An Afternoon on Wolfe Island

Wednesday 14th January 2015

Once again, it has taken me far too long to get around to this but since I had such a successful afternoon on Wolfe Island, I thought it was time for an update. Most of the following photos were taken on this outing and are therefore of dubious quality so I've included a couple of extras to 'enhance' the story along the way.

Great Blue Heron (immature) - Hwy 96, Wolfe Island, ON

After a prolonged period of cold, I awoke to find that it had happened - Lake Ontario had frozen over and was now solid as far as the eye could see. However, this immature Great Blue Heron was hanging out not too far from the ferry in a small stream that seems to flow year-round. Unfortunately it looked a bit screwed - not sure how long it'll last, I'm afraid.

The last couple of days had been bright and sunny so I was hoping that a known Eastern Screech-Owl would be out sunning itself. Unfortunately, I didn't get out to the island until the afternoon by which time clouds were beginning to roll in, so I went straight for the owl and there it was; a red morph Eastern Screech-Owl.

Eastern Screech-Owl (red morph) - Wolfe Island, ON

Pleased with things so far (2 year birds for the list), I popped over to Horne's Ferry to see if any water was still open between Wolfe Island and the States, as this is the route that the Great Lake Freighters (Lakers) use. Definitely no open water, though 4 Tundra Swans and maybe 800 Canada Geese were way out on the ice. In a nearby wood, 4 Bald Eagles and 6 Common Ravens were making a fuss.

My next target was Lapland Longspur (or as we call them in the UK, Lapland Bunting). I'd been given directions to a 'hot' location, where at least 3 had been seen the day before, and Bingo!, there they were, now numbering 4 birds. They were performing very well just feet from the road but unfortunately the camera felt a bit phased by the whole episode and let me down somewhat (not my fault of course). These shots are OK but considering how close I was, I'm definitely a little embarrassed.

Lapland Longspur - 5th Line, Wolfe Island, ON

Lapland Longspur - 5th Line, Wolfe Island, ON

Lapland Longspur - 5th Line, Wolfe Island, ON

It is interesting to see how these birds hug the ground, dropping right down onto their bellies when feeding. And onto the next bird, Snowy Owl. Now, I must admit that I've been somewhat spoilt over the last couple of winters, with 2 good invasion years, so I don't search for them as well as I could but this one was right up on a post beside the road. In total I saw 6, though I am aware of another birder out at the same time who recorded 22. Something like 60 were recorded on the Christmas Count. Talking of Christmas, this bird looks like it's enjoyed a little too much of the Christmas spirit...

Snowy Owl - 4th Line, Wolfe Island, ON

And the afternoon continued, with perhaps the most 'unlikely' bird of the day, Savannah Sparrow. However, I saw not 1 but 3. Two on 4th Line and another on 3rd Line. These dainty little sparrows should not really be here over the winter period but every year one or two are seen. Superficially similar to Song Sparrow, this species is identified by a number of features, the most obvious being the yellow lores and fine streaking on the flanks.

Savannah Sparrow - 4th Line, Wolfe Island, ON

So still missing a couple of target birds for the day, I thought I'd give the extreme west of the island a bash before having to get back for the ferry. Here I encountered well over 200 Wild Turkeys, the largest flock numbering 120. As the second of these photos shows Wild Turkeys do fly.

Wild Turkeys - Baseline, Wolfe Island, ON

Wild Turkeys do fly - Baseline, Wolfe Island, ON

My last 2 'year birds' were Snow Bunting (didn't manage to get a photo as they were very flighty) and Horned Lark (= Shore Lark in UK) of which I obtained a couple of very poor photos. So here is a (poor) picture of a Horned lark I saw at Cressy Point, Prince Edward County last March:

Horned Lark - Cressy Point, Prince Edward County (March 2014)

...and these Snow Buntings are from Amherst Island in December of 2013.

Snow Buntings - Martin Edwards Reserve, Amherst Island, ON (Dec 2013)

Not a bad afternoon, with 23 species recorded in 2 1/2 hours bringing my Ontario 2015 Year List to 79, my KFN Circle List to 79 (I know, I haven't been anywhere else yet), and my Frontenac list to 64. 50 weeks until it starts over again in 2016...

Till next time,
Mark.

BioBlitz at Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island

Friday 13th - Saturday 14th June, 2014

Last weekend saw Kingston Field Naturalists hold their 16th BioBlitz in the Kingston area, with naturalists from an array of fields congregating on the 404 hectare Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) for 24 hours of fun-filled survey work. Of course, I was there for the birds but still learnt a lot along the way, particularly with regard to some of Canada's dragonflies - do I see a new hobby on the way?

This year, I have been working at surpassing 200 species (of birds) in Frontenac County. With a late start last year, I managed 202 species with a lot of help from local birders; Paul Mackenzie and Bud Rowe in particular. So, reaching 200 again shouldn't really be a problem but having missed most of the Spring shorebird passage and already entering the summer, I was at 198 before heading over to the island for the weekend.

Ring-necked Pheasant (male) - Wolfe Island, ON

#199 - With a slight diversion, I immediately started adding to my tally with this unexpected male Ring-necked Pheasant. I know they have been seen on the island but, personally, I have never recorded one there. I assume this population is supplemented by released birds but will have to check the records.

#200 - Yay! Just around the corner, I then came across the 'big one', the one to crack 200. This Upland Sandpiper was doing just what Upland Sandpipers are supposed to do - sitting on a post. It was so relaxed, it even had one leg tucked away. I've not had too much luck with Upland Sandpiper this year, though the Napanee Plains have usually been reliable when I've been up there. This too was a new bird for my county life list - so a double bonus...

Upland Sandpiper - Wolfe Island, ON

Shortly after arriving at Big Sandy Bay, I actually saw a lifer - and an exciting one too. This Blanding's Turtle, a species listed as 'Threatened' under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, was calmly walking past the car park allowing cracking views for all those present. The second picture is of another Blanding's Turtle, though as this one is beginning to excavate a nest, it is a little more tricky to identify. It was seen further along the 'beach' in the dunes near Black Lake.

Blanding's Turtle - Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

Blanding's Turtle (nesting) - Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

And on to Bear Point, reached after a long hike along the shoreline of Lake Ontario where I was checking out the grassland for the slim possibility of Henslow's Sparrow. No sparrows unfortunately but plenty of breeding Bobolinks were seen. The highlight at the point though was this solitary, and rather lonesome, Brant, right at the tip. Last year, one bird stayed for much of the summer on Amherst Island, though that bird didn't appear to be in such fine condition as this one. Note, however, the drooping wing.

Brant (Atlantic) - Bear Point, Wolfe Island, ON

#201 - Back at camp, James Barber showed up after work having just seen a Northern Mockingbird less than 1km down the road. Deftly packing two extra birders into his already full car, we trundled back to Reed's Bay where, sure enough, the bird was performing well right beside the road. Northern Mockingbird is seen yearly in the Kingston area, though is by no means common. Needless to say, this was another double tick for me.

Northern Mockingbird - Reed's Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

#202 - Another uncommon bird in these parts is Least Bittern. It is sometimes heard from the region's marshlands but it is rarely seen, let alone photographed so I'm quite pleased to have captured this next shot, even if it is not that great. This was, once again, my first sighting for the county; however, I'd already seen one 'across the border' at Moscow Marsh in late May.

Least Bittern - Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

So, the weekend brought me 4 Frontenac ticks, and all of them counted to both my year and 'life' lists. Yesterday, I added #203, a Common Tern, so I've already beaten last year's total. Perhaps I can reach 210 this year, maybe even 215. My Frontenac Life List is only 221 so that needs some work too...

To wrap up here are some of the Odonata I was introduced to over the weekend. Definitely something I could get in to. Please let me know if I've got any of these incorrect (thanks David Bree for correctly identifying the bluet for me as Taiga).

Dot-tailed Whiteface - Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

Eastern Pondhawk (female) - Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

Four-spotted Skimmer - Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

Taiga Bluet - Big Sandy Bay, Wolfe Island, ON

'Till next time,
Mark.

May Madness

It has certainly been a pretty good Spring here in Canada, nothing too outrageous on the rarity front but lots of goodies and unusual sightings none-the-less. With a long weekend excursion to Rondeau/Pelee in early May with James Barber and a couple of bonus birds more locally, I picked up an impressive 7 lifers in May alone with several more as additions to my Canada (and Ontario) list.

Yellow-throated Vireo - The Tip, Point Pelee, ON

Of course it's not all about the rare birds - though they do add a little spice to the day. For me it's about learning the subtleties of a new song, unusual plumage or just plain and simple good views of a more common bird, such as this Yellow-throated Vireo at Point Pelee. Likewise, being able to study Forster's Terns at Rondeau was certainly a pleasure, as was watching the 70+ Black Terns hawking for insects over the local sewage lagoons.

Fortunately, I was able to get photos of some of these lifers too, beginning with these Henslow's Sparrows seen at Point Pelee. To see just one is good these days but to have a second is a real bonus - with portraits of both to boot...

Henslow's Sparrow - Bird 1 at the 'Serengeti Tree', Point Pelee, ON

Henslow's Sparrow - Better views of Bird 2 at the Tip, Point Pelee, ON

On the same day, we also had great looks at my second lifer, Hooded Warbler, though my pictures of that bird are not quite so good...

Hooded Warbler - The Tip, Point Pelee, ON

The real rarity of that particular trip though was Smith's Longspur. These birds were in a muddy field just north of Hillman Marsh and with some concentrated effort we both got some reasonable looks. James even snapped a couple of record shots - you should take a look at some of his work at http://jamesbarber.smugmug.com/Nature. Try his Rare Birds gallery for the Longspur, as well as my 4th lifer of that trip, Yellow-throated Warbler. We also added Willet, Marbled Godwit and Lesser Black-backed Gull at Hillman Marsh but the only half-recognisable shot is this one...

Marbled Godwit - Hillman Marsh, Leamington, ON

These next few pictures are of some of the other birds encountered on that particular trip. Again nothing special - some day I'll buy a proper camera and have to lug that around too!

Black-throated Green Warbler (male) - Rondeau Provincial Park, ON

Forster's Tern - Rondeau Provincial Park, ON

Hermit Thrush - Rondeau Provincial Park, ON

American Woodcock peenting - Rondeau Provincial Park, ON

Eared (Black-necked) Grebe - Blenheim Sewage Lagoons, ON

Wood Thrush - Rondeau Provincial Park, ON

Of course there was much more seen on this trip, with Acadian Flycatcher being perhaps the biggest miss. May also brought another 3 lifers but I should probably save them for next time. I also got shots of two more species of Catharus thrushes, so perhaps a comparison is on the cards too - just missing that elusive Bicknell's...

Till next time,
Mark.

Not a bad couple of days!

Tuesday 3rd December - Friday 6th December 2013

So Tuesday morning started out with a quick trip out to Cataraqui Bay to see what was about - maybe an interesting gull (Glaucous had been reported the day before) or the dark phase Snow Goose I'd found the day before. No such luck, so I trundled down the road to the Invista Plant and came up with pretty much the same result until I bumped into local birder Bruce Ripley. Bruce is going all out as a 'Winter Lister' this year (within the Kingston region) and certainly came up trumps with an extremely late Baltimore Oriole, that I caught up with a few minutes later. Leaving the site, I met another birder, Paul Mackenzie, who was also able to add the bird to his winter list. Little did we know what would transpire later in the day.

Lesser Snow Goose (dark phase juvenile) - Lake Ontario Park, Kingston, ON

At almost 2:30 in the afternoon, I was called by Janis Grant, former President of Kingston Field Naturalists informing me of an unusual bird in the bay fronting her garden. She suspected a Dovekie (Little Auk) so I immediately found my coat, bins and scope and was out of the door driving the full half kilometre (haha!) to her house. Knowing any Alcid would be a goodie, I was shown what I immediately recognised to be a Thick-billed Murre (or in the European world a Brünnich's Guillemot). As one viewer of my uploaded pictures and news later commented, 'Holy Crap!' - my sentiments exactly. This was the big one, a MEGA, right here in Kingston. With just two previous Ontario records since the 1950's, this was going to be big. These are the two shots I posted that day.

Thick-billed Murre - Kingston, ON



Thick-billed Murre - Kingston, ON

I immediately starting calling local birders and first on the scene was Paul Mackenzie, my mentor and fellow birder over the last year. However, by the time Paul showed up (it only took him 10 minutes or so) the bird was already swimming east along the lake front. With local birders beginning to show, I decided it was best to get home and put the news out through ONTBIRDS. Paul stayed with it until dark and later let birders know where to begin their morning search. Well, the bird stayed for the next day but then disappeared overnight on the 4th. A few undoubtedly well-intentioned locals mistook a Common Loon for the Murre on the 5th causing some birders to waste hours travelling to (or in some cases back to) Kingston but the bird was gone.

Common Loon - Kingston, ON

Here are a couple more shots of the murre taken on the 4th. One of these shows how close it was to the observers!

Thick-billed Murre - Kingston, ON

Thick-billed Murre - Kingston, ON

Can you see the Thick-billed Murre? Kingston, ON

On Thursday 5th and Friday 6th, I was down in the Niagara region and unfortunately had zero success looking for Red Phalarope, Lark Sparrow and Purple Sandpiper on both days. By Friday lunch time, I was beginning to think that I was going home with an empty bag. However, I had a couple more birds lined up so I tried for the Black-legged Kittiwake seen just below the Falls and Bingo! There it was, performing well and allowing for some half-decent photos.

Black-legged Kittiwake (juv) - Niagara Falls, ON

Black-legged Kittiwake (juv) - Niagara Falls, ON

Coming back through the Grimsby/Hamiliton area, a stop at Fifty Point Conservation Area for a reported Common Eider also proved successful with the female bird showing very well close to shore. Didn't do quite so well with these pictures as the light was starting to go but good enough I reckon. A failed search just up the road for King Eider meant that the day was over and the hoped-for finalé, a staked-out Eared Grebe (Black-necked Grebe) would have to wait for another visit.

Common Eider (female) - Fifty Point CA, Grimsby, ON



Common Eider (female) - Fifty Point CA, Grimsby, ON

All-in-all, not a bad couple of days!

'Till next time,

Mark.

Lemoine Point Conservation Area

Saturday 12th and Monday 14th October 2013

Well, Autumn is in full swing and here in Kingston, the leaves have already turned. In fact, many of the trees are actually now looking fairly bare. The weather though has been great with lots of bright sunny days and above average temperatures. Many of the summer residents have now left, replaced by numerous winter wildfowl. Migration is also coming to an end, though a few species are still coming through and taking advantage of the good weather before continuing further south.

Lemoine Point Conservation Area is located just west of Kingston's airport and is a great spot for seeing the wildlife within just minutes of the city centre. Bordering Lake Ontario, it includes 136 hectares of mixed forest and grassland and can be quite a migrant trap in the Spring and Autumn as well as hosting a wide range of breeding species during the summer. Personally, I tend to visit Marshlands Conservation Area more than Lemoine Point because it is closer to home, is far-less visited and is definitively my 'home patch', but over the last couple of days, Lemoine Point has held a variety of interesting species and colours.


Autumn Woods - Lemoine Point CA, Kingston, ON

To get the ball rolling, I saw yet another addition to my life list on Saturday. To make it even better, it was an owl - namely an Eastern Screech-Owl. Some species, owls included, are always just that bit more exciting to see so I was very pleased with this one. Its presence was given away by a host of chickadees, juncos, cardinals and sparrows mobbing the poor thing as it was trying to rest. It was certainly well-hidden and this photo is as good as it gets.



Eastern Screech-Owl - Lemoine Point CA, Kingston, ON

Lemoine Point is visited by many people, all there to enjoy the nature. However, they all seem to do it in different ways - cycling, jogging, dog-walking, and so-on. This means the wildlife is quite habituated, with birds like chickadees accustomed to feeding from the hand. Nuthatches and even woodpeckers will do so too and I know of at least one Northern Cardinal that does likewise. White-tailed Deer are the largest mammal present at the site and, they too, will actually approach people to see what's on offer. Add to this the squirrels and chipmunks and it is pretty hard to leave Lemoine Point without having an encounter with nature.



Eastern Chipmunk - Lemoine Point CA, Kingston, ON

Other birds that often have birders excited are the thrushes. Here in Canada, the commonest thrush is the American Robin, though it doesn't tend to hang around for long during the winter months. The American Robin is in the same genus as many of the 'typical' European species and is about the same size as the European Blackbird. However, it is the much smaller Catharus species that have had me excited over the last month or so. The first to come through is the Grey-cheeked Thrush, followed by Swainson's Thrush and then Hermit Thrush. Of course there is overlap (for example I saw two late Swainson's today) but it generally holds true. I've been fortunate enough to see good numbers of all three of these shy species this year but have only managed to get photos of Hermit Thrush and, bizarrely, a single leucistic Swainson's Thrush (see my Flickr account). The following shot, as all pictures on today's blog, was taken this weekend at Lemoine Point.



Hermit Thrush - Lemoine Point CA, Kingston, CA

Red-winged Blackbirds and lesser numbers of Common Grackle are flocking at the moment (often with the resident European Starling) in preparation for their onward southerly journey. It is also possible to see the much less common Rusty Blackbird at this time of year and this morning I had a single female high in a tree looking for its buddies. Most striking is its white eye, a classic indicator of this species.



Rusty Blackbird (female) - Lemoine Point CA, Kingston, CA

Finally, here is a Yellow-rumped Warbler of the eastern 'Myrtle' form. This is really the only warbler still to be seen in any numbers yet, for some reason, I just can't seem to get a decent shot...



Yellow-rumped Warbler - Lemoine Point CA, Kingston, CA

Till next time...

Mark.