Birding Ojibway's Black Oak Heritage Park in Mid May + Life List Reflection

May 15th is the peak date for migration but this year - it was one of the "big wave" days where people around the the shore of lake erie are inundated with bird diversity and bird volume. I often read about these big days while eating my lunch at work! Yesterday, May 15th -- a local birder hinted that there was a "fallout" at the Black Oak Heritage Park section of Ojibway Park. After work - I had a dilema - should I go to PPNP (and spend two hours driving) or just go to Black Oak and spend more time birding and less time driving? I chose Black Oak!

It wasn't as good as I was hoping and I'm sure many of the birds seen by the previously mentioned poster had moved on or were just not in the parts of the park that I was walking. Still, I had some nice looks at Indigo Buntings, Blue headed Vireo, Bay breasted Warbler, and Scarlet Tanagers.  At one point, I watched a Bay breasted Warbler jump from a tree branch into a little rushing stream and he took a little bird bath! I was hoping to see a Canada Warbler - but I just haven't seen one yet this year.  

The second topic of this posting was just to think about my life list. A few years ago I was on the Post Woods Footpath at Point Pelee and saw a Yellow and Grey bird with white eye rings for a second and it dipped down into a thicket and disappeared from view.  I had also heard that a Connecticut Warbler was seen on that path so I lifered it. But over they years that particular sighting didn't sit well with me because at the time, I don't think I parsed the field marks of the bird and really eliminated any similar birds. A Nashville Warbler is a smaller bird but has similar looks from certain angles, and if you didnt see the bird's throat colour...an honest mistake could be made.

So on May 14th, I was riding my bike at Black Oak Heritage Park with my wife and two kids when at one point, we stopped near a body of water and my two boys wanted to take a break from biking and inspect the pond. While that happened, I heard a loud, crisp bird call that sounded like this: Chip CHIP chup chip Chippity Chip Chup....(with pauses and repeats) I felt like I had heard that call before, and it was so distinct and different from many other bird calls. I should have taken video with my cell phone to record the bird call - but I was too focused on "Getting a picture" and looking up into a tree in the bird song's direction (I should have been looking down at the ground). 

After getting home, I looked up some bird song mnemonics and realized that the Connecticut Warbler had a similar sounding song. I listened to the song and to my disbelief ... It dawned on me that the mystery bird that I was hearing from point -blank range was indeed a Connecticut Warbler!

So I guess I can say that I've officially lifered a Connecticut Warbler - even though I didn't see the bird with this particular interaction with the bird. My old self would have felt bad for not having produced a photo - but I must say that hearing the song of a good bird could be equally if not more satisfying than simply seeing a bird. Another blogger once had an interesting analogy of identifying birds by song by stating something to the effect of:  ...Sorry I didn't get a picture of a the bird with spots on its chest - I was enveloped in its ethereal bird song....

Anywho ... Its these brief events and interactions with birds that help us learn bird songs and just be better birders. I will now officially know the song of the Connecticut Warbler and just be prepared better for the next time I hear its song.

Good birding!

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
 

Early May Birding at Pelee

So many things to talk about bird-wise! Took a personal day on Friday (May 4th) and spent a good day birding Point Pelee. Some personal highlights for me were seeing Red headed Woodpeckers and 5 species of Vireo ( White eyed, Yellow throated, Warbling, Red eyed, Blue headed) along with... 80 species of birds. I didn't really count or list them, but you get the point.

Some Random Thoughts (in point form for brevity and clarity):

• I was mucking around with my "blog templates" and irreversibly changed my original template to the "newer style" of templates.  I really liked my old template, so I spent much time trying to customize my new template to look like my old one, but still... its not the same. :-(
• I must have 70 photos that I would like to share, but I only chose 8 or so to add to this posting. 
• I just bought a new cellphone and this was the first time I was birding while texting. More on the subject of "Technobirding" later.
• Butterflies are everywhere this year. Amazing variety and its only the first week of May.
• Its amazing how different people will see a completely different set of birds. A flickr friend had YB Chats and Summer Tanagers on this same Friday May 4th. 
• Every year, it seems different birds seem to be more present than others. Last year, I hardly saw any Black throated blue Warblers, where this year, I've seen many. Same with Yellow throated Vireos. I guess its this randomness that keeps things interesting. 
• Lots of variety at Pelee, but seemingly low numbers. It seems that each bird was hard fought for this year. It seems also to be slower than previous years, but perhaps things are the same, the only change being the lack of 'life bird rush' that I was getting in the previous years.
• I did not hear or see a Wood Thrush yet this season... Seems odd no? I did see Hermit, Veery and Swainson's.

I had breathtaking looks at this beautiful yellow throated vireo... nuff said.

 

I was on West Beach Trail when I heard a "Fitz-Bew" call of a Flycatcher. I pished a little and a few warblers came to inspect the noise. I must have taken 15 photos of this white eyed vireo each as amazing as the next. What an amazing bird... I never saw the flycatcher until further down the path. I think it was a Least Flycatcher, based on the eye-rings.

A Point Pelee Specialty... Also seen at Ojibway in Windsor

Even though pretty common, and a local breeder, its always nice to see GCFs.

 Hillman Marsh

After Pelee, I drove over to Hillman Marsh proudly bearing a scope over my shoulder. Nothing super rare I guess, but a few nice birds included Green winged Teal, seasonal Terns, Black bellied Plover in stunning breeding plumage.  American Golden Plovers and Long billed Dowitcher were the highlights, and seeing them through my new scope was awesome.

American Golden Plover in a heavily cropped photo. Notice the greenish golden coloured plovers behind the horizontal row of bonaparte's gulls & terns. Black bellied Plovers in the foreground.

While shorebirding at Hillman, I realized I was standing next to and talking to Jean Iron. Wow! I realized it was her as she had mentioned Blenheim SL and I had just read her Ontbirds posting a few hours earlier.  The birding community is pretty small isn't it?

Good birding,
Dwaynejava

Dickcissels in Wheatley

Click photo for larger view

A very observant birder (Ken Burrell) made an Ontbirds Posting recently about several Dickcissel (Spiza Americana) in Wheatley and I figured that I would go and try my luck at finding them. I found them quite easily. I had an Ipod on me but found I did not need it, because there were three birds in that area singing: Red winged Blackbird, Dickcissel, and Indigo Buntings!

A drive out in Essex County along Cabots Trail will give views of many Oil Derriks Pumpjacks (aka Thirstybird). I wonder what the stats are on Ontario's oil production?  It really smelt like oil next to these strange machines...

I also coupled my trip out to Wheatley with a quick visit to Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee. Hillman Marsh was surprisingly quiet, although I only spent about 10 minutes there. Belted Kingfisher, a single fly-over Great Blue Heron and some Terns were about all that was noted.

I kayaked the marsh at Point Pelee today and did not see much. Black Terns were abundant though! They don't mind you so much if you are in a kayak (the photo below was shot while kayaking) but... if you walk on the boardwalk, they pretty well dive bomb you. They literally would hover 2ft over my head!

One of my favorite birds, the Red headed Woodpecker returned to the docks in Leamington.  I can't help but wonder if someone should come in and consult with the local landowners about making life more hospitable for this bird. Its  a "Special Concern Provincially, Threatened Nationally" (ROM) . There were all kinds of feeders around which seems to be attracting House Sparrows, Brown headed Cowbirds and the like. It would be cool if someone suggested planting various fruit bearing trees, remove the cheap feeders etc... or is it better to just leave these woodpeckers in the environment they've chosen?

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

This (Banded?) Hairstreak butterfly was on the roof of my car as I was about to remove my kayak at Point Pelee Marsh Boarwalk. I think my car needs a wash!!!

Sources:
 ROM, "Red-headed Woodpecker ", Royal Ontario Museum, Web, Obtained June 27th, 2011,
 http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=120

Recent Ojibway Walks

Well... I can't help but feeling disappointed in this year's migration through our region. Of course, I was unable to actually spend gobs of time... no big days or big weeks. Just like 3-4 hours bi-weekly to various local hotspots. I just didn't see the birds that I saw last Spring, and it seemed like I put more effort into getting out there this season. Some exciting lifers this May have been: Yellow Breasted Chat, Prothonotary and Cereluean Warblers. The Cerulean being self-found!

With that in mind, I have spent some time a little closer to home, like at Ojibway Park, Ojibway Prarie and Black Oak Heritage Park in West Windsor.  This video shows four cool birds that I might see on a good afternoon. In order: Red Bellied Woodpecker at the feeders, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Bluebird and finally, Indigo Bunting.




A recent short walk to Black Oak Heritage Park gave views of Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue Grey Gnatcatcher, Baltimore Orioles, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, Field and Song Sparrow and a nesting Northern Flicker. Nothing overly exciting but still... good to know. I beleive I also heard a Wood Thrush.

One of my blog readers recently invited me to see some East-End nesting Screech Owls... How nice! That may be the subject of my next posting!

Good birding,
Dwaynejava

Indigo Buntings at Ojibway

A recent twitter post from Ojibway Park indicated that Indigo Buntings were back on territory at the park, so I figured I would go and see if I could find some. As luck would have it, one of the first trees I inspected had several males chasing each other (possibly in an effort to set up breeding territory). I stood by quietly watching and noticing the birds would often perch on a nearby side tree out in the open. How awesome. I got 'smashing' views of these gorgeous birds with such little effort!

I walked away from these indigo beauties and then looked up into another large Oak in the Ojibway Prairie and again... stood by the tree in amazement. A non-birder may have just walked by this large tree, but to a birder, it was thriving with activity. A close inspection gave nice views of Cedar Waxwings, Orchard Orioles, Chestnut sided Warblers, Swallows, Eastern Kingbird and ... more Indigo Buntings! Not bad!

I also saw a fresh Black Swallowtail as well as a Six spotted Tiger Beetle, which is a pretty common bug you might notice on a nature path that always seems to stay 10 feet ahead of you as you walk.

The Tallgrass Prarie was a nice walk as well with songs of Wood Thrush, as well as many other birds filling the air. I had a brief view of a Canada Warbler... this bird has eluded me this year! Three brief views but no photos.

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Dimorphism of the Indigo Bunting

American Goldfinch in a sea of wildflowers at Ojibway Prarie

I did a quick walk at Ojibway this afternoon. I just absolutely love going there and spending time witnessing the beauty of nature. I could seriously spend a full day going to the various parts, like the Black Oak Heritage Park or the Spring Garden area. But, I find I'm constantly looking at my watch thinking, its already been an hour?

Anyway, today I think I've photographed my first female Indigo Bunting. I think I saw one last summer with the first Indigo Bunting I had seen at that point, but I did not get a photograph of it. Below are two shots of the female, followed by a previously taken photo of a male Indigo Bunting. (Post script: The title of this post is a mis-nomer. It should really be 'sexual dimorphism' of the Indigo Bunting. Its not like there are two morphs for Indigo Buntings... as you might find a Red Morph or Grey Morph for Eastern Screech Owls.)

 

More can be read about these wonderful birds at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Indigo_Bunting/id.

I also found out what 'scolding' calls are for House Wrens.  I was walking with my wife in the Ojibway Prarie when we both heard what we thought was a rattle snake! But, as I looked around, I saw no snakes (Mississauga Rattler?) ... I saw a tiny little rust-coloured House Wren.

Scolding House Wren (I actually used flash).

This blog has incredible, extensive listings of bird calls: (http://pjdeye.blogspot.com/2009/03/wren-calls.html).This link would actually let you listen to the rattle-snake like scolding of the House Wren.

I also saw two Green Herons today in the waterway in front of the nature center. This shot below really shows the beauty and texture of its green plumage.

At the risk of self engrandizing, a photo of this site's author with his son. The backback was given to me by my neighbor who was having a garage sale.

Author with his son, amongst the 'weeds' of Ojibway.

 By the way, this image below should compliment/suppliment the "Save Ojibway" posting I recently did.

The red area shows where the Big-Box development would go. Notice also the yellow line on the top of the image. The new DRIC bridge crossing will follow Huron Church (#3) then take a sharp left below the EC Row to the river. This will cut very close into the Black Oak forest area from my understanding.

Good Birding,
Dwayne