Only out once to bird this week. Took a walk at Bayfront between hospital visits hoping to find the elusive Pacific Loon close enough for pictures. Met up with Barry and Doug and had a lovely walk in balmy temperatures. The Northern Mockingbird has returned to its winter home along the tracks and posed nicely for us. And we dipped on seeing the Pacific Loon.
Jerry’s mom remains in hospital and our focus is trying to figure out LTC options for her so lots of appointments, phone calls, hospital visits and facility tours. She will likely not be out for Christmas but we hope to find a space for her soon. Our system is certainly in disarray caring for the elderly with few options that make sense to families so it has been very frustrating and stressful for us feeling like there are few options at the moment and nothing happens quickly. I will give a shout out to all the staff we have encountered in the hospital and emergency, without exception, have been compassionate, caring and kind with us and his mom and are sympathetic to the situation. Our governments have certainly let the population down knowing that the baby boom generation would be aging out through these years and allowing a situation where you have some LTC places with 300-600 people on the wait list. I could go on in great depth of our trials this week but you are here for news about birds…
I thought you all might enjoy a look at the birds we did miss seeing and how feasible it would have been to get higher numbers so here are the birds that were seen in Ontario but we missed seeing SO FAR LOL as there is still time for one of these to show up somewhere that maybe I can get to.
1. Gyrfalcon – sensitive species so no reports on ebird but at least one seen the beginning of the year – I received one older location 5 hours away a few weeks back but didn’t go
2. Common Gull – 2 accepted reports both sightings for a very short time, no other observers, not re found not chaseable
3. Black-headed Grosbeak – Present at feeders for a few days, a few local birders saw it but access was not given to public – not chaseable
4. Eurasion Tree Sparrow – 5 attempts with one in Thessalon, should have returned to Ottawa for one but had just come back from there when it was found. Another one was seen in Middlesex just last week but the people would not allow birders to see it. I would have attempted to drive the area but we have not had the time to go. Bird 1 – regret not going for in Ottawa
5. Gray-crowned Rosy Finch – 3 reports Jan/Feb/March – all Kenora/Rainy River area 17 hrs away
6. Prairie Falcon – 2 reports – 2 days apart a week after our trip north – 7 hour drive
7. Yellow Crowned Night Heron – few reports 5 days apart in the spring from SSMarie – 8 hr drive – most people said don’t chase as we almost always have YCNH in the fall in Southern Ontario – only this year we did not – a report from Hamilton in the fall was determined not to be a YCNH although my understanding is a couple of birders maintain they saw it but no photo proof
8. Swallowtail Kite – 35 reports in May from numerous locations on Lake Erie and Ontario – we were very close to getting this bird – I blogged about our chase – but sadly we did not see it pass over us near Pelee.
9. Swainson’s Hawk – 16 reports from 4 locations – the hawk went through Hawkcliff hawk watch and we should have headed to Holiday Hawk watch the next day as it went through there! but instead we spent the day at Hawkcliff.
10. Henslow’s Sparrow – sensitive species in breeding time – I missed the best views at Pelee when we were caregiving on the weekend but thought I would pick one up on their traditional breeding place but none were found there this year and while they likely were further back in the field I was not going to walk through to flush them
11. Little Blue Heron – 2 sightings, 3 birders – one fly past at Pelee, never re found and 1 reported days later after sighting near Kingston – we went for that one in hopes to re find but did not
12. Worm-eating Warbler – 3 sightings, many birders saw at Pelee on the weekend we were caregiving, not chaseable
13. Laughing Gull – 4-5 sightings – 2 day sighting but we were up in Rainy River and missed it at Erieau – not chaseable
14. White-tailed Kite-mega rarity, first record in Ontario – 3 birders reports accepted for one sighting over 1 hour – we had driven to Pelee that morning – not chaseable
15. Eurasian Collared Dove – 2 reports – many birders saw it at the tip at Pelee – we had left 30 mins before to chase the White-faced Ibis – other report was a fly past at Zion Road – not chaseable
16. Says Phoebe – 1 report Polar Bear PP – Hudson Bay – not chaseable
17. Kirtland’s Warbler – 1 accepted report Grimsby – I was at Pelee – almost every year there is a Kirtland’s at Pelee so I took the odds that I didn’t need to drive 6 hours round trip at end of the day – that evening I saw the Ferruginous Hawk but in hindsight I could have got both birds as the hawk was seen the next day. Bird 2 – I regret not going for.
18. Painted Bunting – 1 report – at a feeder Baysville – owners did not allow public to visit – not chaseable
19. Mississipi Kite – 30+ birders saw a Kite at 4 locations spring and fall – not lucky enough to be there when seen – closest chance we were at Pelee on May 21 and left the tip around 11 and it was seen at 12:10!
20. Bell’s Vireo – 63 people saw this one bird at Pelee May 15 and we were at home caregiving. Never re found.
21. Black-bellied Whistling Duck – 1 report private residence did not allow public – ducks did not return – not chaseable
22. Townsend’s Warbler – 13 people were lucky to see the bird at Rondeau – we had left Rondeau 20 mins earlier to twitch a Blue Grosbeak, turned back but bird was never re found
23. Chuck’s Wills Widow – Long Point Tip Bird Observatory – only heard – no public access – not chaseable
24. Black-headed Gull – 1 report – private property – not re found – not chaseable
25. White-winged Dove – 5 reports – 3 far north, 1 Rondeau – I should have showed up at the door of a place north of Thunder Bay as we drove past that day instead of being “polite” Bird 3 – I regret not going for.
26. Western Kingbird – Hoped to catch up with 2 birds seen in Rainy River but did not re find, 4 single reports around Ontario, we twitched another one but no birds were ever re found
27. Lazuli Bunting – 1 report at a feeder – never re found – not chaseable
28. Lark Bunting – 20 people saw the bird in SSMarie that was around for 3 days – we should have gone for this bird but care giving gave us a very small window to go – Bird 4 – I regret not going for
29. Broad-billed Hummingbird – 1 report Georgian Bay stayed 3 days private residence – not reported until after bird departed – not chaseable
30. California Gull – 1 report from Pelee – not re found – not chaseable
31. Smith’s Longspur – reports from Polar Bear PP – Hudson Bay
32. Black Guillemot – reports from Moosenee – far north
33. Common Eider – 1 report – 5 birders – seen at Van Wagners – not re found – did many Lake watches hoping to re find
34. Ross’s Gull – 1 report Lake Huron – fly past – never re found – not chaseable
35. Tropical Kingbird – 5 birders saw it at Rossport over 4 days – made decision not to go – got the Black-tailed Gull at same time so it was a trade off
36. White Ibis – 1 report late afternoon of Black-tailed Gull find – went next morning first thing but bird never re found
37. Rock Wren – 14 birders saw it in Thunder Bay – 2 days seen – decided too far
38. Razorbill – Reports flying up the Ottawa River – still hope one will show up before end of year –not chaseable
39. Ancient Murrelet – was briefly seen by a few birders in Oakville Harbour but not re found – not chaseable
372 birds seen in Ontario this year + Hoary Redpoll that has been combined so total of 373 birds seen in Ontario and we have seen 334 including the Hoary.
17 were not chaseable
6 birds we felt were too far for us to attempt
4 birds I really wish I had gone for and didn’t
11 birds we tried for and missed
1 bird no current information (Gyrfalcon)
Week 51 no new species added 334 J&E