Townsend Twitch: Episode III - Solitaire Redemption

As many (Ontario) birders know, Dan MacNeal, a well known known birder from Wellington County, found a Townsend's Solitaire last November, which many went out to see. Others may also know, that I was not one of these people, although I tried to be. So hence the title, when Dan refound the same Solitaire in the same location as before, I tried at a shot for redemption. Amazing that it has been around for so long! Interestingly Dan found what was very likely a different bird at Guelph Lake in  December. But it didn't stay long and I dipped on it as well... So my first chase of the year, second time chasing this individual, and third time trying for this species, I felt determined.
          I had ski practice in the morning first, which worked out well as it was known to become more reliable in the evening. On the way up I tried for Longspurs, but as seems to be a very strong recent trend with me- I came up empty.
          I was meeting up with my friend Logan Baldwin, whom I'd never actually met in real life, but we'd corresponded and had planned to try and meet up. He was already there, and told me that it hadn't been seen since the morning. Great I thought, Not again. But just as I thought this, me and Logan almost simultaneously called out a medium sized bird flitting away into the bush- with orange wingbars. We quickly searched the bush we thought it might have landed in, but had no luck. We decided to walk up the hedgerow, and inform the other people looking. They had disappeared into the bush, but just as we were about to change direction, Todd Hagedorn, an old employee of my mom appeared from the bush, and said that he had the bird in forest! We quickly followed him, but they had lost it. I noticed something flit, got my bins up, and it was indeed the bird! It was pretty obscured, and hard for everyone to get on it. Eventually it moved to a slightly more open spot, and I got some pretty decent pictures:

The first thing I noticed on this bird was the long tail, then the eyering, than the 'burnt' orange wingbars... A very very distinct bird!

Solitaire's wingbars can range from a dull, barely noticeable tint, to a bright, burnt orange. I would say that this bird is quite bright!

Quite content with my brief, yet high quality sighting, we trekked back out the opening. I called my friend Nathan Hood, who had left only a few minutes earlier- empty handed! It was a bit awkward when he showed up, and we didn't have the bird anymore... But we walked a small section of the road and saw it fly over again, in similar fashion to the first time! Feeling good, we decided to keep on heading up to our chalet, where we made a short stop at an art store in Flesherton called Local Colour, where a Carolina Wren had been coming to a feeder there. Although the bird wasn't there, the shop owner, David Turner was. He's a great birder in Grey County, and I've been wanting to meet up with him for some time! As a success present, I bought myself a wooden Piping Plover, my favourite bird! I collect bird art, and I really like shorebirds, so this was a great addition!

I did a little bit of birding on Sunday in Collingwood, where I got my FOY (first of year) Iceland Gull, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebe and others. A great addition to January, and it isn't over yet!

Blob- AKA an Iceland Gull

Female Red-breasted Merganser, maybe I should do a post on Common vs. Red-breasted females. Or maybe I should just do a general post on common similar species (that are in season), like Downy vs. Hairy, and other stuff like that

Well there's that post... Not sure what my next one(s) will be on, but I know that I will do one on my upcoming trip to Celebration, Florida! It's barely going to be a birding trip, as it's only three days after exams, and my parents don't seem willing to drive me anywhere, they say that a vacation is being able to sleep in, relax, and not drive anywhere... Ha! 

One day...

The End of 2017

I have been insanely busy lately, with (un)important thing like exams, school, blah blah blah. I started writing this post almost, but I figured I'd put it out sooner rather than later. And I used to be putting out one a week... Oh well.
2017 was a great year to be a birder, 364 species were observed in the province, the highest ever in one year! After my Tufted Duck twitch, I had pretty much only one more opportunity for birding, the Meaford CBC. Last minute, my section got changed, but the new one still had quite a bit of shoreline and other interesting features. The day was pretty good, my section got 29 species, highlights including a Snowy Owl, several (Common) Redpolls, and a single flyover Snow Bunting. I finished off by having some Cider at the section leaders house. While waiting for the official wrap-up to start, my mom spotted a Northern Shrike out the window, putting the end to a poor House Finch's life. Then it flew up into a bush only a few meters from the window!

This blows away some of my previous shrike pictures:

You get the point... 

         The next few days leading up to the new year I mainly spent feeder watching, and some local birding. There's always a big flock of Goldfinches that cycles through our property at around the same time each day, and in past years I've had Purple Finches, Pine Siskins and Redpolls mixed in. There wasn't anything too exciting, but a few siskins did turn up, as well as a photogenic Downy Woodpecker.

I've since managed to get some ok shots of Hairy Woodpeckers on the same tree, so maybe I'll do a post comparing the two similar species. What do you think?

Goldfinch's streakier counterpart

Me and my family went for a walk not too far away from our chalet, and I found some Ruffed Grouse eating the buds out of a tree:

And then when I came back, I noticed a grey lump out on a tree limb over the feeder. An Eastern-screech Owl! Although not a yardbird, I think it's the first one I've ever actually seen in my yard, or maybe even county. A great way to end the year!

Not wanting to disturb him or her too much, I quickly retreated back inside. I went back out that night, and heard what was probably the same one doing it's monotonic trill. But of course in the new year when I went out (very) early that morning, it was nowhere to be seen or heard. Figures...

I birded my subdivision pretty hard the next morning, and turned up some Purple Finches, some heard only Redpolls, a flyover Common Merganser at my patch (the first!), and a leucistic Goldfinch at my feeder! Pretty good first day I think!

I think I'll turn out a few more posts this week, summarizing the rest of my new year, a chase, and a (still) upcoming trip to Florida!

Good birding!

Twitching... Again!

My twitching has been pretty prolific this year (especially compared to others), and surprisingly succesful. When a Tufted Duck was found by Luc Fazio last weekend, I knew I had to get over to Mississauga as soon as possible. But plans didn't work out as well as I planned, and I endured the long wait of the last week of school before Christmas Break. The bird kept giving me mini heart-attacks, and disappearing for a day, only to be refound farther East, farther away from me... But thankfully the day before I was going to go, it was found again, this time in Cliff Lumsden Park, where it stayed with it's Scaup friends until sunset.
          I planned to be there at 8:30 and meet up with my friend Isabel Apkarian. By the time I got there, she'd already sifted through the Scaup for me, and located it only a couple meters offshore. It was surprisingly hard to get onto, as it dove frequently and moved around a lot. But finally I laid eyes on it.

This male only had a few tufts grown in, but as the winter progresses it will develop into a full tuft. As I was watching the Tufted Duck, a few other duck species swam by, including smaller numbers of Lesser Scaup, American Wigeon, Long-tailed Duck and Bufflehead.

American Wigeons

Greater Scaups

Female Greater Scaup

Common Goldeneye

Long-tailed Ducks

The Tufted Duck kept moving around a lot, and I could only get some mediocre comparison shots of it with the Scaup.

Backlighting doesn't help! Greater Scaup on the top left, Tufted Duck in the middle, and a female Common Goldeneye on the bottom right


The easiest identifying feature for this bird is the jet black back, as opposed to the dark smudging or barring on the Scaup's back

The day before, a hybrid between a Tufted Duck and Scaup sp. had also been found. Determined to add it to my list, I scanned through the flock of diving ducks, while also counting them. I located it close to the end of my count (approximately 1500, almost all Greater Scaup). It didn't stand out as much as the Tufted Duck, with it's dark back, but it's oddly shaped head gave it away.

The left-most duck. The pointy head, and the smudgy back and sides gave it away. 

Luc Fazio (the original finder of the Tufted Duck) suggested it to be a Lesser Scaup, which I agree with. The tuft peaks at the front of it's head, the bird is noticeable smaller than the surrounding Greater Scaup, and although this photo might not show it, scope views showed the smallness of the bill and nail (bill end). A cool bird either way, and likely the same one seen in Tommy Thompson Park earlier this year (which I still have never been to!).

Can you find the hybrid? 😉

The day before we were making Christmas cookies, and I found a duck shaped cookie cutter. A few adjustments and a little bit of icing later, I came out with this:

My new strategy is to make a cookie of the bird I'm chasing, who knows! Hope ya'll get to see this beautiful bird, I might try and go back once it's full tuft is grown in.

List: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S41285207

Good birding,

Ethan.

Kitchener CBC

Christmas Bird Counts (from this point forward referred to as a 'CBC') are an annual event that happen around the Christmas time (hence the name), where volunteers try and count all birds in a 24km diameter circle. There's thousands of counts across North America, and even more in the UK. The CBC has been running for over a hundred years, and is therefore one of the longest running standardized counts ever.
          I usually do at least two counts per season, one Kitchener (my hometown), and Meaford (where my chalet is. This blog post will just be about the Kitchener count, because the Meaford count hasn't happened yet! I might write another post about it in the coming Christmas weeks, but it depends on how it goes, and how my Tufted Duck twitch goes tomorrow...

I (like to think I) co-run my CBC section, with Fraser Gibson, a very good local birder. At 5:30 on (last) Saturday, the 16th, me and my mom set out to meet Fraser on his owling run. Our section is in the South West corner of the circle, and is comprised of mostly farmland, with a few woodlots, and a few small rivers. The combination makes for surprisingly good owl habitat, or maybe my perception of owl numbers is skewed.
          Anyways, at the first stop we were successful, and got two Eastern Screech Owls to respond to our tape! We moved farther up the road, and heard a lone Great-Horned Owl hooting up a woodlot. We made a few more unsuccessful stops, and the world began to wake up. We decided to make one last stop, and a good thing too, as a Barred Owl called back! I was so close to missing this owl for the year (along with quite a few other species it seems...). They are fairly uncommon in the area, but occasionally turn up. There well known call 'who cooks for you, who cooks for you, who cooks for you all', is quite recognizable. Quite content with the day already, we proceeded to our first stop. Little did I know, we were for a big day for rarities...
          The first stop we usually make is at a large wooded property, with lots of mixed hardwood and also plantation style forests. Immediately upon arriving, we heard a Raven call, and I also later saw it, a 3rd count record! There wasn't much else at this spot, besides some chickadees and kinglets, so we moved on.
       
Our next stop is a walk between Oxford-Waterloo Road to Bridge Street. It follows one of the only open waterways in our section, and normally yields the most (and best) finds. As soon as I got out of the car, a small, thrush-like bird flew up into a snag. I got a quick look at it before it flew off. A Bluebird! I didn't think it was overly rare, as Bluebirds are known for overwintering. But everyone wanted to get a good look at it, which I was perfectly fine with! As we were watching it, it was joined by a female! They were quite active and kept hidden, which made it hard for photos. But I did get one:

Obviously cropped and lightened pretty hard. But it's definitely a Bluebird!

Content with this sighting, we started down the path. A few mallards were taking advantage of the flowing water, and a few kinglets were also around. We decided to split our group again, I continued to follow the river, while the other group veered off into the woods. We'd only walked a 100 meters or so, when I saw a small brown, roundish object on some exposed rocks on the creek. I doubled back, and even with my eyes I could tell it was a shorebird. I quickly got my bins up, and I was greeted by  a beautiful Wilson's Snipe! We called the other group to come back.

          Shorebirds are my favourite group of birds, and Snipes are no exception. Snipe (along with woodcock) prefer grassy fields, with some dense busy cover. They both do flight displays in the spring and summer, and are quite fun to watch! But this Snipe had made some poor life choices, and had ended wading through a freezing river, feeding on whatever it could find in the near frozen mud. 

So cute!

It bobbed up and down as it fed, maybe stirring up stuff with its feet? It seemed to be oblivious to us, but I didn't want to get too close, in case it flew away from the only water it has. Thankfully my 500mm lens had no problem with that!

My mom texted Mike Burrell about our find, as he had said to contact him about anything decently rare. I also mentioned the Bluebird, just in case that was of interest.

          Turns out the Bluebird was of more interest! The Snipe represented the 9th record, but incredibly surprising to me, the Bluebirds were a 1st count record!!! Apparently Eastern Bluebird is the most common thing missing from the Waterloo list, and has evaded counters for 82 years! Interestingly enough, the Cambridge count just South East of here gets them pretty much every year! Boy am I glad I took that picture 😃

          We continued walking as a single group, and managed to pick up 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker, a species that has been very quickly expanding into Ontario, a Brown Creeper, and American Tree-sparrow and a single Great Blue Heron. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker

When we rounded another bend, a medium sized bird flew up from the creek, a Snipe! Very very likely the same one, just weird how it got ahead of us without us noticing! Right after the Snipe had flushed, 19 all white geese flew over, Snow Geese! Another rarity, and my first for the region! Thrilled with our walk, we split up to check our separate places.

Despite driving many backroads, I couldn't manage to turn up any Snow Buntings, which we have always gotten in the past few years. There was a few sizeable flock of House Finches around, as well as all the common backyard birds, and some Red-tailed Hawks.

          Our final stop for the day was the Williamsburg Cemetery, which turned up an overwintering Eastern Towhee last winter. No Towhee was to be had this year, but there was a few sizeable flocks of American Tree-sparrows, as well as some Robins. Amongst the flock of Passerines, a female Purple Finch appeared! Another county first for me.

American Robin - Yes, they do stay the winter sometimes!

American Tree-sparrow - One of the prettiest Sparrows in my opinion, their rusty tones and bicoloured are some of the best field marks for this species, as well as their 'stickpin', a small dark central dot on their chest (not visible in this picture)

And that concludes this CBC. I would definitely recommend them to any level of birder, whether you're a birder just starting looking for someone knowledgable to bird with, an advanced birder looking for rarities, or not a birder at all (but if you're not a birder I'm not sure how you'd be reading this). Good luck on your CBC's, and Merry Christmas!

Find one near you at this link

Niagara Weekend... Part 2!

Notice above how I said the my 'original' favourite gull was Ring-billed. That was all about to change.
          There had been a juvenile Black-Legged Kittiwake reported just upriver beneath the falls over the past week, and we were told it had been seen less than an hour ago. We speedily walked over, but I only got on it for a split second before it disappeared into the mist. Because I wasn't content with my view, I decided to stay until it reappeared, hoping for photo opportunity, and also lending two more eyes to the the many others searching. In Niagara, and birding in general all it seems to take to find a rarity, is time, and a concentrated number of people looking.
          Sure enough, about a half-hour later, someone (not sure who) called it out, circling at the base of the falls. It was surprisingly easy to pick out, and it's diagnostic black 'M' stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone watched as it cycled around in the falls, soaring 50 meters or so below us. Occasionally it would glide up to eye level, and then dive back down into the depths. Made for an amazing experience, and some awesome photos! It may not be a lifer, or a yearbird, or even an Ontario yearbird (see here), but it was still incredible, and much better views than my Hamilton bird, and I suppose you could call it an Ontario 'photograph lifer'!

See the black 'M' pattern? Similar to a toned down version of a juvenile Sabine's Gull I think

The black neck collar is something that Bonaparte's also lacks. The water at the bottom of the falls is intense!

Proof that I was in Niagara, the control gates are in the back

A juvenile Great Black-backed Gull also caught my attention briefly, before I was pulled back to the Kittiwake.

So despite seeing these birds on they're breeding grounds in Newfoundland earlier this year, Ring-billed Gull was still my favourite. But this lil' cutie managed to change my mind. And that was after seeing them like this:

Juveniles cuddled up in the (extremely) thick fog, in Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland

Crazy how different the adults look, very plain but also really pretty!

Just before I left, I turned around to see a Peregrine Falcon fly by with a bird in it's talons! I got some pretty bad pictures, but Jack Farley's picture made it clear that it was a Bonaparte's Gull!
          Our next stop was the Control Gates. Immediately upon arriving, Josh Vandermeulen pointed out a large all white gull flying North over the gates. A Glaucous Gull, my last expected gull yearbird! I quickly scanned through the massive duck flock that always seems to gather in this exact spot, and found that it was a good mix of Greater and Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and fewer numbers of Canvasback. I didn't have too much time, as we needed to be back in Kitchener relatively early, so I quickly walked back to the car, not knowing that a Snowy Owl and Northern Rough-winged Swallows were seen while I was there! Guess nobody felt like telling me... That's fine.
          Just as I opened the to the car, I heard a croaking call coming from behind me, I turned around and a Common Raven came into view! It was soon joined by another, which landed on top of the gate building and was immediately bombarded by crows.

I see Ravens pretty often up at my chalet, but I think that this is the first photo I've ever taken with a Raven and Crow together!

From the gates, we drove to our second last stop in Niagara, Adam Beck (again). There wasn't much to see except 2 more Iceland Gulls, so we continued to our last stop in Niagara.

          The Queenston Heights Overlook is a pretty controversial birding spot, at least in my opinion. It's the most reliable spot for Black Vultures in Ontario, but the thing is, it's not in Ontario. The Vultures roost on a church on the American side, but since you can see them from Ontario, people list them on their Ontario list. I also do this, but if I did a big year I definitely wouldn't count them.

          Every time I go, I also get deja-vu, because I visit this spot every year, and take pretty much the exact same picture. See:

2017

2016

2015

As you can tell, I got a new lens in 2017, and the lighting was pretty bad in 2016.

And that's it! Overall a great trip!

Gull Species: 7 (plus Thayer's)
Waterfowl Species: 16
Vulture Species: 2

Until next time, Ethan.

Niagara Weekend

The well known OFO Gull Trip was happening this weekend, so me and my mom made the (not so long) trek down to the falls for some much needed birding. I felt like I hadn't gone birding in weeks, but the reality was I had chased the Mountain Bluebird only a few days earlier... What can I say, I'm addicted!
          On the way down, we stopped in at Stoney Creek, to catch up with my long overdue yearbird Surf Scoter. On the first we were successful, and were also treated to large numbers of the other scoters and long-tailed ducks.

The early morning made for some nice lighting

There was also some pretty good numbers of Black Scoter, all females!

Common Goldeneyes were also plentiful

Despite the lack of King Eiders, I was content with the stops, and we continued on.

We arrived at Adam Beck just after 9, where the group of nearly 100 birders were waiting. The Niagara trip draws a lot of people, and is one of OFO's most popular trips by far. I think it's because most people can't ID gulls, and jump at the first gull trip they see... Which can be a good strategy because the trip normally gets around 10 species of gulls, counting Thayer's (a subspecies of Iceland). A quick scan of the rocks turned up 2 first cycle Thayer's in with the usual Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls. 3 species down. An adult Thayer's also made a brief appearance flying up the river, but the overall low numbers forced us to move upriver, to where 5 Harlequin Ducks had been seen over the past week.

          We parked in the Dufferin Islands parking lot, and walked through the park to the river. There was lots of mallards, gadwall and the odd Hooded Merganser.

Out at the river there was a tame Redhead, and also a Lesser Black-backed Gull, a yearbird!

Makes one think 'ooh, pretty'

Right in the center. Not the best view but a view nonetheless!

The Harlequin Ducks were hiding behind a rock pretty far out on the river, but provided fantastic scope views! I managed to see all four adult males and the one immature male/female all together! A great yearbird, and one I hadn't seen in a while. 

Likely these same birds have been coming back to this exact rock to roost on for a few years now.

My original favourite gull, the Ring-billed Gull. I find their bill and face so nice, and they're always tame enough to photograph too.

Part II coming!