Hurricane Sandy Delivers

As every Ontario birder already knows, yesterday the winds and other weather elements associated with the "Frankenstorm" resulted in some very interesting bird sightings. Along the shores of Lake Ontario from Oshawa west to Hamilton and south to the Niagara Region seemed to be the "vagrant zone". I was able to spend part of the day at Van Wagner's Beach in Hamilton where the big highlight for me was a Leach's Storm-Petrel.


Leach's Storm-Petrel


In addition, there were jaegers and Black-legged Kittiwakes galore, as well as seemingly disoriented flocks of Brant. Some observers in the same area as me were fortunate enough to spot a second species of Storm-Petrel (Wilson's) but I was more than satisfied by my apportionment of birds. Elsewhere along the lakeshore a Razorbill was seen as well as several Red Phalaropes. The storm track of Sandy combined with the weather system from the north was the admixture for some exciting birding!

I suppose the potential was there for even more seabirds to be carried into our region; Black-capped Petrels and Sooty Terms could have been anticipated. However, there could be more to the story and by the end of the week perhaps there will be additional sightings of unusual birds displaced by Sandy.

Fall Fun

Thanksgiving is a time for family. Hannah & I spent the first half of the weekend in Kingston (actually just north of Kingston on Sydenham Lake in the Township of South Frontenac). The weather was forecasted to be cold and overcast but it turned out to be beautiful fall weather, particularly in the mornings. Our birding was limited to the 2 km private laneway leading to the cottage where we were staying, but that proved to be ample territory.


Yellow-rumped Warbler

"Western" Palm Warbler

A cold front passed through on Friday night which was a likely factor behind the large number of migrants we saw on Saturday morning. We saw mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows, but there were a few surprises such as a late Northern Parula and a Philadelphia Vireo (which I thought I had missed for the year).



Philadelphia Vireo

I saw my first Dark-eyed Junco of the fall; an indication of the changing seasons. Also in the area were several Eastern Towhees and Purple Finches, both of which I presume to be resident family groups that had not yet departed.

Coprinus comatus

As well as birds, there were some interesting fall mushrooms including Giant Puffball and Shaggy Mane. Another highlight was an encounter with a juvenile porcupine that I caught on video.

Finally, on our way out of town we saw a large congregation of Wild Turkeys in a farm field, which seemed like risky behaviour on their part.

Wind Map

For those with an interest in trying to predict bird movement and distribution based on weather, here is a neat frame taken from the following URL: http://hint.fm/wind/



The map is an indication of surface winds, which do not necessarily reflect the conditions experienced by birds aloft, but it is interesting nevertheless.

Ontbirds Infotainment

[Ontbirds] SPOTTED REDSHANK

Mon Sep 24 18:49:21 EDT 2012

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A spotted redshank at rouge valley beach, with a flock of lesser yellowlegs, some killdeer, a great egret, belted kingfishers, and a magnolia warbler.

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I sure would like some further detail about those Killdeer. Zing!

Spotted Redshank - 9000 km from Ontario

If a Thick-billed can do it...

...why not a Dusky-capped or Brown-crested Flycatcher? All three Tyrannidae are from the southwest, but the Thick-billed has the most limited distribution in the ABA area. So why not?

Thick-billed Kingbird

No reason, that's why not. Maybe they have occurred in Ontario, but have so far escaped detection because of their similarity to other Myiarchus species, in particular Great Crested Flycatcher.

It is interesting that the Province's first Thick-billed Kingbird was found in the exact same location (Calf Pasture, Presqu'ile P.P.) that the Province's first Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher was found in 1986. Also, Doug McRae mentioned today that he found a Western Kingbird in that same location. Very weird. Why do the vagrant Tyrant Flycatchers love the Calf Pasture so much?

For my family who are probably the most loyal readers of this stuff, but who are not as up-to-date on the birding news, Ontario's first Thick-billed Kingbird was found at Presqu'ile Provincial Park last evening. Instead of going to the office this morning, I got up early and drove 2 hours to see it. It was well worth it.

Isaac is Coming

Heads up stormwatchers! Isaac's trajectory looks very promising. The tip of Point Pelee this Sunday morning would be a good place to set up a vigil. Here's hoping that Isaac deposits storm-entrained pelagic/tropical birds to a lake watch near you!

Courtesy of NOAA

Chimney Swift Migration

I captured some video of the Chimney Swift roost at Dickson Public School, 65 St. Andrews St., Cambridge. You can hear one of the neighbours taking orders for coffee. Everyone likes a catered event.

The numbers were pretty impressive; about 300. On the other side of the ledger, the roost that I identified three years ago in Hespeler (Ernie's Roadhouse) is totally inactive this year. I believe the chimney was modified last fall (e.g. capped or a liner installed) making it unsuitable as a roost. This could account for this year's apparent increase in numbers at the Dickson Public School. Migrating birds may be bypassing Hespeler, or birds that bred/fledged in Hespeler might be vacating the area sooner than last year and moving south to join up with the higher concentration of birds in Galt.