We took a few days off at the beginning of the week except for a quick trip to NOTL for a Little Gull. It is a gull that is better identified in flight because it is black under the wings but it can be difficult to pick it out from the hundreds of gulls that fly up and down the Niagara River but once you can lock on one and see a few of them the challenge gets easier. Jerry even managed to get a poor picture as the bird was far away.
We are looking with bins at all the Gulls flying pastLittle Gull with black underwings
On Tuesday morning disaster struck! Jerry knocked his camera off the table and it broke on our concrete floor! The rest of the day was spent calling insurance, camera places, and in the end he shipped it to Sony to see if they could repair it. We have an extra rider on our insurance so if need be it will be covered. Thankfully we have a backup with the Coolpix 900 that I use for video so we will have to take just the one camera on the trip north.
On Thursday we headed to Cochrane to try for a Willow Ptarmigan and to pick up the rest of the boreal species we were missing. I had said that I was not going to go for a Ptarmigan because they are usually farther north around James Bay and Hudson’s Bay and involve a drive on an ice road and sleeping in cars etc., BUT this year is an irruption year for this species and so some have found their way south and a report came in from Cochrane and it was just too tempting. Mind you, it required a drive up a mining road for 170km without cell service and all I could picture was the old logging roads at North Bay that Jerry drove me around years back. I spoke with a couple of birders that went up and they alleviated my fears a bit. We had the chance to get 11 species and then the rarest possibility of a Great Gray and Boreal Owl. The weather forecast was clear and sunny for 5 days and so we booked rooms and set off. We checked 3 spots on the drive up for Northern Hawk Owl but had no luck. We quickly added Pine Grosbeak once we went north of North Bay.
Pine Grosbeak
On Friday morning I wanted to check the mining road so we went up 32 km to a burn where Black-backed and American Three-toed Woodpeckers had been reported. The road was wide and PAVED! and ice covered but sanded extremely well. There was traffic, not a lot, but enough that if you had trouble help was available. We had two trucks stop to ask if we needed help while we were pulled over birding. I was feeling much better about the 170km drive on Saturday. We quickly heard and found 6 Black-backed Woodpeckers and had spectacular views as they worked the burned trees. It took us 2 hours and a few sits in the car to warm up to find the one American Three-toed.
These two species are specialists at eating the wood-boring beetles and larvae that infiltrate burned trees. They flake the burned bark off the trees leaving the orange inner bark exposed and then use their chisel-shaped bills to bore holes to find the beetles. When you see trees like this it is a sure sign of Black-backed or Three-toed Woodpeckers.
In the afternoon we drove some areas close to town with suitable habitat for the Northern Hawk Owl but again had no luck. We checked out the ice bridge going across the Abitibi River but decided not to attempt the crossing even though it was open to light traffic. We would have had to come back across to get back to our hotel and the hills on either side seemed daunting too.
The red line is the ice bridge you drive acrossYou know you are North when your hotel looks like this!
Saturday morning we left at 7am to get as far up the road as early as we could. We tried not to stop much but a Spruce Grouse was needed for our list and a Canada Jay so we stopped for photos and looks.
Spruce Grouse
We were also looking for Ptarmigan tracks from the car so slowing down here and there. We got to the 170 km mark around 10 and got out and walked up from the car for a bit looking for tracks. We found wolf prints on the road but no Ptarmigan tracks.
When we walked down from the car a short distant I found Ptarmigan tracks just off the road. We started following the tracks down the road and Jerry went a few steps further and the birds were THERE! Three of them, all white, black eyes and beaks. They do not have a fear of humans so were content to sit and watch us while we quietly celebrated feet away. It was a LIFER, bird 128, and a fantastic bird to add to my list this year. We watched them for a bit, took lots of photos and some video and then headed back down.
Willow Ptarmigan
We stopped in the afternoon at a trail in South Porcupine and heard a Boreal Chickadee and enjoyed the only walk we had of the trip. We stayed in Timmins Saturday night and then tried for two birds the next day, Eurasian Tree Sparrows near Thessalon and another attempt at a Northern Hawk Owl on St.Joseph’s Island. It was a huge amount of driving and in hindsight we should have changed where we were staying a bit but by the time we thought of it the free cancellation time had passed. And we didn’t get either of the birds. On Monday we headed onto Manitoulin Island and quickly flushed 3 Sharp-tailed Grouse from a road that had a lot of ebird reports last year. Then we headed to the spots where Ring-necked Pheasants are often seen and nothing. We drove a wider area, scanned, nothing. We were tired, a bit discouraged, wanting to leave to head home but also wanting the bird so we wouldn’t have to come back in the summer when the island will have lots more people on it. Manitoulin Island is the only place in Ontario where you can count a Ring-necked Pheasant. I pulled up the ebird reports and we decided to head up to an area that had reports back in 2019/2021 and as we were driving up suddenly I saw a beautiful male in a field. WooHOO! Bird 131!
Ring-necked Pheasant
Time to head home! Out of the 11 birds I expected to get we saw 9. I’ll take those percentages all year! We were away 5 days, drove 2,180km and only walked 14.7km. We are looking forward to spring migration when we can ditch the car birding for the forests and fields.
Week 5 9 Rarities seen for the year 10 species added this week 131 species seen
So, the thing about birding is sometimes you travel three times and stand in freezing temps for 7 hours to get a bird, and sometimes you just have to roll out of bed at 5:30am and step out onto the porch to hear a Great Horned Owl hooting and then crawl back into your warm bed! Bird 114 Heard Only. We have had 3 days with no new birds added this week and that will start happening more as we have most of the winter birds and will have to wait until spring for fresh species to arrive. We tracked down a few Rough-legged Hawks up Kitchener way and found a Snowy Owl near Elmira. Most years we have many young Snowy Owls move down from the Arctic to winter around the Great Lakes but this year the lemming population crashed in the summer which meant that Snowy chicks did not survive in their usual numbers resulting in almost no Snowy Owls being seen down here.
At the end of the week the Eared Grebe once again appeared in Etobicoke, same park, and we decided to try for that bird again. A Red-shouldered Hawk had been reported in a park nearby so we tried for that bird first and quickly found it sitting in a tree, I like when the day starts on a good note! An hour later we were staring at a rare Eared Grebe in close to the shore at Colonel Sam Smith Park, bird number 2 for the day.
Red-shouldered HawkEared Grebe
We decided to stop at LaSalle in Burlington on the way home as we had missed two birds there a few times. A birder told us where the Tundra swan was sleeping and we had nice close views of bird number 3. We started chatting with a photographer comparing notes and places birds are seen and while we were chatting suddenly a Green-winged Teal appeared! The extra bird that Jerry got and I didn’t. Bird number 4 for the day for me!
Tundra SwanGreen-winged Teal
Another bad weather day kept us close to home so we just walked to our local woodlot yet again. Both of us were missing a bird the other had seen. In my case I had gone 27 days not seeing a Brown Creeper. A small bird that clings to the trunks of trees and moves up and around like a Nuthatch or Woodpecker. We never really search for Creepers as we see them fairly regularly, I had seen and heard 7 of them on Dec 31 and Jerry had seen one the first week in January and I was about 50 steps away and waved it off, “I’ll see a Brown Creeper” I boasted. LOL and then nothing, reports filled my email of every other birder reporting Creepers and suddenly I found myself actively searching tree trunks for the little birds. Finally, on the 28th I spied a small bird at the base of a tree and I was one bird ahead of Jerry and 15 minutes later we both saw the local Pileated Woodpecker, we were tied again. A few minutes later we saw three Brown Creepers on the same tree! A four Brown Creeper day!
Brown Creeper
Week 4 – 8 rarities seen for the year , 2 more owls added, 8 species added – 121 species seen (E&J)
We started the week going after a few common winter birds that can be tougher to find and had been reported locally. Snow Buntings are pretty prolific in the fields during the winter months and can be found in flocks of hundreds but there may only be 1-2 Lapland Longspurs around at the same time. Luckily they had both been reported 30 minutes from home and we got both species fairly quickly. We stopped at a spot know for nesting Great Horned Owls but did not see them but added a couple more common species. I added a Heard Only Pileated Woodpecker that Jerry did not hear so we were even in the count again. Next was mopping up on Duck species so we hit a few spots around Lake Ontario on Tuesday and saw Black Scoter, Lesser Scaup, and Ruddy Duck. I walked down the path and Jerry found a Green-winged Teal which I could not re-find later as the evening sun turned all the ducks to black so Jerry was once again ahead by one bird.
On Thursday we took our first trip north for the year and drove through snow squalls around Bracebridge that thankfully turned to snow flurries in Algonquin. The temperature was -9 when we arrived at noon and it made for a magical winter wonderland walking though Spruce Bog Trail. There were a few species of birds around but not as many as we had anticipated, I think the snow kept them tucked away. We both added our 100th species in algonquin – for Jerry is was Common Redpoll and for me it was Evening Grosbeak!
I had hoped to be at 100 by the end of February so I’m super happy to have hit that milestone in only week 3. I know there are still many potential birds out there to find in the next weeks. On Friday we woke up to a temperature of -24 with a windchill of -31 and warnings of frostbite. We put on extra layers and covered up as much as possible. Steamed glasses made looking through binoculars difficult and thick mitts made operating cameras a bit of a challenge. A short distance into the park we saw cars pulled off which, in Algonquin, means a moose, and sure enough a large male without antlers was munching on evergreens off the side of the road.
We added 6 of the Boreal species but sadly did not see a Canada Jay or a Pine Grosbeak. The Pine Grosbeak have stayed further north because of plentiful food so we will have to travel to Sudbury and beyond for them and we plan to be back in Algonquin in the spring and fall to hopefully get a Canada Jay too. Red Crossbills were plentiful on the roads and at the Visitor Centre and we also managed to see a couple of the rarer White-winged Crossbill. Our only boreal rarity, a Hoary Redpoll, was seen at the feeders too.
We then headed to Ottawa for another crack at the Western Tanager. Our grandson had a hockey tournament for the weekend so we decided to spend a combo weekend of birding during the day and hockey games at night. We dropped in at the Tanager site late Friday afternoon and stood in -10 for 2 1/2 hours just like the last time and did not see the bird. Early Saturday morning we headed out to the area where Gray Partridge have been seen and spent 1 1/2 hours driving slowly, sitting watching fields before deciding to give up and as we headed away I decided to pull over just around the corner thinking we could see the area and Jerry quickly spotted a covey of 11 sitting out in the field! We quickly posted to Discord so other drivers that had been looking would know where to find the birds. We spent a few minutes admiring and taking some pictures and headed to the Tanager stakeout with renewed optimism. There were may birders gathered at the spot when we arrived at 10 and the bird had not been seen at all. We walked around a bit, kept our eyes on numerous feeders, chatted with other birders and waited and waited. When we were just starting to feel like it might never show the bird flew in at 11:45! WE GOT THE WESTERN TANAGER!
The level of excitement at finally seeing this bird was over the top LOL. I couldn’t believe it had actually happened. It took three visits and 7 plus hours standing in -10 temperatures to get that bird. We enjoyed the moment, took some pictures and video and then the bird startled from the feeder into the shrubs.
We left to head to our next destination – a Barred Owl. One of the birders from the Tanager graciously offered to show us the owl location and true to his word found us the Barred owl munching on a freshly caught Red Squirrel. Thanks Bob! It was an epic moment for us having never seen an owl with prey. It was wonderful to watch as the owl went about his meal with no worries of the people standing below him.
As a bonus we also got a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was wintering there. The last bird for Ottawa was Bohemian Waxwing. Large flocks were reported in a neighbourhood east of Ottawa and after driving around for a few minutes we saw about 20 in a tree in a backyard but quite a distance away. We continued driving and finally found a flock of over 100 where Jerry could get a bit better pictures. FIVE birds added to our list in one day! An epic birding day where all the stars aligned. We wish they could all be like that.
Sunday morning we left at 7 so we would be at the rare Lark Sparrow location in Kingston at 9. We walked up the driveway and the bird was sitting in a shrub feet away from us. We were there a total of 7 minutes. We would have loved to enjoy the bird a bit longer but when these birds are on private property and the owner’s have given permission to view we do not overstay our welcome. We got back in our car and headed to see a Harris’s Sparrow that was coming to feeders 10 minutes from home and again got out of our car, went up the driveway and the bird was on the feeder for about a minute before flying back into the shrubs when a Merlin appeared. We stayed and chatted with other birders hoping the sparrow would reappear but it did not so we left after 30 minutes. A two rare sparrow day!
And the icing on the cake was on the way home a birder neighbour had an Eastern Screech Owl in his bird box so we stopped for a quick few minutes to enjoy the Owl snoozing and sunning while Black-capped Chickadees harassed it from branches inches from its face.
A truly great 3rd week with rarities still popping up around the province. A Slaty-backed Gull was reported in Mississauga at 4:35, a bit late for us to make it there before dark but maybe it will stick around.
Week 3 – 3 rarities added for a total of 7, 2 more owl species, 22 species added 113(E) 114(J) species seen
January 8, 5:00am the alarm went off and we were out of bed and the house by 5:33. The Limpkin, a species rarely seen north of Florida was re-found in Wheatley Provincial Park after not being seen since December 26. A birder used a thermal imaging scope to find it late January 7. This is one of those mega rarities that birders hope for in their Big Years. We were first to arrive and did not see the bird up the creek from the road and were not sure how far to walk in – we didn’t want to flush the bird, but within minutes birders arrived and Rick (from Pelee) quickly showed us where he had seen it the night before and THERE IT WAS!
It looked in pretty good shape and after a few minutes to take some pics and video we left it, not wanting to over stress it. There were bound to be more birders arriving all day to see this mega rarity. A fantastic start to Week 2! The rest of the week slowed down with Jerry having some minor surgery and some nasty weather keeping us close to home for a few days. We managed to add 14 more species this week including our first two owls, a Short-eared Owl hunting at dusk in Haldimand and a Long-eared Owl on a private site in Brant County.
There are 10 Owl species in Ontario with 7 seen regularly in the south and 3 seen in the North. Most years we will just have Heard Only reports of some of the owls but this year we would like to get pics so we will be trying to see as many of the species as possible. Owls are much sought after by birders and photographers and there has been much discussion as to how we keep the birds safe from the few unethical people who do not consider the birds when viewing and photographing. Many owls are considered sensitive species now to protect them and the sightings just do not show up publicly for anyone to see, our Discord chat group does not allow owl postings, nor does Ontario Birds FBook group. Seeing an owl is a fantastic experience but we make sure to keep a long distance, spend as little time as possible and do not divulge locations especially of nesting owls until after the breeding season. Our focus for the next week is more owls, a few ducks we are missing and then I think the end of the week, weather permitting, we will be heading north for our first trip to Algonquin. I expect that we will only add 1-2 birds per day going forward until Algonquin. My goal is to get to 100 species by the end of February and I should hit that target with the Northern trip and the local owls and ducks.
Week 2 1 rarity, 2 owl species, 14 species added 91(E) 92(J) species seen
UPDATE! On Sunday January 14 a few people captured the Limpkin and took it to a Wildlife Rehab. There are mixed opinions, those birders that believe in “nature taking its course” and those birders that believe we should try to “save” everything. It was no doubt in stress with the extreme cold and its food source (snails) frozen over and would have likely perished in the next day or so but it likely faces a stressful rehab of trying to be force fed and end up having to be euthanized in care. No easy answers…I’ll keep you posted if I hear more.
Finally! It has begun…The goal for the first week was to chase any and all rarities. For the last month I have been following rarities in the province and hoping that some of them would remain into the new year. Most rarities at this time of year end up perishing when snow and cold arrive but the milder weather has meant a few have managed to stick around. We ended up deciding to start our year in Ottawa trying for a Western Tanager that has been there since December 15. Then try for 4 other rarities on the route home. The best twitching strategy is to be at the spot at first light. We were, the bird was not. After standing in -10 cold for 2 1/2 hours we made the decision to try for the rest of the rarities. The bird showed up 40 minutes later! Lesson learned – leave more time and stick it out until the bird shows or it is dark. LOL. We also dipped (missed) our second rarity but knew of a second bird at Pelee so didn’t waste too much time but by then we only had time to stop for one more before dark. At 4:30, with light fading and a run/walk down a 2km beach on Lake Ontario I saw a Barrow’s Goldeneye in the scope. There was much frivolity! Well, a high five and a frozen smile. Did I mention it was cold?
While it was not the stellar start to the New Year, we took away some lessons and things got better on our second day as we headed to Pelee National Park for a Townsend’s Solitaire. A birder re-found the bird and a small group of us enjoyed watching it feed on the blue berries on cedar bushes. After spending some time at the Tip in gale force winds we headed to Erieau for a Harlequin Duck. The wind was even stronger and the waves were crashing along the pier but Jerry braved the elements to get as close as he could to get pics of the tiny duck diving beside the concrete pier. Did I mention it was cold?
Day 2 – 2 rarities and one semi-rare and 56 species seen. We next headed to Brampton for a Ross’s Goose and then Colonel Sam Smith Park in Etobicoke for a King Eider and an Eared Grebe. Got 2 of the 3 as the Eared Grebe had not been seen for a few days. It was a female King Eider so just a brown duck but google the male and check out his colouring.
The following day found us at the London Landfill (yes, birders spend lots of time at landfills and sewage lagoons) where we played one of these things is not like the other 2,000 and really thought we had found the one Slaty-backed Gull among all those gulls. Maybe lack of sleep, covid, or just our inexperience led us to celebrate instead of grabbing the scope and really looking at the distant gull because once the reviewer looked at our pics he gave us the thumbs down. UGGGGGGG! Classic newbie mistake! We have promised each other that going forward when we think we have a rarity one of us will say the code word “Slaty” to remind ourselves to check and double-check and check again.
We tried for the Pacific Loon and Western Grebe in Hamilton twice more this week and did I mention it was cold? LOL. Both of us felt we saw the loon in very rough water for seconds but just not good enough looks for us to be 100% confident that is what we saw. There is also a Red-throated Loon being seen and they are similar enough at long distances to us that we want to be sure of what we have seen. We even had some time to spend a few hours with our grandkids feeding the birds at LaSalle.
Saturday we decided after 6 days of driving and birding we needed a day off. We still added 2 common species, one at our feeder and the other, a Tufted Titmouse ( a bird not a mouse) at a boardwalk nearby. The last day of the week we headed into Hamilton again, ever hopeful for calm water and IT WAS! LIKE GLASS! Within minutes we had great looks at what was definitely a Western Grebe and close enough to get pictures. We managed to see a Red-throated Loon but quite a distance out and then on the advice of another birder we headed into Hamilton to look for the Loon further along the bay. The Pacific Loon was THERE! We have tried multiple times for this bird so it was great to finally catch up with it and still had a couple of hours before Benson’s hockey game so we chased down a very out of season Orange-crowned Warbler at Princess Point. Both Jerry and I saw it at different times as it flew across the tops of the grass but did not get great views. Oh, and Jerry saw a Brown Creeper that I did not so we end the week with HIM AHEAD OF ME BY ONE BIRD!!! I’ll get a Creeper in the next day or so but SHEESH! LOL. Still, a triumphant end to a long, very cold, windy week.
Week 1 3 rarities, 8 semi-rare and a total of 77(E) 78(J) species seen.
BREAKING NEWS!!!! The Limpkin (a Florida bird) was refound at 4:00. We will be there at first light to try and re-find it!
