Monday our youngest grandchild turned 6! We have had the good fortune to help care for all four of them from babies over the last 12 years and its been a delight to watch their personalities develop as they mature. Tuesday we had talked about birding in the morning but the empty fridge made getting some groceries the priority. I had just put everything away around one when a report came in from Steve Charbonneau that he had found a western Mountain Bluebird at Keith McLean Conservation Area, 2 hours away. We had a commitment at 6 so we had to do a quick calculation as we were getting our stuff in the car. It looked like we could make it as long as we didn’t have to hunt for the bird. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were quite happy that the two hour drive was west and not east through Toronto.
When we arrived at the spot it was evident that many other birders were there and people leaving assured us the bird was being seen by a group out by the water. We made our way over and got bins and camera on a beautiful young male Mountain Bluebird. His colouring was not as bright as they are in the spring but when the sun hit at the right spot as it flew around we could see flashes of the bright blue. It was feeding on dragonfly nymphs so it flew down to the dried creek bed and caught a nymph and then flew up to a dead branch to devour its meal. This was the first record for the Chatham Kent area and bird #331 for us!We enjoyed watching its antics for a bit, Jerry got many pictures and we chatted with a few other birders enjoying the Bluebird. The clock was ticking, and so we unfortunately only spent about 20 minutes with the bird and then had to hop back in the car to head home. This is the part I dislike about the Big Year, the long drives for a short few minutes, instead of being out for a day just birding.
Wednesday morning the winds were NE into Hamilton so we planned on a lake watch. Jerry’s mom has improved a bit and so we opted to spend most of the day at the lake arriving around 10:30. The sun was out but it was cold and windy. I had about 4 layers on but my feet and fingers quickly got cold. There were a few birders out so we enjoyed chatting while we scoped the lake and waited patiently for a good bird to come by. Nothing much happened. We did have a Peregrine Falcon hunt a flock of Gulls unsuccessfully and a couple of “late” Sanderlings arrived on the beach but for hours, nothing. A few birders gave up and left and we remained with a few others. Finally, around 3 we had had enough, I was cold, we had yet to see Jerry’s mom and so we decided to pack it in. We joked with the remaining birders that something good would arrive after we left, and headed to our car. As we were putting our stuff in the car my phone pinged and I looked down to see BLKI from Richard. The bird we had been waiting for literally went over just as we had headed to the car! There were a few F-bombs as we ran back over but of course the bird was only there for seconds. The closest miss this year so far. We have never missed a bird by a minute or seconds! Thankfully, it was not a rarity but oh! it would have been nice to get that last expected species off the list and have something to show for 5 hours standing in the cold and wind. All we could do was have a laugh with the birders who had stayed as we all know this is the craziness of this hobby. It is all about timing! I knew I should have stayed and stuck it out but I was sooo cold and tired and hungry. We stayed for a few minutes more and discussed whether to stay till dark or not and decided it was unlikely that another one would go by, so we left for the second time. And part way to his moms there was another report that a Kittiwake had gone by again!
The winds shifted towards the south Thursday and a few Kittiwakes were seen near Oshawa so it bodes well for me still getting this species on my list. Next lake watch we will arrive later and stick it out till dark. Rookie mistake! Never leave a lake watch until dark! LOL
We had company arrive from Germany for a week so our birding over the next week will be curtailed somewhat as we try to see family and celebrate his moms 93rd birthday. The birds, however, do not care if I am available or not and late Friday a Short-billed Gull was reported near Ottawa. It would be a lovely bird to add but I did not think we could subject our guest to 11 hours in a car LOL. Thankfully, I did not head to Ottawa because early Saturday morning a Short-tailed Shearwater was seen off Wasaga Beach and had made a few passes suggesting it might stick around the area. This would be a lifer for us so we had a quick discussion and Hana (our guest) graciously shooed us on our way declaring she would love to spend the day in our house surrounded by nature while we went for the Shearwater. So off we went. And just after arriving in Wasaga Beach the Short-tailed Shearwater made a flight across the bay dipping and gliding, or I guess the correct terminology is “shearing” the water. We had great scope views even though it was a distance away and about 20 minutes later it came back the other way even closer and Jerry managed some pictures. Other birders with better cameras had many better pictures and video enabling the confirmation of the species as a Short-tailed Shearwater. I had labeled the Black-tailed Gull as the likely “bird of the year” but the Short-tailed Shearwater takes its place, as an Ontario first record, a Lifer and bird #332. These birds breed in the Pacific Ocean near Tasmania, yes I said Tasmania, and fly up along the Pacific to the Bering Sea. There was a report of one seen off Wisconsin on Lake Superior three days ago. How the heck it ended up in the Great Lakes is a mystery but we are happy it did!
Unfortunately, his mom was in crisis again and we had to take a few phone calls while we were on the beach waiting for the bird and then had to leave prematurely to get back to deal with that situation. It was last sighted around 2:00 and then not seen again. Oh, and the Short-billed Gull in Ottawa was not re-found either.
Week 46 2 species added 332 species total J&E Only six more weeks to go!