"Just popping down the dump..."

Wednesday 28th December 2016

That's what I said, and genuinely intended to do, as I headed out of the door. Living here on Wolfe Island, we have to take all our recyclables (almost everything) and rubbish to the local waste collection centre ourselves. Just a year or so ago it was an actual dump with gulls and vultures in abundance but, for the best, it now focuses on recycling and the dump is long gone.

Anyway, I never just 'go to the dump' - I always have my bins and camera with me, as I inevitably take a circuitous route via all the best birding hotspots. Not too much along the way in terms of rarities but these Tundra Swans in town were particularly cooperative. Notice the difference in the extent of the yellow dot at the base of the bills on these 2 birds. No wonder newbies often claim to have seen the much rarer Trumpeter Swan in error believing that they should be able to see yellow at 200 metres with their 8x40s! Oh, by the way, something like 10% of all Tundras show no yellow at all so beware!

Tundra Swan - Marysville, Wolfe Island, ON - see the yellow?

Tundra Swan - Marysville, Wolfe Island, ON - lots of yellow

After taking a run through the village, I then took the famed 4th Line in the search of Snowy Owls. There are not so many around this year - we've had 3 good years on the run so this is not surprising. However, a small arrival over the last week has seen up to 6 birds along this road. Though this picture was taken a few days back, the very same bird was present day.

Snowy Owl - 4th Line, Wolfe Island, ON

I also picked up a Rough-legged Hawk on my journey - the first for some time as this species is also in short supply this year. However, bigger news was forthcoming when I received a phone call from Kingston-based birding buddy James Barber. He'd just relocated a couple of female Harlequin Ducks seen in Kingston during the annual Christmas Bird Count, directly outside his apartment at Portsmouth Olmpic Harbour. I was just minutes from the ferry, so without winter coat, breakfast, clean teeth, or fresh clothes, I headed over to the mainland and picked up my 245th Frontenac county lifer - Harlequin Duck.

Harlequin Duck - Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Kingston, ON

These birds were actively diving just metres from the shore unperturbed by birders, dog walkers and joggers - a wonderful sight! Now for a male...

'Til next time.
Mark.

Time for an update.

Saturday 5th November 2016

Remember, remember the 5th of November. Well, no fireworks here but I did want to share a couple of my more recent sightings including a 'lifer' in the form of a 'yellow or eastern' Palm Warbler. The western subspecies is the usual one in our area and, along with Yellow-rumped Warbler, is one of the last species to migrate through. However, to have any Palm Warbler on the late date of 4th November is notable, even more so with it being the one I needed! And here it is, hanging out in my garden.

Eastern Palm Warbler - Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, ON

Also here the same day was a Pine Siskin - also a first for the garden. That being said, we've only been here a little over a year so 'new birds' come along all the time. Hopefully though, it does look as if we're beginning to have a movement of winter finches into the area. Fingers crossed on that one.

Pine Siskin - Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, ON

Other birds recently seen here include a pair of House Finches, the male looking quite spectacular in his red regalia - not as vivid as a Northern Cardinal mind you, but that species hasn't yet found my feeders. In the background you can see a Dark-eyed Junco. Seem to be plenty of those this year.

Male House Finch - Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, ON

Another species showing a reddish hue is the spectacular Fox Sparrow. I was fortunate to have one show up for a couple of days about a week ago. Despite being one of the larger sparrows, they are more often found in dense undergrowth, so to have one right out in the open was certainly quite special - it was also another new one for the garden list.

Fox Sparrow - Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, ON

Of course, there's plenty more I could share but I'm going to wrap up with an example of one of my favourite groups - the Catharus thrushes. Like the Fox Sparrow, they can often be quite hard to tie down, but with patience and a bit of luck good views can be obtained. This Hermit Thrush went all the way and came right up to the window to have a bathe - very nice!

Hermit Thrush - Button Bay Road, Wolfe Island, ON

Here's a link to some more thrush pictures I posted on the Murphys Point Facebook page. However, it looks like you'll have to copy the link into your browser...
https://www.facebook.com/ranger.mike.murphy/photos/pcb.631802246994524/631794046995344/?type=3

'til next time.
Mark.

Local Life.

Friday 22nd January 2016

It took some time coming, but winter has finally arrived. Whilst an exceptionally mild November and December was great for us, it didn't do much for the birds. Admittedly dabblers, like Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, even Green-winged Teal stayed longer than typical, birds were widely distributed and hard to track down. With 10-15cm of snow on the ground, that's changed and birds are now coming to feeders and working the edges of roads - birds such as this Lapland Longspur and Horned Lark seen this week whilst travelling around the island. For UK readers, yes these are Lapland Bunting and Shore Lark...

Lapland Longspur and Horned Lark - Wolfe Island, ON

Oh yeah, in case you didn't know, we moved out to Wolfe Island over the summer, so I'm now in a prime location for some of the other island specialities such as Snowy Owl. On any given day, I can see between 1 and 3 of these majestic birds from the comfort of my own house!

This is by no means the best photo I've ever taken of a Snowy Owl but it is one of my local birds...

Snowy Owl - Wolfe Island, ON

And whilst we're on about owls, I have these within 5 minutes of the house too.

Short-eared Owl - Wolfe Island, ON

Eastern Screech-Owl - Wolfe Island, ON

And then there's all the stuff coming to my feeders. Daily, I have about 30 American Goldfinches, 10 American Tree Sparrows, 1 (just 1) Dark-eyed Junco, a handful of Mourning Doves, 3 Downy Woodpeckers, 2 White-breasted Nuthatches, half a dozen Blue Jays, and the occasional American Crow and Northern Raven. House Sparrows have just discovered the place too, and if the Eurasian Starlings are about, I can have well over 100 birds of several species at any one time... I haven't yet attracted any accipiters but that's got to happen before long. However, I regularly see both Red-Tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, though these are not known for stalking feeders.

Rough-legged Hawk - Ottawa, ON

It's not bad for mammals either at this time of year. With plenty of White-tailed Deer around, Coyotes can often be seen, though the Red Fox seems to be more timid. However, these two (poor photo) were out on the ice yesterday waiting for the sun to rise...

Red Fox - Wolfe Island, ON

Highlight of yesterday's run to the ferry was a massive Fisher, that was chasing down the deer on a local field. It didn't really have a chance out in the open but it was certainly quite the spectacle!

'Til next time.
Mark.

Busy Times...

Saturday, 15th August

It's been too long, way too long since my last post and there's really no excuse. Except that I'm now gainfully employed (seasonal contract mind you) at Murphys Point Provincial Park (near Perth, ON), and that I've now moved out to Wolfe Island, and that I've become somewhat obsessed with moths and odes...

So, I think this one will be more about the insects in my life and the joys of hunting them down! It started with the odes and the opportunity to help out on surveys being conducted in the park. So with a new field guide, the highly recommended Field Guide to The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Algonquin Provincial Park and the Surrounding Area and a home-made dragonfly net I set out with the help of local expert Bev Edwards to tackle the more tricky aspects of identification - mainly conducted by close examination of exceptionally tiny genitalia, particularly the damselflies.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (male) - Fallows, Murphys Point Provincial Park, ON

The larger dragonflies are in general easier to identify, with some being boldly patterned like this Twelve-spotted Skimmer. Others, the the following Slaty Skimmer are also easy, but in this case due to their uniform dark colouration.

Slaty Skimmer (male) - Staff House, Murphys Point Provincial Park, ON

A passion of many ode hunters is finding swarms of darners - we haven't seen too many this year unfortunately but I have managed to pull of the only record of Black-tipped Darner seen so far this year in the park - not really a big deal but still not bad in my first year...

Black-tipped Darner - Staff House, Murphys Point Provincial Park, ON

And so to the moths - to my great delight no-one has ever really done much mothing in the park and I have already more than doubled the park list in little more than a month or so. Considering that the list started at just 56, and that there are literally thousands of species in North America, that wasn't really such a hard task...

I guess I did get interested in moths way back when I was growing up in the UK but years of living in countries with little or nothing in the way of field guides quelled that interest. Now proud owner of Peterson's Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America, a home-made moth-trap and the encouragement of Mike Burrell, I have taken up a new summer pastime! Having a digital camera capable of 'macro' shots is also beneficial but mine is nothing special; just a Canon SX40 'bridge camera'.

One of the commonest moths in my trap (at the staff house at Murphys Point) is the Painted Lichen Moth. I have seen the more vivid Scralet-winged Lichen Moth just once. It's kinda weird but I was super-excited to see it - just like birding but with lifers coming in thick and fast!

Painted Lichen Moth -Staff House, Murphys Point Provincial Park, ON

And here's the more vivid Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth.

Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth - Staff House, Murphys Point Provincial Park, ON

A nice one that I found a couple of days ago is the Pearly Wood Nymph. It's to be expected of course but all these moths are highly seasonal. The Tent Caterpillar Moths, Sphinx moths and various Datanas from earlier in the season (just 3-4 weeks ago) are no longer coming to the trap.

Pearly Wood-nymph - Staff House, Murphys Point Provincial Park, ON

It's great fun - get out there and do it.

Till next time,

Mark.

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.

Two Lifers - Two Days

Thurs 23rd - Fri 24th October, 2014

OK, they weren't both lifers for me but between birding buddy James Barber and I, we each scored a lifer on consecutive days during a week devoted very much to birding the local area and catching up on late (or if you prefer, early) migration.

The weekend before started well with an OFO trip to Amherst Island, led by Mike Burrell, where the group hooked up with some early winter migrants/visitors including a snowy trio of Snow Goose, Snowy Owl (an individual that forgot to go home last summer) and a handful of Snow Buntings. However, the highlight for many was a small migration of raptors that included almost 100 Turkey Vultures, several Red-tailed Hawks (including a classic 'northern' abieticola), Sharp-shinned Hawk and bird-of-the-day, an immature Northern Goshawk. No pictures from that day I'm afraid, but this shot of the same Snowy Owl was taken back in September at the same location.

Snowy Owl - Martin Edwards Reserve, Amherst Island, ON

So moving forward to Thursday and my lifer. Now it's not such a big deal if you've been living in Canada all your life but when news of 4 Evening Grosbeaks at Mike's feeder came through, I 'knew' the wait was finally over. This species, as with many other seed-eaters, irrupts during years of poor crop further north so it was really just a matter of time before I hooked up with this cracking species. In the same genus as Hawfinch, I knew what I was in for and was not disappointed! With a supporting cast of Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch and Rusty Blackbird, we were provided great views of one of the females at the feeder and slightly more distant views of a couple of males and another female up in one of the trees. The males are quite spectacular - you really should check them out - but here she is...

Evening Grosbeak (female) - Washburn Road, ON

When we got home, we were pleased to hear that a Golden Eagle had been seen that day at Prince Edward Point, along with plenty of other migrating raptors. There was admittedly a twinge of regret but with winds looking very favourable for the next day (NW), James and I decided we would spend the day at the Bird Observatory and see what the winds would bring.

Even as we were driving to the Point that next morning, we were seeing signs of a potential raptor movement with a handful of Red-tailed Hawks hugging the shoreline. After setting up (we actually brought camping chairs), we sat back and let the action begin. It was relatively slow at first, with a mix of Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks coming through, though until about 10:30 Sharp-shinned Hawks made up the majority of sightings. And then it happened, the first eagle came through at 10:50 - unfortunately it was the more common Bald Eagle but we were ready, and at 10:55 our first Golden Eagle of the day came through, really low, and James had just bagged his lifer, with a record shot to boot. Ten minutes late, the second bird came through and we both got photos and great looks at this one. And that was it - the flood gates opened and over the next couple of hours we recorded 14 different individuals; on 2 occasions we had a minimum of 4 birds in the air at the same time. We even got to see a couple of birds talon-grappling and spiralling out of the air - amazing. Reviewing our photos later, there could actually have been even more birds...

None of my photos were great, but here are a couple of the highlights.

Golden Eagle (imm) - Prince Edward Point, ON

Golden Eagle (imm) - Prince Edward Point, ON

Golden Eagle (sub-adult) - Prince Edward Point, ON

Here also is one the Red-shouldered Hawks:

Red-shouldered Hawk (adult) - Prince Edward Point, ON

Oh yeah, almost forgot to say we had a flock of 17 Evening Grosbeaks earlier in the morning, followed by a single near the observatory. Weird how that works but I was still glad to have bagged that species at Mike's the day before. So, by 14:00 and chuffed to bits, we 'retired' to the lake with our chairs, lunch, and a cool drink and spent an hour or so lake-watching in the glorious sunshine. Not too much to report, but later on we encountered a nice flock of 23 Sanderling and 2 Dunlin out near the lighthouse.

Sanderling and Dunlin - Prince Edward Point, ON

Planning to stay into the evening for owl banding, we were pleasantly surprised to get back to the station and 'dragged' 20 metres down the trail to where a Northern Saw-whet Owl had recently been found roosting. This was a real bonus as we were privileged fantastic views of this diminutive species in late afternoon sunshine, rather than having to accept one hanging upside down in a mist-net or in the hand. Thanks must go to the staff at the station for putting us onto this bird.

Northern Saw-whet Owl - Prince Edward Point, ON

All-in-all a grand day and overall a fantastic week.

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.