The strategy for these early weeks is much the same as last year in that we don’t want to chase common species just to up our numbers quickly. There are birders that go full out in January and amass as many species as they can as fast as they can but the reality is eventually everyone else catches up as they see and add the common species. Our time is still somewhat limited as we deal with Babi things so we are trying to be efficient with when and where we bird.
On Tuesday we opted to try for a couple of rarities that we need to get in Ontario and that have been reported since the new year. A Ross’s Goose has been hanging in Whitby for awhile and a King Eider has been seen off Tommy Thompson park in Toronto. Instead of fighting traffic we made some stops along the way to see what else we might add to our list. The Lakefront Promenade in Mississauga has been host to a Snow Goose and Harlequin Ducks and usually has some good numbers of birds around so we stopped there first. We don’t particularly need Snow Goose or Harlequin as we will likely see both somewhere else but the more we take off the list now the easier it is later. It was a frigid -10 feeling like -18 but we set up our scope and started going through the Geese hanging around and did not find the Snow Goose. We then walked quickly along the lake and did not turn up the Harlequin Ducks either. Uh-oh, not a great start to the day. We added a few common species for our year, Redhead and Winter Wren, and then we opted not to spend any more time as they were not the target for the day and we headed off to Whitby Harbour in hopes of the Ross’s Goose.
There were about 500 Canada Geese to sift through in Whitby at scope distance away and we were looking into the gusting west wind making it difficult to keep our scope steady so we could view the geese and again, no white goose. There were a number of other spots that it had been seen so we heading back to the car when we spotted a raptor in the channel. It was a Peregrine Falcon hunting the gulls and it spent a number of minutes right in front of us chasing the gulls as they squawked and flew and tried to evade it. We had fantastic views with Jerry snapping pictures and I totally forgot to pull my new 16Pro phone out and take a video! I think I could have gotten some decent video as it was super close to me. It never managed to get a gull and gave up and landed in a tree.
After checking a few more spots for the Ross’s Goose which involved looking through hundred’s more Canada Geese we headed to our next destination, Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto. This is a premier destination for birders but it is a huge area and requires a looong walk in to get to the birding spots. Luckily the King Eider had been seen just past the marina so only about half-way in. We added Ruddy Ducks on the way in and then American Wigeon but alas, once again we came up empty with this duck too. What can you do? Timing is what it is all about. We scoped thoroughly, was it just diving and we kept missing it or was it farther out? At 4:00 we gave up and headed back to the car.
Out of 4 species we had hoped to add we found 0! To add insult to injury we were leaving Toronto at 4:30 and due to construction sat in gridlock for an hour before getting on the highway so we arrived home at 8:00! Ugggh! we swore never to bird in Toronto again. LOL, or at least until the next rarity .
On Friday there were milder temperatures and we opted to bird for the day so we started checking a few spots in Brant County as we worked our way to Simcoe where a Greater White-fronted Goose had been reported. The park area in downtown Simcoe has been there since the 50’s and I have fond memories of family picnics there in the 60’s with my family and a stop at Hewitt’s Dairy on the way back to Hamilton. There were about 500 Canada Geese to look through to find the “one thing that was not like the others”. Our first scans turned up nothing and Jerry moved further up the canal while I turned back to give the area we had just scanned another look and suddenly there was the orange bill of a Greater White-fronted Goose in my bins! I called Jerry to let him know and then could not re-find the goose! It blended in so well and so it took a few minutes to find it again and by then Jerry was back so we both had great views of it. Last year our views of this goose was across the bay at Rondeau and we could barely make out the orange, but here there was no mistaking it.
We then headed to Hamilton, driving farm roads through Haldimand towards Hamilton but saw nothing too much and ended up along the Lake. We found two more year birds, Black Scoter and Surf Scoter off of Millen Road but too far out for pictures. Decent scope views though. We then called it a day around 2 and headed home. Just as we pulled in the driveway, a text came in from Bill letting us know that he had found a Northern Saw-whet Owl in Brant Park and giving us directions. We had missed one last week when we were moving Babi so it was nice to get another chance. We made a quick bathroom stop and headed back out again. We met up with Jason and Jenny who had also missed it last week and we walked quickly to the area we know these owls often roost in. Neil was there looking and told us that he had not found it and the owl must be gone. We all stood in the area and I glanced up at a cedar right beside me and I saw that familiar lump and there was the tiny owl sitting near the trunk of a cedar tree! It is always super exciting to find or re-find one of these owls. They are only 5-9″ tall and weigh in at 2.5 ozs so it is difficult to find them when they are tucked into evergreens. We backed up to allow viewing without encroaching and the ones with cameras took a few photos and then we left the owl to its rest.
So unlike Tuesday when we batted 0 of 4 we managed 4 of 4 on Friday. You just never know what kind of birding day you will have when you head out. We opted not to make the Cochrane trip because we have a very good chance of seeing Willow Ptarmigans in Newfoundland in the Fall or even BC in the summer and most of the other birds we would get on the trip can also be had somewhere else. The Quebec trip is on hold for the moment and might not happen until the end of the year depending on what is still around later in February. We have booked our flights to BC leaving in a week to get winter birds and there are a few rarities that we hope will still be there when we go. My focus has been on reading ebird reports and setting up where we need to go in Vancouver and on the Island so that we can maximize our time there. Barb introduced us to David out in BC, who has been most helpful in giving us information not always readily available.
We had our Grandkids for a sleepover on the weekend so didn’t get out to bird again this week. Oh, and the ducks we missed on Tuesday were all seen the rest of the week so it was just timing that we missed them. And it probably means we do have to make another trip back to Toronto to try again…
Week 3 11 species added Ellen 96 species seen Jerry 95 species seen