Birding Rondeau May 16th 2020 - Kirtland's Warbler Amazes

On Saturday May 16th, I figured I would go to Rondeau Provincial Park as the park had just become open to the public the day before - but I was unable to go due to work commitments. It was a gorgeous day and the birding was exceptional. I had seen Blake as well as many other birders out.

A Chatham-Kent birder named Peter Burke found a Kirtland's Warbler in the Rondeau Camp ground area and many were alerted to its presence. Amazingly, I was able to catch up with the bird and obtain a couple of record photos of the bird.

I will repost a little background history of the Kirtlands Warbler that I had posted a few years ago from this posting: https://dwaynejava.blogspot.com/2013/05/kirtlands-warbler-at-pelee.html

A Brief History of the Kirtland's Warbler:

Discovery in 1851 - A specimen was shot and collected on Dr. Jared Kirtland’s farm near Cleveland, Ohio(US FWS). The birds name obviously honours its finder . Oddly enough, 1851 was the year John James Audubon died. It must have been amazing to discover a new bird that was never described!

Wintering Grounds Found in 1879 - The winter range of the Kirtland's warbler was discovered in 1879 when a specimen was collected on Andros Island in the Bahama Islands archipelago.(Michigan DNR)

Breeding Grounds found in 1903 - It was not until 1903 that Norman A. Wood discovered the first nest in Oscoda County in northern lower Michigan (Michigan DNR).

Jack Pine Habitat Requirements:
-Requires pine habitat with trees between 6-20 years old.
-Prescribed burns (or logging) has provided more optimal breeding habitat for the birds.
-Kirtlands Warblers prefer a nesting site with Blueberry bushes as that is a favored fruit of this bird... cool!
-Michigan and US Wildlife employees have done an amazing job helping this bird's population recover.
-A successful breeding nest was discovered at Petawawa Ontario in 2007 (Drake).

Cowbird Parasitism:
Besides it habitat requirements, Cowbirds had been hurting the breeding success rates, so a successful cowbird management program has been put in place to reduce the numbers and increase the nest success for the Kirtlands Warbler. 

Improved Outlook for the Future:
This chart below shows a trend in the number of singing male Kirtlands Warblers in Michigan. Since 1990, a continual increase in the number of singing males is evident. Props to Michigan and the US-FWS for putting resources towards saving this wonderful species. I'm just a humble birder from Ontario, but perhaps Michigan should consider changing its state bird from the American Robin to the Kirtlands Warbler? :-)

Image Source: Michigan DNR



Its always a pleasure to see this species!

Good Birding,
Dwayne

Rondeau Redpoll Run

The last two months have been really busy, but amazingly, I've still birded quite a bit. I just haven't seen much that was noteworthy! On top of work and night school, I decided a few months ago that it would be a good idea to do the electrical installation for the new house that my wife and I are having built. I haven't posted a blog posting in 6 weeks, but today's Redpoll citing along with an a generous gift from a reader prompted me get back into the swing of things. Its funny but readers who are birders in Ontario might not realize that the Common Redpoll just does not show up in Windsor. It seems to not be seen much south of Rondeau (see range map). I've only seen this bird twice before today and those looks were fleeting. So this is my third look at a Common Redpoll in my five years of birding!

Late January - went to Rondeau to see Redpolls that were report, I missed them but did get a chance to bird the park a little with Blake. I did see some Pine Siskens at the feeder.

February -Seeing a Belted Kingfisher around Feb 8th was pretty exciting. Considering how cold it got, I hope this little fella made it through the Winter. I guess an Eastern Phoebe was seen at Ojibway Park in Mid February...  It was so cold... I cant even imagine how it was surviving. It must have been a Frozen Phoebe! I saw a Long-tailed Duck, - a rarity at the Detroit River but common an hour north in the Sarnia River. Unfortunately, my car was so full of electrical equipment, I didn't have my camera.

A few weeks ago, Blake mentioned to me in an email that a birder in the Chatham area who enjoys reading my blog wanted to give me some of her old field guides and books related to birding. He mentioned that he would just keep the donated books in his trunk till the next time we meet. So I couldn't resist the opportunity to see Redpolls and obtain these donated books today. On the way to Rondeau I noticed about 10 hawks, 8 were Redtails but I think I saw one or two Rough legged Hawks. My first for the year!

Seeing a Rough legged Hawk is always fun. The plumage details found in its dark "mittens" and belly band are diagnostic. But what caught my attention was how it perches on the tips of the thinnest outer branches of the tree that it perches in. Something a Red-tailed hawk does not do. How many people stop along the highway to see this stuff?

First of Season White Crowned Sparrow

I've had several friends, family and co-workers just give me books about birding! One co-worker gave me both the "Golden" field guide (1966) and the Audubon bird Guide - Eastern Land Birds (1946) as well as Audubon Prints! Today I obtained two boxes of birding books, botany field guides, OFO Journals, "Birding Point Pelee" by Henrietta Oneil, the complete Audubon Collection of birds and Mammals. My birding library is growing!! Thanks to Irene for the kind and thoughtful gift. I'm going to read every book you sent!

Good birding!


Dwaynejava

Yellow headed Blackbirds at Mitchell's Bay

 Yellow Headed Blackbird - Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Its been well known and documented that Yellow headed Blackbirds have been breeding in Southwestern Ontario this spring at a Lake St Clair wetland near Mitchell's Bay.  I have been wanting to go out and see them and this past weekend May 24th),  I was able to finally get out and see them. It was nice to find them so easily along the road. Bright yellow heads, bold white wing patches visible in flight. Amazing birds! I did not stay long to see them (just 5-10minutes) but I must say, it took a moment for them to vocalize and when they did... wow. What a crazy song! It is described a loud rusty farm gate closing!

In my short 4-5 years of birding, I've only seen this bird once at Pointe Mouillee in Michigan, so its not a life bird, although, its my first Canadian look at them and my first photo and blog reference to them. Check out the range map from AllAboutBirds.org below. The E-bird range map for this bird (set for this year only) hints that this year, it is increasingly present on the eastern half of the continent.

Image Source: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/yellow-headed_blackbird/id

Allen Woodliffe [Link], Blake Mann [link], and Josh Vandermeulen [link] all have excellent postings and photos on these birds. Check them out! Jean Iron also took some excellent video footage where you hear the incredibly unique call of these birds [click here for Jean's Yellow headed Blackbird footage] .


Family Rondeau Park Visit (Sunday May 25th)
I took the family out for some nature hiking at Rondeau this past Sunday. We walked Spicebush trail first. Some birds seen include:
Red-eyed Vireos
Red breasted Grosbeak
Thrush
Canada Warbler (its been a good year for me seeing this bird!)
American Redstart
Yellow Warbler

Tulip Tree Trail
Starting at the Beach, I had noted:
Eastern Bluebird,
Baltimore Oriole,
Spotted Sandpiper
(no whimbrels)
Wilson's Warbler
Bay breasted Warbler
Wood thrush
Acadian Flycatcher (90% sure - didn't hear it calling but did note quick, darty flight, eye-rings, mid-forest)
Eastern Wood Peewee
Yellow Warbler
Brown headed Cowbird (mid-forest???)
Scarlet Tanager
Prothontary Warblers (male and female)

Acadian Flycatcher? 90% sure!

Female Prothontary Warbler at Rondeau - Note the white undertail coverts

I was amazed as I drove around Rondeau how many Brown-headed Cowbirds were perched roadside and in and along the forest pathways. I'm not a biologist, but I wonder if culling these birds will ever be considered? Especially considering how much some of our rarer breeding species are declining. They had great results with a program in Michigan's Huron-Manistee forest where the Kirtlands Warbler breeds.

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Acadian Flycatcher & Some Other Rondeau Gems...

This is an Olive-sided Flycatcher at Ojibway Park.  Great bird!

After work on Friday May 31st, I went for a walk at the Ojibway Tallgrass Prairie. I was hoping to find an influx of Indigo Buntings, but I still have not heard or seen many this year. I did see an Orchard Oriole, male and female Eastern Bluebirds and a few other expected residents. As usual, I had photographed a few skippers, Wood Nymph Butterflies and a few birds I had seen. A distant, tree-top bird that caught my eye was photographed, but seemed too far, too distant to even bother identifying while in the field. The white sky behind the subject made even visually recognizing it a little difficult.

Long story short, I was looking over the weekend at the bird on my computer and realized it was an Olive sided Flycatcher! This is my third Olive sided Flycatcher, and my first "northbound". A quick study of the pictures shows a white patch on the birds lower back (not its rump), dusky wingbars, dark face and white throat, short but notched tail, and a sharp contrasting 'vest' on its chest. I didn't hear it sing "Quick, three beers" but its tree top perch was telling as well.

This weekend, I attended the Skunks Misery OFO walk, and was saddened to not see my one target bird, the Acadian Flycatcher. (More on that trip in my next posting). Blake had told me during that trip that our missed target bird is pretty easily seen at Rondeau...

So on Monday June 3rd,  Jeremy Bensette and I decided we would meet up (after work) at Tilbury to do an Acadian Flycatcher trip to Rondeau. In a cruel twist of events, I had planned on talking with Blake over the phone about the bird's location, but he had his phone off that afternoon. That meant Jeremy and I would have to find  this elusive flycatcher on the 32 -square kilometer park. Well, we knew it was on Spicebush Trail, which rounded down the area we had to search. Luckily, the explosive Ka-ZEEP! call was heard soon after we started our search!

According to ROM, there are fewer than 40 pairs of Acadian Flycatchers in all of Canada. The Carolinian zone in Southwestern Ontario is the northern fringe of this bird's breeding territory. There are fewer than 20 sites that meet the Acadian Flycatcher's demands of a flooded forest floor or ravine, with a large amount of forest surrounding its breeding grounds, as much as 100m away from any forest edge! This bird will not nest in a forest with less than 25-30 acres in size (Ohio DNR).

The Acadian Flycatcher has a call that sounds like an emphatic "peet-za" or sometimes an explosive "ka-ZEEP" (ROM). Tonight, Jeremy and I heard and recorded the call. This bird must be identified carefully as it looks like many others in the flycatcher family. Its best identified by sound and habitat. Also noted was the birds quick, agile flight from perch to perch.

According to I-Bird, the name of this bird has an interesting origin. Fifteen species of flycatchers were at one point thought to be all the same. But slowly, the flycatchers were all sorted out and separated by subtle details in plumage, and more obvious details in their calls and habitat preferences. The original flycatchers were discovered in Acadia yet the Acadian Flycatcher is found more in the southeastern corner of the US, and not in the northeast. (I-Bird)

Flycatcher Calling Mnemonics:
Willow Flycatcher - Fitz-Bew (Brushy wet areas, more southerly range)
Alder Flycatcher -  (Raspy) Free-Beer (Alder Marshes, more northerly range)
Acadian Flycatcher - (Explosive) Peet-ZA or ka-ZEEP (Deep forest, with watery areas)

It was an amazing moment of birding when we saw this bird. In the background, Eastern Wood Pewee, Pileated Woodpeckers and Wood Thrushes were calling.  Wood Ducks and White tailed Deer came into view as well. 

Later, Jeremy and I found this Prothonotary Warbler. We watched a female forage for 5 minutes, then all of a sudden, the male came by and mated with the female right there in front of us! Jeremy saw the 2-second spectacle, but I missed it as I was 'chimping' my camera (chimping is when a photographer looks down at his/her DSLR screen and looking at their recent photos and pressing various buttons).

Jeremy Bensette heard a Chuck-wills-Widow calling near the visitor center.  Him and I both have the audio of it singing, but a curious aspect of his find is that it was only 6pm when we heard it. Another birder that frequents the Rondeau area checked for its call on and verified that indeed, there is a Chuck wills Widow singing near the Rondeau Visitor center around dusk. It took much effort, but I created a short video below documenting some of the sounds of today's trip...

As we left Rondeau, this Traill's flycatcher made an appearance. I feel it was either an Alder or Willow Flycatcher. Willow would be more common, but Alder's range does overlap at Rondeau. It didn't call, so we'll call it a Traill's Flycatcher, the name of the mix of Alder and Willow Flycatchers before they were distinguished as a separate species.

I was hoping this bird would call, but ... no luck it was silent and quickly dashed out of view

Other highlights today at Rondeau included: Pileated Woodpecker (heard drumming and singing), Red bellied Woodpecker, Downy, Hairy, (Red headed for sure but not seen in our short time). Woodthrush and Veery heard often. Black billed Cuckoo (heard). Scarlet Tanager and a nice female Indigo Bunting were seen close to the visitor center parking lot. We were really excited about this brief but productive visit to Rondeau!

Ebird Checklist by Jeremy Bensette: eBird Checklist – Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario – Mon Jun 03, 2013 – 51 species http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14336472

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Lifer Summary:
Acadian Flycatcher 333
Chuck wills widow 334

Sources and more reading:

http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/ec/CW69-14-5-2010-eng.pdf
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/614/articles/introduction
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Acadian_Flycatcher/sounds
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@species/documents/research/stdprod_086350.pdf
http://ny.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrvc_acadianflycatcher.pdf

I-Bird, "Acadian Flycatcher", ND, WEB, June 5, 2013, http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/687/_/Acadian_Flycatcher.aspx

Ohio DNR, Acadian Flycatcher, ND, WEB, June 3, 2013,
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/acadianflycatcher/tabid/6531/Default.aspx

ROM, "Ontario's Biodiversity: Species at Risk - Acadian Flcatcher", Oct 2008, WEB, June 3, 2013, http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=121

White-winged Dove (was) at Rondeau

He took a wrong turn at Albuquerque... Probably a male (hates to ask for directions)

February-March have always been a bad birding months for me. Its almost a time for me to back away from birding heavily so I can recharge my batteries while things are slow.  Its a good time to bank some time into work, night-school, family so that I can go full throttle as late April approaches.  Back on Feb 2nd though I couldn't help but twitch a long-staying White-winged Dove at Rondeau (It has moved on by now, it has not been seen for about a week at Rondeau). My story of how I saw this bird was anticlimactic... I pulled up to the visitor center, walked up to the feeder station and saw it sitting prominently on the main feeder post. Local birding phenom Jeremy Hatt has a brilliantly written writeup on his attempt to find this bird here.

An Ojibway Park Specialty, Tufted Titmouse perches for an instant before landing on a black sunflower seed feeder.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about this bird/photo was that I almost lost my photos of the Dove. Somehow, my memory card became corrupted and neither my card-reader or camera could read my Compact Flash memory card. Luckily, I have a program called "Lexar: Image Rescue 3" and it salvaged all the files on my card. I was worried I had lost my White-winged Dove photos but luckily they were recovered.  Some recent photos from the Detroit River and Ojibway Park were salvaged as well. I even had some photos from two summers ago when I went out west to BC. One of my favorite moments from that trip was the 'accidental' discover of a small group of Lewis's Woodpeckers.

So, yes, I'm still birding, but in a much lighter fashion. I even (gasp) went birding without my camera a few times recently. Lakeview Marina in East Windsor is an excellent spot to see seasonal ducks, gulls, swans, eagles, Herons etc. My parents have excellent feeders at their house that have attracted a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches (three winters in a row now), which is a pretty rare bird in Essex, particularly in the middle of South Windsor.

Good birding!

Dwayne

Purple Sandpiper: #314
Glaucous Gull:  #315
Iceland Gull #316
White winged Dove #317


PS: Flashback!
July 2011... Trip to BC. Target bird was a Lewis's Woodpecker. Click here for full story.

Lewis's Woodpecker in Okanogan Valley

Common Redpolls at Rondeau!

My first look at Common Redpolls!

Well, for the last three weeks, I've really made an effort to seek out Common Redpolls on my brief weekend birding outings... but I've had no luck!  Even the hawkwatcher reports would hint that flocks were easily seen during the afternoons, but when I visited the tower... Nothing! So today (Saturday), I woke up early and headed to Rondeau and while heading into the park, I noticed a large Birch tree with bird activity in it. I pulled over to the side of the road and amazingly... Redpolls!

A funny thing happened though, it was generally dark and cloudy and the sun came out as I was lifering these amazing birds, I found myself fumbling for gloves, and trying to get my camera to stop giving me an error message. A dog-walker then came by to ask me what I was looking at, and I told him they were Common Redpolls. He then proceeded to tell me about how he gets Cardinals and Deer in his back yard but I was like, OK, great meeting you... Have you ever been deep into a birding moment, then only to have it interupted by someone going on and on about Cardinals in their back yard?? Anyway, I realize everyone is at a different place in their birding so I politely finished the conversation, and went back to photographing these Arctic beauties, the clouds rolled back in. Actually a few Bald Eagles went overhead while this guy was talking to me!

Just a side note. Everyone knows Rondeau (along with Point Pelee and Long Point) are major migration stops along Lake Erie, but its been noted by various birders that the road leading into Rondeau from the mainland is a bit of migration funnel in itself! The *asterisks on the google map screenshot shows how narrow that part of the park is. It might only be as wide a 2 city blocks between the Bay and the Lake. This is where I found these flocks of Redpolls. There you have it, a migration funnel within a migration trap!


Before visiting the park, I attempted to visit Erieau and Blehneim SL. I didn't see much of note, but enjoyed the geography of this amazing area. At the end of this pier, a nice flock of Bonapartes Gulls were playing in the fierce westerly wind that was blowing. It was nice to get a nice close look of some Greater black-backed Gulls.

Greater black backed Gulls... Have pink legs!

Would have been nice to have a Little Gull at Erieau (Nov 2012)

From Rondeau, I figured I would take the long way home, and took Talbot Trail, a highway that travels from Leamington to Niagara Falls, but follows along the North Shore of Lake Erie. Very scenic, but I was just amazed at how many windmills they have installed and are in the process of installing. This image below is typical of the drive between Rondeau and Point Pelee. Hundreds of windmills. Just in this photo below, there are 12 windmills. I don't know what to think of windmills, I don't know much about them! Here is an interesting quote about how much power one windmill produces: "A single wind turbine (660 kW) in an average year will produce 2,000 MWh of electricity, enough power for over 250 PEI homes. Using wind to produce electricity rather than burning coal will leave 900,000 kilograms of coal in the ground and reduce 2,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, the same positive impact as taking 417 cars off the road or planting 10,000 trees. Newer and larger wind turbines will result in an even greater positive impact. Source: Canadian Wind Energy Association" (Wind Energy in PEI).  New windmills are well over 1.3MW so one windmill now would probably power close to 500 homes! This article here states that farmland prices in Ontario have increased 46% in the last 4 years... Incredible!

The blue line in this image is a nice drive between Rondeau and Point Pelee

Twelve or more windmills in this almost random photo along the lake erie shoreline

I didn't mean to end this posting on the politics of Windmills and  Ontario's Energy mix... Its exciting to finally get a soul-satisfying look at this amazing Arctic Finch. Look at its tiny eyes and beak, adaptations for surviving in the Arctic cold. They also have a physiological adaptation that allows them to store seeds in their throat as an energy store to survive the cold. They also sometimes burrow into the snow to survive cold winter nights. Even on extremely cold nights, they can burrow under snow and be nice and warm at an insulated -4 (C).

I have some exams coming up between now and Dec 10th, so I probably will take a small hiatus for about two weeks. Wish me luck!

Read more about Common Redpolls here:
http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/conservation/wildlife/featured-species/fauna/birds/common-redpoll.html
http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/common_redpoll
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Redpoll/lifehistory


Good birding,
Dwaynejava

Hooded Mergansers at Sanctuary Pond (taken from my car)

Lifer Summary: Common Redpoll #310

Source: 
Wind Energy Development in Prince Edward Island February 2010, WEB, Nov 2012, http://www.employmentjourney.com/industry_profiles/RenewableEnergy.pdf

Evening Grosbeak & Winter Finches at Rondeau

Boardwalk near vistor center

A recent blog posting from a Rondeau Area birder had Evening Grosbeaks and White-winged Crossbills coming to his feeders, so I thought I would go see them for myself. I've seen Evening Grosbeaks (at a great distance) in the Okanagan Valley BC but never in Ontario. White winged Crossbills would be a life bird though.

Upon arrival to Rondeau Park, I walked up to the beach and noticed three Horned Grebes close to the shore. Common Mergansers were very close to shore as well, but further south along the beach. Next was the visitor center feeders, but I soon realized that there was no bird seed there so, I decided to head over to south point trail where I ran into Blake and Steve.

Hermit Thrushes on South Point Trail

Next stop was Ric & Anne's Feeders. We saw many Pine Siskens, Red and White breasted Nuthatches, Purple Finches but no Grosbeaks or Crossbills.

Siskins and Purple Finch

Blake and Steve decided to walk the campground and I followed, as I had never walked that part of the park. Lots of birds around, including: Eastern Bluebirds, Red bellied Woodpeckers, chickadees, both Kinglets and even a Nashville Warbler was seen foraging through dried-out goldenrod plants. Steve soon pointed out a flock of Crossbills that went right over our heads. I snapped a few photos in hopes of verifying them and sure enough...Lifer! White winged Crossbills #309.

White winged Crossbills in flight

Having limited time, I figured I would try out Ric's feeders one more time before I left Rondeau. Sure enough, as I was about to give up on waiting, Evening Grosbeaks showed up!

Red breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmouse and Red bellied Woodpeckers were hanging out!

As I was about to leave Rondeau Park, Blake stopped by Ric's Cottage to see the Grosbeaks and infomed me that he found another Saw-whet Owl!  Seeing this amazing owl was a great way to end off a great morning of birding!

Good Birding,
Dwaynejava