I found out late Sunday night that a rare Barnacle Goose had been reported in Quebec, just over the Ontario border. A crucial mistake on my part. I have been getting a daily list rather than an hourly needs list from Quebec. Had I set up hourly reports I would have seen it around 10 and we could have driven the 5.5 hrs to get it. I was frustrated with myself because I had thought about changing the setting a week back and with everything going on I just did not do it. So Monday morning we got up and I connected to the Quebec Discord group and a few Ottawa birders to find out any information if the goose was still there. We packed bags so we were ready to go and waited patiently. I had changed my needs alert so I was getting hourly ebird reports and I had sent a message in French and English to the Discord chat. I do not speak French but like most Canadians can usually figure out some of what is being said and we all have google translate to make it even easier. The hours ticked by 9, 10, 11 and no ebird reports and no one replied on Discord. We went back and forth about should we just take a chance and go, that maybe no one was looking for it and we could head into Quebec for a few more days for more birds we need. Then before noon someone responded that the 5,000 Canadian geese that had been there yesterday had almost all left and there was no Barnacle Goose either. Sigh, grrrrrr, but hopefully a Barnacle Goose will find its way into Ontario over the next few weeks or another one in Quebec.
Because of the morning delays we did not get out to bird until late afternoon and had the joy of birding through snow, rain, sleet, high winds and cool temps, just your typical spring birding day LOL. We managed to track down 3 Blue-winged Teals that had been reported earlier in Brant and added Cedar Waxwing to the year list as well. We then stopped at the Paris Stormpond on our way home and added a number of species for our Brant County list.
Blue-winged Teal
I had hoped we could get out often this week to bird but showings at the condo and then car issues took up the week. The mechanics were not sure if they had “fixed” anything and suggested we spend the weekend checking the car on cold starts to see if we were having the same problem so a planned trip on Saturday to Pelee was shelved as neither of us felt comfortable driving that distance with a continual problem. The forecast for Pelee on Saturday was a balmy 16-17C while the rest of Southern Ontario dealt with rain and a major ice storm. On Saturday around 4:30 a Barnacle Goose was seen in Ottawa and flew away 20 mins later. Sunday was the ice storm so I imagine no one got out to re-find it and nothing was found on Monday either. I sure would like another chance at a Barnacle. And so the week passed with just 2 birds added and me still itching to make significant gains with the list. The car performed well on the weekend tests and so the adjustments they made hopefully solved the problem and we were ready to bird Monday.
Week 13 2 species added 175 J&E
Monday we headed to Rondeau to just bird. We were not chasing anything specific but assumed we would find some new spring migrants. It was so nice to be out, relaxed and just enjoying all the happy bird song along the trails and the signs of spring. It was a lovely day!
It’s happening!!!
Merlin picked up a Rusty Blackbird near the Visitor Center but I scanned all the blackbirds and could not see one. The call never repeated and we did not hear it so as per our rules it was not added. At one point we were entering a side trail when we heard the tapping of a woodpecker and so turned back to see what kind it was. We saw a bird fly up into a tree and it was our first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the year. It was not the bird that was tapping, we could still hear that, but the decision to turn around got us a bird we might have otherwise missed. I love when those things happen. We ended up adding 5 species for the year. Some pics from the day.
Great EgretBald EagleChipping SparrowEastern PhoebeKilldeerYellow-bellied SapsuckerTurkey Vulture
On the way home I looked down to see the first tick of the season climbing up my pant leg. A black-legged tick. Guess it is time to start the tick regime that accompanies most of our birding in Southern Ontario now.
Tuesday we had to go to Hamilton but spent some time birding locally first and added a Field Sparrow for the year. On the way back from Hamilton we drove the routes close to home for Lapland Longspur. We have a limited chance for these birds as they briefly stop on their migration route and lucky for us most years they stop about 10 minutes from home. But it requires multiple drives through the vast fields hoping to see a flock or hearing a group in the corn fields. We have made about 5-6 drives over the last week and had nothing but it is early. The peak time is over the next few weeks so we hope to catch up with some of them soon. In the meantime, we keep driving past…
Field Sparrow
Wednesday a Black-headed Gull was found down Niagara way and when the alert came in we just went into “we have to leave” mode and were in the car driving before I realized that we will almost, for sure, get a Black-headed Gull in Newfoundland in the fall. We had a laugh and turned around. It had started to snow and with freezing rain and heavy rain forecast it made our decision easier. If it had been a nice day then we would have tried for it and then gone on to bird in Niagara for the Black Vulture we still need but it just made sense to come home when we don’t “need” it for Ontario. It is funny how that reflex to just go for any rarity posted is still there from last year.
Thursday we did the drive past for Laplands before our weekly yoga class and then spent the afternoon with friends in Eden Mills. A few minutes after we left a report came in of a BARNACLE GOOSE in Stoney Creek! IT HAPPENED! ANOTHER CHANCE! We quickly tried to figure out where we had to go, tried to get new directions started with limited service and then took a wrong turn that added 15 mins to our drive. It was, of course, 5pm and so we ended up in rush hour traffic that was not exactly rushing. LOL We arrived at 6 and there were plenty of people there, all parked along Highway 20 and out on the shoulder of the road while heavy traffic flew by. The goose had moved quite far back so we used Dave’s truck bed to get up to see the goose. Thanks Dave! Later it flew closer to us so Jerry got some pictures of it. If you remember last year, Barnacle Geese need to go to the Records Committee for acceptance as a wild bird. This bird is within the migration window but it was with only 2 Canada Geese and generally they are found in large migrating flocks of hundreds or thousands of geese. There are known farms around Smithville/Lincoln that have Barnacle Geese as pets/food so it could be an escapee. Lots of pictures were taken and reports will be submitted but the results will not be available until summer 2026 so for now it is counted on our year as bird #182. If another Barnacle Goose shows up in a large flock in Ottawa we will likely have to try for it to make sure we keep it on our list.
Barnacle Goose – wild, we hope!
Friday we did a loop for Lapland Longspurs again and then headed to some flooded fields south of Brantford where Lesser Black-backed Gulls had been reported. There were 3 there but they were very far back in the field, as they were last year. It turns out that our only picture of a Lesser Black-backed Gull last year was from this same field and about the same sad quality. No fault of Jerry, just a crazy distance and bad lighting. Our scope view is a bit better than the camera view but it gives you an idea of what we are looking for – 200-250 gulls to scan through looking for the one that has a darker gray back.
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Saturday the weather was pretty rainy which made watching our grandson’s hockey tournament an easy choice (which they won!). We also sold some more items from the condo and we finalized renting it so after a 19 year gap we are once again landlords. Unfortunately, the engine light along with the stuttering of the motor in the car started again and so it obviously was not fixed by the dealer last week.
Sunday instead of heading to Niagara and Long Point as we had hoped, we stayed local because of the car issue. We spent a couple of hours driving the cornfields once again hoping a flock of Lapland Longspurs had arrived but no joy. We did find 4 Vesper Sparrows which was another year bird for us.
Vesper Sparrow
Next we checked our local Osprey nest in Paris and one of the Osprey’s was sitting on the tower adding another year bird. to the list. It has been a good week!
Osprey
We continued on to the Storm pond to try for some more swallows but only added a Barn Swallow as an Ontario species. Northern Rough-winged and Bank had both been reported there but with 200 Tree Swallows zipping around the pond it was difficult to find the one or two brown swallows in the mix. While I am concentrating on my Canada list there are birds that we will be adding to the Ontario list and our Brant County list too. We (ebird) keeps track of all of those lists so its easy to check where you stand.
After a visit to Babi, our final stop of the day was the fields where we had the Lesser Black-backed Gull the other day. A Long-billed Dowitcher had been seen there and that would be a first time bird for Brant County. It was just as far as the Gulls were so no pic opportunities but we saw this species out in BC and got pictures then.
Last week we added 2 species, this week we added 10 new species for the Canada list, 13 species for our Ontario list and 16 species to the Brant County year list. Spring migration is building. Things are ramping up! Lots of species showing up, we just need to track them down…
Spring migrants trickled in the beginning of the week with continuing warm weather but by weeks end bone-chilling cold and wind returned. We took the opportunity to finish the condo work so we could post ads to rent it. We finally finished that job on Thursday! The relief was immense as we delivered the last boxes for donation and scrubbed the last area of the condo! Lets hope it rents quickly.
Friday we decided to spend the day birding as I was anxious to add birds to our Canada list. We drove up to Grass Lake to see the first Eastern Meadowlarks back in the fields and already singing. They were very skittish though and Jerry did not manage a decent picture although he tried. Further along we came across a group of Turkey Vultures enjoying a breakfast of road-killed raccoon. The birds or a kind passer-by had flung the carcass into the field so they could enjoy the feast without the danger of becoming a statistic themselves. Jerry often performs this service (with gloves and paper towels) when we come across animals dead on the road. Not a pleasant task for sure.
Turkey Vultures
We birded our way to Burlington to find the Fish Crows that live and nest along the lake. They were not at the usual Sioux Lookout Park so we drove towards Bronte checking out other parks with windows open listening for their distinctive call. On the way back I suddenly heard that short nasal call and swung the car around to see if we could find it. We pulled into a parking area and the crow landed in a tree close by so Jerry heard the call as well. He got out to try and get a picture but the crow moved off. We continued to drive and check out any crows but none called and so we ended up without pics or audio which means another trip back at some point to get that confirmation. Below is a call from last year of a Fish Crow and below that is the call of an American Crow.
Fish CrowAmerican Crow
We continued to stop and bird at a few places along the lake into Hamilton and then stopped in at Windemere where we quickly saw our first Tree Swallow of the year. He had already decided what box was going to be “his” and would not leave it despite us walking right by it.
Tree Swallow
Next we headed up the escarpment hoping to find some Blue-winged Teals, but they were not at their usual spot on 5th road. We managed to add a Greater Yellowlegs to our Ontario list but little else was visible with very strong winds making scoping and birding difficult. We decided to continue across Haldimand and eventually ended up at Long Point to see if anything new had arrived since last week. The wind on the causeway was strong and chilly and we quickly headed for the more closed area of Crown Marsh and Old Cut but could not manage to add anything else for the year.
The weekend continued cold and windy and we opted to stay home and enjoy the first few days in a long time where we had nothing to do. Next week the weather is not supposed to be much better with SNOW! and rain and negative temperatures. We may head south (Point Pelee or Rondeau) for a day trip just to get out and catch up with some more spring migrants. At this time of year we are all itching to get out and see new birds and so I scan the weather reports for those warm south winds that will bring more migrants back to Ontario. Unfortunately, none are forecast until next Sunday so things might still be slow.
Last year at this time we had already seen 157 species in Ontario and this year we have only seen 122. A crazy difference of 35 birds. Mind you, we saw a number of early migrants in BC this year so I am not rushing to add them to the Ontario list knowing we we will get them over the next few weeks but still, it does show the difference in the amount of time we spent birding. It will be interesting to see where we end up at the end of the year with our Ontario list. My friend Jude is doing a Big Ontario Year and is currently at a whopping 164! I wish him the best!, we had a great time last year often going for the same birds at the same time and we will try to help him as much as we can this year. He has a great shot at getting over the 340 mark.
We are currently in 5th spot in Canada with birders from BC ahead of us because they already have migration starting. I anticipate catching up over the next month or so and we should be near the top by the time we head out west in June.
Fingers crossed for a change in the forecasts next week…we want spring weather!
Another fairly slow week as we spent the first few days selling things from the condo and donating the rest to various local charities where we know the proceeds or items will help others. Since it was March Break we had 3 of our 4 grandchildren stay with us for 3 days and that doesn’t always translate to birding. We did manage a hike in Brantford on Thursday and ran a checklist but no new species were seen. Finally, on Friday after the last one was dropped home we headed down to Port Rowan where a very obliging Red-throated Loon was still swimming in the narrow channel offering spectacular views! Bird #168 for the year. We likely saw many of these out in BC but because the Pacific Loons were always so far out we decided not to try to find the odd Red-throated that might have been among them. They are very similar in their winter plumage.
Red-throated Loon
One of the ways to distinguish the Red-throated Loon from other North American loons is the bill is almost always pointing upwards at an angle.
Saturday morning we headed back to the condo but stopped enroute for a Red-headed Woodpecker that was found by Flamboro Downs. It was a juvenile so had a brown head instead of red. We found it immediately on the same hydro pole it had been reported on yesterday. It is always nice when birds are so obliging.
Red-headed Woodpecker
We then did a quick stop at Flamboro because a Eurasian Wigeon and Greater White-fronted Geese had been reported the last few days but neither were being seen when we arrived and it started to rain shortly after. We had driven by yesterday with Evie in the car and opted not to stop because we wanted to get to Port Rowan for a year bird over two birds that we already have on our lists. I don’t want to have to see double the birds this year just so I can add species to my Ontario list or my Brant county list. It gets onerous really quickly trying to bird that way.
After work at the condo – will it ever end? we headed home for a quick dinner and a report came in of a Pink-footed Goose in Ottawa! A lifer, a rarity, and a year bird. It took a bit of time but it was refound and many Ottawa birders got out to it before dark. We discussed. We had talked earlier in the day about a trip to Quebec because there are again about 4-5 good birds to add to the list currently being seen in Quebec. Could we add Ottawa at the start and then continue on to Quebec. We figured out logistics and timing and it would mean most of the week, at least 5 days in Quebec. It was very tempting but the condo is hanging over us at this point. We really need to get it ready to rent and rented by May 1 as we are at Pelee and then out west until August. The reality is there has been a Pink-footed Goose in a pond in Newfoundland since 2020 and it remains there as of yesterday. What are the chances it will still be there in September? What is the life-span of a goose? And the birds that are currently in Quebec are likely to be there again in the fall and into the winter. It would be a nice bird for my Ontario Life list but I don’t worry too much about that list.
The advantage to being able to bird the whole country this year means I have these kinds of choices where many rarities are not as crucial to get because they can be seen somewhere else and at another time. I am still taking a chance but I think I will roll the dice on this one and choose to get the condo done first and then worry about those species later in the year. This might be a regret down the road – we will see…
After dinner we headed into Brantford and met up with Robert and Sue for an evening’s entertainment of displaying American Woodcocks. We had 3 “peenting” just after 7:30 and then one zipped past us before they started doing the display flights called a “sky dance” or a “timberdoodle”. Launching themselves as high as 200-300′ in the air they then spiral down while the wind through their wings makes a whirring noise and then land near where they took off. In the video below you can hear the continual “peent” “peent” if you turn your volume up . We tried to take pictures and video of the flights but with the fading light and the speed of the birds we did not manage to get anything.
So two new birds on Saturday takes us to 170 species for the year. Slow and steady. Of the 217 common species in Ontario we have seen 113 so we are half-way there. Warmer weather this week should start to bring shorebirds through and with the rain this weekend there should be plenty of flooded fields to check for them.
Tuesday we took a walk on our local trail not expecting to see anything much and that was exactly what happened from a bird perspective. We did, unfortunately, end up witnessing a young woman attacked and bitten by a dog and had an ugly confrontation with the dog owner ourselves. We stayed with the young woman until she was picked up and then hung around until a bylaw officer came to take our statements. I realized later that I had Merlin running in my pocket so I ended up having most of the events roughly recorded on the app, something to keep in mind for other birders out there that might find themselves in an ugly situation. I also forgot to stop my ebird checklist until later that night so I had a 10 hour checklist going that I had to adjust back.
Wednesday was a rainy day and I stayed home trying in vain to loosen my pulled back and trying to book as much of our BC trip as possible because hotels are filling up fast in the popular vacation spots. Later, while I was talking to Marg on the phone Jerry shouted to me from the other end of the house that there was a Sharp-shinned Hawk in a tree so I grabbed bins and sure enough there was a tiny hawk trying to dry off at the top of a tree. I’ve been watching our feeders for weeks, like a hawk, for a Sharp-shinned Hawk and finally one had arrived. We pulled out the scope and had great views of its skinny pencil legs, its straight tail feathers and buggy eyes, all tell-tale signs that it was a Sharp-shinned instead of a Cooper’s Hawk. I am finally even with Jerry in the count again!
Sharp-shinned Hawk
There has been a little bit of movement of birds as the weather warms. Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles have arrived and Tundra Swans have started their migration. It is still early days but it will not be long until migration begins in earnest and we will be adding many more birds.
Thursday and Friday were taken up with appointments, the condo and household chores. Late Friday Jerry managed to finally have a sit in his fav chair with a view of the yard and just like the Sharp-shinned , he watched a hawk fly into the trees, he yelled to me and I got to the window in time to see a beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk fly over the pond, into the field back and forth and then finally into the large conifers behind the field. This is the 6th year in a row that a Red-shouldered Hawk has stopped in our yard. Some years we have seen it multiple times and days, other years we have only seen it once. We assume it is the same bird and this has become a winter stop or a stop on its migration path. Some years we see it in November/December and other years it has been January/February. This is the first time we have seen it in March. It will be nice if it sticks around but since we are rarely home we will probably not know if it does.
Saturday the weather was promising for a trip up to Algonquin Park to see about adding a few boreal species. The birding has not been good in Algonquin this winter because there are almost no cones on the conifers and no cones means no boreal species that eat them. But the birds we need have been seen occasionally and so we decided to take a chance and head north – at our usual 4:30am. We were in the park just after 8 and started towards the visitor centre. Most winters we would be seeing flocks of crossbills, redpolls, siskins eating grit on the roads but we drove the 35km without seeing a single flock and only seeing one Raven. Yikes, that was not good. The Visitor Centre has a few feeders that they keep stocked and most years you can stand out above the feeders and see almost all the boreal species but the only birds there were American Goldfinches, of which we have plenty at our own feeders. We did see a Creeper, Downy , Chickadees and Nuthatches in the trees but nothing that we needed for our list. Even the resident Ruffed Grouse was absent and we need a picture of a Ruffed Grouse for the year. We chatted with staff and renewed our seasonal pass and then headed over to Spruce Bog Trail. On the driveway out one bird was out picking up grit. A Red Crossbill! We heard this species out in BC but did not see it and obviously also need a picture.
Red Crossbill
When we got to the trail we fed some Chickadees and watched the Nuthatches but again, no boreal species, no Spruce Grouse, no Black-backed Woodpecker. It was a gorgeous day, bright blue sky, sunshine, white fluffy snow on the trees and being out on the trails kinda made up for the lack of birds. The trails were very narrow with packed down snow but one misstep off the path and you sunk up past your knee in snow. I know this because I did it a couple of times. Thankfully my sore back did not seize with the effort and we managed to hike 6 kms through the day at a few different trails.
Spruce Bog TrailSpruce Bog Trail
Mid afternoon we decided to pack it in with one last stop at the Visitor Center but still nothing much around. The Crossbill ended up being the highlight of the day and the only bird that we added as seen and got a picture of and was added to our Ontario year list. Oh well! You cannot always expect everything to go your way when you bird and even though it seems like a “waste” of a day, neither of us felt that way at all. We loved being out on the trails, the weather was fantastic, we talked to nice people, we still saw birds and enjoyed watching them so it is never a waste of time birding.
Sunday with another sunny day forecast we headed to Niagara for our first attempt at a Black Vulture. This is the only place in Canada to reliably see them so this is one we absolutely need in Ontario. The bonus with Niagara is we could also look for Iceland Gull, Little Gull and Red-throated Loon. Of the four birds we were hopeful for we only saw one, a Little Gull. A bit disappointing but it is still forward movement and next week just may prove to be better as more warmer weather arrives.
During week 8 we only birded in our backyard because of weather, illness and condo work. No new species came to the feeders and so our numbers remained the same. 161 for E, 162 for J
The snow started melting the beginning of week 9 and on Monday we finally got out to bird a bit. We headed to Wilkes Dam in Brantford for a walk along the river not expecting to add any birds for the year but open to the possibility of a common species that we need turning up. It was windy but you could feel spring in that wind and there were other birders out as well. It ended up being a bit more of a social event as we ran into local Brant Birders that we have not seen through the winter so lots of chatting, less birding. We added a few species for Brant County and then moved on to Gilkison’s Flats in Brantford. The snow was getting slippery as it melted and the paths made walking difficult. I complained to Jerry that there were no birds and while the sun felt good, the walking was awkward. But once we hit the main path we discovered it had been plowed! I was happy and as we headed down the path I was thinking about what birds we might see. I glanced off the path and saw a rounded shape on a tree branch, different, brown and my heart skipped a beat. A sharp inhale as I pulled up my bins to confirm what I already knew – an OWL! – a Long-eared Owl! and then I realized there was another one on the branch below!. OMG, finding your own Owls is the best experience in birding and I was super excited. While they usually roost in conifers these Long-eared Owls were in tangled branches. Just like that the boring birding day turned into one of the BEST days!
We already have Long-eared Owls on our year list but we needed a picture. Jerry took some pictures and then we moved away down the path as the one owl had woken and moved into his tall/skinny look which I take to mean he is unhappy. The second owl continued to sleep in the few minutes we spent there.
We cannot share reports of owls on Discord to protect them from disturbance but we have a small group of birders in Brant County that I trust as ethical birders and I know would not disturb these birds. I texted the info and location and then we walked further along the path not finding anything else of interest. Andy and Rob arrived and we lead them back to the owls and they spent a few minutes with them and then we left. We went to see Babi for the rest of the afternoon and then picked up our grandkids after school and headed back to Gilkison’s so that Hunter and Hannah could see their first Long-eared Owls!
Will this be their “spark” bird?
Late Tuesday a report of multiple Ross’s Geese came in from the Long Point area which was perfect as we had planned to be birding Wednesday and we did not want to have to go through Toronto to get the one that was still being seen sporadically in Pickering. We headed down to the spot and found a field of Sandhill Cranes ( a new year bird) and lots of Canada Geese to scope through.
Sandhill Cranes
We found 2 Ross’s Geese far back in the field but moving further back from us. Jerry took some pics but they would not be the best for an ID. We were pretty sure from our scope views that they had a smaller bill and no grin patch and they were smaller than the Canada Geese around them. Still, we wanted better pics.
Yep that was our view of Ross’s Geese – the scope view was marginally better!
At the same time as we posted our 2, Sue had 4 further along the road. In the time it took for us to drive around between the two initial sighting spots all the Ross’s flew. We eventually met up with Sue and Henny and had a lovely chat and then went with them to check out some spots they suggested and sure enough we found the Ross’s again, way back again but clearly visible in the scope. We continued into Long Point and walked around Old Cut but just the usual suspects were around. We got a call from Sue that she had refound the Ross’s again east of Port Rowan so we headed there and just before the field she had them in we had a Ross’s Goose fly into a field we were driving past. It landed pretty close to the road but we drove over to Sue’s spot only to realize the white goose there was a Snow Goose. A Blue Morph Snow Goose was also close by. The Ross’s from there must have been the one we had flying into the other field. Jerry took some quick pics of the Snow’s and then we headed back to where the Ross’s was and finally enjoyed close views in the scope and good picture ops for Jerry. After 17 days of not adding a bird, we finally added 2 species.
Ross’s Goose – note small size compared to Canada Goose Small bill with no black”grinpatch”Snow Goose – note larger size compared to Canada Goose Large bill with black “grinpatch”
On Friday we just birded a bit locally and managed to add a few species for our Ontario list and another new year bird, Eastern Bluebird. I’m still one bird behind Jerry, a Sharp-shinned Hawk has not shown up for me YET!
On the weekend we went full out on the condo as we are trying to get it ready to rent by May. Next week we hope that warmer weather will bring some more spring species. Hopefully, spring is around the corner!
Week 9 3 new species added 164 species for E 165 species for J
