We started the week anticipating the possibility of Purple Sandpipers and decided to head to Niagara to catch up with the popular Black-throated Gray Warbler that had been hanging at Morgan’s Point for a number of weeks. We added this species in BC but we only heard them as they were high up in the trees. With nothing else to chase we figured we would see it and grab some pictures and take it off the heard only list. When we arrived a beautiful Cooper’s Hawk was hanging in the area and we hoped it had not just dined on a tiny gray bird. With a few other birders we kept moving around and checking its usual spots until it finally appeared in its favourite tree. We all had great looks and Jerry took some pictures. Target complete! We were really hoping that a Purple Sandpiper would be out on the point but a careful search turned up nothing.
Snow arrived for the next couple of days putting an end to our birding and then Babi ended up ill and being rushed to hospital at midnight. Jerry was back and forth to emergency until they admitted her and by Saturday Jerry had brought home the virus to end all viruses. By Monday we were both on the couch, coughing so hard we could dislocate ribs. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but IT WAS BAD! I don’t know if it is covid, RSV, or influenza but the two of us have never been sick like this. The first day or two we ate yummy soup but by day 3 I completely lost my sense of smell which made eating next to impossible. Everything became a ball of cardboard in my mouth. As I write this on Sunday a week later I can say that there is a glimmer that we are recovering but I’m not sure how long it will take to get my smell and taste back.
I spent lots of time watching the bird feeders out the window from the couch and was lucky to see the numerous hunting passes of our resident Cooper’s Hawk. He managed to catch a dove the one day and then was back hunting on the 3rd day after that. Many misses happened again before he successfully grabbed one right from below the feeder. I had just been thinking this Dove should not have been closing its eyes while it was out in the open like that and BAM! Another Dove gone. We have about 30-40 visiting our feeder this year so we have a fairly large supply for the Hawk. My views for the last week…
On Wednesday evening I managed to contain my coughing long enough to do a zoom presentation for OFO on our 3 consecutive big years and while it was a bit of a struggle to make it through, I did enjoy doing the presentation. Just wish I could have been feeling a bit better.
This was not the week to get sick. We ended up missing multiple Purple Sandpipers at Point Pelee the first weekend and then on Gull Island at Presquile and then at the Gull weekend in Niagara the second weekend. So disappointing that we were not able to chase any of them. We have been to every Gull Weekend since 2013 and were sad to miss a weekend with friends as well as the hunt for rare Gulls. I am so weak at this point that I am not sure I could walk down our driveway and back. I think it will take a bit to recover from this.
Robert Baumander interviewed me back in the spring about our Ontario Big Year for his Big Year Podcast show and he published it this week so take a listen when you get the chance. I talk really fast LOL! https://thebigyearpodcast.podbean.com
Week 48/49. no species added 429 E&J