.

After Hillman, I stopped by PPNP, first stopping at Tildens Trail, which was quiet, but my friend Rick pointed out this red-morph Eastern Screech Owl. We saw a few other birds, none that are very rare, but a faint glimpse at a Wood Thrush was nice to see.

After Tildens, Woodland Nature Trail provided looks at Prothonotary Warblers. One photographer told me he saw two pairs, inspecting various cavities for nesting locations. While waiting for the warblers to re-emerge, someone pointed out another Screech owl. Not a bad way to kill 15 minutes!

This Prothonotary Warbler bounced around for a while and landed on the elevated boardwalk. This photo is handheld, with no flash, uncropped. No ipods or tripods.

On the way back to the Visitor Center, I met (Silvatica) who pointed out some awesome birds that I was just walking by. First was a FOY Scarlet Tanager (Male and Female) as well as some Red breasted Grosbecks (male & female).  It was 7pm and the sun was starting to set, and it dawned on us that there must have been 10 or so Scarlet Tanagers. At one point, I saw two in my binoculars at the same time! The colour of Red that hits the retina of the eye is awesome. This is what birding is all about!

Good birding!
Dwaynejava