After being gone for about 6 weeks in Michigan, I am now back home! I got back on the evening of August 7 and before even stopping at home we tried for a Wilson's Phalarope that had been found at Windermere Basin the day before. My mom and I bumped into Mourad who was also searching for it but still after looking through all the yellowlegs, we could not find it.
The next morning I returned to Windermere Basin with my dad, hoping that the WIPH would be there, but again, it was nowhere to be found. After that we drove over to Dundas Valley CA, hoping to cross paths with a rare finch species for the HSA, the Red Crossbill! Starting in late July and continuing to this date, Red Crossbills have flooded into parts of Southern Ontario in search for suitable habitat to breed and food where pines and other conifers are prevalent.
I was still in Michigan when all these reports of RECR started showing up on my rare bird alerts from eBird so I had to make a plan where to begin searching for them when I got back. Almost all the RECR sightings were heard while they were flying over so that made it even more difficult to track them down. Red Crossbills have quite a loud and distinct flight call sounding like "kip kip kip" or "jip jip jip".
Since James Lees had been hearing and seeing Red Crossbills for a few days in a row, we went to Dundas Valley CA that morning. James had been hearing almost all of the crossbills by the HQ of DVCA but I mixed up the locations and headed to another part of the conservation area. I was already quite skeptical of trying for these finches today as it was quite windy making it difficult to hear anything but we still tried because if you never try, you won't see it.
Just as we were pulling up to the parking lot I noticed a small group of birds sitting along the gravel road. A goldfinch lifted up from the road, then a darker colored bird. Could it really be a Red Crossbill I thought? The bird had flown up to a small bush right next to the road where I could get a better look at it and where I confirmed it was a female Red Crossbill!
There was not one, not two, but three! Two females and a male. The group flew off and just a minute later a male flew over calling "kip kip kip". My dad and I walked around for about another hour after that but could not find or hear anymore.
The rest of this week I've pretty much been taking it easy, birding around my yard and visiting some parks not too far from me. I've been so happy to see such a variety of baby birds in my backyard and around locally.
This weekend was great because I added five new species to my HSA year list! On Saturday morning while out birding with my mom, specifically looking for shorebirds, I spotted a Willet at Tollgate Ponds in Hamilton.
We then drove around Niagara looking for wet & muddy fields hosting shorebirds. There were a few good spots we stopped at that had quite a variety of shorebirds but most of other places were just dry or didn't have anything in it at the time. That aside, it was a very nice day to be out.
After eating lunch in Grimsby, we drove over to Windermere Basin. After scanning the back of the basin over and over again we found a shorebird that looked a little different than the rest of the Lesser Yellowlegs. It was a tad thinner, had long yellow legs, a white supercilium, and had a longer droopy bill. Any guesses? If you guessed Stilt Sandpiper, you're correct!
I thought that would be the last place I go today but that changed right as George dropped me off back at home. A report of a Red-necked Phalarope & 2 Wilson's Phalaropes came in from Niagara, just about where we were 2 hours earlier.
My mom and I departed from home in Oakville about 30 minutes after the report came in and arrived at the location just after 5pm. The spot was quite nice, being a large flooded area of a soybean field just off the side of the road. There were already other birders present who kindly helped me get on both phalarope species in an instant. An added bonus was a Baird's Sandpiper foraging in the same flooded field!
My mom and I spent the rest of the wonderful evening chatting with other birders and enjoying the presence of all the unique shorebirds up close. A truly great weekend for shorebirds!
For interest's sake, here are the rare species I missed while I was away. Surprisingly, I didn't miss much.
- Wilson's Phalarope at Windermere (Rob Dobos; August 6)
- Lark Sparrow visiting a private feeder for a day in Brantford (Denys & Sharon Gardiner; July 25)
- Dispersed reports of Red Crossbill across Hamilton and Halton
Current HSA List: 249
Recent Rare Bird Sightings:
Wilson's Phalarope - One at Windermere Basin in Hamilton (Rob Dobos; August 6)
Single bird on Cosby Rd in Niagara (Marcie Jacklin; August 13)
Two juveniles in flooded soybean field off South Grimsby Road 6 in Niagara (Bob Highcock; August 13)
Red-necked Phalarope - Single bird in flooded soybean field off South Grimsby Road 6 in Niagara (Shannon Hingston; August 13)
Red Crossbills - All over the place around Hamilton, specifically DVCA (James Lees).
Willet - One at Tollgate Ponds in Hamilton (Markus Legzdins; August 12)
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