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
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)
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