HSA Big Year - Weekly Summary (April 17 - 29)

On the rainy and cool evening of April 17, Mark Jennings found an American Avocet at Bronte Harbour. After school my sister picked me up and we headed there immediately. A small group of birders had already formed viewing the avocet. It stood on the pier, sometimes taking little walks when the gulls got too close. This was a lifer for my sister so she was very happy. The avocet continued on the pier for the rest of the evening without being flushed. It is likely this bird was blown in with the warm weather last week and then was grounded with the precipitation. 

That day, I learned how to distinguish between male and female American Avocet. You can tell by the bill shape. Males have more of a straight bill while females have more of a curved bill. The bird that was present today at Bronte Harbour was a male! 

American Avocet

The next day I heard my first Sora of the year in a newly discovered cattail marsh in Oakville. I was surprised to also hear a couple Virginia Rails. 

On the 19th, a Snowy Egret was found at Windermere Basin. Thankfully, George was free and able to pick me up so off we went to go see this bird! Just before we arrived, we were told it was feeding out in the open at the back of the basin but had now gone behind the reeds and was out of view. Just a few minutes later, the bird popped back out and Rob Dobos kindly pointed it out to us. There was a Great Blue Heron walking right alongside it so it was really neat to see the size difference. 

Snowy Egret

After seeing the Snowy Egret, I met up with Nate Klassen and we birded the cattail marsh and surrounding fields that I had the Sora and Virginia Rails a few days ago. We had a fantastic time that evening! It was calm, somewhat warm and saw great birds. The birds we were hoping to see (Wilson's Snipe, Vesper Sparrow, Sora, Virginia Rail, Rusty Blackbird), we saw! We also heard and saw a bird none of us were expecting, a Marsh Wren (a little early)! It was singing loudly in the marsh and we were both able to get a glimpse of it. 

Searching for Yellow Rails 😉

Cattail marsh with paths full of water

On that Saturday (22nd), my mom and I got out very early, and checked the local shorelines for shorebirds. It was raining through the night so we thought some might get grounded, I guess we had Willets in mind. We somehow managed to beat the dog walkers to Burlington Beach but even then, we could only find a couple Ring-billed Gulls. The rain made it a little more unenjoyable but we still did some more birding. Checked CCIW for Neotropic Cormorant & Windermere for more shorebirds. Came up empty on Neotropic Cormorant but that was already a long shot. At Windermere there were a couple Greater Yellowlegs, a Dunlin and a pair of Spotted Sandpipers. 

Later that afternoon when the rain cleared up, we went to Shell Park. There we found a few new migrants including two Palm Warblers!

I spent most of Sunday at Beamer. I wasn't expecting much but the morning and early afternoon was actually quite good.  Saw just over 1,100 Broad-winged Hawks, 85 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 3 Bald Eagles, 37 Turkey Vultures, and 10 Red-tailed Hawks. 

Monday I had a PA Day so my mom and I went birding together in Dundas Valley CA. We were able to find 2 new year birds there, Blue-headed Vireo (2) and a singing House Wren. 

Blue-headed Vireo

House Wren

Just as we were heading back to the car, a message pops up and says that there's been a Long-billed Dowitcher spotted on 5th Road East, roughly 30 minutes from us. This was a lifer for my mom and I so I was quite happy to chase this. Also, Long-billed Dowitcher sure is not an easy bird to get in the HSA. Last year, not a single one showed up. It was feeding way at the back of the field with Lesser Yellowlegs but eventually came a little closer to the road. 

Long-billed Dowitcher (left) - Lesser Yellowlegs (right)

After that, we checked Edgelake Park for Eastern Whip-poor-wills. Last year I found 2 individuals sitting on trees here. I'm trying to repeat that, but that was surely just luck. So far my mom and I have checked Edgelake 3 times this year and have come up empty each time. Hopefully some will be found in May!

We then headed over to Confederation Park in Hamilton, where we saw a Warbling Vireo with the Yellow-rumped Warblers. 

Warbling Vireo

Later that day, George and I went to see the White Wagtail (2nd Ontario Record) up in Simcoe County!

On the evening of the 27th, George and I drove over to Caledonia to search for a Yellow-headed Blackbird that was observed flying over the road just a few hours earlier. We saw lots of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles flying around but none with white wing patches or a yellow head. 

On the 29th, I added Common Tern and Lesser Black-blacked Gull on a short lakewatch at Burloak Park in the rain. 

Today marks the last day of April and tomorrow will already be the first of May! I was out this afternoon with George birding around Flamborough and Brantford. Our target birds were Grasshopper Sparrow and Clay-colored Sparrow. Though it is a bit early, there is a known location for both of these species near Flamborough. We drove around the fields, listening and looking but could only find Savannah Sparrows. 

Just yesterday, Bill & Eric Lamond found a Clay-colored Sparrow in their yard in Brantford. We were in Brant County when Bill let me know that the sparrow was still present at noon. Since we were not far, we couldn't say no to checking off a fairly uncommon sparrow just a little early from the list. Bill kindly let us in and view the bird from a window. Thanks for another bird Bill :)

Clay-colored Sparrow

I hope that for everyone who's been following along, you've been enjoying these posts. If you have any ideas or suggestions that might make these blogs more interesting, please send me an email (markuslegzdins@gmail.com). 

As we now enter the month of May, new migrants will be arriving in Ontario every day. Birding basically anywhere could result in you finding the rarest bird of your life. Rare birds show up in weird places. Getting out whenever you can is key, in the morning, at noon, or in the evening. There will be birds around all day.

The next post you will receive from me will be at the end of May (hoping to be around 235 species🤞)

With the tremendous support and sponsorships I've gotten from so many birders and friends, a total of $2,500 has been raised which will go towards supporting the Hamilton Naturalists' Club. 

Thank you everyone & good birding!

Current HSA List: 166

Recent Rare Bird Sightings:

American Avocet - One on the west pier of Bronte Harbour (Mark Jennings; April 17)

Two on the beach at Bayfront Park (Kathleen Farley; April 18)

One on the North Island at CCIW (Ethan Gosnell; April 20)

Snowy Egret - One at Windermere Basin (Barry Cherriere; April 19)

Likely the same bird showed up again on the 24th at Windermere Basin

Long-billed Dowitcher - One individual in breeding plumage on 5th Road East with Lesser Yellowlegs (Rob Dobos; April 24) *Still being seen today!*

Black Vulture - One soaring over Beamer CA with Turkey Vultures (Simon Carter; April 27)

Yellow-headed Blackbird - Adult male seen flying over Hwy 6, south of Caledonia (Jon Pleizer; April 27)

HSA Big Year - Weekly Summary (April 6 - 16)

 This last week has been quite crazy with a lot of the first spring migrants starting to show up and rising temperatures. 

During April and May, lakewatching can be quite decent. Shorebirds, gulls, ducks (on their way out), geese, and other migrants are all possible so that's why after school I like to spend a few hours watching to see what's out there! One of my favorite locations is Cornation Park located just East of Third Line and offers a great, wide view of Lake Ontario. 

After spending a couple hours at Cornation Park on Thursday, I was able to spot/hear 29 species, 3 of which were FOYs (First of Year) for me. These included Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Fish Crow, and Great Egret! 

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet was quite special as it found me, I didn't have to find it. I was sitting on a bench right next to some bushes and then it came right up to me with a small flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

The Fish Crow was heard only but I'm sure I'll see some eventually. The Great Egret flew in from the lake and headed inland. 

Great Egret

Since I'm in school right now, it is difficult to chase rarities immediately so you need to try and find some yourself. From 8am-3pm I try to get out once in a while during my lunch breaks, but other than that its just the morning and evening. It really helps that days are getting longer so there is more time to bird after school but there's also so many other things to do, so, birding before school works best. Of course, it kinda sucks waking up earlier than usual but if you find a rarity while out in the field, it all pays off!

In spring & fall migration, migrants move at night, resulting in a day full of new birds so you never know what you're gonna see unless you go and look. 

One of the places that my Mom and I have decided to check on some mornings during migration season is Shell Park. It's a public park that contains several different habitats including a small creek, open field, and woodlots. 

This is the only location in Canada that has had 4 species of Tanager; Scarlet, Summer, Western, and Hepatic. 

On Friday, I had a PA Day so we made our first visit to Shell Park this season. There were quite a few new migrants present like Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Chipping Sparrow and best of all, a slightly early Brown Thrasher!

We had planned for Friday to be birding all day. Starting in Halton, then Hamilton, then Brant, and finishing in Hamilton. I had a couple target species that I wanted to get out of the way as they had been seen recently so why not give them a try today.

After birding around Halton, we made our way to Hamilton to search for Vesper Sparrows. At least 3 had been reported the day before and that morning on Powerline Rd, but we could not track them down. 

After that, we drove over to Brant County where we met up with Bill Lamond, hoping to see a Long-eared Owl! They have been in an area located on private property since about the beginning of the year but I never went for them because I forgot and I thought maybe some would show up closer to us in Halton or Hamilton but that was not the case this winter. 

It didn't take very long before Bill spotted a Long-eared Owl sitting in the large group of evergreens. They can hide so well in those dense trees that we discovered 3 more there with it! I thought that after missing this species in Halton and Hamilton, my only chance for them again would be in December so thanks for helping me get them out of the way Bill!

Long-eared Owl

As an added bonus, while walking out, a Red-tailed Hawk flew over us. You might be wondering, how is a Red-tailed Hawk a bonus; they're everywhere? Well, this bird was not your usual Red-tailed Hawk, it was a dark morph Red-tailed Hawk! A very rare sight here in Ontario, the Western subspecies.

Dark morph - Red-tailed Hawk

Our next goal was to find some Lapland Longspurs on Paris Plains Church Rd. I have tried for these twice this year here with George but we just could not find them. My mom and I were waiting along the side of the road when we noticed a large flock of small birds lift up from a corn field and I got them in the scope and confirmed they were Lapland Longspurs, 20 of them! They were just beginning to molt into their breeding plumage so the large area of black on the throat and rufous collar made them pretty distinctive, though they were very difficult to find once they had landed in the corn stubble. 

Lapland Longspur

Just before we saw the Lapland Longspurs, we spotted a group of 3 Vesper Sparrows sitting in a wooded area just on the road running parallel to Paris Plains Church Rd. They were quite approachable so I got some nice photos of them! 

Vesper Sparrow

While driving back towards home from Brant, we stopped in Hamilton briefly to check out some flooded fields for shorebirds and ducks and gulls. We ended up in the area not far from where a California Gull had been spotted last week so we thought to check there for stuff. We saw a whole bunch of Canada Geese and my mom spotted 2 Cackling Geese with them. Not far off the road was a group of 8 Greater Yellowlegs and 2 Dunlin with them. They were very tiny compared to the large yellowlegs. 

Greater Yellowlegs

Dunlin

The next day my Mom took me to Beamer CA and on the way there I saw a Caspian Tern flying over the highway. The sky had little to no clouds so it made spotting birds super high up very hard but we still managed. The best bird of the day was a Rough-legged Hawk. (https://ebird.org/checklist/S133119945)

On Easter just before going to church in Hamilton, my mom and I birded Shell Park and the surrounding area and I found a group of 11 Fox Sparrows and a male Eastern Towhee singing nearby. 

Fox Sparrow

A few hours after that, my mom dropped me off at Rattray Marsh and I did some lakewatching. The number of grebes on the lake was quite amazing. Counted over 500 Red-necked Grebes and 25 Horned Grebes. Way out there with a group of RNGR was a Western Grebe! I'm not sure if it was the same one that hangs out at the Port Credit Harbour, but probably was. I also had a dark mantled gull fly directly over me (GBBG/LBBG) but I never got any photos and it kept on flying towards Toronto, therefore I had to leave it as a gull sp. but I'm 99% sure it was a Lesser Black-backed Gull. 

That evening I received a text from Bob Curry stating that he & his wife, Glenda, had found a Little Gull at the Smithville Lagoons in Niagara. The sun was just barely starting to set so we decided to not try for it that same day but the next. Little Gull is a difficult species in the HSA as they are annual but almost always just seen flying by, and rarely ever stay in one place for a few hours. 

The next morning we left in the late morning and arrived just before noon. This was our first time at the Smithville Lagoons. It consisted of three cells, one large, and two half the size. Upon arrival, there was not a single Bonaparte's Gull present. This discouraged us a little as Bob has the Little Gull with over 100 Bonaparte's Gulls and with no Bonaparte's Gulls there will be no little gull. The water shimmered in the sunlight which made counting ducks a little tough. I was surprised how many ducks were present. Mainly Ring-necked Gull, Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, and Ruddy Ducks. As we were counting the ducks, Bonaparte's Gulls slowy streamed in from the nearby fields into the lagoons. 1, then 10, then 30, then about 80; all sitting in the water with some flying around. Not long after, the Little Gull finally showed up! 

We probably watched it for at least an hour and a half until we left. At times it flew within 15 feet of us which made the experience so much better. 

Little Gull

On April 12, an incredibly rare bird for the HSA was discovered, a Black-billed Magpie!! Luckily my mom was able to drive me over there after school where we saw it feeding on a rabbit carcass on the front lawn of a church. It seems like there might be a little irruption of BBMA in Southern Ontario as there were 2 sightings (Middlesex, Wellington) previous to this date and one the next day near Long Point. Basically impossible to tell if these birds are wild or the same bird or escapees but I think there is a good chance these birds will be deemed wild! This is the first official lifer I've gained so far in the HSA Big Year. 

Black-billed Magpie

After seeing the Magpie, since we were in the area, we thought to check out Safari Rd Marsh in Flamborough not too far away. This was my first time visiting that location and it was really neat. The road was flooded over with water so the road was closed. The amount of frogs calling made hearing birds difficult but we still managed to hear a Virginia Rail, American Bittern, and some Pied-billed Grebes calling that I thought were Common Gallinules. We also had a couple Northern Rough-winged Swallows flying around us. 

American Bittern in flight

The next day before school, my mom birded Shell Park and I birded the trail adjacent to there, Sheldon Creek Trail. I found 2 yearbirds, Black-crowned Night-Heron and a singing Pine Warbler! 

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Pine Warbler

After school my mom and I went birding in some farm fields in Halton where I flushed 2 Wilson's Snipes before I even saw them sitting in the flooded field. I was also surprised to find a Vesper Sparrow and a few Rusty Blackbirds mixed in with a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. 

Rusty Blackbird

On April 15, I spent my Saturday at Beamer. In the morning, 2 Broad-winged Hawks zipped over the tower fairly low as well as a few flocks of Purple Finches. Overall, the hawk flight was very slow (50 birds) but I always enjoy chatting with other counters there.

Broad-winged Hawk

After that, I spent an hour at the Grimsby Sewage Lagoons where I was lucky enough to see three Virginia Rails. 

Virginia Rail

Today, George and I went out in the afternoon to bird around the Hamilton area. The main things we got were shorebirds! A Solitary Sandpiper, a few Pectoral Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, and an Upland Sandpiper in the Niagara region which was a lifer for me. We also saw a trio of Purple Martins flying around a nesting box with a Tree Swallow. 

Upland Sandpiper

Current HSA List: 153

Recent Rare Bird Sightings:

Bohemian Waxwings - I believe they were last spotted on the UofG campus on April 12th. 

BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE - Found along the side of Governors Rd in Dundas feeding on a rabbit carcass. (Jerry & Ellen Horak; April 12)

HSA Big Year - Weekly Summary (March 28 - April 5)

 "Which day should I begin to look for that Western Grebe" I said to myself during my lunch break on Wednesday. Scrolling through the eBird species map for Western Grebe and seeing what the earliest and latest dates that it would show up. To give you some background information, a Western Grebe seems to show up at the mouth of the Credit river almost annually. Some years it decides to hang out somewhere else along the waterfront, like during 2021 in Bronte Harbor. It's very tough to tell if it really is the same bird because over a year a lot can change about its plumage but given that it keeps coming back to the same spot, it is very likely the same bird. The oldest eBird checklist I can find of that species at the Port Credit is from 2010, so if it was the same bird it would be at least 13 years old; which is very old for that species. 

Surprisingly, in 2022, 2 Western Grebes appeared at this location. So maybe one of those birds appears here, or a different one, no one really knows for sure. It is always possible that a Western Grebe could not show up here for one year because birds only live for so long.  

I hadn't really decided on which day I should go and look for it, but I probably would have started to look on the weekend. I got home from school and my dad arrived home early from work, so we had some time before I needed to be somewhere later that evening. I figured why not check Port Credit Harbor for the grebe. It was still a little early for it to show up as I saw that the most likely time for it was the start of April (4-10), but I still had my hopes up for it to be there today. 

My dad and I arrived at J.C Saddington Park some 20 minutes later and I took a short walk to the mouth of the river. Setting my scope down pointed in the direction of the large rusty ship, I take a look through it. The very first bird I see is a grebe, long yellow bill, bright white throat, black back, it's the Western Grebe! Didn't even have to move the scope, the bird was right in the center of the scope; almost like magic. It was such an awesome feeling to see this bird and it being in the HSA made it even more special. To make it even more awesome, I was the first person to find this bird this year; so technically I can call it a self-found bird! 

Western Grebe

When I first saw it, it was maybe 150 meters out on the lake, and eventually it was swimming less than 20 meters from me. It was truly such an awesome experience. Finding this Western Grebe was one of my biggest goals so far, and I had just completed that! Aside from Western Grebe showing up here almost annually, Western Grebe is a significantly rare bird in Ontario and in the HSA, which is why it's a "Code 4" bird. 

The next day a Pink-footed Goose showed up in Durham Region, so George, Luke, and I went to go see it. It was a lifer for both Luke and I, and George was happy as it was a new species photographed for him. On the way there, we stopped to see the Western Grebe at the Port Credit Harbour again, and found it swimming quite far out on the lake. It seems to have disappeared for now, but maybe it's just floating around somewhere else along the waterfront. This was also a new bird for Luke. 

On April 1st, George and I went out again together and drove around Brant and Hamilton County. We were hoping to see puddle ducks, yellowlegs, and maybe the Glaucous-winged Gull that was found last week by Bill Lamond. 

We left early in the morning and after picking up some breakfast we headed off to Brant. One of our first stops was the field that the GWGU had been spotted in last week. There were many gulls including an Iceland Gull that I really thought was the GWGU, but it wasn't. A Lesser Black-blacked Gull has also been seen here for a few days but we could not find that either. 

We then drove over to look for some Lapland Longspurs on Paris Plains Chruch Rd that had been heard/seen there earlier in the day. This is a good spot to get in them in migration as they stop in these fields for a few days before continuing North to their breeding grounds. We never saw nor heard any but the numbers will just keep growing until atleast the 20th we'll be back for them in a few weeks. Numbers of LALO can reach incredible numbers of like 700 and maybe if you're lucky, you'll be able to spot a Smith's Longspur with them. 

Your best chances of seeing Smith's Longspur are after SW winds, when the largest numbers of SMLO are just south of Chicago and then get blown up this way. 

After birding Brant County we drove around Hamilton and around Stoney Creek. We were surprised as the fields were too flooded! There was too much water in the fields that no shorebirds like yellowlegs could feed here. We did find a few ducks like Blue and Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintails, as well as a few Black Ducks and Mallards. 

Killdeer

A displaying Wild Turkey

After that we stopped to check Tollgate Ponds for a possible Neotropic Cormorant that was seen in that general area a few days ago by Rich Poort. Lots of gulls and a few cormorants, but no NECO. 

On Sunday I was planning to go hawkwatching at Beamer, but since I was gone for most Saturday and my parents were very busy I couldn't find a way over. So that morning I birded around my house and did homework. That evening when my mom had time we drove over to Princess Point to check out Cootes Paradise. 

I was surprised to see so many swallows flying out on the water, the majority of them being Tree Swallow, but 2 out of about 60 were different. One was a Barn Swallow, and the other was a Cliff Swallow; one of the earliest records for Hamilton! At this location I was also able to spot my first of the year Osprey!

Northern Pintails in flight

Osprey

On April 4th something went wrong with my school's power system which resulted in the school without power for the day. As I was home for the day, I found a Hermit Thrush skulking in the bushes in my yard!

 

Hermit Thrush

Later that afternoon, George and I drove over to Guelph hoping to see Bohemian Waxwings that had been previously reported at this location earlier today and yesterday. 

With the help of Luke's constant updates on their whereabout's, we were able to track down the group in a matter of minutes. I felt so relived to finally see these inside the HSA because Bohemian Waxwings are know to always be on the move and rarely stay in the same location for long periods of time unless there is a lot of food for them; which was here! 

Bohemian Waxwing

Today consisted of on and off thunderstorms, so after school I got out briefly to Oakville Harbour and did a short 30 minute lakewatch. Saw a few Bonaparte's Gulls which was nice as well as a Eastern Phoebe perched on a tree right by the lake!

Eastern Phoebe

Waking up and going outside to hear the songs of so many birds in the morning, I find so peaceful. These next few days will be fairly warm so migrants will be on the move! Looking forward to this long weekend starting Friday; hoping to add at least 5 new species. 

A goal I have set for the end of April is to be at 150 species. 

HSA Year List: 121

Recent Rare Bird Sightings:

Western Grebe - Reoccurring bird found at the mouth of the Credit River in Missisauga (Markus Legzdins; March 28)

Bohemian Waxwing - A group of 32 seen flying over Hilton Falls CA in Halton (Lev Frid & Amanda Guercio; April 2)

- One heard just SE of Guelph (Quinten Wiegersma; March 30)

-Several reports of ~80 in and around the University of Guelph Arboretum and campus

Black Vulture - A migrant; high over Beamer CA headed West (Matt Mills; March 2)

California Gull - Adult in breeding plumage, sitting in a field with Ring-billed Gulls. It flew, and was not able to be relocated; might show up in Brantford (James Lees; April 4)