On Tuesday there were NE winds in Hamilton which are good for lake watching. We need two Jaeger species and Sabine’s Gull so we planned to head in but made a stop in Dundas to see about getting a picture of a Nelson’s Sparrow. We only heard Nelson’s Sparrow in BC so it is on our list but we would like to see and photograph one. Nelson’s Sparrows are seldom seen in spring migration because they move through quickly but in the fall there are a number of traditional spots that they arrive and spend a few weeks before moving on in their migration. One spot is near along the Desjardins Canal and so we took the short walk through the tall goldenrod. Unfortunately, there were trucks and a crane working on the hydro towers so it was noisy. We stayed for a bit anyway but did not have these skulky birds pop up.
We headed to Van Wagners and set up for a lake watch. In the 3.5 hours we stayed we managed to see a few Parasitic Jaegers to add to our list. They were not close enough for a picture but close enough to identify. Well, to be fair, other birders confirmed their identity. We still have a tough time with Jaegers although we are getting better at it.
Wednesday morning was a repeat of Tuesday. First we checked for a Nelson’s Sparrow in Cambridge, then Desjardins Canal again and did not find them again so we headed to the lake again. The winds were stronger than the day before and it was chilly enough that I had long johns on and two layers of coats and gloves. There were quite a few birders there because the conditions were perfect for a Jaeger day but it was quiet. So much so that many birders left. Finally late in the day we saw 2 adult Parasitic Jaegers and had really nice scope views as they flew around out in the bay for an extended period of time. People with the big cameras managed to get decent pictures of them. We spent 6 hours there but did not have anything new. Such is lake watching…
Screen Shot of Margaret Hough’s picture shared with permissionJerry’s picture – Parasitic Jaegers
Thursday the winds were from the East instead of Northeast which can still be good but the forecast was for light winds. I didn’t think it would be very good but at the same time I knew it would be the last day of favourable winds for a week so we dropped in to Van Wagners after seeing Babi and doing some errands. It was lovely and warm again and chatting with other birders made the time pass quickly. We only stayed a few hours as there were few birds around and birders that had been there longer had nothing to show for the time either. Hopefully we will get Sabine’s Gulls in October and maybe if we are lucky a late Long-tailed Jaeger. We spent a total of 11 hours this week lake watching to get one new species.
A good day when the waves are like this!Snacks to alleviate boredomJerry making sure he doesn’t miss a Jaeger!Not great when the waves look like this – have I posted enough pics of us looking at water?
Friday I went to Vortex in Guelph to take my binoculars in for a repair. On day two of our East trip the focus wheel started acting up and it was an on and off problem for the whole month. I’ve had my Vortex Razor HD 8×42 binoculars since 2015 and they were fine for 6 years until the focus wheel first acted up in 2021. They had to be fixed again in 2022 and now again. They had me wait a few minutes and then brought me out a box with NEW BINOCULARS! Vortex has a life-time warranty and they stand behind that warranty. I bought Jerry a pair in 2017 and he has had them replaced twice after bad falls that broke the bins. I cannot understand why anyone would buy another brand without a life-time warranty. And they are an excellent binocular too! Vortex Rocks!
On Saturday we helped the Lions with the biyearly trash pickup along the major road in our community. When we got back home we started doing some gardening when the Discord chimes started going one after the other. Gray Kingbird, a Florida species, had been photographed at Princess Point in Hamilton in the morning but was not identified until 1:00 – we were in Hamilton at 1:57. There were 20 or so birders wandering around trying to refind the bird and more arrived while we were there. We covered the trails again and again all hoping to find a small gray bird catching insects. Unfortunately, it was not found. We stayed until after 5 and then headed home. There have been rarities this year but its been difficult to refind them. A bit frustrating for those of us doing big years. We did see and record other birds seen and Jerry took this very nice picture of a Night-Heron
Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron
Sunday we continued our discussions about the Caracara up near Timmins. Our calendar is quite full and there is little opportunity to go. I wanted to have it be a trip to get other species we still need but I don’t think we have a window for another few weeks with Thanksgiving coming up and the bird may leave soon as the weather cools down. It will be a very last minute decision if we go and a quick trip up and back.
Week 40 1 species added 420 on ebird and 421 on my list E&J
We headed to Grimsby Wetlands early Monday morning hoping the Cinnamon Teal remained and after 30 mins or so of scanning the bulrushes it was re-found! Finally our #320! The duck remained partially obscured for quite a while but eventually moved closer so that pictures could be taken. This is a Western species commonly seen in Alberta or British Columbia and it is quite rare to have them in Ontario so many birders will make the trip to see this duck.
There are over 200 checklists from that hotspot this week and it still remains there and birders keep arriving. There will likely be a few hundred more that will attempt to see this duck. Robert Baumander and Dave Archbell sent me these group shots from our visit. Jerry is shooting from up on a bench for a clearer picture.
taken by Robert Baumandertaken by Dave Archbell
Tuesday we birded Hamilton again mainly because we have had to visit Jerry’s mom almost daily as her dementia symptoms increase. We took another look at Princess Point for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron but again only saw Black-crowned. The winds were right for lake watching but we had our community Lions dinner meeting (we are both members) so we reluctantly headed home. Just past 5:00 a few birders at the lake had 3 Common Eiders fly past! That would be a great bird to add to my list and I was super sad that I missed them. They may be on the lake for a while so we will be looking for these ducks over the next few weeks.
Wednesday we headed to Jerry’s mom’s again and then on to lake watch. Just before we arrived Cheryl and Rob had seen a Pomarine Jaeger, the only Jaeger I have left to see, and shortly after we arrived we had it flying with a Parasitic Jaeger for bird #321. I had to rely on the expert birders to confirm that sighting as I am still learning about Jaegers and the subtle differences between them. This is the first year where I am actually able to tell them apart from the gulls and other birds flying around out on the lake. The day got better as we had a Juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger cruise right by the viewing deck and then an adult with streamers fly past later as well as watching 5-7 Parasitic Jaegers chasing down gulls trying to get food. We also saw distant views of Sabine’s Gulls. A great day on the lake to get all 3 Jaeger species and the Gull as well. I only need Black-legged Kittiwake now but there is always the chance for rarities, like the Eiders, so we will get down there as often as we can with NE winds.
The new viewing deck is finally finished at Van Wagners Beach and while it does not meet all our birding needs it is an improvement on the old deck.
We celebrated the weeks new birds with some yummy appetizers at Oh Bombay in Burlington.
Delicious!
Thursday the winds were again from the NE so we headed down to the lake again, this time we brought his Mom with us and it was nice to see her happy to spend some time outside and watching the goings on at the lake. It was a quiet day for birds, but we had the usual questions from passers-by about what we were looking for. I am happy to explain as long as I am not missing something flying by and there is always the hope that I turn someone new onto birding. We almost always have good conversations and experiences with the people who stop and I am happy to be one of the faces of birding at Van Wagners beach. I even met someone who knows someone from our tiny village of Glen Morris.
Friday morning with NE winds yet again we decided to drive and bird along the lake from Grimsby back to Van Wagners. We were hoping to run across the Common Eiders that had been briefly seen and that area of the lake is a hangout for ducks in the winter months so we thought we would check it out. There were few birds along the lake and we ended up at Van Wagners by 1:30. There were more birders than the previous day including a couple from California that were trying to see their first Jaegers. They ended up seeing a Parasitic and also lifer Sabines Gulls so we were happy to have helped them a bit. We had more activity than the previous day and got onto jaegers fairly quickly then had a lull for a few hours and then things picked up between 4 and 5 with chances to watch a number of jaegers going after gulls and each other. I am getting much better at picking them out even far out in the lake. The amount of time on lake watches has been well worth it.
The winds changed a bit on Saturday and we welcomed a day off to catch up on laundry and household chores. We had 8 cords of firewood delivered this week and we got all that stacked and ready for winter. I started putting some of the porch furniture away as we are not likely to be needing it in the next few weeks. People were still down at the Lake Watch and had Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers and at some point they saw some ducks way off in the distance and took some camera shots that look to be Eiders. The two days I did not do lake watches and eiders were seen! Why is this sooooo hard! LOL!
Sunday we headed back into Hamilton and scoped the lake from all the spots in Burlington where the Eiders had been seen and then back to Van Wagners for the afternoon Lake Watch. The winds were not really good but we saw Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers. I was hoping for Eiders. None were seen even though we hung in there until after 6 when it started to rain a bit. Rain and south winds are in the forecast for the next few days so there might be a bit of a lull in lake watching while we turn our attention to a sparrow – Nelson’s Sparrows should start arriving next week in Southern Ontario. We also have the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) conference next weekend and we will be heading to the northern one instead of Pelee.
Last week on our first lake watch Marcus had mentioned that he thought one of the birds we had seen might have been a Long-tailed Jaeger instead of Parasitic. They are difficult birds to ID, especially as juveniles and we often see them under poor viewing conditions. We had taken plenty of pictures but they needed to be seen on a larger screen and when Marcus had a chance he asked some local experts to weigh in. On Tuesday he got responses that our first two birds we had seen were Long-tailed Jaegers! So that becomes bird #315 and then we did see Parasitic Jaegers later in the day so they become bird #316. It is fantastic that we had two Jaeger species in our first few hours of lake watching and didn’t know it for almost a week!
Long-tailed JaegerParasitic Jaeger
Winds were not favourable at either lake this week so we concentrated on that pesky Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Are you tired of hearing about this bird? I used the Buff-breasted as an example in one of my first blogs about the information available on ebird and where and when to see a particular species. Back then, I said I had a 73% chance of seeing this species in the last week of August up near Beeton so that is where I would be. Except the birds were not at Beeton this year. This week the chance dropped to 45% and next week 42% and then little chance. They have shown up at that site consistently for many, many years and for some reason this year they have not…yet. I was feeling frustrated and thinking I should have chased the one that showed up last week in Chatham. People were checking Beeton regularly and on Wednesday after north winds in the night we drove up hoping they would have arrived but no joy for us. Other birders checked Thursday and Friday. We had been checking our local sod farms all week as well and had no birds there.
Finally, on Saturday September 7 a Buff-breasted Sandpiper was found at Beeton Sod Farms. Hallelujah!! Of course we were looking after our grandkids for the day so I gnawed my knuckles all day and hoped it remained until Sunday. We headed up early Sunday and Margaret posted 15 mins before we arrived that there were now 2 at the same spot. We arrived and celebrated seeing both quite close to the road before they flew further back. Bird #317 for us and bird #300 for Margaret! It was only about 8C with gusty north winds so we were cold! but we stuck around for an hour or so talking to other birders and getting better looks at the birds now and again. Sadly, they apparently flew off just after we left and were not seen again but hopefully more show up across the province and many others get a chance to see them. So, ebird does work, the dates are not always for sure, but the birds do eventually come.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
I have 7 more expected species to still get: Pomarine Jaeger, Sabine’s Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Brant, Purple Sandpiper, American Goshawk and Nelson’s Sparrow. I’ve made extensive notes on all of them as to where and when to see them. IF I get all of them that would get me to 324 species. I am still trying for Boreal Owl before year end and a few other rarer species. That will just leave any other rarities that show up and are chaseable to the end of the year. At 317 we remain in the top spot in Ontario having seen 88% of the 359 species reported so far. Ideally, I would like to end up seeing 90% or better.
I face the daily dilemma now of whether to stay local where I am in the middle of the province so when a rarity is found I can head in either direction or get out to bird known spots as much as possible on the chance of finding something ourselves. Our caregiving duties have also ramped up to every second day lately so we have less time available to actively get out to bird. Four of the seven remaining birds are on the lake so lake watches will remain a priority when the winds are favourable. Still lots to do and see and birding spots to cover.
Monday and Tuesday I waited for word of Buff-breasted at the Sod Farms but people had checked and still nothing. The new morning and evening ritual is to check the wind forecast for Hamilton and Sarnia. In Hamilton birders want strong NE winds and in Sarnia we want strong NW winds. You can get seabirds with other winds but your chances are much higher with the right winds. It was looking good for NE winds in Hamilton Wednesday and Thursday. In Hamilton, birders gather at the Lakeland tower close to Hutch’s restaurant and set up scopes and chairs to hang out for hours scanning for the three expected species of Jaegers, Parasitic, Long-tailed and Pomarine. Peak time for these birds is September/October when they migrate from their Arctic breeding grounds and a few stop along the Great Lakes before heading to their wintering seas. Jaegers are known as the “pirates of the sea” as they engage in kleptoparasitism meaning they steal food, usually from Ring-billed Gulls or Common Terns by chasing them down and harassing them until they drop any meal they have in their bill or have just swallowed. It is very cool to witness one of these chases close to shore. Lake Watching tends to be in crappy weather; think cold, rainy, and windy so any days in August where it might be a bit warmer is worth trying.
The tower at LakelandHours of the same view!
Wednesday morning was humid and hot and Lake Ontario was like glass but the winds were forecast to pick up around 11 so we first birded through Confederation Park enjoying multiple views of heron species and carefully checking any Juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons for a possible Yellow-crowned. A report of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper came in from the Chatham area but I opted not to chase it so early in the season. Around 11:30 we headed to Lakeland and met up with Markus, a young Hamilton birder who did a Big Year in Hamilton last year, reaching 275 species! We climbed the tower because they were rebuilding the deck at ground level and started scanning. Within 30 minutes Markus spotted 2 Jaegers coming towards the tower and we had great views as they came in on the east side and flew around the back of the tower to the west side. Both Markus and Jerry took a number of pictures and just like that we had bird #315 Parasitic Jaeger added to the list. Thanks Markus!
Parasitic Jaeger
We celebrated and then went back to scanning. Lake watching is hours of scanning the lake and horizon for small black specks that fly differently from gulls, ducks and cormorants. When someone spots a jaeger there is the challenge to describe where you are looking to get all the other birders on it too, and its a moving target. So you will see multiple people looking through scopes and suddenly someone yelling, “I’ve got a jaeger! It’s above the horizon, heading left, crossing past the CN tower now, a gull just flew right below it, now over a white sailboat, coming up to the tallest white building”. You get the idea. It is a skill to try and describe something that is essentially is a tiny black bird in a field of blue water and blue sky. Most sightings are so far out that they have to go in as a Jaeger species rather than identified to type. We wanted them in close enough to shore that we could identify and hopefully add Long-tailed Jaeger as well. Other birders joined us over the afternoon and we had a number of birds far out and another couple of Parasitic come in close. The winds got stronger, the air was colder and I was shivering by 4:00. What a crazy change from the morning. We hung in another hour as it is often very good between 3-6 but nothing else came in. We ended the day having seen 5 Parasitic Jaegers fairly close and 5 jaeger species. Not bad for a first Lake watch in August.
Thursday the winds were a bit stronger in the morning but Jerry had an appointment so we didn’t get there until noon time and Max was sure he had a Long-tailed come in fairly early when he was there first thing. There were a few more birders present and shortly after we arrived Barb got on a Parasitic Jaeger reasonably close. Margaret, from Toronto had joined us and got her Parasitic for the year. We all went back to scanning. When we got bored of scanning we amused ourselves by taking pictures and video of Sanderlings and a Ruddy Turnstone on the beach taking turns so we didn’t miss anything. Marcus and George supplied us with lots of sweet treats and the hours went by quickly.
While I was videoing the Turnstone I looked up and there were 2 Jaegers flying right past me, pretty close. I was so stunned and then tried to get my camera up and going and they were gone! I don’t know how Jerry gets the pictures he does! All the birders got on those birds and they were determined to be Parasitics too. We continued to scan and chat about birding, hearing stories of great gets from Barb. I love hearing these stories as you quickly realize how random events are that lead to great gets or misses. I also like hearing information about other species and where to find certain species. It is always an informative time while you patiently wait for those brief moments of birds flying past. As the afternoon waned the winds dies down and there was less action on the water. We were meeting Marg and Lawson for dinner at Hutch’s so we packed it in again around 5.
The hours I need to devote to Lake watching will increase until I get the Long-tailed and Pomarine Jaeger on my list. Hopefully, I can head to Sarnia for a watch there as they often seem to have more Long-tailed over that way. There are a few people checking the Beeton Sod Farms daily for the Buff-breasted that have chosen this year not to show up on time and there are still no sightings. I am not stressed, but I am a tiny bit concerned that they might not show up there and I should have chased the one in Chatham. Oh, it is never the right decision it seems. On Saturday a Yellow-crowned Night Heron was reported but could only be seen by a boat in the St. Lawrence near the Thousand Islands. Another bird that was not chaseable. Although, I did look up where and when the 1,000 Islands cruises go just in case. It was not near the island the bird had been seen or we might have added that to our weekend plans. On Sunday late in the day a report came in that a Mississippi Kite had gone over the Holiday Beach Hawk Watch the first day it was running so I guess that is where I should have been LOL.
