On Tuesday we headed down to Long Point for the day. A report of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper had come in late Sunday and it was a long shot that it would still be around but it was a nice sunny day and there are always good birds at Long Point. We walked a lot of the beach in the campground and day use area and saw a very nice Baird’s Sandpiper that we added to our Ontario List. Last year we had a tough time finding a Baird’s and an even tougher time trying to ID them but this year they seem to be everywhere and we seem to be able to pick them out more easily. The differences between sandpipers can be very subtle and in the case of Baird’s you are looking for wings that extend past the tail, black bill and black feet.

We then headed down Hastings Drive to check out the beach at the end but it has been signed no admittance with heavy fines if you are caught there. This is a rest stop for migrating birds and we (birders) are always careful not to disturb birds but people allow their dogs to run free along the beach and people will use it in summer and leave trash around. We had a Buff-breasted Sandpiper down that beach a few years ago and so we are sad that it is now off limits. I wish that government agencies would converse with stakeholders before making these decisions to see if there could be work arounds for access. We scoped from the edge and then walked back along the road bordering the Important Birding Area marsh. In a short 10-15 minutes we had 6 of the 10 species of flycatchers in Ontario. Migration for flycatchers was happening!.

We then headed to Old Cut, the bird banding spot at Long Point and did a walk around the property. It was quiet but we did see two Green Herons just hanging out on the grass and tree of a cottage allowing Jerry to use some of his camera skills.

We did not see a Buff-breasted Sandpiper but it was a great birding day with plenty to look at. Margaret had checked out Beeton Sod Farms, the traditional spot for Buff-breasted and not seen anything but she did find 2 up in Collingwood on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we had the grandkids for two days so the earliest we would be able to go would be Friday. On a long weekend, driving north. I silently hoped that we would not be forced to make that trip. The birds were not found on Thursday and so late Thursday after dropping the kids off we headed for our first pass of our local sod farms near Burford. It was raining and I could see Plovers huddled down with a few standing. I assumed Black-bellied but when I got out to quickly scope I saw a few that looked Golden on the back. Jerry scoped and didn’t agree so I left it and put them in as Black-bellied. We scoped for any shorebirds but saw nothing else. We headed home for dinner and as we finished eating we got a text from Bill that he had a Buff-breasted at the spot and the Plovers were American Golden Plovers. Sheesh! I felt stupid! Rookie mistake not taking the time to really figure the birds out earlier. And where was that Buff? Had we missed it? Or did it just fly in? We got back in the car and drove back out and met up with other Brant birders also hoping to see Buff-breasted. The rain had ended, the lighting was much better for about 15 minutes and I could clearly see the Plovers were Golden. Six of us scoped and scoped but the light was fading fast and we were only seeing a few Baird’s Sandpiper. As the sun went down we made plans to come back out in the morning and search again.

We were back at the sod farms at 7:30, Robert was there and had not seen the Buff yet and had to leave but Grant and Lindsay arrived shortly after. We scoped for a bit and suddenly I had what looked different – taller, buffy, small head, small bill – we all got on it and called out the ID features, Jerry got a scope view and confirmed and then got a few quick snaps and then the bird flew with a number of Plovers. Oh, how I hate that! I would have loved to have more time to study and watch the bird. We scoped again, and again. Was that it?, nope, Was that it? nope. Other birders arrived and we continued to scope but could not refind it. There were many hills, valleys and dirt piles for the bird to be hidden from us and it was an excruciating process. I always like to get everyone on the bird and for the next few hours a few birders had the good fortune to see it momentarily as it fed but it remained elusive for many. It was really lousy views and an even lousier picture but maybe we will be lucky enough to see one out East for a better view and pic.

This is technically bird 400 for us, although ebird still shows 399. The split with Warbling Vireo will not happen on Ebird until sometime in October so until then on ebird we sit at 399. But inside, we are celebrating that we have hit 400! We head East on Monday where we will hopefully add many more birds – or at least 10?

Week 35 1 species added 399 J&E