As per usual Sunday night at 9:17 a report came in that a Crested Caracara, a non-migrating vagrant (rarity) from Texas had been photographed near Amherstburg just at 6pm. We had already decided that we could not drive the car any distance and had booked a rental to pick up at 8 when we dropped our car to the dealer. It was not ideal as you usually want to be at a rarity first thing in the morning, but hawks often roost until it warms a bit so we figured it would give people a chance to refind it and hopefully it would be sticking around a bit. At 7 the bird was found not far from where it was photographed and 2 young birders were very happy! Jude who arrived a few minutes later, was not, as the bird had flown. A while later it was refound again, but by the time birders got to it, it had flown again. We were still driving at this time but there were a lot of birders there, driving roads and searching, slowing down, making u-turns. The locals were starting to complain on local FB pages. The bird was “seen” again at another spot and this went on until we arrived just at 11 with another “sighting ” that turned out to be an Osprey. People were pretty discouraged, a few lucky people had it fly over them but each report was a flyover and the bird did not seem to land and sit. We finally opted to head into the Conservation Area where it had been last seen sort of heading that way and added some birds to our year list while hoping it would be found nearby.
We met up with some local birders and photographers Noel and Mel and they offered us a tour of Holiday Beach CA since we had never been! I know, long overdue for us to hit this fantastic hotspot for migrating birds. Along the way we picked up Robert and Trish and so we had a lovely walk and some social time talking about our favourite subject – birds! I have said before that the best part of this hobby is the people you meet and I totally forgot to be bummed out at not getting to see the Caracara because of the company. We had seen this species many times in Texas but it would be a nice one to get for Ontario and for this year.
We stuck around into the mid afternoon and with no new reports and not seeing it as we once again circled the area we opted to cut our losses and headed to Pelee NP for a quick walk. It was raining/snowing as we drove but cleared up just as we got to the Visitor’s Center. We did a quick walk through Tilden’s hoping to see an early Louisiana Waterthrush but no joy. We were pretty hungry by this time having done our usual “bird diet” of not eating anything all day so we stopped for quick fast food before heading home. The food perked us up enough that we decided to stop at Erieau to see if we could scare up Lapland Longspurs that had been reported earlier and a Yellow-headed Blackbird as well. It was close to 6pm by this time and while it was still light out it was cold and really windy. No joy for either species. We did see a Wilson’s Snipe for a nice close-up photo though. Picture is further down.
Tuesday we were up and out the door by 8:30 doing the usual drive around the corn fields for our 7-8 attempt at Lapland Longspurs. We stopped at the side of the road when we saw a Vesper Sparrow and rolled down the window for better looks and suddenly a familiar song came in loud and clear. It was a Lapland Longspur. We confirmed the song with our Ibird Pro app and then started scanning with our binoculars. The birds are brown, the corn husks are brown, the ground is brown. When you are scanning you hope for movement but it was super windy so all kinds of leaves were blowing around making us think it was birds flying. Jerry got out thinking to scope but it was feeling like -16 with the wind and the gusts made it impossible to scope well. We drove down the road and then back again hoping we might see a flight or at least hear them again but after the initial song there was radio silence. Still we had it for the list as a heard only (HO) but hope to still see them in the next week.
Wednesday morning we returned the rental and picked up our car. They found a wire that was kinked and nearly broken off that was causing the problems. A mere $500 for two repairs and a rental LOL! We drove the roads for Laplands, hoping to see at least one this trip but there was very little activity and we didn’t hear or see any. It has continued to be windy and very cold. After a visit to Babi and on our way to Hamilton to meet with our new tenants a report came in from Chatham that the Caracara had been seen! We had a quick discussion while we continued in the wrong direction and opted not to go for it. We would not get there until after 4 and if we had to search it would not give us much time before dark. We figured if it stayed in the area and people knew where it was at dark we could try for it first light Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the bird remained for only about 45 mins and then it flew off again and despite people driving after it, it was lost from sight. It is not easy to chase birds like this unless they may be staying at landfills or sources of food, otherwise they are on the move a lot. The good news is that it is still in Ontario and we know it will not cross the open lake so if it continues its flight along the shore perhaps next stop will be Long Point.
Thursday was back to more of a winter/spring mix of snow/rain throughout the day so we opted to use the time to catch up on household chores.
Friday we started with the Laplands again with no joy but did hear our first of the year Swamp Sparrow at Grass Lake. Then we headed down to Long Point to at least be in the area if the Caracara was refound. We scanned fields ourselves just in case it would materialize for us! We stopped in at Turkey Point and added Forster’s Terns to our list and then headed to Long Point. One of our favourite walks is through the old campground off the main road. In spring it can be full of newly arrived migrants. We quickly heard many Golden-crowned Kinglets and saw Eastern Phoebes and a Hermit Thrush. As we were following the Thrush and Jerry was trying to get a picture something else caught his eye – an American Woodcock! snuggled into the leaf litter. It was so close I could take a pic and video with my iphone. We seldom get to see these birds except when they are doing their dizzying displays at dusk. We stopped at a few more of the regular spots at Long Point but did not get anything else new.
My fav birds of early spring. Two similar looking birds with cool flight displays and noises. If you want a laugh google “American Woodcock or Timberdoodle walking”.
Saturday we did a local walk but did not add anything new to the year. Its a frustrating time of the year because I get hourly reports of new birds being seen across the province but they are not in significant quantity that I can expect to run across them. And as per last year, I am not chasing common species just to add them a few days earlier. I have to be patient and wait until the numbers increase and the birds are at more hotspots. Easier said then done but I am way more “zen” than I was last year.
Sunday was a family day and Babi joined us for dinner. We don’t celebrate individual birthdays for us, our kids and their partners anymore. Instead we have a guys celebration in the spring ( their birthdays are Feb/March/April) and the girls in late summer (ours are Aug/Sept). I expected that a rarity would no doubt appear but no reports came in other than Brett had 100 Laplands over at Paris Plains Church Road. I left the onions I was in the middle of chopping and we quickly drove over and within 5-10 minutes we had a group of about 20 fly over us. Not good enough for a picture but we have at least seen them now. Warmer temperatures and some south winds coming so things should pick up significantly this next week. And where is that Crested Caracara? Might it show up again?
Week 15 7 species added 192 species E&J