Great Egret | The Ovenbird Blog

Week 13 & 14 Finally! some birds!

by Ellen Horak | Apr 6, 2025 | Canada 400

Week 13

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.

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!

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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!

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…

Week 14 10 new species added 185 J&E

Week 15 Spring has Sprung!

by Ellen Horak | Apr 14, 2024 | Ontario Birds 2024

Reminder! Keep checking the 2024 Gallery as we are continually adding and updating pictures as Jerry takes better shots of birds we had in the winter and finally gets pics of birds he missed earlier.

With the eclipse on Monday we birded locally in the morning before heading to watch our grandkids so their mom could go to work. We did another drive past Paris Plains Church Road and saw and heard a Vesper Sparrow but no chance for a picture. Then we walked the TH&B Rail Trail off D’Aubigny Rd, one of our favourite spots in Brant County. We quickly added an Eastern Towhee that we heard and then after some effort, found singing away in the shrubs. We had super views of a local Peregrine Falcon cruising over us doing lazy circles and Jerry managed a few pics of it in flight.

The clouds moved aside so that we had great views of the eclipse with our grandkids and then after the sun came back out we headed to Safari Road Marsh in the evening to see if we could hear American Bittern and Common Gallinule that had been heard that morning. This marsh area along Safari Road near Valens has been flooding across the road for a few years now so the city blocks the section of road from traffic which, we the birders, absolutely LOVE! It used to be you took your lives into your hands to see the speciality marsh birds there when traffic was still allowed. Now it is a birders paradise to get the marsh species. We met up with Mourad, an excellent Hamilton birder, and we passed the time talking birds, waiting for dusk and listening for either of the species. And nothing! Maybe the eclipse messed their schedule but we ended up “dipping” (birder slang for missing a bird) on them. Just as it was getting dark a large number of swallows appeared and among them was a larger, all dark bird giving us our FOY (first of year) Purple Martin. Some consolation. All three of us also saw what we all believe was a River Otter in the marsh!

Tuesday morning we headed to Long Point. The forecast was sun and heat and with south winds during the night I felt it might be a decent day to pick up some early common migrants and hoping for some cool rarity. The Long Point Bird Observatory has been banding and studying birds since the 1960’s and is a spring ritual for most birders. At the Old Cut Research Station you can watch birds being banded. If you have not been, it is worth a trip, the station bands spring and fall from 9-12 each day.

We walked the paths and quickly saw birds that while not new for the year were giving Jerry the opportunity for pictures, numerous Eastern Towhees were scratching at the ground, Winter Wrens were moving low, Kinglets were flying past and we soon added Ruby-crowned Kinglet for the year. From Old Cut we checked out the nearby neighbourhood and saw our first Pine Warbler. Not in full breeding colours but a welcome sight anyway.

We then checked out the campground and saw numerous Thrush, Towhees and Sapsuckers offering us great views and photo opportunities. This Golden-crowned Kinglet was only interested in finding sustenance and ignored me walking beside.

A bit further along we found a FOY Brown Thrasher. Didn’t get great pictures as they can be a skulky bird but Jerry did get his eye!LOL

At the end of our walk we were standing in a campground when a tiny brown bird flew in front of me and behind Jerry just a foot off the ground. It was a Winter Wren, a bird we went weeks without seeing and had just heard on Sunday. At 4″ long and weighing only 0.3 oz these tiny birds have huge voices with a wonderful song. I managed a video (audio muted as we were talking) as it moved along and then it curled up on a branch for a bit of a rest. I suspect that it was exhausted from its flight across the lake as they generally are not that still around people.

While we were birding a report came in that a Black-necked Stilt was at the Strathroy Sewage Lagoons. The Stilts are a southern species that are rare to Ontario but nested at the lagoons last year and had a successful brood. It was only 1.5 hrs away so we headed to get the rarity even though it and others perhaps will be there all summer. The rule for a Big Year is always get the bird as quickly as you can.

The wind was picking up when we arrived but Trish, a London birder, (thanks!) gave us quick directions where to go and we found the Stilt without too much difficulty. It is a bird that is difficult to mistake with its long bright pink legs! It was a distance away so not a great picture but a record shot at least. We also saw a Spotted Sandpiper (the first reported in Ontario) and then heard a Sora on the way out.

Trying to be efficient as possible we decided to stop on the way home for pictures of a Great Horned Owl family that is nesting at a cemetery we were going past. Normally, we do not worry about getting pics of all the birds and especially bothering nesting birds but we are trying to get a pic of every bird seen this year so we stopped and spent all of 7 minutes at the site just before dusk.

We arrived home at 7:10 and were eating dinner at 7:45 and in bed by 10. I was tired having only managed to sleep 4 hours the night before and suffering from acute allergies. But we were back up at 6am Wednesday to head to Safari Road determined to hear the Bittern. This time we also remembered our rubber boots so we could wade down the road. We heard and saw Common Gallinules right away and then walked back and forth until we heard the strange oong-KA-chunk sounds of the Bittern. Google that call – it is one of the weirder bird calls. With not many other species around and the temps hitting 20C we headed home to do a house chore – putting more Feather Friendly dots on the rest of our windows.

We live in a solar passive house with lots of southern windows and we have had our share of bird hits and deaths – in the early years we used those big decals with limited success but a few years ago we found out about the dots and we did all the major south windows that got the most bird hits. With the dots up not one bird has hit those windows. Last year Jerry drew lines of soap on the other windows and that worked reasonably well. Most hits come during migration time as it seems our resident birds have figured out the perimeter of the house. Last week we were devastated to have two birds chasing each other hit our bedroom window and both died. One was a Junco and the other was a Purple Finch that Jerry had just photographed. We ordered more dots the next day.

After completing the windows we headed out in the evening to our local marsh, Grass Lake to see if any rails had returned but all was quiet. This is the spot where Sandhill Cranes nest too. It will be a regular spot for us to check over the next few weeks to try and see and hear the marsh birds and it is only 5 minutes from our house.

Thursday was a rain day and gave me time to start on this blog, hence the length of this blog, lots of time on my hands!

Friday was another rainy, windy day and we were in Hamilton to watch our grandson play in his hockey championships so in between games we walked along the lake at Confederation Park and added Northern Rough-winged Swallow and then we HAD to stop at Hutch’s for fish and chips! Then we headed to Valley Inn and found a Great Egret had arrived before heading back to another hockey game.

Sunday morning, prime time to bird found us yet again at the hockey rink as Benson’s team played the final and won their Division Championship! Go Bulldogs!!! We then headed west to Backus Woods near Long Point. It is a new spot for us and hosts Louisiana Waterthrushes every year. A few have been reported in the last few days around Ontario so we took a chance that an early one might be visible or heard at their prime territory. NOPE! But it was a lovely hike through beautiful scenery and we now know where to go in the next weeks when they will surely arrive. We then checked out Long Point again to see if any new migrants had arrived but again dipped on adding any new bird. On the way home we stopped at Port Rowan Wetlands and saw 2 Bank Swallows, finally a new bird and a quick stop at Turkey Point gave us our FOY Dunlin so we managed to add two more birds in the last hour of our birding day. A good week for mid April! the 15th week and 15 birds added.

Week 15 1 new rarity for a total of 16 rarities 15 new species 188 species seen J&E