Yellow bellied Sapsuckers at Black Oak Heritage Park in Windsor

Saturday, I stopped by Ojibway Park hoping to see Yellow bellied Sapsuckers and eventually found some (3!) at Black Oak Heritage Park. Seeing this particular species during spring migration brings great joy. They are common enough that you will most likely see them yet rare enough that you might need to look for them or perhaps know their call.

I went to Point Pelee today with high hopes of seeing several new migrants but Pelee was a little quieter (bird wise) than I was expecting!

Forster's Terns and Common Loons up close were nice to see at Leamington Marina.  Rusty Blackbirds, Fox Sparrow and a Rick M sighting were Pelee highlights. I had my first of year Spring Azures which was exciting to see.

Good birding, botanizing and leping!
Dwayne

Anecdotal Late April Birding Thoughts

Have you ever seen pink Dutchman's Breeches?

an·ec·do·tal

ˌanikˈdōtl/ adjective adjective: anecdotal

1.

(of an account) not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research.

Crappy photo of Spring Azure

I once read in Tom Hince's book "A Birders Guide to Point Pelee"  that you will always here birders say "Where have all the birds gone?". He dispels that comment by reminding readers that Point Pelee is a migration trap. Migration traps birding observations (he states) may not be the best place to make overall assumptions about the health of a bird population because factors that allow a bird to show well one year are not necessarily going to be present another year. Some years, the flight of various species may pass right over the park if conditions are right. Even my own meager observations are subject to the five day work-week, and not really optimal weather conditions that are well reported by other bloggers. The random weekend date/ weather mix changes year to year thus giving me a varied/random/intermittent view of migration that I have to take into consideration every year.

My only YBSS this season!

But that being said, I've only seen like 3-4 Eastern Phoebes this April! 1 Yellow Bellied Sapsucker! I haven't seen a single blue headed vireo whereas last year I had seen many by this point! (Actually, last year I felt I had seen abundant blue headed vireos during the earlier part of migration) I can't say I've seen a rusty blackbird this April along the sloughs of Point Pelee's wetter forest trails.  Is anyone else sensing low numbers for these birds? Maybe migration is a little late because temperatures are so low?

Today, I was able to stop by the park for a short 4 hour walk.  A few good birds seen include: Nashville, Palm, Yellow Rumped were well seen as well as my FOS Northern Waterthrush along Woodland Nature Trail. Two young kids asked me what I was looking at and I pointed out this warbler to them. They had a field guide and looked up the bird. It was nice to help them get this life bird.

Northern Waterthrush - Tossing leaf litter!

I thought about driving by the Hillman Shorebird cell as I left Point Pelee to Windsor but decided not to due to fatigue. Bad idea... 12 Marbled Godwits hanging out! Note to self: Don't sleep in during late April and don't skip Hillman at this time of year.:-)

Good birding!

Dwayne

Henslow's Sparrow and Other Early May Migrants

Wow, its been a great spring migration so far. Of course, work has been getting in the way of me being able to spend large swaths of time at Point Pelee, but I still have made an attempt to get out and bird every day (if only locally) for the last week or two. On Tuesday April 30th, I stopped by Point Pelee after work, mainly to try and find a Worm eating Warbler at Kopagaron Woods (unsuccessful) but then went to PPNP to walk the West Beach Footpath from the visitor center to the tip parking lot (and perhaps take the tram back). Lots of cool birds to look at. It wasn't crawling with birds, but there were some nice birds every now and then. Savannah Sparrow, White crowned, brief looks at Red headed Woodpeckers, White eyed and Blue headed Vireos, Brown Thrashers and Palm Warblers were nice birds to see. But, just as I was nearing the tip parking lot, I saw David Bell waving me over  to see what Josh and himself had found... A Henslow's Sparrow crawling through the grass! What a beautiful Sparrow. It was difficult to photograph because it was never really out in the open, and also, my lens has a 3.5m minimal focus length.

I faintly saw the white tram through the woods make its last trip to the visitor center and realized I was going to have to briskly walk the 2.5km walk back to the visitor center, (I was hungry and I knew my wife would be a little upset about me getting home late) ... but how could I complain? This is a bird I had conceded that I would probably never have found... A mega rarity... So Dave and Josh ...thanks!

According to ROM, the Henslow's Sparrow is endangered in Canada and Ontario, due to loss of old-field habitat from changing agricultural practices, urbanization and succession of grasslands to forests. I encourage anyone to read more about this bird at the following two links. Perhaps more awareness could increase the chance that suitable habitats could either be preserved or regenerated.

http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=130
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Henslows_Sparrow/lifehistory

Josh mentioned seeing a Northern Goshawk, moments before I had arrived, and I had myself noted a few Accipiter Hawk species flying overhead... I'm not sure but perhaps we had seen the same bird? I'm inviting any corrections or confirmations on this bird... Goshawk? My caution in the ID stems in the lack of marking on the lower belly, but, it does seem to have a faint white eyebrow, as well as buteo-like wings.

I could be wrong! :-)

Another post-work Pelee walk this week (on Thursday May 2nd) had shown a noticeable increase in bird diversity. I had my own awesome moments viewing: Wood Thrushes, Veery, Winter Wren, Red-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Nashville Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Black and white Warbler, Least Flycatcher (my first northbound), Brown Thrashers, Scarlet Tanagers, Eastern Kingbird among many others. Many self found!

I've noticed that Blue headed Vireos are have been abundant this year, I don't know if I have just gotten better at finding them, or if my timing was better, but I had never seen this many in any of my previous three years of birding.

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Henslows Sparrow - 330

More Point Pelee Birding

Happy Easter & Earth Day!

I just thought I would give a really great link to a Youtube video that Jenna (100 birds in a year blog) posted and I can't help but re-post it:

It's only 6 minutes long but very well worth the time. It was produced by the Cornell University Ornithology department on  the one-year anniversary of the BP Gulf Oil spill. Right click link (open in new tab)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLVCr9-ZFQw&feature=feedu

Ruddy Ducks

Well, today (Saturday) was a pretty great day out. The weather forecast for this long holiday weekend was initially really glum, but Saturday just really opened up for us at the last minute! I'm a little sun-burnt from today's walk! Today I did my typical Hillman Marsh/ Point Pelee trip with an added stop off at Kopegaron Woods.

This is the very first photo and blog lifer for a Horned Grebe. I was approaching the Shorebird Cell at Hillman Marsh and noticed many Rudy Ducks fly away as I approached the edge of the cell. I was thinking... "I wish they would install some blinds so birder could enjoy some birds without the use of a scope... Every time I walk up to this field, everything within 100m flushes. Perhaps a local greenhouse can take some scrap polyethylene sheeting and some posts and create a cheap, makeshift blind". Just as I finished with that thought, I notice a single lone duck (Grebe) just 20-30m from me. Awesome! (I ended up seeing another Grebe 20m off shore at the West Beach... very cool!).

Hillman Marsh:
Horned Grebe
American Coots,
Great Blue Herons
Blue Winged Teal
Ruddy Ducks
Spotted Sandpiper
Northern Shoveler
Northern Harrier

I spotted this "lump" driving through the onion fields. It is a lifer... #235

Looking for loons in all the wrong places....

This Common Loon was spotted in a ditch near the Lakeside Dr road where the Hillman Marsh sign is. Its funny how I spotted it. I noticed about 8 Great Egrets on a ditch to the right, and two Great Blue Herons in the drainage ditch to the left about 15ft away from me. One GBH was about to "spear" his dinner, so I was setting up my camera to take video, (from my car) when in my peripheral vision, I see a strange, Black object. It was so surreal, it must have taken 10 seconds for me to realize what I was looking at. The first time I saw a Common Loon, it was from about 50m off the west beach of Point Pelee and it was pointed out to me by someone else. It was also in non-breeding plumage. Seeing this today blew my mind!!!

View Larger Map
Onion Fields:
Great Egret
Common Loon
Great Blue Herons
Ring necked Pheasant (Lifer #235)

Surf Scoter -... I had confused these with Black Scoter

Point Pelee:
Surf Scoter 
Great horned Owl
Northern Watherthrush
Yellow bellied Sapsucker
Blue grey Gnatcatcher
Rusty Blackbird (or Possible Brewer's?)
Horned Grebe
Lesser Scaup
Hermit Thrush
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
Golden Crowned Kinglet
Red Breasted Merganser
Brown Creeper
Northern Flicker
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Sharp Shinned Hawk
Double Crested Cormorant
Various Terns & Gulls
Tree Swallow
Field Sparrows

One great thing about today's PPNP visit was meeting up with Rick, my good birding friend from Leamington. It was also nice to see John, one of the park employees, who informed me about the short-lived flowering of the Bloodroot plant found on Woodland Nature Trail. John informed me that this plant only flowers for about 3 days then the flower petals fall off.

~~~Frustrating Birding Observation~~~
Have you ever spotted a bird skulking in a thicket, and spent great amounts of time and effort to pish it into view and then realize that its a Darked Eyed Junco? I've come to almost dislike this bird at this point in the year. Its like ... migrate north already!!!
~~~End of rant~~~

This thrush has strong spotting, all the way down its belly. I don't quite think its a Wood Thrush (too early?), but seems too heavily spotted for a Hermit Thrush. Does not seem to be a Swainsons... Does it default to being just a Hermit thrush?

~~~Final thought for the day~~~
I think many people this year at Point Pelee are going to take the 100 species challenge. This naturally will involve birders keeping lists... But is there a list of local birds that should be assumed? For example, did see Red winged Blackbirds today but did not mention them above. Hence, I propose the base assumed list for your 100 count:

1. American Robin
2. House Finch
3. American Crow
4. Blue Jay
5. Northern Cardinal
6. European Starling
7. House Sparrow
8. Dark Eyed Junco
9. Field Sparrow
10. Song Sparrow
11. American Goldfinch
12. Ring billed Gull
13. Red winged Blackbird
14. Brown headed Cowbird
15. Common Grackle
16. Black Capped Chickadee
17. Red Tailed Hawk (hwy 3)
18. Turkey Vulture
19. Downy Woodpecker
20. Tufted Titmouse (If you start at ojibway)
21. Red Bellied Woodpecker (If you start at ojibway)
22. Mallard
23. Killdeer
24. Morning Dove
25. Rock Pigeon

There... now you only need to find another 75 bird species!

Good Birding!
Dwaynejava