The Thrushes of Winter

It has been too long since my last post!  I have not really been up to too much exciting nature-wise lately.  Last week I was down near Belle River (Essex County) to look for winter raptors.  Today I was also down in the Cambridge area scoping out some Bald Eagles.  On both of these visits I had an encounter with a couple of thrush species.

In Belle River I came across this beautiful male Eastern Bluebird.  People often forget that bluebirds are a thrush and are in the same family as robins!

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird

Today in Cambridge I came across an enormous flock of American Robins.  I counted around 140 individuals but I bet there were closer to 200!  They were attracted to the area by the abundant Hackberry Trees that were loaded with berries.  I was hoping for Varied Thrush or a Townsend's Solitaire (two rare thrushes which occasionally can be found at berry sources in winter).

mmm Hackberries!

How many Robins can you see?

I am planning on heading out somewhere to birdwatch tomorrow and will hopefully have some good shots of anything interesting that I find!

I got out on some of the trails around Fergus this afternoon to do some cross-country skiing and saw a my first Pileated Woodpecker of the year.

In other news, I will be heading to Costa Rica for a week in March with Caitlyn!  This seems to be the year to do it, as 2 other staff at NRSI are heading there too!  Pat is there now, Charlotte in February and me in March!

Niagara River - Black-legged Kittiwake, Black Vulture and...Fish Crows

This weekend I went down to Stevensville for a Euchre tournament with the inlaws (no I did not win) and found some time on Saturday to do my first real birding of 2016.

I took my usual course from Fort Erie north to Queenston, and had a lot of the usual good river birds such as Thayer's Gull, Iceland Gull, Lesser-black-backed Gull, Black Vultures and Fish Crows.

But undoubtedly the highlight of the day was re-finding the Black-legged Kittiwake that Henrique Pacheco found earlier in the day at Adam Beck!  It was over two years ago when I saw my last one, so it was a real thrill to see and take some distant photographs!  Note that distinctive black "M" shaped marking that stretches across each wing, indicating that this is a juvenile bird.  Taking photos of gulls at Adam Beck is very challenging since most are far away and other gulls are constantly swirling around.

Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake

A couple of other firsts for the year for me were Tufted Titmouse at Dufferin Islands and Common Loon near Fort Erie on the river.

Common Loon - in winter garb

It was a great day along the river, and an excellent way to kick off 2016!

2015 Wrap-up and Highlights

2015 turned out to be another great year!  I saw 264 species of birds in Ontario, which although it was below my goal of 270, was still respectable considering I let my foot off the gas towards the end! Below are a few of the bird highlights in chronological order (that I was able to get photos of).

Harlequin Duck - February 21, 2015 - London

Harris's Sparrow - March 10, 2015 - Burlington

Eurasian Collared Dove on nest - April 1, 2015 - Leamington

Neotropic Cormorant - April 4, 2015 - Hamilton

American Avocet - April 21, 2015 - Hillman Marsh

Eared Grebe - May 7, 2015 - Point Pelee National Park

Summer Tanager -  May 8, 2015 - Pelee Island

Marbled Godwit - May 8, 2015 - Pelee Island

American White Pelican - May 17, 2015 - Dunnville

White-faced Ibis - May 17, 2015 - Port Rowan

Lark Bunting - May 23, 2015 - Flamborough

Snowy Egret - July 10, 2015 - Hamilton

Golden Eagle - October 17, 2015 - Hawk Cliff

Cattle Egret - October 17, 2015 - Long Point

Pacific Loon - October 31, 2015 - Lake Simcoe

Yellow-throated Warbler - November 14, 2015 - Fort Erie

Red Phalarope - November 21, 2015 - Bronte Harbour

Cave Swallow - November 21, 2015 - Bronte Harbour

Fish Crow - December 5, 2015 - Fort Erie

Vermilion Flycatcher - December 22, 2015 - Wallaceburg

And of course 2015 was also great for many other reasons!  Caitlyn and I traveled to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico in March, I went on a few canoe trips to Algonquin Park with Caitlyn, my dad and brother and did a backpacking trip in Utah's Escalante.

White-crowned Parrot - Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Moose - Algonquin Park

Utah Escalante Wilderness

I am expecting 2016 to be an even better year with many adventures (and good birds and wildlife) at every turn.  I am already planning a trip to Vancouver Island for the end of July, somewhere tropical in March and a few other surprises, so stay tuned!  Happy New Year folks!

Vermilion Flycatcher - Wallaceburg

This past Friday another incredibly rare bird showed up in Ontario, a Vermilion Flycatcher!  This is a species that is typically found much further south in the southwestern U.S and into Mexico.  At this time of year, most Vermilion Flycatchers would be wintering along the Gulf Coast or into South America!  But for some reason, a young 1st year male bird showed up north of Wallaceburg, Ontario.  Because this bird is a young male, it does not show all the vibrancy of an adult male, but you can still see patches.  As the bird matures it will transform into a striking red colour covering the chest and head.  This is only the 6th record for Ontario ever!

This guy was very active, flying around constantly to catch small insects and then returning to its perch to feed.  Being a flycatcher, it is very lucky to have found itself in Ontario during one of the most mild winters.  A prolonged cold snap would be hard on this bird!

Vermilion Flycatcher

Niagara River Gull Trip

I joined the annual Burrell led gull trip on the Niagara River this past weekend.  I ended up having a great day on the river with the highlights being 9 species of gulls, Harlequin Duck, Fish Crows and a King Eider on the way home in Hamilton.

Unfortunately most birds were way to far away to get anything resembling a decent photograph.

I did however manage to finally get a decent video of a Fish Crow calling.  Enjoy!  For some reason I can't seem to get enough of these guys, and I have good luck finding them pretty much every time I look.  Turn up the volume and listen for that squeaky toy sounding call.

Escalante Video Flashback

As many of you know, I went on a backpacking adventure with my 3 travelling companions this August (trip reports are below) and since things have been slow for me on the birding front this past week, I thought I would share a couple of the videos with you.  They really give a better sense of the scale of the scenery and the feel for it.  For best viewing in youtube click the HD wheel and watch in 1080p.

Trip Report Part 1

Trip Report Part 2

This first video is from 25-Mile Wash.  One of the more rugged and remote areas I have been backpacking, we saw neither sight nor sign of another person for the 3 days we were in this area.  Although the scenery isn't as crazy as in Coyote Gulch, I thought it was fascinating and wild!




The surprises within Escalante are endless. This tiny slot canyon was definitely one of them! It was very muddy but well worth the work to get inside.


 This next video is from Coyote Gulch and shows the Coyote Natural Bridge.  Although this is the most popular canyon in the area, we still only saw a handful of people each day, and the scenery made it well worth it.




This video shows Jacob Hamblin Arch.




This was one of my favourite spots and gives you a great sense of the vast roof that stretched over our heads.

  


On our way out of Coyote Gulch across the slickrock desert. The sun is just starting to rise.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the video tour of one of North America's natural treasures.  I can wholeheartedly say that I will be back to this area some day!

Bronte Birding Bonanza! Red Phalarope, Cave Swallows and Snowy Owl

This morning I dropped Caitlyn off at a dentist appointment in Guelph, and when she got out, I read the reports coming in from Bronte Harbour of a Red Phalarope and Cave Swallows.  We decided to get some lunch from Mucho Burrito and make the short drive down to the lake shore.  Immediately upon arriving at the marina we saw birders looking into the water, and quickly spotted the Red Phalarope right on the shore, seemingly oblivious to the birders and photographers (some within 6-8ft!).  I decided that approximately 25ft was close enough, no need to stress a bird or risk scaring it away.

Red Phalarope is a species of shorebird that breeds in the high arctic and passes through Ontario on its way to wintering grounds in the ocean off of South America and occasionally as far north as North America.  You may not be able to tell, but this is a tiny bird, weighing only 2 ounces!  Nonetheless, it is remarkably hardy and is a pelagic species that spends most of its time far out on the open ocean!

Red Phalarope

I asked some birders where the Cave Swallows had been seen, and someone said they were in the marina right behind me! We quickly walked over there and immediately saw two of them foraging for invisible flies in the sheltered side of the marina.  This is the first time I have seen Cave Swallow in Ontario!  What a treat to have two flying literally within feet of the birders present, right over our heads!  They are too fast to get good photos with my point and shoot, but that didn't stop me from trying. 

Cave Swallows are typically found in Texas and Mexico, but the past few weeks of warm south winds have facilitated their movement far to the north!  As much as I love seeing this rare bird, I can't help but wonder how much longer they can survive.  The insect populations are dwindling (it was snowing in Fergus today)!

Cave Swallow

In Bronte Harbour, a bonus Snowy Owl was perched on the breakwall.  This is a good spot for them, it is likely that they are feeding on the abundant waterfowl which are often present here.

What a day, the Cave Swallows were my 260th bird species for me in Ontario this year!