Late Sunday night a post came in that 2 Barnacle Geese had been photographed a day or two before in Bowmanville. Birders were prepared to head out at first light to see if they were still in the same marsh. I was hesitant to take the drive knowing that in the past Barnacle Geese are one-day wonders and they are not always accepted as wild because there are farms that keep Barnacle’s. BUT, it would be a super get for us, a Lifer, and a rare European vagrant. I opted to not leave first thing and instead I was awake early and ready to should there be a ding on Discord saying the geese were still there. No ding! Just updates that a number of birders were looking. By 11:30 I resigned myself that they were gone and we made the decision to head to our planned lunch with birding friends in London. And then they were found! We quickly changed direction (our birding friends were understanding thankfully!) and headed down the 401 hoping that traffic would not be crazy (it wasn’t) and at 2:00 I was looking at two Barnacle Geese, a lifer, rarity #14 and bird #157.
Barnacle GeeseBarnacle Goose
Sightings of this Goose have to go to the Ontario Birds Record Committee who will ultimately decide, when they meet in February 2025, if they are accepted as a wild record. Evidence in favour of them being accepted is the date – it is bang on for migration dates from previous records, two, they were in the company of Canada Geese and three, they were not re-found the next day suggesting they had continued on their migrating journey. If they are not accepted as a wild record then I will have no choice but to remove them from my list this year. In the meantime I am going to enjoy a great lifer and addition to the list.
The rest of the week was a mix of bad weather, family commitments and very few new birds arriving. We still checked local ponds and flooded fields when we were out for other things but there was nothing new to add. We put a checklist in every day even if it is just a checklist from the backyard with the same birds as I do want to try and maintain putting in a list every day of this year. We also want to make sure we bird every county in Ontario this year and we currently have only 3 counties left without a checklist, Parry Sound, Grey and Kenora. Those will be summer trips. We are missing pictures for only 13 birds currently and Jerry is working hard to get better pictures of other species as well. Don’t forget to check the 2024 Gallery and click on each picture to view it enlarged. While some are not great, Jerry has managed to get some nice shots of some of the birds we have seen. We are almost a quarter of the way through and I am very happy with how it is going except we still have to get out of the car more! In my mind I assumed that I would be birding most days of this big year and out in the woods but the reality of winter birding is driving past fields and water, driving to chase rarities, driving to a spot and getting out for 10-15 mins. And many days with nothing to go after. I know this will change in the coming weeks as the forest birds start to return and by May we will be walking 15-20Km a day, every day. It cannot come soon enough LOL, we are itching to start adding birds in big numbers. I am sticking to my plan of not chasing common birds I know I will see in abundance later just because they keep showing up on my Needs Alert every hour mocking me! LOL. I’m talking about you, Winter Wren and Gray Catbird!!! I am also resisting the need to be number 1 on the top 100 birders in Ontario list, Jerry and I are currently #2. The only number that matters is on December 31 and it was never an intention to be the top birder. If it happens, great but my personal goal is what is important to me. I’ve been saying at the end of each post for 3 weeks now that next week it will start to get birdier and then it doesn’t, but maybe, just maybe, the tide will turn next week as the temperatures move up and we get some sun and south winds. Shorebirds come on!
Week 12 1 new species #14 rarities seen 157 species J&E
We finally saw a Northern Hawk Owl! and it was bird 150! Half-way to 300! We heard some intel that a Northern Hawk Owl was being seen near Ottawa and had been there for about a week and a half. Early Monday morning, 4:30am, we headed for Ottawa for our 11th attempt and 7th location to add this Owl. When we arrived there were 8-10 people gathered just off the shoulder of the road and the owl was in a tree about 20 meters away. The Northern Hawk Owl is a boreal species that can move a bit south in the winter where there are good supplies of rodents. It will hunt through the day and often stashes what it catches in crevices to snack on when,I guess, it just doesn’t feel like hunting much like us ordering take-out when we don’t feel like cooking. This Owl had been seen using its stashes so there did not seem to be an urgency on its part to hunt that day. It sat in the tree, watching us, staring off intently, bobbing its head as something caught its eye and preening. This species seems to tolerate humans but, still, everyone on site that day kept their distance while we were there. It was hard to resist taking a crazy amount of pictures with a subject close and obliging.
Giving the Owl spaceNorthern Hawk Owl
As always, we limited our time there and after chatting with some locals who were monitoring the situation, we headed off to look for our next bird – a Snow Goose. Every year the Snow Geese migrate through Quebec and Eastern Ontario in numbers that astound – fields with 60,000 can be the norm but mid-March is a bit early with peak migration in the first two weeks of April. We quickly found a field about 10 minutes from the Owl with about 2-4,000 geese feeding. They were quite a distance away and it was very windy but the video gives you an idea of just how many geese there were. Now imagine 10-20 times that number!
Snow Geese
There are two colour morphs of Snow Geese, white and blue. There is a blue morph in the picture above, the dark, almost black bird with a white head and neck. Despite looking quite different the two morphs are counted as one species.
The next 3 days we were busy with grandkids and caregiving as small numbers of early migrants started showing up on my “needs alerts” with record temperatures in the high teens. The first Tree Swallows, Wilson’s Snipes, Towhees, and Yellowlegs were all reported. It was too tempting not to bird a bit so we took Jerry’s Mom for an outing and just happened to go by Sioux Lookout Park in Burlington where Fish Crows hang out and they were indeed hanging out so we added a bird while technically “on duty” LOL. His Mom enjoyed the outing so we just may start bringing her along more often now that the weather is a bit better. We always try to fit birding in around our family commitments so we took the grandkids for a hike at F.R.W Dickson CA the next day to feed the chickadees and hike through the forest but alas, no new birds added.
We got back out to bird on our own on Friday at Long Point but a heavy rainstorm and colder conditions resulted in less birds. Still we managed to add 3 common, migrating species, Greater Yellowlegs, Tree Swallow and Rusty Blackbird. I was hoping to see the first Blue-winged Teals but despite careful scoping all along the causeway we could not find any. When we got home I got an alert that there were indeed two seen a few hours after we were there. That “timing” factor yet again. GRRRRR! Saturday we only had a few hours in the morning to bird before caregiving duty so we headed to a local favourite where Wilson’s Snipes had been reported the day before. Snipe’s look similar to the American Woodcock with long bills and stocky bodies. They are found in wetlands and when they fly make this winnowing sound from the air rushing through their tail feathers similar to the Woodcock’s diving display. There were 10 in this wetland area that I re-found with a scope otherwise you would not think anything was there. The picture below shows 7 of the 10 and you will have to believe me when I say they really are there. Hopefully Jerry will get a much better picture of one later in the season. In the meantime, I’ve added one from 2018 so you can see the white bars on their backs that I look for in the field when I am scoping.
7 Wilson’s Snipes – I promise!Wilson’s Snipe 2018
I expect that we will try to pick up more of the common species that are arriving early through next week just to get them “off the list” but cooler temperatures will probably mean just trickles of new birds arriving. Spring cannot come soon enough! We are itching to get going with migration and make significant gains in numbers.
Week 11 – still at 13 rarities, Half-way mark reached, 7 birds added 156 species for J&E
While the weather has been warm and springlike the number of birds arriving has been still quite low. Its a frustrating time for birders because most have all the winter birds on their lists and the weather makes us think more birds should be around and so we hike and check local places but inevitably there is nothing new. We birded locally for the first 2 days of this week because my “needs alerts” were the same 3-4 common birds that I am not chasing.
On Wednesday we made our 10th attempt and 6th location for a Northern Hawk Owl and NOTHING! The info I had was a month old so the bird had likely moved on. We were pretty disappointed and upset to spend the time and driving such a long distance for nothing but that is unfortunately part of this Big Year Birding. I consoled myself with some hot french fries for the drive home. There will be birds that drop into your hand so to speak and others require persistence and multiple tries. I’m thinking it might be time to give up for this season and wait until December and hope to get it for 2024 and 2025 at the same time. We will see…
The Niagara Hawk Watch at Beamer started on March 1 so I have been getting the daily reports and Wednesday was a foggy rainy day with no hawks reported but the note at the bottom said “promising conditions” for tomorrow. I also had a note beside Golden Eagle on my list “March 8,9 Beamer”. When there are NE winds the migrating hawks coming along Lake Erie turn at Lake Ontario and get pushed over to the escarpment and decent numbers can be seen over the Beamer Hawk Tower. We were up early and off to Beamer on Thursday morning where we joined other birders and counters up on the tower anticipating a good hawk day. Red-tails and Red-shouldered Hawks appeared soon after we got there, not in huge numbers but nice to get close-up views as some flew overhead. A couple of Bald Eagles and smaller Cooper’s Hawks kept us entertained as well.
Bald EagleRed-shouldered Hawk
Around noon a very large, very dark bird appeared, as the sun hit it the golden head appeared in my bins and all around me the birders were confirming it – yep Golden Eagle! Woohoo! It’s a tough bird to get in spring and we were so excited watching it that Jerry did not even lift his camera so no picture! We will visit another Hawk watch in the fall when Golden’s are more likely and hopefully get a picture then. I’ve attached a pic we have of a Juvenile Golden from 2017. Bird #149 and one away from the half-way mark.
We birded locally on Friday and the weekend was filled with caregiving, hockey and dinner with friends. There are more reports of some early spring migrants arriving, shorebirds should be starting in the next week or so and things should start to pick up soon. We plan to head to Ottawa tomorrow for Snow Geese and one more chance at a Hawk Owl. Fingers crossed!
2024 Photo Gallery can now be viewed in larger slides ( just click on the pic) to enjoy the birds we have seen better! Check it out!
It was bound to happen! The birding has been slower with my “needs” list shrinking and few new migrants arriving. We went 6 days without adding a new bird to the list. I don’t want to chase common birds that I know I will see and the few birds I need have just not been co-operating LOL. We headed to Erieau on Monday to try for a Eurasian Wigeon, a duck, that required us to scope through a few thousand other ducks in a “Where’s Waldo” scenario.
Lets find the one Eurasian Wigeon!
Most of the ducks were Redheads with, well red heads and the Eurasian Wigeon also has a red/rust head but with a buff/white flash on the forehead. The scope does give you good views of those black specks in the picture above but it is a challenge to move through all of those ducks looking for the one that is different from all the others. And they often have their heads in the water while they feed. We scoped for 3 hours from 7am until 10, moving down the bay, gave up and did some birding at Rondeau and then headed back in the afternoon for another 2 hours of scoping. There were other birders scoping as well so we are pretty sure we did not miss it and it is for sure still out there as birders found it again a few days later. It will probably be there till April so we will most likely try for it again unless another one is found under better viewing circumstances. I ended up with pretty achy legs and neck from all that scoping so spent some time on the yoga mat for the next few days. We took advantage of the birding slowdown to spend time with family, a rare lunch with our son and daughter, a sleepover with two of the grandkids and we care-give for Jerry’s mom 2-3 times a week in Hamilton. When we go to Hamilton we try to fit in a walk or two of birding but those did not yield anything new. Saturday I wrote the beginning of the blog resigned that this would be the first week with no birds added.
Late Saturday a report came in of a Eurasian Wigeon at Long Point with the potential of not having to scan through thousands of Redheads. The alarm was set.
Sunday morning was quite foggy and arriving at Long Point around 8 yielded us a view into the marsh of fog with glimpses and flashes of potential Wigeons and Pintails. We took a walk and came back just before 10 and scanned for a few minutes and found the rust/red head of a Eurasian Wigeon.! Yes!!! The week of no new birds was broken with a rarity that is one of the more difficult to get. Bird #147. Jerry even managed a picture, a bad picture for sure, because it was quite a ways out. Below you can see the difference between the two ducks, both have a flash of white/buff on their foreheads but the American has a green/brown head and the Eurasian has a rust/red head.
Eurasian WigeonAmerican Wigeon
Because of the unseasonable warm weather I had been seeing reports of American Woodcock over the last few days and we had checked our local spot around the corner on Saturday night but heard nothing. Sunday night we headed out just before dusk to another local spot in Brantford to see if we could hear and see their flight displays. The American Woodcock is a strange looking bird, see the picture below from a few years back, that is difficult to see for most of the year but in the spring the male performs these dazzling arial flights. The male starts by making these “peent” noises on the ground right at dusk and then after a few minutes will quickly fly up 250-300 ft in a spiral where you can hear this twittering sound as the air passes though his wings. Then he will start to descend in a zigzag pattern coming down like a football to land close to a female, if they are around. The “peenting” starts again and then another flight. These displays can go on late into the night.
American Woodcock
In Brantford, just at dusk, the “peenting” started and we decided there were at least 4 birds in the scrubby field. Shortly after they started their flight displays and it was one of the best displays we have seen because it was still quite light so we could easily see the bird way up in the sky and watch it as it came back to the ground. I forgot my camera in the car and taking pics or videos was still quite challenging for Jerry so we have nothing to show for it. The reports are coming in from across Southern Ontario for the Woodcocks displaying and some of these are the earliest records ever. Last year, our local bird started displaying April 2 so this year they are a full month earlier.
And so from 6 days with nothing new we added 2 new birds on the 7th day. We are now two birds away from the half-way mark and this 12th rarity means if I get all the common and migratory birds I will hit the 300. Woohoo!
Week 9 12 rarities 2 new birds added 148 species seen by J&E
We started the week with a full day of birding to finish off the Global Backyard Birding Count. We walked 9.3 km, the most we have on any day this year so far. We didn’t add any new birds but we did spend a delightful 20 minutes watching two Pileated Woodpeckers feed at Pinehurst Park. The male has the red crest all the way to the beak, and a red malar stripe and in this pic seems to be having a bad hair day LOL. The female in the foreground has a crest that only is on the back of her head. See the difference?
Tuesday Jerry opted to stay in waiting for his fixed camera to be delivered so I ventured down to the Trail and managed to see my first Common Grackles of the year. One bird ahead of Jerry!
Wednesday was a warm day and we managed to fit in a few walks between caretaking duties for Jerry’s mom. We added an early or over-wintering Yellow-rumped Warbler and Jerry managed to get better pics of many ducks along the Bay walk. On Thursday we took a drive down to Rondeau and the Glencoe area and managed to add 3 more birds, Swamp Sparrow, a very early Eastern Meadowlark and Killdeer. The Glencoe area is known for Golden Eagles and we have now driven it a few times unsuccessfully, but we did end the day near a site for Short-eared Owls and stopped for a quick few pictures to end our day.
Short-eared Owl
Friday was another beautiful day and with few birds to chase we stayed local and walked some of our favourite trails. We didn’t add anything new but it was nice to be out in the sun and walking. Late Friday reports came in for a possible Bullock’s/Orchard Oriole in Toronto. Bullock’s would be the “western” version of our “eastern” version Orchard Oriole. The expert’s studied pictures, gave opinions, better experts weighed in and the bird was declared a Bullock’s Saturday morning. We were in Niagara Falls for the day for a family gathering but knew we would have to head out first thing Sunday morning. The alarm went off at 5:30 am and we were out of the house by 6 and in Toronto at 7. We saw the bird at 7:30 thanks to Margaret’s keen eye! in a few different trees as it moved around to feed. Rarity #11 and bird #145 The bird had been coming to a jelly feeder since January 7 but never reported. With the secret out, it was quickly decided to set up another feeding station away from the home in nearby High Park that the bird was also frequenting so that birders would not be near the homes. The Ambassador program that the OFO (Ontario Field Ornithologists) started a few years back has been very successful at making these rarities accessible but also keeping impacts on local residents to a minimum and making sure that it is a positive experience for everyone and the bird is also protected. A local birder approaches the homeowner, discusses any issues, whether they even want visitors etc, what times or constraints for visiting and the option to collect fees to offset damage to lawns, seeds/food for the birds, or local charities. Before this program was initiated it was a bit of a free-for-all at a rarity siting and inevitably bad behaviour from a very few visitors would piss off the locals and in one extreme case, led to a farmer killing an owl to stop birders from coming. The program was started to make sure nothing like that happened again. We would have loved to hang with the other birders and chat and enjoy the bird more but we are always cognizant of what the local people are thinking with 20 people suddenly hanging on the street so we had a quick chat and left the area.
Bullock’s Oriole
We also added a Wood Duck and Jerry saw his first Common Grackle to bring us even again and then we stopped at Colonel Sam Smith Park on the way home to add American Pipit which we forgot to look for on the previous two visits. A nice end to week 8! In the past 8 weeks we have driven 10,000kms and walked 174km.
Week 8 11 rarities seen this year 8 more birds added 146 species seen (J&E)
