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.
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.
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.
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!
Week 12 3 new species. 173 species seen by E&J