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)
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