Mark Breaks in NA

October Week 4

2009-10-31T12:48:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post for this amazing trip to North America as the next two days will be spent shutting down the banding station before jumping on a plane and heading back home to Lancashire (who should I pack?). Adding up my lists for the journey I have seen 290 species since crossing the Atlantic of which 63 have been lifers. This made me look at my life list and I soon realised that Kittlitz’s Murrelet was a very important bird taking me to the landmark of 1000. I have really enjoyed getting to learn more about the birds through banding and have reached an impressive total of 116 species. So it’s now time to go back to all my Blue Tits in the garden and try to sort out what to do with my life!!!!!!!!!!!! (any ideas?)

31st Oct – wash out

Rain and more rain as the season comes to an end.

30th Oct – 3rd Shrike

Banding was slow today as just 25 birds were caught. However another record was broken as we caught our third Northern Shrike. Only raptors of the day seen were a Cooper’s Hawk and a Northern Harrier but a cool surprise in net 8 was a Saw-whet.

Downy Woodpecker

29th Oct – Blackbirds head south

A light northerly wind definitely had our heads pointing up this morning as an estimated 2500 Red-winged Blackbirds and 700 Common Grackles moved over, as did 27 Buff-bellied Pipits. The majority of the days catch were 20 Slate-coloured Juncos whilst a Pine Siskin was a nice change.

The lake was full of life on a calm afternoon as I recorded:
· 67 Common Loons
· 46 Horned Grebes
· 2 Gadwall
· 4 Black Ducks
· 65 Mallards
· 500 Long-tailed Ducks
· 4000 Greater Scaup
· 10 Black Scoter
· 12 Surf Scoter
· 420 White-winged Scoter
· 9 Buffleheads
· 75 Red-breasted Mergansers

28th Oct – closed

A rather damp day resulted in very little noted with just a Northern Harrier, whilst a walk in Traverse Wood found just 10 Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Myrtle Warbler. Last night we caught a Screech Owl.

27th Oct – Meadowlark drops in

104 reached now as a Red-bellied Woodpecker found our hawk nets, also caught were 2 House Finch. By the afternoon the wind had gone and out on the lake were 10 Black, 7 Surf and 500 White-winged Scoters as well as 40 Horned Grebes, 300 Long-tailed Ducks, 30 Buffleheads, 15 Black Ducks and 3000+ Greater Scaup. A group of shorebirds also flew by comprising of 4 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin and a White-rumped Sandpiper. Late afternoon and the grass in front of the house filled with 40+ Robins and an Eastern Meadowlark.

Eastern Meadowlark

26th Oct – repeat of yesterday

The sun was out today and thankfully this meant we could get a little electricity from the solar panels. Today we dropped to 39 birds banded but our observations were similar to yesterday with a Golden Eagle over and a visit from an Evening Grosbeak but this time a female and unfortunately she was more interested in the few hornbeam seeds rather than our sunflower seeds.

Eastern Bluebird

25th Oct – list grows one more

At last the wind finally makes it back around to the northwest. Bird numbers stayed very stable though but there was a little activity overhead with a 1st year Golden Eagle (first for year at the point) and 2 Red-tailed Hawks. A walk to the lighthouse found a very late Blue-grey Gnatcatcher with a group of Chickadees. But by far the best sighting of the day was of a bird I’ve been hoping to see for some time now. It was mid morning when a volunteer walked into the banding lab saying she had just seen a large bird by the feeders with yellow and a big bil…………. I shot out and after staring at the large cedar trees for ten minutes or more, the bird hopped out into view, WOW it really was an EVENING GROSBEAK and a stonking male as well! (that’s when the eagle flew over which was a lifer for Brendan)

Evening Grosbeak

An hour later and he finally made his way into the trap. As the sun set we were ready for a busy night and we were not disappointed as we got our biggest catch of the season as were hauled in 79 Saw-whets along with another Barred Owl.

24th Oct – first tree return

Much better weather today as a gentle southeast wind blew and cloud cover meant for warmer temperatures of 12-15 degrees Celsius. The nets delivered 70 birds with another addition to the seasons list when two American Tree Sparrows were caught. In the yard 3 Eastern Bluebirds made a brief visit. Out on the lake there are still 8 Black, Surf and 200 White-winged Scoters but conditions were far from ideal for scanning.

American Tree Sparrow

23rd Oct – strong winds stop play

Sadly the strong easterly winds and threat of rain tracking over the lake meant no banding was carried out. An early watch on the lake found a flock of 80 Brants heading south as were 3 Common Loons. Morning census was carried out with only 17 species logged. But this did include a single Vesper Sparrow feeding along the roadside verge. By the afternoon the weather was improving so we made attempts to catch the sparrow and after an hour or saw after being out foxed by the bird we finally got it! Bringing the seasons total to 102 species and forms.

Vesper Sparrow

22nd Oct – 2 Warbler species

The day started with Dave heading off to Quebec for the weekend attending the Canadian Migration Network meeting at Tadoussac leaving me in charge!!!!!!!!!!!! The weather was calm and cloudy with a few birds flying around early on with 5 Buff-bellied Pipits and 400 Red-winged Blackbirds. The nets confirmed that there were very few birds in the woods with just 51 birds caught. (maybe an indication that the season is coming to an end?) Best bird banded was a fine male Pine Warbler that bizarrely got caught in a ground trap, the only other warbler seen were 4 Myrtles. 3 Northern Cardinals also appeared around the feeders.

Pine Warbler

October Week 3

2009-10-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

21st Oct – retraps continue

Its now been two days since the last arrival and they are still here! The days catch was 137 birds with a further 71 retraps of mainly Golden-crowned Kinglets and White-crowned Sparrows. However we had a late female Black-throated Blue Warbler and two more Fox Sparrows along with 58 Golden-crowned Kinglets (31 retraps).

20th Oct – shrike surprise 2

Well would you believe it a second Shrike appeared today and once again it was in a net. This time a juvenile bird that equals the previous best fall record of a bird that isn’t caught every year. Kinglet numbers were still high with 90 new Golden and 15 Ruby-crowned. In the afternoon conditions weren’t easy looking out over the lake but I managed to find 5 Surf and the 6 Black Scoters bobbing up and down long with 200 White-winged Scoters, 30 Horned Grebes, 30 Long-tailed Ducks and a Black Duck.

Northern Shrike

19th Oct – cracked 100

The day started calm and frosty as the sun started to rise over the lake. Straight away birds were seen heading over the point with up to 400 Red-winged Blackbirds and small groups of Chickadees with a final count of 50. The nets produced the highest catch of the week with 174 birds banded and we also reached 100 species and forms with the addition of Red-winged Blackbird to the fall list. I must say that there is little variety in the birds present now as the bulk was 98 Golden-crowned Kinglets. However there was one surprise find when an adult Northern Shrike appeared in a net.

Northern Shrike

18th Oct – scoter trio

Another sunny day with a light Northeast wind meant raptors were on the move again as we caught an amazing 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks with a further 50 estimated flying over. Also heading over in the first 2 hours of daylight were a Bald Eagle, 6 Red-tailed Hawks, Goshawk, 100+ American Robins and a Buff-bellied Pipit. As the day progressed the wind died down to nothing making ideal conditions for grilling the lake. Straight away I started scanning the White-winged Scoter flock that numbered 400, it wasn’t long before I came across 14 Surfs and then 6 Blacks. Other ducks included the return of 8 Long-tails, 14 Bufflehead as well as the very distant Scaup flock now estimated at 3000 (could be any number really). Not so many Grebes with just 4 Horned and 1 Red-necked but down around the lighthouse was a flock of 6 Dunlin.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Tonight the Owls finally got going with 69 Saw-whets caught as well as 5 controls, also we caught another grey Eastern Screech Owl and a Barred Owl. The Barred Owl also had a second friend as they both caused mischief around the nets.

17th Oct – geese head south

As we walked out of the building at first light we immediately saw a flock of 60 Atlantic Black Brant flying low over the lake heading south. Today was a much better day for raptor watching as the sun was shining. Throughout the day I personally managed to see a Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 Northern Harriers, 2 Goshawks, 6 Red-tailed and 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks. Also on the move were 210 Common Grackles and 20 Red-winged Blackbirds. Out of the nets came an Orange-crowned, Nashville and 2 Myrtle Warblers.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

16th Oct – late warbler

Much the same as yesterday for both the weather and birds. Overhead a Red-tailed Hawk drifted over as did 11 American Crows. Out of the nets came 23 Golden and 18 Ruby-crowned Kinglets but by far the biggest surprise was as I pulled out a Yellow-breasted Chat from a bag! This being only the 2nd bird of the year and over 2 weeks later than any previous records for the Kingston area. The night owling was hampered by the presence of a Barred Owl but thankfully there was very little food around.

Yellow-breasted Chat

15th Oct – quiet start

A strong Northeast wind continued to blow as we managed to band 74 birds. 13 were Ruby-crowned and 10 were Golden-crowned Kinglets along with 3 Blue-headed Vireos. Sparrows were active around the ground traps with 8 White-crowned, 4 White-throated, 2 Song and a Chipping all being new. In the evening a pair of Northern Cardinals made a brief visit.

October Week 2

2009-10-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

14th Oct – Barred causes trouble

A northeast wind meant that it was a cold day as we dropped to 94 birds of which 28 were Kinglets and 13 Hermit Thrushes as the only warbler was an Orange-crowned. The most alarming sight occurred mid morning as a net check of lane eight saw a Barred Owl holding onto a thrush in the net. As I approached the owl tried to fly away with the bird but soon gave up as it flew up into the trees. Amazingly the Hermit Thrush was still alive as it few off strongly into cover after being extracted despite loosing a few feathers in the experience. Later on the only worthy sighting was a Goshawk the circled over. At night we were owling once again and thankfully there was no sight of the Barred but 18 Saw-whets were caught by midnight along with our second Screech Owl of the season.

Northern Saw-whet Owl

13th Oct – Turkeys feel safe

Much the same as yesterday with another drop in bird numbers to 127 banded despite the wind still being in a favourable direction. Early morning logged 180 Common Grackles moving south. A walk to the lighthouse found a single Black Duck with the 37 Mallards in the harbour and whilst walking through the dry swamp I disturbed four roosting Wild Turkeys.

12th Oct – Thanksgiving

Barred Owl

As I ventured out of bed this morning I was given a band and was sent to the banding lab where a Barred Owl was waiting for me after being caught overnight along with 42 Saw-whet Owls. (best night so far) After playing with my banding tick and only getting bitten once we headed out and opened the nets on a cool morning as the first frost laid on the ground. Bird numbers were slightly down as the ground traps start to make a larger input with 30+ White-crowned Sparrows of which 10 were adults and therefore identified as Eastern White-crowns but there was also an intermediate bird as well. In the evening we enjoyed a big turkey dinner.

‘intermediate’ White-crowned Sparrow

11th Oct – Fox return

Banding again was busy once again with 245 birds caught of which 127 were Ruby-crowned Kinglets. New for the season was a Fox Sparrow as possibly the last Blackpoll Warbler was also banded and for the second day running a large female Cooper’s Hawk managed to bounce! As wind strength increased we were forced to close at the end of the period. A look at the lake mid-afternoon got a single Surf Scoter with 16 White-winged Scoters and 5 Horned Grebes bouncing up and down on the waves. Over at the lighthouse a flock of 6 Black-bellied Plovers dropped onto the rocks briefly followed by 3 Eastern Bluebirds around the obs at dusk.

10th Oct – RCKI’s

Another wave of birds arrived today as the wind was back from the Northwest. 315 birds were banded as variety starts to drop to 28 species. The majority of the total was made by 31 Hermit Thrushes, 56 Golden-crowned and 132 Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Warblers were represented by 8 species with 15 Myrtle, 4 Nashville, 2 Orange-crowned, Black-throated Blue, Magnolia, Western Palm, American Redstart and Ovenbird.

Myrtle Warbler

9th Oct – lake bursts into life

A very calm cloudy day made good for lake watching. The nets were still catching Kinglets mostly with 71 Ruby-crowned and 34 Golden Crowned. Numbers were boosted by a Black-throated Blue, Orange-crowned, American Redstart and 3 Myrtle Warblers to 142 birds for the day. Grabbing my telescope I headed out to the lakeshore just after lunch, the water surface was still flat calm making viewing easy and birds were everywhere. Winter must be on the way as I counted 44 Horned (Slavonian) and 2 Red-necked Grebes, 9 Lesser Scaup, 150 White-winged and 2 drake Surf Scoters but by far the most numerous was a large raft of c.2000 Greater Scaup out in the distance.

Swamp Sparrow

8th Oct – Sapsucker sets new heights

A Northwest wind meant we were back in business with birds flooding through. The skies were filled with 150 Turkey Vultures, 4 Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagle and a Cooper’s Hawk. Whilst the nets were filling up with 63 Hermit Thrushes, 48 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 11 Myrtle Warblers and a second very late Black-billed Cuckoo after yesterdays. However most notable was the fact that another record was broken as we tallied up 7 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers for the day. In the evening the mud in the harbour finally produced a bird as a single Solitary Sandpiper had a good feed whilst a Belted Kingfisher watched from above.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

October Week 1

2009-10-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

7th Oct – nil

The absolute opposite to yesterday as strong westerly winds prevented the nets from being opened. A walk to Traverse Wood could only find a few birds skulking around on the floor searching for food. 20+ Hermit Thrush, 14 Myrtle, 4 Black-throated Blue, 1 Ovenbird and a Western Palm Warbler were noted. Along the road was a dead Milk Snake, just another road casualty!

Black-throated Blue Warbler

6th Oct – Hermits turn

Over night a slight switch from west to northwest winds delivered another wave of birds. Right from the start it was obvious that it was the turn of the Hermit Thrush along with more Ruby’s. Banding total for the day was 303 with 96 Hermit Thrush and 57 Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Followed by 39 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 18 Myrtle Warblers, 8 White-breasted Nuthatch, 8 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a very late Black-billed Cuckoo. (still waiting for a yellow!!!!!!) 3 Ravens flew over calling.

Hermit Thrush

5th Oct – another hundred

Much the same as yesterday with just over a hundred banded. Best being an Orange-crowned Warbler and Northern Parula. 47 Red-breasted Mergansers were off shore with a Great Black-backed Gull as the skies were owned by a Cooper’s Hawk, 2 Red-tailed Hawks and a Merlin.

4th Oct – 5000 reached

As the wind blew from the west were received the odd light shower. Banding was able to continue with 130 birds caught, there was nothing out of the ordinary but today was special as American Goldfinches crept passed 2000 with 32 banded. Another landmark was reached as we made it to 5030 birds banded for the season. Out on the lake a group of 6 White-winged Scoters flew by.

Blue-headed Vireo

3rd Oct – evening surprise

A calm sunny morning gave the chance for birds to leave over night as numbers dropped to 70 birds. At first light a Wild Turkey was strutting around the harbour calling loudly as 4 Ruffed Grouse were seen around the net rides. The grouse are now a daily occurrence with birds jumping into nets nearly ever other day. Two Spotted Sandpipers dropped into the lighthouse mid Afternoon as a male Scarlet Tanager flitted around the trees.

After dark and I was up for my four hour stint owling after opening at 19:15 hrs. The first net check had a cracking surprise as an Eastern Screech-owl was found with one Saw-whet. Later checks found a control Saw-whet as well as 2 bats.

Eastern Screech-owl

2nd Oct – return of an old friend

An overcast day as the wind blew from the south. Banding was still good with over 150 caught including a second late Wood Thrush, 42 Ruby-crowned and 12 Golden-crowned Kinglets. Warblers present were 3 Magnolia, 6 Nashville, 7 Black-throated Blue, 9 Myrtle, American Redstart and an Ovenbird. However the biggest turn up was a Broad-winged Hawk that lumbered into the swamp net, more surprising is that its one we banded nearly a month ago! Just where has it been hanging out all that time without being seen? And that wasn’t all, after we released it, yep you guessed it, it flew straight back into the exact same spot of the swamp net. Thankfully it was a very quiet bird and probably very happy after gaining 130 grams since early September.

Black-throated Green Warbler

1st Oct – new month starts with a bang!

Continuing on from the end of last week we were kept very busy out at the nets. A high percentage of the catch was 56 Blue-headed Vireos, 54 Ruby and 26 Golden-crowned Kinglets along with 34 Black-throated Blue Warblers and 8 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. As the morning progressed we picked up 4 new species, which were Wood Thrush, Pine Warbler, Swamp Sparrow and Rusty Blackbird.

Orange-crowned Warbler

After finishing banding I took a walk around to the lighthouse where there were even more birds. Most numerous where 60 Myrtle Warblers and 40 White-throated Sparrows with a mix of 30 Black-throated Blues, 4 Black-throated Greens, 8 Blackpoll, Northern Parula, Tennessee and Orange-crowned Warbler, 10 White-breasted Nuthatch and 3 Scarlet Tanagers. Evening netting was rewarded with 6 Northern Saw-whets as a Great Horned Owl could be heard calling in the distance.

September Week 4

2009-10-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

30th Sept – mass migration starts

What a difference a north westerly makes as temperatures finally plummet to 5 degrees Celsius kick starting the birds into migrating. It was obvious right from the start that it was to be a good day from the little blue dots on the radar to the calling kinglets and warblers that could be heard everywhere as the nets were opened. Back at the obs waiting for the first net round a brief look at the skies saw 12 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Rusty Blackbirds and a flock of 25 Tree Swallows. As the birds started flowing into the banding lab there were 2 additions to the species and forms list, with 4 Orange-crowned Warblers and a Flicker ‘intergrade’. (hybrid bird between the eastern and western race showing feathers with pinkie/red shafts as well as the usual yellow)

Flicker ‘intergrade’

Where there are lots of birds generally means lots of predators and that was the case today with 6 Sharp-shinned Hawks being banded along with many more seen bouncing out of nets! High totals today came from 47 Blue-headed Vireos, 25 Black-throated Blue Warblers, 20 Golden-crowned and 17 Ruby-crowned Kinglets whilst Goldfinches only reached 14 as the days catch totalled 230 birds of 34 species. A stroll in the evening found much the same with the addition of a Pine Warbler and a male Northern Cardinal out in the Red Cedars.

29th Sept – return of the Goldfinch

Rain once again from first light resulting in extra bed time! By 10 o’clock the front had passed and as we stepped out flocks of Blue Jays and Goldfinches were passing over so we set the ground traps seeing an Orange-crowned Warbler in the process, heading out to the nets we were surprised to see warblers flitting ahead so we gave the nets a good shake and opened. Returning back to the obs the ground traps had filled up with 16 Blue Jays and many Goldfinches. Throughout the morning the wind swung from the south through to the Northwest, just what we’ve been waiting for! Anyway we already had lots of birds to deal with as a surprise return of Goldfinches tallied up to 176 bringing our total just 70 shy of 2000 for the fall.

White-breasted Nuthatch

The nets were also bringing in lots of birds with 34 Myrtle, 10 Black-throated Blue, Bay-breasted and a Tennessee Warbler to name a few. By 17:00hrs we had banded 277 birds and called it a day, well until dark when the owl nets were opened and we caught a single bird at 22:30.

28th Sept –rain ends play

Strong southerly winds greeted us this morning as rain approached from the west. In our short 2.5 hour session before the rain hit we manage to catch 20 birds and hundreds of leaves!!!!!! Very frustrating but thankfully as the rain came even more leaves dropped making the following days easier. Out of the birds caught the most notable was yet another Mourning Warbler that has now doubled the previous record to 8.

27th Sept – banding written off

The constant threat of showers all morning that never really materialised meant that no banding was carried out. Over the lake first thing flew 2 Common Loons and 5 White-winged Scoters as a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk hid in the wood. By the afternoon the weather finally started to clear out as I took a walk to Point Traverse, on route a walk along the beach found a dead Red-necked Grebe washed up. Once in the wood it took me a while of searching before I located a rather substantial warbler flock. The most obvious birds however were the noisy 12+ Black-capped Chickadees along with 8 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Philadelphia and 3 Blue-headed Vireos. The warblers were feeding low down in the bushes making viewing easy and hard! The flock comprised of a Tennessee, 3 Nashville, 3 Northern Parula, 5 Black-throated Blue, 8 Myrtle, 12 Black-throated Green, 5 Magnolia, 1 Blackburnian, 4 Blackpoll and a Wilson’s.

Blaclpoll Warbler

26th Sept – white crowns appear

Easterly winds cause a drop in bird numbers. From the nets came 2 Tennessee, Nashville, Black-throated Blue, 2 Myrtle, Black-throated Green and a Blackpoll Warbler. As two Eastern White-crowned Sparrows from the ground traps brought the days tally to 57 along with increasing the seasons list by one.

25th Sept – hawk added to the list

A northeast wind had Canada Geese moving at first light as 64 headed south. The nets yielded over one hundred again with 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Pheobe, 2 Northern Parula and a Bay-breasted Warbler being the pick off the bunch. But it was the first net round that produced the most excitement as a large bird was flushed through the woods at net lane 4. Walking back passed lane 3 and 2 I arrived at the first set of hawk nets and there to my right laid a large hawk. As I approached all I could see was its big long tail and as I grabbed its legs a closer look revelled a very square head. It’s a Cooper’s Hawk, taking my big impressive banding tick back to the lab the only comment I got was “that’s a small one”. Well I was impressed by my hatch year male but now wonder how big would a Goshawk actually be?

Cooper’s Hawk

24th Sept – Merlin strikes again

Birds were on the move again as the wind had swung round to the north and the sun was back out. Straight away new birds for the fall were seen with several Slate-coloured Juncos along the trail followed with Golden-crowned Kinglets and Hermit Thrush. Banding was a lot more productive with a total of 204 caught. Most numerous were 23 Swainson’s and 13 Grey-cheeked Thrushes whilst ten species of warbler were topped by 10 Black-throated Blues. The prize of the bunch however goes to our second Merlin, a little male from the swamp net bringing the observatories total to four! After closing around at the lighthouse a Buff-bellied Pipit gave great views on the beach as two immature Bald Eagles drifted over out across the lake. Before midnight we caught ourselves a couple of Saw-whet Owls.

Buff-bellied Pipit

23rd Sept – a late Canadian

A dry cloudy day meant the nets could be opened as the wind remained from the south. From the 78 caught the most unusual goes to a late Canada Warbler that was accompanied by 3 Blackpoll, 3 Western Palm and an American Redstart but the bulk of the catch once again goes to the Goldfinches. A little stroll around the harbour in the afternoon produced a fly over Barn Swallow and 3 Black Ducks.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

22nd Sept – a very quiet day

The morning was hampered with frequent showers so as a result we only managed to catch 16 Goldfinch out of the ground traps along with a Red-breasted Nuthatch. The light southerly wind meant little was on the move with the harbour sheltering just 3 Great Blue Heron and 47 Mallards.

September Week 3

2009-09-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

21st September – owl season starts!

Last night the fall owl banding started on a calm warm (14 degrees Celsius) evening. Hopes for a bird were low as the standard period passed with no sign so I called it a night. Crazy Dave however goes all night no matter what and on his last net check in the late early hours he got his reward. So as I surfaced I was greeted with a bag in the banding lab that contained a cracking little (very cute!) Northern Saw-whet Owl.

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Afterwards the nets were opened and we followed on with the story of the week, ground traps good with 77 birds and nets slow with 11 birds! A much quieter day all round with only 66 AMGO’s as 11 Blue Jays made up the rest of the ground trap total. Out of the nets came a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireo, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, …….

Long Point finally updated their fall totals for last week and I’m not saying that Dave is competitive! But he is a very happy man. Even with our relatively slow week, well lets be truthful above average week thanks to all those Goldfinches we have banded more birds than ALL THREE stations put together down at Long Point Bird Observatory.

20th September – rusty starts to move as record is reached

A calm and sunny day meant a few birds were on the move again. Jays were heading over straight from first light shortly joined by a few Red-winged and 3 Rusty Blackbirds. Finally we broke the Goldfinch record today as we passed 1400 birds! A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was also added to the season’s list.

male American Goldfinch
(hatch year – second year – after second year)

19th September – first sign of coolness

The first cool morning of the season as temperatures just dropped into single figures (9.5 degrees Celsius). Hoping this may spur some birds to move it was good to see a slight increase from the nets. Starting off with a Lincoln’s Sparrow that was an addition to the list, also caught were 8 Brown Creepers, 8 Blackpoll, 2 Ovenbird, 7 magnolia and 4 Black-throated Blue Warblers. But of course we can’t forget the 131 AMGO’s. As the day heated up by noon a Red-tailed Hawk circled with a flock of Turkey Vultures.

female American Goldfinch
(hatch year – second year – after second year)

18th September – that’s 3000 for the fall

A cloudy day with the odd light shower and a westerly breeze. Not a great deal around but a Ruby-throated Hummingbird was the first at our feeders for some time, Out of the nets came 2 Black-throated Green and 4 Black-throated Blue Warblers whilst overhead flocks of Blue Jays moved over with an estimated total of 3000. The fall banding total passed 3000 with yet a further 174 AMGO’s banded.

American Goldfinch (bright female – male)
These are still possible to age as after second years because they are only just starting to moult after their late breeding season.

17th September – pisi drops in

Much the same weather as yesterday, with only 34 birds coming from the nets continuing on the same recent pattern. First for the fall was a little Winter Wren (tangle just the same as at home!) whilst other birds included 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Chestnut-sided Warbler, 2 Northern Parula and a Myrtle Warbler that hung around the yard. The ground traps delivered again with 225 yellow and black things (all except one that was grey!) as well as a little surprise with a Pine Siskin thrown into the mix.

Northern Parula

16th September – afternoon twitch

Overnight a strong northeast wind developed that reduced bird numbers greatly. Once again however the Goldfinches continue to move with another 127 today. Otherwise there was a sprinkling of warblers including a Blackburnian, Northern Parula and yet another Mourning as a Tree Swallow migrated south.

In the afternoon we headed towards Point Petre on the southwest tip of the county where earlier in the week there had been reports of a Black Vulture and a Dickcissel. But all we could find was a flock of Chipping Sparrows that contained a single White-crowned as they sheltered out of the wind under a tree. Just further up the road another good bird had been present the day before. Once in the vicinity we slowed right down and started to scan the roadside bushes and electiric (hydro) wires from the car. First spotted were a couple of Purple Finch, then a few Chipping Sparrows and then “there is that it?” as a bird was picked up perched low on top of a telegraph pole, being blow about by the wind. Yes that was it, a Western Kingbird, the bird showed well for a minute or two before it flew off over the field being followed by two Chipping Sparrows. Despite spending the next hour in the area we failed to relocate the bird finding just an Eastern Kingbird instead!

Western Kingbird

15th September – thrushes dominate the wood

Back too normal today as we catch 116 American Goldfinch (AMGO) on a partly cloudy day with a light northeast breeze. There was a bit of life in the trees today with a Black-billed Cuckoo and a late Blue-grey Gnatcatcher being seen. The nets tallied up 18 species with most numerous being 15 Swainson’s and 10 Grey-cheeked Thrush. A visit to the harbour found the Night Heron still in situ showing well whilst catching frogs.

Black-crowned Night Heron

September Week 2

2009-09-15T16:29:00.001-07:00

14th September – star find goes to yet another caterpillar

A very still cloudy morning brought the first Blue-headed Vireo to the yard as 400 Blue Jays passed over that seemed to unsettle the Goldfinches reducing our catch to only 32. 47 birds found their way into the nets with the most common being 8 Blackpoll Warblers and new for the season were a couple of Northern Flickers. Dave came up trumps again mid-morning with the discovery of two splendid Promethea Moth caterpillars along net lane 3.

Promethea Moth

Around in the harbour hid a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. Whilst staring skyward 10 Red-tailed and 6 Broad-winged Hawks circled high with 4 Bald Eagles. A trip to Point Traverse towards the end of the day was very disappointing with just 3 Western Palm Warblers and a male Downy Woodpecker being seen.

13th September – the one that got away

Light northeast winds continued over night with the radars indicting that many birds were on their way south. The day was mainly cloudy and the nets were much more productive with 12 species of warbler, 2 Philadelphia Vireos and 7 Brown Creepers all helping towards the days tally of 240 birds but the most help came from the 158 Goldfinches! This brought our fall total to more than 2000 birds, not a bad start being well up on the best fall ever so we will just have to wait a see what happens over the next 3 weeks!

Sharp-shinned Hawk

A visiting birder in the morning reported a Connecticut Warbler around at the lighthouse so after the nets were closed we headed around but all we could find were Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Black and White, Black-throated Blue and Magnolia Warblers mixed in with a few Brown Creepers and a single Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

12th September – raptor watch

Overnight a light northeasterly wind developed and a cloudy morning dropped in a Cap May Warbler and Winter Wren both being firsts for the fall. The nets were slightly busier with 37 birds caught including a late Canada Warbler and a Scarlet Tanager and I can’t forget the 3rd ever Merlin for the observatory, whilst Goldfinch numbers dropped to 146.

Merlin

15:00 hrs arrived and as the sun started to warm things up it was obvious raptors were becoming active so I spent an hour on the mound. Here are my totals - 75 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 44 Turkey Vulture, 7 Red-tailed Hawk, 5 Bald Eagle, 2 Northern Harrier along with single Merlin, Kestrel and Osprey.

Bald Eagle

11th September – record low return from nets

Much the same weather as yesterday and straight away the signs were bad when Dave could only manage ten species on census!! Banding was consequently slow as a single Black and White, Magnolia, Nashville and 4 Common Yellowthroats appeared from the nets. Thankfully there was a steady turnover of Goldfinches to keep us occupied as the first real movement of Blue Jays moved over with 2 of the 100+ finding their way into a net bringing the grand total of 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! birds from 26 nets in 6 hours. (Wow that’s productive!)

Red Bat

However the days tally was boosted by 187 American Goldfinch resulting in an above average day. Also seen during the morning was a Red Bat that choose to roost under a leaf on a path side tree.

10th September – warbling beats record

A bright day with the wind back in the south. Out of the nets came a few more birds with the most stunning being a Northern Parula shortly followed by a Philadelphia Vireo along with a late record breaking Warbling Vireo. Goldfinch numbers increased on the feeders with 47 being trapped. An after lunch walk to the lighthouse was deadly quiet with a 1st calendar year Bald Eagle being the best sighting as it perched overlooking the harbour.

Bald Eagle

9th September – brisk north easterly

A day with a strong wind and patchy cloud resulted in a poor mornings banding as were dropped even lower to 21 birds and without the 10 Magnolia Warblers it could be much lower! Thankfully there was more activity above the trees with many Sharp-shinned Hawks whizzing by along with an Osprey, Merlin, American Kestrel, 2 Northern Harriers and 3 Bald Eagles. Apparently very unusual on this wind direction as most of the birds were heading back north.

Merlin

An evening stroll to the harbour found a Green and Great Blue Heron in residence.

8th September – clumsy Grouse

The week carried on from last week with calm settled sunny weather and very few birds finding the nets! Today catch dropped to just 24 new birds with the most excitement coming from a Ruffed Grouse that had bumped into net 7B, shedding masses of feathers in the process before he was sent back into the undergrowth. A little female Ruby-throated Hummingbird was a good addition to the days tally with Warblers in the form of 3 Black-throated Blue, a Blackpoll, Chestnut-sided and a Tennessee.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

In the afternoon 3 Least Sandpipers were out on the rocks (no bands present!) along with 4 Spotted Sandpipers. By the evening we had found a Western Palm Warbler but very little else.

September Week 1

2009-09-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

7th September – way below par

Much the same weather as yesterday, resulting in even fewer birds. 2 Great Crested Flycatchers, Scarlet Tanager along with Blackpoll, Black and White, Ovenbird, Waterthrush and 4 Magnolia Warblers all helped towards the 26 birds banded.

Throughout the morning a second calendar year Bald Eagle was seen, as were 6+ Sharp-shinned Hawks and a Merlin. Over on the beach remains just one banded Least Sandpiper. As for the Giant Swallowtail caterpillar he has now passed the stage of looking like the perfect bird dropping and in growing into being a splendid creature.

Giant Swallowtail

6th September – they come, they go

The weather remained unfavourable with the wind now in the southeast and it was obvious that it was much quieter than yesterday. The nets brought us just 36 birds with the best being a Northern Waterthrush, 3 Black-throated Blue and 6 Blackpoll Warblers. Down in the swamp (now dry of course) lingers a banded Broad-winged Hawk as a Common Loon flew over.

Philadelphia Vireo

In the afternoon a trip to Traverse failed to find any warblers but there were still a group of 6 Philadelphia and 12 Red-eyed Vireos whilst a Whip-poor-will flushed from the edge of the trail.

5th September –warbler arrival

The day started of with a fresh easterly wind and cloudy conditions, not ideal for birds so we thought but how wrong could we be? It was very apparent whilst opening the nets that birds were present and the nets were filling up straight away. Four additions to the season came in quick succession with Brown Creeper, Philadelphia Vireo, 2 Northern Parula and a Blue Jay. The morning was definitely dominated by warblers with a total of 14 species being banded but the best once again falls to a Broad-winged Hawk, they have so much character! That’s four just one more to equal the record now! Days catch reached 98 birds.

Least Sandpiper

A walk around the shore found the 2 least Sandpipers still present as I headed up to Point Traverse. Once in the woods a discovery of a warbler flock added a further Myrtle and Black-throated Green Warbler to this mornings tally along with two more brightly coloured Philadelphia Vireos. At dusk 14 Blue-winged Teals shot over.

4th September – increasing numbers

Our days catch improves to 63 birds, well above average of 40 ish for this period. Most interesting were 2 Tennessee Warblers, 2 Northern Waterthrush, 2 Grey-cheeked Thrush and most numerous being 16 Swainson’s Thrush.

After a trip to Picton our return journey just after dusk was brightened up with a Whip-poor-will resting in the road.

3rd September – early surprise

I awoke on a calm clear morning to find a banding tick waiting for me in the banding lab! Thanks to Dave’s efforts over night he caught a Whip-poor-will just before sunrise. Shortly after the standard nets were opened with a reasonable catch including a Grey-cheeked Thrush that was new for the season. Most common birds today were 12+ Red-eyed Vireos, 9 Blackpoll and 3 Bay-breasted Warblers also in the wood were a couple of Scarlet Tanagers. At the feeders the late breeding Goldfinches finally brought their young whilst overhead an immature Bald Eagle floated by. Two Least Sandpipers still present.

Whip-poor-will

2nd September – 2 is better than 1

The weather was good again with a light northwest wind over night and clear skies for raptors moving. Not just as busy around the nets today but still a good selection with 13 species of warbler, Savannah Sparrow new for the fall and a milestone reached as Bobolinks passed 400 as their passage slows towards an end. The best round came near 10am but not for numbers as only 6 birds were collected but for quality as one was a Sharp-shinned Hawk and 2 were Broad-winged Hawks! Now we have caught three of these stunning birds with amazing character, which is quite astonishing so early in the season considering that in the last ten years only one was caught in 2002, 2004 and 5 in 2007.

Broad-winged Hawk

Overhead more raptors were noted with Red-tailed Hawk, 6 Broad-winged Hawks, 7 Northern Harriers, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Merlin and 16 Turkey Vultures. On the rocky beach remained the two Least Sandpipers, a single Spotted Sandpiper with the addition of a Semipalmated Plover.

1st September – migration starts

Northwest winds over night again resulted in the arrival of some birds with over 120 new birds banded. A record was broken with our 5th Mourning Warbler of the season and a cracking male as well. New birds banded for the season were an Eastern Pheobe, Blackpoll Warbler, 3 Bay-breasted Warblers (now I know why some fall warblers are confusing!),

Bay Breasted and Blackpoll Warbler

And finally Tennessee Warbler. As the sun started to warm up by noon raptors started to appear overhead but sadly banding prevents looking up at the sky so I tend to miss a large percentage. Here are some that I saw, 2 Broad-winged Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, 7 Turkey Vulture and a Merlin. Back with the banding we managed to lure in 36 Barn Swallows and the most numerous warbler caught was 11 American Redstarts.

In the afternoon a look over on the rocky shore revealed two Least Sandpipers with shiny bands and 3 Spot Sands, as the sun set there was a single Nighthawk seen.

Today’s banding total brought us to 1040 birds for the season, 350 more than the best previous total from the last ten years by this stage so signs are good for a productive season.

August Week 4

2009-09-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

31st August

Northwest winds over night had our hopes high for a few birds moving and we got lucky with a surprise find in one net. A sunny cool start as census produced 31 species. Banding was steady with a total of 43 new birds caught. A record was broken with a juvenile Black-billed Cuckoo taking us to 5 for the season as Veery was also added to the fall list. But the best bird was found in the Bobolink net alongside 8 Bobolinks and was a first for the observatories banding list!!! A Solitary Sandpiper, what the hell it was doing to end up there is any ones guess but a very nice bird. It was also a good morning for Sharp-shinned Hawks with 3 being caught.

Solitary Sandpiper

As the day heated up by mid afternoon thousands and thousands of Green Darners descended on the point as they two are preparing for a long journey south. Out on the lakeshore were 4 Spotted Sandpipers and a couple Least Sandpipers that proved too tempting so it wasn’t long before the two little chaps had their bit of jewellery.

30th August

A calm morning dominated by one sudden heavy downpour. The nets yielded one new bird for the fall today with a Northern Waterthrush, totals just reached 31 birds with warblers including 2 Canada, 1 Blackburnian, 3 Magnolia, 6 American Redstarts and 2 Black-throated Blues.

In the afternoon we decided to go on a little twitch to a sod farm near Oshawa where a Buff-breasted Sandpiper was seen yesterday. On arrival at the bare field we soon spotted two large flooded pools where shorebirds were congregated with the most obvious being 200 Killdeer, 7 Lesser Yellowlegs, 5 Least Sandpipers and 15 American Golden Plovers. Intensive scanning over the rear of the field found a Baird’s and Semipalmated Sandpiper along with a Semipalmated Plover but there was no sign of any buff-breast.

American Golden Plover

29th August

Awoke to a showery start and still strong winds that were now from the southeast. Most of the morning was spent waiting for a rain front to arrive from near Toronto so the nets weren’t opened. Meanwhile a walk around the harbour found 116 sheltering Mallards with 3 Black Ducks and a Green-winged Teal. A little further on a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk flushed from a tree before 2 Chimney Swifts flew over with 3 barn Swallows. Scanning out over the lake hoping for some windblown migrants but all we could manage were 4 Common Loons.

The front passed through and the hawk nets were opened in the afternoon as a long shot to catching a new bird for my Birthday! A couple hours passed before bang, there it was lying quietly in a net. The juvenile Broad-winged Hawk that was seen earlier in the day, this impressive bird put up little resistance once its feet were under control. Shortly after the nets were closed producing a small male Sharp-shinned Hawk. At dusk 7 Common Nighthawks were logged.

Broad-winged Hawk

28th August

An extremely quiet day thanks to the brisk easterly wind (can’t believe I said that!). We only caught 11 birds with the best being 3 Yellow Warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a female Black-throated Blue Warbler. Trying to fill the spare time a walk to the harbour produced a Great Blue Heron and 7 Canada Geese with the usual Belted Kingfisher and Merlin that seems to have set up residence. Also of note in the area there was a flock of c.100 Common Grackles, 3 Red-winged Blackbirds, 12 American Robins and 3 Baltimore Orioles. The wind increased to over 30km per hour by dusk so no attempt was made for nighthawks.

27th August

A much cooler start to the day at 16 digress Celsius with the wind blowing from the northeast. I don’t know where we would be with out Bobolinks that made up 75% of today catch! The truth is out of 26 standard nets we caught a grand total of 8 new birds with the best being a Wilson’s Warbler, couple Magnolia’s and 3 Least Flycatchers. The six ground traps continue to produce very little with a single American Goldfinch and the usual retrap Chipping Sparrows and Mourning Doves. In the harbour there were 2 Black Ducks with the 100+ Mallards but there were no sign of the Least Sandpiper as the build up of weed on the beach seems to disappear as quickly as it forms.

26th August

A very quiet day with few birds seen moving around. An overcast morning turned into drizzle before some heavy showers passed through. As a result we only managed a total of 21 birds but this did include 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Typically as the nets were closed the sun decided to shine. In the afternoon a look around the shore found 2 Spotted Sandpipers and a juvenile Least Sandpiper. Just one Nighthawk was seen at sunset on a breezy evening.

Least Sandpiper

25th August

Migrant numbers continue to increase with an above average catch of 82 for this time of year bringing us only 25 shy from doubling last years total at this stage! Again today the Bobolinks were the majority catch with a total of 50 taking us over 300 for the fall. Also out of the bobolink net came a female Brown-headed Cowbird that could prove to be very useful for the fall list. A scattering of warblers and flycatchers make up the rest of the numbers and our 4th Sharp-shinned Hawk in 5 days. Whilst overhead 3 more sharpie’s were seen along with a juv Red-tailed Hawk and the Merlin. At the onset of sunset a group of 10 Common Nighthawks patrolled the area before moving on somewhere else.

24th August

A light northerly breeze was blowing this morning but this didn’t mean that there was to be lots of birds. The nets were quiet with only just over 40 birds with the main species being Traill’s and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo and the only warbler being an American Redstart! However it was definitely a morning for watching raptors with a Merlin flying around the obs first thing followed by 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks and a adult female Northern Harrier quartering over the shrubland. Mid morning came as did a Red-tailed Hawk low over the lawn before perching on a telegraph pole for over an hour. Whilst watching the Red-tail the juvenile Bald Eagle circled high overhead with a couple Turkey Vultures not far behind. In the evening a beautiful sunset was enhanced with the presence of 25 Nighthawks hawking alongside hundreds of dragonflies in the orange light.

Red-tailed Hawk

23rd August

Yet again a good morning as banding totals continued to increase with 78 new birds. Bobolinks again made up 29 but warblers continued to arrive with a Wilson’s (1st for fall), Canada, 3 Chestnut-sided, 4 Magonlia, Blackburnian, 3 Black and White, Black-throated Blue, Nashville and a couple Common Yellowthroats. A fourth Black-billed Cuckoo equalled the fall record and 3 Baltimore Orioles bring them closer to theirs.

Black-billed Cuckoo

A look around to the lighthouse was as quiet as expected except for the Mallards in the harbour that have built up to 82 with a single Black Duck. Along the rocky shore were 2 Spotted Sandpipers and the usual Belted Kingfisher flew around calling loudly. As the sun set we positioned ourselves behind the obs scanning the horizon and it wasn’t long until 3 Common Nighthawks were spotted moving through but a total surprise sighting came when a Whimbrel glided over heading towards the lake shore.

22nd August

Hot once again as Bobolinks passed last years record with a total of 202 now banded! New birds seen for the fall were a very early Brown Creeper as well as a Black-throated Green, Nashville and Chestnut-sided Warbler. A second Sharp-shinned Hawk fell into a net with another seen soaring high overhead and 2 Northern Flickers also passed by. Over on the lake was a group of 38 Mallards.

August Week 3

2009-08-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

21st August

A dry calm morning but the nets sat empty for the majority of the time with only 11 new birds caught with the last being a Sharp-shinned Hawk. But the non standard nets were more productive with a total of 28 Bobolinks, 15 Cedar Waxwings and a Great Crested Flycatcher. The Waxwings were part of a 150 strong flock that had appeared this morning including many streaky juvenile birds.

Cedar Waxwing

A walk in traverse found just a Wild Turkey of note. Its hatched!!!!!!!! You guessed it the first Giant Swallowtail egg has hatched and this little fellow has appeared.

Giant Swallowtail larvae

20th August

Mid morning and a thunderstorm rushed through resulting in closer of the nets. The nets were only closed for an hour but we ended up with a poor catch of 20 birds but the southerly wind did mean that we caught many leaves (it must be autumn!). First for the autumn though was a female Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and a male Mourning Warbler was nice along with a Black and White.

Mourning Warbler

As the afternoon brightened up a walk around the harbour was very fruitless, back at the obs whilst there are very few birds around our time is being spent searching for caterpillars. The most exciting ones just happen to be beside the building on some virgina creeper, there are two species of Sphinx (hawkmoth), Hog and the big colourful Pandora!

Pandora Sphinx

19th August

A much cooler start to the day resulting from a slight shower in the night but the trapping remained similar with a total of 32 new birds of which 17 were Bobolinks. Among the selection today were 2 Canada and 2 Blackburnian Warblers, 2 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers and a Red-eyed Vireo. By lunch the sun was out again warming things up. A walk around in the evening only produced a flock containing Black and White, Blackburnian, Warbling Vireo, 4 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and a few Eastern Wood-pewee.

18th August

Banding brought 2 new birds for the fall list in the form of a young female Mourning Warbler and a young Brown Thrasher. The tally was low once again with a single Traill’s Flycatcher, 3 American Redstarts, Black and White Warbler and 6 Bobolinks being the only obvious migrants being caught.

During the morning I also found 4 Giant Swallowtail eggs to and to one from the 15th, you ask how? well it’s the obvious answer the female butterfly was laying them on the Prickly Ash. Over the next few weeks I’ll try and follow their progress, this large impressive butterfly has only just colonised the area in the last two years as we are at its northern range limit. Also around are many Monarch Butterfies and Darner Dragonflies. The afternoon was spent in Bellevile.

Giant Swallowtail

17th August

Yet again a rather unpleasant hot day starting at 22 degrees rising towards 30 degrees Celsius. Today was a very quiet day with the nets as only 28 new birds were caught. Best of the bunch were two Canada Warblers, 2 Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied and Least Flycatcher and who can forget those lovely 3 Black-capped Chickadees. (Yes they bit as much as Blue Tits if not more!) The biggest surprise came with a slight increase and change in wind as it swung from southerly to westerly just for a short period. Straight away raptors were circling overhead with American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, 4 Turkey Vultures and then 3 Bald Eagles! A 1st cy and a 2nd cy that have been seen sporadically over the past few days along with a adult.

Canada Warbler

16th August

Much the same as yesterday but the numbers were boosted with a catch of 31 Bobolinks that were once again attracted by tape. A good bird to get for the fall list was a juvenile male Northern Cardinal, followed by a Downy Woodpecker and the only obvious migrant warbler was an adult female Black and White. A second calendar year Bald Eagle spent the morning flying back and forth over the area.

15th August

Today was the start of the autumn/fall season so the nets were opened at 6:15am through until 12:15. As expected it was rather quiet but signs were present that birds were starting to move with a single Blackburnian, American Redstart and Magnolia Warbler being caught. All the resident breeding birds are busy going through moult at the moment including Grey Catbird, Common Yellowthroat, Purple Finch, Song and Chipping Sparrows.

Blackburnian Warbler

The Afternoon was spent erecting more mist nets, a further five, this time some hawk nets with the hope of catching a few migrating through. The heat finally got to me by mid-afternoon as I jumped into the lake, VERY NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (This may become a daily event!).

14th August

After spending a few hours catching a few Bobolinks the main task of the day was the erecting of the 19 standard mist nets that were used during the spring. The day ended with a fantastic cool swim in the lake.

Bobolink

13th August

In the morning I managed to catch a Red-eyed and Warbling Vireo, Traill’s Flycatcher along with 8 Bobolinks. It was again another sweltering hot and humid day so very little was done later in the day except for the arrival of David back for the autumn season.

Yesterday evening after Margaret, Brian and Nicola headed back home to Lancashire an evening walk around the harbour produced a single beaver. As I made my way back to the obs I got the most amazingly close views of a Northern Harrier as it drifted by. There is now a trip report for the last three weeks at breaksbirdphotography.

2009-07-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

This will be my last entry until late August whilst I’m on holiday with the family!

21st July

Still the drizzle continued as we headed back to Anchorage, a stop at a roadside lake produced 20 Arctic Terns and several depressed looking juvenile Mew Gulls. We continued and whilst travelling around the coast just before Anchorage we saw 4 Dall’s Sheep up on the rocky sloops above the road. The weather finally cleared to leave a dry end to my time in Alaska and our final hike was one to the top of Flattop Mountain where great views over the city could be had. On the road up to the hill I was stopped in my tracks as a cow Moose was happily feeding away on the roadside verge.

Dall's Sheep

The hill was actually very quiet for birds but a couple Pika and Ground Squirrels were reward enough. On the decent however a large grey bird was seen in flight briefly before being seen again as it darted into a low bush. On close inspection it was a large female Goshawk that allowed us very close as she hide in the bush before taking to the air again. Bedtime came as I boarded my plane that departed 15 minutes before midnight heading back for Toronto after having a truly great time in Alaska, enjoyed ever minute!

Moose

20th July

The famous Seward drizzle remained as we spent the morning exploring the Alaska Sealife Center where we managed to see our first Steller’s and Spectacled Eider ducklings! These little cuties have been successfully hatched in their breeding program that is still in the trial stages. We then headed into town where we found 8 Northwestern Crows and a warbler flock containing 2 Townsend’s, Orange-crowned, Tennessee and Myrtle’s in the suburbs.

Bald Eagle

Following the coast south we counted up to 8 Bald Eagles that just rest on the street telegraph poles! Approaching Lowell Point we had a look along the coast where a flock of Glaucous-winged Gulls and Kittiwakes where washing. Ben immediately picked out a group of 12 Wandering Tattlers hiding in the rocks. Out at the gulls some ducks emerged from dead trees that were resting in the water. It was a group of 16 moulting Harlequin Ducks further out was a single male Surf Scoter and several Marbled Murrelets. Back at the car were a couple Steller’s Jays moving along the wooded hillside.

Wandering Tattler

For the evening we headed up to exit glacier that we couldn’t get anywhere near to due to the glacier being unstable and the river flooding the path to the toe! But whilst driving back down the road Ben spotted a Porcupine roosting in a roadside tree.

19th July

On the road again we travelled down the coast to Seward on a wet dull day seeing just a Varied Thrush and a Goshawk on route. Once in Seward we collected our tickets from Major Marine Tours for our full day pelagic out to Holgate Glacier in the Kenai Fjords. We boarded for our departure just prior to noon and started our journey out into a very sheltered, damp and misty Resurrection Bay straight away we pulled alongside a pair of Sea Otters minding their own business. Heading further out we started to see Marbled Murrelets followed by many Tufted Puffins, a group of 5 Ancient Murrelets (4 more later), then the first Horned Puffins that were only slightly less numerous than the Tufted of which both seem massive compared to our little Atlantic cousins! As we crossed the mouth of the bay we hit some noticeable swell that got a few people turning green but we carried on as a few ocean going birds appeared first a Short-tailed Shearwater rapidly followed by a Fork-tailed Petrel (minimum of 2 seen) and then a Northern Fulmar. As we approached the sheltered bay heading around towards the glacier I was a little upset that we had left the rough seas behind. On the bright side though I could try and get some photographs again that was proving very difficult with the dull grey light.

Sea Otter

Tufted Puffin

Horned Puffin

As we cruised into the bay we came across Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinoceros Auklets. Icebergs appeared, as we got closer to the Holgate Glacier as numbers of Marbled Murrelets increased before finally we picked up 3 Kittlitz’s Murrelets! Sadly they were a little distant and flew well before the boat got anywhere near them. Arriving at the shockingly blue glacier we watched in amazement as we witness a calving of the glacier take place. After that spectacle we headed back out to open water but sadly the swell meant that we had to change our plans and headed over to Barwell Island where there were 60+ Steller’s Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks as well as thousands of Black-legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres (guillemots) nesting up the cliffs.

Marbled Murrelet

Heading a little past the island we saw the distant blow of a whale, investigation revealed it to be a Humpback Whale but sadly it only surfaced infrequently in the rough water! As did the agile, amazingly fast Dall’s Porpoise with its black and white body. We saw an estimate total of 18 with animals usual in 2’s-6’s with some even enjoying a bow ride, what fantastic creatures. Our final little adventure brought us into a bay where Glaucous-winged Gulls were feeding on a bait ball along with a few Pelagic and 4 Red-faced Cormorants. To finish off an amazing trip whilst travelling back to the harbour a Bald Eagle gave great views has he rested on a rocky point.

Dall's Porpoise

18th July

A partly cloudy start to the day as we cruised down Denali Highway well pottered down the rough dirt road may be more realistic. Not really knowing any hotspots we just made random stops every now and again reaching a tally of 35 species. As we passed small lakes and pools we found a total of 2 White-winged Scoters, 8 Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, 2 Bufflehead, Pintail, Long-tailed Duck, Common Loons, 6 Trumpeter Swan and 6 Red-necked Phalaropes.

American Tree Sparrow

Travelling through the forests passerines included 8 Bohemian Waxwings, Boreal Chickadees, Hermit Thrushes, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Wilson’s and Myrtle Warblers, American Tree Sparrows, Common Redpolls, etc. Mammals were few and far between but first on our list was a Moose crossing the road, then amazingly another Lynx briefly on the roadside before disappearing into the scrub and finally a small stream held a River Otter.

Bohemian Waxwing

For the last section of the road the terrain became hillier with tundra here we found 2 Golden Eagles, 1 Bald Eagle, Whimbrel, 4 Long-tailed Jaegers, Horned Lark, Buff-bellied Pipit and numerous Savannah Sparrows. Despite having a thorough search for Smith Longspur we drew a blank finding only 8 Lapland Longspurs. Finally finishing the long drive along the highway we just had a short 4.5+ hour drive back to Anchorage.

17th July

An early rise as we caught the 6am shuttle bus into the park heading to Eielson Visitor Center a 8 hour return trip. The bus is a great place to look for wildlife from but birds were hard to see. On the way out we got off to a good start with a cow Moose, then a distant Grizzly Bear followed by an exceptional view of a Lynx walking alongside the bus but sadly all to brief. Also seen were 6 Caribou, 18+ Dall’s Sheep, 4 Red Foxes and many Snowshoe Hares.

Caribou

Once at Eielson we left the bus to admire the amazing views of the majestic Mount McKinley on one of those rare clear days. We then took the hike up the alpine trail for even better views from the mountaintop where we got great views of 4+ Golden Eagles cruising along the ridge followed by 3 Long-tailed Jaegers. By time we had made our decent the mountain had been engulfed in cloud as the rest of the valley remained in glorious sunshine. We boarded a shuttle bus for the journey back on which we saw 3 distant Wolf cubs, a very distant sleeping Grizzly Bear, 2 Moose but the most excitement came when a Golden Eagle was seen being mobbed by a pair of Gyrfalcon’s. Back at base a walk in the woods found a couple Boreal Chickadees.

Golden Eagle

16th July

Eventually we made our minds up and headed out on the highway heading northeast, as we travelled we spotted an immature Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, 2 Trumpeter Swans, 2 Sandhill Cranes and a Hermit Thrush. After 4 plus hours we arrived at the entrance gate to Denali National Park with the sun still shining we carried on down the road as far as the public vehicles are allowed. The park road was relatively productive with 4 Gray Jays, Mew Gulls, stag Caribou and a few Snowshoe Hares.

Gray Jay

Once at the Savage River car park we hiked up to a rocky peak where 4 Arctic Ground Squirrels and a couple Pika lived. On the slope up were a family of Willow Ptarmigan dust bathing in the trail with 9 juveniles and higher up the mountain slopes we could see 7 Dall’s Sheep.

Willow Ptarmigan

15th July

Today Ben and myself left Barrow on the morning plane heading to Anchorage where we picked up a rental car and headed straight to downtown where we pulled up at Westchester Lake. The lake was covered with Red-necked Grebe families, Lesser Canada Geese, Greater Scaup and many Mew Gulls. Walking through to the coast we could view over the mudflats where lots of Long-billed and a few Short-billed Dowitchers were feeding on the waters edge along with 2 Hudsonian Godwits. Also roosting on the mud were Arctic Terns and Bonaparte’s Gulls.

Mew Gull

For the lovely sunny evening we headed south to Potter’s Marsh where we walked out on the Boardwalk where salmon could be seen in one of the rivers as were Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and a Musk Rat. Flying around we small numbers of Violet Green Swallows and the bushes held Lincoln’s Sparrows and Alder Flycatchers. At the end of the eastern boardwalk rested a pair of Bald Eagles in the large trees on the perimeter of the marsh.

July Week 2

2009-07-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

14th July

Not a very exciting day as it mainly involved packing! We did however get out in the morning for a very quick nest search for an hour seeing just the usual American Golden Plovers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Semipalmated and Pectoral Sandpipers, Red Phalaropes and Lapland Longspur. On the way back to Narl we came across a female Snowy owl feeding on prey relatively close to the road. Tomorrow I leave Barrow heading to Anchorage for a week touring around before heading back to Ontario for a weeks holiday with the family so not sure if I will be able to keep up with postings (more of the same then!).

13th July

This morning Ben and myself were on a small loop (8km) revisiting 5 nests trying to reduce the number of active nests. Within the first few metres we could see a family of swans on the lake in front with 4 cygnets and as predicted the nest soon revealed 4 egg membranes. Next we carried onto a hatched White-front passing several young Semipalmated Sandpipers and Dunlin on the way that were close to fledging. Next was our last Pintail nest but sadly it had failed. Looking out over a open Elson Lagoon with very little ice in view produced a group of 7 Yellow-billed Loons, 40 Common Eider and a flock of 20 Thick-billed Murres flew past.

Tundra Swan

The Slough held three families of Black Brant. It was now after lunch and we were heading back to the road finishing off with a successful and a failed White-front nest. Heading back to the car I bumped into a new bird for our Barrow list, a spring overshoot in the form of a Hermit Thrush bringing the groups tally to 76 species. The rest of the afternoon was spent starting to back up some gear ready for our departure on Wednesday.

12th July

Record breaking temperatures today on a sunny day with light south easterly winds. This was our final day of nest searching and once again the area turned up no nest, not even any failed or finished nests But there was a Lemming. Early afternoon and we were off to revisit a few nests. Heading inland along Gaswell Road from the coast the temperature outside started to increase, arriving at our various locations the temperature peaked at a whopping 23 degrees Celsius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This surely can’t be Barrow? Heading out on our 7km walk heading south into the wind was quiet pleasant, as for the nests all 3 White-fronts had hatched as had the Tundra Swan. Not too surprising there was a family of swans on the neighbouring lake along with another family on the next lake as well. In the distance there were 4 Sandhill Cranes calling from the Tundra. Now it was time for the hike back to the road, turning around and heading with the breeze meant that the mosquitoes that followed us all the way down seized their chance with a mass attack, thankfully I had a head net!

11th July

The week had passed and it was our day off once again. A morning walk around the back of Narl found two disturbing discoveries with both my Redpoll nest being destroyed. But on the bright the resident Semipalmated Sandpipers had brought in a Baird’s Sandpiper onto an area off rough ground.

Baird’s Sandpiper

Over lunch three of us headed to the south side of Barrow for a seawatch. Compared with last time the ice sat a little further out with no sea viewable beyond which meant all the birds were showing slightly closer. The main highlights noted were 1 male Spectacled Eider, 3 Red-necked Grebes, 4 Red-breasted Merganser and whilst glancing down to the shore a gull was spotted walking down the waters edge feeding. Straight away the black wing tips stood out ruling out yet another Glaucous, closer inspection noted the following features, short stubby deep pink legs and then its eye was dark. These two features lead me towards the id of a Thayer’s Gull rather than a Herring.

Thayer’s Gull

After the seawatch we got the ATV’s and took a cruise down the point where the sea had opened up massively from my last visit. Birds were plentiful with a Pelagic Cormorant being new, arriving at the carcass we couldn’t see any bears but a thorough scan of the gulls found what looks like a good 2 calendar year Glaucous-winged Gull. Hopefully I will become more familiar with these next week.

Glaucous-winged Gull

As the evening drew in we headed back south where we came across a female Harlequin Duck swimming along the shore. Listed below is some birds noted on the sea throughout the day:

Thick-billed Murre (500+)
Black Guillemot (16+)
King Eider (20+)
Common Eider (210+)
White-billed Loon (6)
Long-tailed Duck (c.1000)
Sabine’s Gull (30+)
Black-legged Kittiwake (60+)
Pomarine Jaeger (5)
Long-tailed Jaeger (2)

10th July

Rain returned and remained just as long. Mid afternoon came and we headed out in the drizzle to revisit a few nests that had to be checked. Dave and myself first visited a failed Brant nest followed by a still active nest. Continuing through the fog we arrived at the King Eider camera nest where she was still present so the battery and memory card was changed. Moving on we came across a female Snowy Owl before reaching our last Brant nest that had successfully hatched out 4 eggs. Finishing our 5km walk we arrived back at the road.

9th July

The day was put on hold as rain set in right through to 15:00hrs. As the rain stopped we managed to get out and cover a reasonable area to the northwest of footprint lake, as recent trends continue we found no nests but did see a Peregrine, Buff-breasted and 8 Western Sandpipers.

8th July

Today we were out nest searching again this time in the area around the gas works buildings with numerous electric wires all over the place. For all our efforts we failed to find any nests but enjoyed the numerous wader babies including Dunlin, Red Phalarope, Pectoral and Semipalmated Sandpipers. But the best find by far were two pairs of legs, both from Snowy Owls and both yielding bands. Good news for the day came from a camera nest that revealed the Spectacled Eider had hatched here eggs and walked off with here 5 ducklings at 14:00hrs. SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Semipalmated Sandpiper

July Week 1

2009-07-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

7th July

A foggy day today for the coast but once inland the weather was clearer with high cloud. We were out nest searching again and the slightest of warmth brought of the first butterflies for barrow in the form of a couple fritillary’s. The nest searching was very unproductive with just one failed Long-tailed Duck nest, also found was the remains of a drake Spectacled Eider.

6th July

The morning started off with a male Snowy Owl along Gaswell Road. Once we got to the end of the road we walked out to an area to nest search. Shortly after starting a group of 5 Caribou were spotted on the horizon to our left, the animals moved south quietly before disappearing from view. The nest searching picked up three failed Brant nests along a lakes shore but on a brighter not a Pacific and Red-throated Loon nest were discovered. This was soon eclipsed by mid afternoon when Ben came across a nesting eider, adjusting our position we identified the bird as a Spectacled Eider. Wow this was some achievement, our first actually active eider nest whilst nest searching for over two weeks now.

5th July

Back in the field on a calm warm day. We started by dropping the ATV’s of at our finishing point as Ben and myself where going to be walking along the Elson Lagoon coast revisiting 23 nests. On the return to our starting point we spotted a female Snowy Owl just off the road on a telegraph pole that showed well.

Snowy Owl

As we started our hike we first visited 3 Black Brants that were all still active, we also had a camera that was for a King Eider nest, approaching the spot we could see her so we got to work with the camera. Minutes after we finished a flock of 50 Long-tailed Jaegers moved through slowly along with a few Parasitic. Continuing on the next Pintail had failed but the next nest was a White-front where three goslings were seen walking off with the parents. Following down a slough we spotted a Yellow-billed Loon ahead whilst checking a female Pintail still incubating here eggs, as we headed inland we came across more successful geese nest with just a couple still sitting. Further in and the wind dropped and the temperature crept up to 13 degrees celsius which lead to the mass emergence of the long feared mosquitoes. Battling on I came across a nesting Pacific Loon on a small pond where I also stumbled over a new bird for the trip, a white-rumped Sandpiper alongside a Semipalmated.

White-rumped Sandpiper

Finishing off the route as our pace quicken to try and escape the mosquitoes were we glad that we could blast them away on the ATV’s whilst cooling down at the same time. Must not forget to mention that we also so a new mammal for myself, a long awaited Lemming! A stop alongside Middle Salt Lagoon produced a family of Ruddy Turnstones that have three youngsters.

Lemming

Once after our evening meal a couple of us headed down to the south side of Barrow for a seawatch. There was lots of activity on the water as the locals kept on passing by in their boat shooting at any poor seal they could find. From the shore there was clear water to half way out then a narrow band of ice with clear sea beyond and this is where most birds could be seen moving past distantly. Three new birds for the trip were recorded with 2 Tufted Puffin, 20+ Black-legged Kittiwake and c.350 Thick-billed Murres. Also noted were 6 Black Guillemots, 6 Common Eider, 1 King Eider and 2 Yellow-billed Loons.

4th July

Independence Day, so we got the day off. The weather had become cloudy with patchy fog first thing so a quiet morning. After noon we all had a cruise down south along the coast on the ATV’s down past Nunavak Bay. Not many birds were seen except for 2 distant Snowy Owls. The sea was a little more productive with many dead Jellyfish being washed up on shore. As we got a mile or so down a snow bank blocked our path so we continued on foot. The sea ice was getting thinner all the time until we reached the end of the sea ice. Birds over the water obviously included Long-tailed Ducks, Red-throated and Pacific Loons as well as 5 Black Guillemots, 5 King Eiders and 4 Yellow-billed Loons flew over.

Yellow-billed Loon

3rd July

The wind increased slightly making a cooler day as the sun continued to shine. We headed out to the end of Gaswell Road to a promising area of pools. Straight away a Pomarine Jaeger flew over the neighbouring lake shortly followed by a group of 6 female Spectacled Eiders. As we continued we found a failed spec and king eider nest before seeing a pair and single Spectacled Eider roosting on a small pool. At lunch a further 10 female Spectacled Eiders flew over or maybe some of the same? We finished the survey as we reached our Long-tailed Duck camera nest who was still sitting on her eggs. As we drove along the road to revisit a White-fronted Goose nest a large bird flew from a telegraph pole carrying something in its feet. Reaching to our binoculars we were watching an Osprey circle round before departing over the tundra. What the hell is an Osprey doing up here and where did it find his fish?

2nd July

The continued to shine as the Steller’s Eiders remain on Middle Salt Lagoon. Nest searching brought us upon the immature male King Eider that was happy feeding on some small pools showing very well. The tundra seems to be getting quieter no that all the birds have stopped singing as the first eggs are hatching. Today both Pectoral Sandpiper and Red Phalarope babies were seen. Mid afternoon we got a tip off from a shorebird researcher to the locality of a female Spectacled Eider close by. On investigation we couldn’t find the female but did find a failed eider nest. As the evening drew in we finished up searching at the edge of a large marshy basin where there were a few Glaucous Gulls mixed in a flock of 55 Long-tailed Jaegers all searching for food.

King Eider

Pectoral Sandpiper

1st July

Awoke to rain this morning as the new month started, this being the first rain since arriving. The rain cleared by noon to leave a glorious sunny day allowing an afternoon of nest searching. On the way out a quick scan over the inlet to Middle Salt Lagoon produced 3 male Steller’s Eiders (my first for some time). Not a great deal was happening out at the plot with a group of 3 female King Eiders and a Pacific Loon nest being the highlights.

In the evening two of the crew were crazy enough to go for a ‘polar dip’ swim in the sea. I just watched! As ducks passed by following the narrow strip of open water running along the coast. Mainly the flocks were of roughly twenty birds consisting entirely of Long-tailed Ducks. In the hour we watched an estimate of 150 flew by including two female King Eiders and then a single male Surf Scoter tagged along with a Long-tailed Duck flock. Further out on the sea ice 50+ Ringed Seals had hauled themselves out for a rest.

June Week 4

2009-07-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

30th June

A much warmer day today with brief periods of fine drizzle first thing. We spent the morning nest searching finding very little for our efforts, just 5 female King Eiders. After dinner Ben and myself broke off again to revisit some nests as follows, failed Pintail and Brant Goose, active Tundra Swan then a failed and active White-fronted Goose. We then had a dilemma, which way around the largest lake in the Barrow area do we go to our final nest. Right probably the slightly shorter way? Or left the slightly longer way exploring new country with the slight chance of not being able to get around?

You guessed it, we headed left around the mostly frozen lake, once on the southern edge the water opened out with 40 Arctic Terns feeding over the surface continuing on we decided to cut across the bay in our hip boots as there was visible vegetation (therefore shallow right?). We were halfway across as the uneven ice floor along with increased depth meant we could go no further! Maybe the 3 pairs of Pacific Loons should have indicated deep water. Thankfully however just a further 20m down we found a passable route across. Reaching the other side we found a large flooded marshy area with at least four Sabine’s Gulls flying around including birds harassing Glaucous Gulls as they passed. A few minutes later we spotted a bird on a nest, we had to investigate closer and as we did over they came warning us off their eggs.

We moved back to the north ticking off the final active goose nest before spotting my first 2 White-fronted goslings out on the ice in the lake. Minutes later I was shocked to be watching a pair of Barn Swallows fly past, they apparently only just reach the far south of the state so why on earth are the all the way up here. Finally after a 20km hike we arrived back at the car and headed home for a late evening meal.

29th June

The sun was out once again so I got out of bed earlier and had a walk around the back of Narl seeing all the residents with the addition of the Lesser Yellowlegs and a Varied Thrush. Cutting through the buildings to the coast and on the narrow ice free band of water that runs up the beach were three birds, immediately identifying them as a new bird for my North American list, a bird that I’m familiar with from back at home. The Black Guillemots moved along the coast playing. Scanning out over the sea ice lots of black dots could be seen that were in fact Ringed Seals.

Black Guillemot

A trip south of Barrow checking two nests, a failed Pintail and active White-front also produced a flock of 8 King Eiders on the sea ice as 4 Pomarine Jaegers flew over. Once after dinner three of us headed out for some nest searching picking up 3 new White-fronted Geese nests and a Glaucous Gull nest. The team size decreased down to eight people today as the first volunteers start departing.

28th June

A day consistently switching between sunshine and fog. The whole group comprising of 8 people nest searched the south and west sides of Footprint lake. Getting off to a cracking start with a Green-winged Teal nest in the first ten minutes hopes for a successful day were high but as the next 14km unfolded all were could muster was a single White-fronted Goose nest. Very little notable birds were seen with a Pomarine Jaeger being the best except for a flock of 100 Red Phalaropes (mostly females) already preparing for their journey south!

Three of us remained to search an area just to the south seeing a group of 4 female King Eiders. On the way home we spotted a male Snowy Owl sat on the snow fence.

King Eider

27th June

The day started off bright and sunny and since it was our day off Ben and I went for a cruise on the ATV’s down Gaswell Road in search of some photographic objects. First not photographable was a distant white blob across Footprint Lake in the form of a Snowy Owl. The roadside verge held the usual American Golden Plovers, Pectoral & Semipalmated Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitcher, Red Phalaropes and Lapland Longspurs. Halfway down Gaswell we found on a small pool an immature male King Eider (first immature eider seen). A short walk near the landfill revealed a distant male Spectacled Eider lost in the haze.

Red Phalarope

Long-billed Dowitcher

Back in town and a festival was taking place in celebration of a successful whale hunt earlier in the spring. There was a variety of food being passed around but I chickened out of the fermented whale meat in blood however I did try the smallest piece of raw skin and blubber. (once!) Also had some caribou stew that was horrendously fatty but I missed the goose soup. We returned at night for the blanket toss where the sealskin from the successful whale catching boat is used to thrust someone into the air. In historic times this technique was used to search for whales once out on the sea ice.

‘Midnight sun’ well 01:00 hrs actually as this is the lowest point!

26th June

Back south of the Landfill searching an area filled with pools on yet another cloudy day. Nests were once again hard to find with the only active nests being 2 White-fronted Geese however we did find a failed nest of both Spectacled and King Eider. Also present were 4 Western & 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers and the first fledged Lapland Longspurs, the evening approached as the skies cleared, on the finale stretch of our survey we noted a nesting Red-throated Loon with a group of 3 approachable Spectacled Eiders (1 male) on the same pond.

Spectacled Eider

On return to the house a walk around in the evening sun was rewarded with fledged Snow Buntings, the finding of a sitting Hoary (Arctic) Redpoll, Green-winged Teal and a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Hoary Redpoll

25th June

I was time to start doing some nest searching today. We headed out to the landfill and searched areas close to the road. We just found a single nest of note belonging to a Pintail. Birds recorded included 1m & 4f Spectacled Eider, the white Ruff and a flyover Yellow-billed Loon.

Ruff

After dinner I switched groups moving over to Freshwater Lake where we found just a single new White-fronted Goose nest. A small pool held a pair of King Eiders along with 4 female Spectacled.

24th June

The day got off to a slightly late start due to snow flurries but by noon Ben and myself were off to check 17 nests on a lengthy walk along the Beaufort Sea. First was a failed Pintail with an active Brant Goose nest next and whilst on route we found 3 Long-billed Dowitcher nests. As we continued we ticked off the White-fronted Geese along with 2 Pintail and a Tundra Swan nest but the Long-tailed Duck had failed.

Highlights from the walk were a Western Sandpiper and a pair of Long-tailed Jaegers along with the first baby Lapland Longspurs hatching out.

Western Sandpiper

23rd June

The weather remains cool with a consistent northeasterly wind and foggy conditions. The day for three of us was not spent nest searching but revisiting some waterfowl nests found during the foot surveys. In the mourning the plan was to visit a Long-tailed Duck, Spectacled and King Eider nest with a camera each to monitor them. Arriving at the Long-tailed Duck nest in the southeast end of the recording area an Arctic Fox was spotted patrolling the tundra a hundred metres away. There was no sign of the female but the eggs were covered up so we placed the camera in place and left. Moving on we arrived at an empty Spectacled nest followed by the same story at the King nest. (This was soon to become a common outcome for most duck nests)

After dinner we visited 7 nests, an active Tundra Swan, failed King Eider, failed Long-tailed Duck and 2 active White-fronted Goose nests out of 4. Whilst on our walk around the east side of Freshwater Lake we also saw 5 Spectacled and 16 King Eiders of which females are starting to out number the males, never a good sign. A flock of 13 Snow Geese flew over as did a Pomarine Jaeger and we came across 3 Dunlin nests.

Tundra Swan

22nd June

Today involved very little birding as the priority was training for the nest searching that will commence tomorrow. The main aim of the nest searching is to thoroughly check areas that either eiders were seen in during the foot surveys or areas where steller’s nested last year.

June Week 3

2009-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

21st June

Today was a day of rest. So a group of us headed out to Point Barrow mid morning were we had a fly over Long-tailed Jaeger, flocks of Long-tailed Ducks moving past along with the resident Glaucous Gulls at the whale carcass. As we arrived at the carcass a Polar Bear was wandering off over the ice shortly followed by a second that started of at the food source before moving off. A third bear was spotted distantly over the ice near the pressure ridges.

Once back at the trailer we headed off in a truck first to Freshwater Lake where there were a group of 4 King Eiders, 3 Arctic Terns and a male Spectacled Eider but the biggest surprise was on the journey through Barrow when an immature Bald Eagle flew along the coast landing on the edge of the sea ice. We continued to the landfill were a short scan over the marsh to the north produced the white male Ruff along side a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. A flock of 30 Snow Geese flew over before a group a four Canada Geese were spotted alongside Middle Salt Lagoon.

20th June

Winter set in today as snow flurries were frequent but the fine dusting had no impact, high of –1 degree celsius. This was to be our last day of foot surveys so it was going to be a long day. We drove right to the end of Gaswell Road and then walked a further kilometre to our starting point. The survey started immediately with a flyover Peregrine and the finding of a White-fronted Goose. The tundra held all the common species such as Lapland Longspur, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin and Parasitic Jaeger. Approaching the half way point a Arctic Fox jumped up into view before heading out over a marsh where a group of five distant Sandhill Cranes could be seen. After a brief lunch stop we headed back north seeing a pair of Spectacled Eiders on a flooded pool, 2 pairs of Red-throated Loons and a single Western Sandpiper (first one for Barrow).

Arctic Fox

19th June

An easy day for a change as temperatures fell to a high of 0 degrees Celsius. Continuing my recovery from my prolonged cold I was given a short plot for the day. The plot circled a lake that held the usual Pacific Loon, Pintail and Long-tailed Duck as well as a nesting Black Brant on a small island. Further on and a female King Eider was flushed from her nest. On route back to Narl a pair of Spectacled Eiders frequented a roadside pool.

Black Brant

18th June

The morning started as the fog rolled in, we headed out to the far end of Gaswell Road to another survey plot. With in the first few metres a bird appeared to my left, it was a large shorebird flying away thankfully it banked to reveal a long straight bill then all the plumage features confirmed a new world bird for me, a Hudsonian Godwit. The rest of the walk way very quiet with just a Pomarine Jaeger and 6 Spectacled Eiders.

After last night the two fox hunters headed to Point Barrow so I tagged along. The sun was out once again and on arrival we found a Polar Bear with a cub walking across the ice heading west. We follow them as the cub was having a great time running, sliding and generally playing across the ice as they moved. After a while a very distant bear appeared between the ice before disappearing again. The mum and cub that we think was maybe 2 years old (about 2/3 the size of the mother) did a big arch before heading back in towards the carcass. We stayed and watched them for a while feeding before leaving the to it as we headed back for bed.

Polar Bear

17th June

Temperatures started to decrease towards zero as the days plot was relatively quiet as 1 pair Spectacled and 8 King Eiders were counted as were 2 Pomarine Jaegers. I however found my first Long-tailed Duck nest along with 2 Glaucous Gulls nests.

Braving the cold still with my illness I just couldn’t stay behind when the whole gang were off on an ATV ride to Point Barrow. Travelling the 4 miles or so along the coast heading northeast on the shingle beach the clouds cleared to leave a glorious evening. Arriving at the point we pulled up on the ridge some 200m from a rotting pile of whale carcass from the previous years hunting. Straight away there was a shout, “there out on the ice” I looked and immediately locked onto the reason behind the trip as a Polar Bear walked off away over the ice. WOW! I looked left to see a second bear feeding on the whale without a care in the world surrounded by a couple hundred Glaucous Gulls. Further scanning gained two distant animals out on the sea ice.

Polar Bear

After staring in amazement at the bears for some time we continued past the most northern point of Alaska out to Plover Point the actually tip of the spit. On our return to Point Barrow the bears had returned with 4 in close proximity of the land and a further three distantly out on the ice. We just couldn’t believe that there were 7 animals out on view, beyond our wildest dreams! One bear was so chilled out he spent the whole time flat out on his tummy on a small pressure ridge of ice in the distance. At the end of our stay the bear feeding on the whale started to wander a little towards us as he sniffed the air, coming a little closer he could not smell us so he rose up onto his back legs to get a better sniff (what an impressive beast, thankfully he was still a safe distance). Still nothing, he took a few steps closer and tried again, this time he figured us out and turned the other way back out onto the ice. Ecstatic with the experience we left the bears in piece.

Polar Bear

16th June

The survey area today took me north of Gaswell Road up to the coast of the Beaufort Sea. It was another long day with 3 Spectacled and 10 King Eiders seen as well as 60 Snow Geese that flew overhead. The nest tally included 3 White-fronted Geese, American Golden Plover, Red Phalarope and Semipalmated Sandpiper.

American Golden Plover

15th June

Today was the day I finally succumbed to one of the illnesses floating around the house but not to grumble we headed out to the days plot. It was a nice sunny calm day and straight away a new bird for the whole trip flew over in the form of two Snow Geese. A little further and a male Spectacled Eider jumped up in front, then a pair of Long-tailed Jaegers flew over low before giving amazing views as they walked over the tundra past a White-fronted Goose sitting tight on her nest. The 16km hike finished several hours later with a Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

Long-tailed Jaeger

White-fronted Goose

June Week 2

2009-06-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

14th June

Today I was given the pleasure of tramping through Footprint Lake with three other lucky people. The survey got off to a great start with a male Spectacled Eider, another flyby Long-tailed Jaeger with 2 Pomarines and then a scarcity for the area in the form of a Short-billed Dowitcher. Further on we finally found our goal 4 male and 2 female Steller’s Eider (a relief considering this has been the hotspot). For the last quarter of the walk we actually found dry tundra, which made the walking easier. The survey ended with 3 Ruddy Turnstones and 2 Killdeer on the edge of Middle Salt Lagoon.

Spectacled Eider

13th June

An early morning look along the beach got a Common Eider and 2 Red-throated Loons on a small area of open water were the Middle Salt Lagoon empties into the sea. Next a Killdeer flew past, not a bird I expected to see up here.

Today’s plot was adjacent to Freshwater Lake and the terrain was much more ideal for waterfowl. Starting off there were a pair of Pacific Loons on the lake with Arctic Tern flying overhead shortly followed by a Red-necked Grebe (scarce bird this far north). We were soon seeing birds along the plot with totals of 1 Spectacled and 20 King Eiders, 4 Yellow-billed Loons flew over, a Peregrine and then a distant lifer flew past, Long-tailed Jaeger (finally seen one!). Nests found today were two Semipalmated Sandpipers and a Dunlin.

King Eider

Returning back to the house one of the trappers (Fox control) had seen a Ruff so after our evening meal we headed out along Gaswell Road and turned off towards the landfill were we located the fine white male in all is splendour on an open marshy area. Also noted along the road was a pair of Steller’s Eiders.

12th June

Today was the start of foot surveys on a cloudy cool day. The team is split up into 3 groups of roughly four people and are given a plot that will be checked for any Steller’s and Spectacled Eiders along with any possible predators such as Snowy Owl, Jaegers, Glaucous Gull, Raven or Foxes. The plots vary in size and shape and seem to range between 8 and 16km of walking over the wet tundra.

The plot got of to a good start with a single Baird’s Sandpiper but the best bird was an adult male Snowy Owl that perched on small mounds. This year owls are very scarce due to the lack of food so I was pleased to get one on the first survey plot. Whilst walking around its inevitable to bump into the odd nest or so, I managed a Greater White-fronted Goose, Long-billed Dowitcher and a Lapland Longspur.

Snowy Owl

11th June

Most of the day was spent with final training for the foot surveys with just the return of the Yellow-billed Loon being noted along with a flock of 60 Common Eiders migrating over the sea ice.

10th June

A morning jolly up Gaswell Road started off with a Gadwall, followed by 7 Pomarine Jaegers and 2 Black Brant with Eiders noted as follows 8 Steller’s, 4 Spectacled and a King.

Steller’s Eider

An evening trip added a Peregrine to the list as the fog started to roll in.

9th June

The only birding today was a trip down to Freshwater Lake on the south side of Barrow. Birds noted were a pair of Steller’s Eider, 4 King Eiders, 4 Arctic Terns and 6 Parasitic Jaegers.

Red Phalarope

8th June

A cloudy calm day with warm temperatures of 5 degrees Celsius. An early morning walk around the built up area of Narl produced Hoary and Common Redpolls. Then at noon another short walk found a cracking Varied Thrush hopping around on the tundra edge, the bird showed distantly and must have been a spring overshoot. Heading south I came to Middle Salt Lagoon with its narrow stretch of open water around the border. Nearly instantly I picked up a loon cruising along, picking up my binoculars I found myself staring at a smashing adult Yellow-billed Loon.

Yellow-billed Loon

Anyway back to work! The afternoon passed quickly and once after our evening meal a couple of us headed out to admire the loon some more, he had moved around to the over side but once there it showed well, along the road between two lakes were Semipalmated Sandpipers, Lapland Longspur and then a small passerine moved on the waters edge. This bird was only the second I have ever seen with the last being back on Fair Isle last autumn. It was an Arctic Warbler and was also seen in similar circumstances with no trees anywhere near. This bird is however a regular visitor further south in Alaska.

Arctic Warbler

Arriving back at the house as a group were off for a drive so I jumped in, we headed out along Gaswell Road seeing a total of 16 Steller’s Eiders mainly in Footprint Lake. Further on we found a group of 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers displaying by the road. On our return back midnight passed as the evening sun continued to shine from high in the sky. (in actual fact the lowest point is about 01:30 hours)

June Week 1

2009-06-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

7th June

Up at 3.30am on my way back to the airport where I boarded for a flight making two stops on the way to my destination flying over Mount McKinley (Denali) the highest mountain in North America covered in snow before travelling over large grassy plains before landing down into fog. Then the final stretch of my journey brought me over a very white sea on the northern edge of Alaska as we dropped in over the sea ice to the remote town of Barrow where I was going to help with a monitoring program of the endangered Alaskan population of Steller’s Eider. Landing just after ten and I had already seen Pintail, Long-tailed Duck and Glaucous Gull from the window. Stepping out onto the tarmac I was surprised to feel how warm it was as the sun was shining. Meeting up with some of the team we headed out to the house. The most common/only passerine seen on route was the Snow Bunting, they definitely take the place of House Sparrow up here.

Meeting up with the rest of the chaps I got settled in. After tea I headed out with a few guys to do a road survey for Steller’s Eiders. As we headed out to the tundra there was very little snow cover (vanished in the last week I was told and earlier than normal) and lots of marshy pools. Many shorebirds with the most numerous starting with Semipalmated Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope (little stunners!), Long-billed Dowitcher, American Golden Plover, Pectoral Sandpipers with just a couple Semipalmated Plover and Dunlins. On the water were mainly Pintail and Long-tailed Ducks with a few White-fronted Geese, 2 Tundra Swans, 2 Pacific Loon, 1 Red-throated loon, Green-winged Teal and Greater Scaup. Flying around also were 3 Parastic Jaeger (Arctic Skua), 1 Pomarine Jaeger and 2 Sabine’s Gull. The only addition passerines were many cracking Lapland Longspurs and a couple Savannah Sparrows. Oh I can’t forget the eiders I suppose! First spotted were pairs of Steller’s Eider on the small pools (19 counted), then a distant pair of Spectacled was seen out in the heat haze followed by a single male and two female King Eiders. Ending a first great day a flock of 30 Common Eiders migrated along the coast over the sea ice.

Steller’s Eider

6th June

It was time to move on and continue my discovery of North America, three hours later I was sat in the airport at Toronto ready for my flight just after noon. After a connecting flight I arrived in Anchorage Alaska at 19:15 local time. I only had a brief visit to the city so I found a hostel and headed out. First I found some lagoons that were covered with Red-necked Grebes, as well as Great Scaup, American Wigeon and a single Arctic Tern that surprisingly had a reasonably sized chick in a colony of Mew Gulls. Walking along the coast I found Black-billed Magpie, Violet-green Swallows and White-crowned Sparrow. Arriving at Ship Creek there was hundreds of people all fishing the water (I guess the Salmon must be starting?). Overhead patrolling the creek were Herring and a few Glaucous-winged Gulls. The light finally started to go as I made my way back to the hostel at midnight.

Glaucous-winged Gull

3rd – 5th June

The wind swung around to the north making the late migration very slow as we continued to catch about thirty birds a day. Flycatchers were the most numerous with many Traill’s of which they are practically impossible to split in the hand with the current knowledge. The feeling is that the majority of the birds we have caught are Alder with two Willow caught on the 3rd. Dave is starting to look into the wing formula on the birds and from our small sample there are some promising signs. Otherwise just a few Grey-cheeked Thrushes seem to be moving. Well the final tally of birds caught during the spring fell just short of 6,500 as the nets were taken down on the 5th of which there were 107 different species.

Trip Total = 195 Lifers = 49

Traill’s Flycatchers

2nd June

A cloudy day and banding was still slow but another new bird was caught in the swamp net, a female Hairy Woodpecker. Around were two singing Alder Flycatchers, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds and the Tufted Titmouse still lurked in the wood.

An afternoon exploring for shrikes started with a brief stop along Babylon Road where we were immediately greeted by two alarming Upland Sandpipers. Finally managed to find these odd looking birds. Continuing north we cross out of the county and started to check a grassland area where Bobolinks, Meadowlarks and Eastern Kingbirds were numerous. A stop at a marshy area attracted Marsh Wren as a Virginia Rail was heard calling. Continuing on we bumped into another Upland Sandpiper. Arriving at the publicised site on our second stop we located a distant pair of Loggerhead Shrikes actively feeding.

Upland Sandpiper

On route back to the point we made a detour via Kaiser Cross Road were shorebirds were still in good numbers with 2 Black-bellied Plovers, 2 Whimbrel, 14 Semipalmated Plovers and 70+ Semipalmated Sandpipers. Also present with the sandpipers was a single Western but the best find was an Eastern Milk Snake that was lead across the road, this smart looking snake is sadly very rare so we moved him to safety.

Eastern Milk Snake

1st June

The start of a new month marked the end of the migration monitoring period so it was now time to play with some non-standard banding. It was a calm day with sunny spells and despite all our tape playing things were slow with 2 Canada Warblers, 6 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers some Traill’s and a very late Ruby-crowned Kinglet being caught. Some presumed none breeding Canada Geese flew over north with a total of 225. There was a surprise mid-morning at the feeder when a Tufted Titmouse appeared and was successfully caught later. 8 Chimney Swifts feed over the harbour at dusk.

Tufted Titmouse

May Week 4

2009-06-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

31st May

Even quieter than yesterday with a brisk westerly wind blowing. The nets were very quiet with poor total of just over thirty new birds, best being Canada Warbler and Northern Waterthrush. A walk around the harbour found very little evidence of migrants except for a couple Blackpoll Warblers at the lighthouse. Birds setting up residence include Black-billed Cuckoo, Warbling Vireo, American Redstarts and many Yellow Warblers. The Canada Geese goslings continue to grow and on arrival back at the yard an Orchard Oriole made a brief stop.

30th May

A relatively quiet day today with a gentle westerly wind.

The afternoon was spent at Lake on the Mountain where the observatories board meeting was taking place. I had a walk around finding an Eastern Bluebird along with Meadowlarks, Bobolink and Baltimore Orioles. The highlight of the walk however was seeing some new dragonflies and butterflies. Back at the lake and four Black Terns were feeding over the water.

Beaverpond Baskettail

29th May

Rain over night cleared at dawn to leave a warm dry day with sunny spells. It was obvious that birds were still around from yesterday as 8 Canada Warblers fell into the nets straight away. There were a good variety of birds being caught with 3 species of Thrush, 4 Flycatchers (9 Traill’s and a Kingbird), 16 species of Warblers and several Red-eyed Vireos. Cedar Waxwings reached a milestone today with 7 birds taking us over 10 times the previous spring record of 56! The morning’s total catch came to 152 birds with the best being a female Blue-winged Warbler.

Cedar Waxwing

In the afternoon a walk found much the same with a Canada Warbler in traverse but viewing is becoming increasingly hard in the wood now. However I did finally find a Giant Swallowtail when I actually had my camera. Spent a bit of time after chasing the calls of frogs around the marsh until I found a Grey Treefrog. Back at the house at dusk when a skunk pottered by searching for food

Giant Swallowtail

28th May

The weather remained unsettled with frequent showers all day writing off any banding! A walk early morning saw a Semipalmated Plover and 2 Least Sandpipers on the spit in the harbour along with 2 Caspian Terns, 12 Herring Gulls and 30+ Ring-billed Gulls. Out again after dinner I wandered around the harbour finding several warblers on route to the lighthouse. A Canada, Mourning, 4 Black-throated Green, 12 Blackpoll, 3 Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided with several Yellow and Magnolia Warblers. A look at the spit produced no waders but a Buff-bellied Pipit instead. Back to the obs added a Traill’s and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher as a cuckoo called in the distance.

Buff-bellied Pipit

27th May

A day with no wind but many showers. At 8am we were lucky to get the nets open for about 3 hours however we just caught over 30 birds but a nice selection. Male Blackburnian, 2 Black-throated Green, 2 Blackpoll, 3 Grey-cheeked Thrush and mustn’t forget a male House Sparrow. A wet afternoon gave me a chance to catch up with this blog (a bit anyway).

26th May

Birds just love a brisk easterly wind for moving up the lake. Should I say water birds as the woods were dead with only 36 new birds caught. Back to the lake though and a watch from 06:30 to 07:20 was rewarding with a passage of 1200 Pale-bellied Brant, 111 White-winged Scoter, 122 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 ‘tern’ spp. and 2 Long-tailed Ducks sat off shore.

Brant

A trip to Kaiser Cross Road to revisit the flooded areas was good for shorebirds. There were roughly 2 Black-bellied Plover, 50 Semipalmated Plover, 6 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 20 Least Sandpiper, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs and 20 Dunlins. Wildfowl consisted of a Black Duck and 2 Green-winged Teal with a group of Mallards. Over the back an American Bittern sat proud over a marshy area, blowing his chest up and calling loudly as he bounced the sack of air up and down.

25th May

A glorious sunny day with a light north easterly wind but my thoughts were back in the UK. The nets were very quiet today with a handful of Magnolia, Yellow and American Redstart. Two Traill’s Flyctachers were also caught along with two Yellow-bellied. At 10am I disappeared inside to watch a computer screen as what sounded an amazing football game developed with Burnley putting on a fine display. I could only dream of what my sister was experiencing. As the final whistle blew I couldn’t believe it, and still can’t, that the mighty CLARETS from the north are in the PREMIERSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

24th May

A wet start to the day as showers moved through but there was no wind. From the lighthouse we witnessed a movement of waders with an estimate of 250 Dunlin past with the odd little one thrown in as well. However more unusual were a flock of 52 Whimbrel followed by a second group of 80. As the weather cleared out to leave a sunny day a Whip-poor-will was found roosting high in a tree. The nets were finally opened with the most prolific species being once again Cedar Waxwing with just over 70 caught. A leisurely walk to Traverse in the evening was unusually quiet.

23rd May

A quiet day for migrants as a light northerly halted any movement. Census was poor with just 39 species noted with the best being 3 Blackpoll Warblers and Scarlet Tanager. But there was something new for me skulking under bushes at the starting point, a Fisher that is a type of martin.

Blackpoll Warbler

Once ten o’clock arrived so did David after finishing his birdathon around the county reaching a tally of 145 just slightly down on last year. Shortly after the wind switched to easterly followed by a flock of 250 Pale-bellied Brent flying low over the lake heading north. Other noteworthy sightings were 3 Mourning and a Canada Warbler, Osprey and again very briefly the Red-headed Woodpecker that perched on Dave’s car for a moment.

22nd May

Another very warm day with little wind and a close encounter. It was Dave’s big birdathon today starting at 10am so the hunt was on to see what we could find. The nets soon picked up Veery, Swainson’s and Grey-cheeked Thrush as well as Mourning, female Hooded and Nashville which are thin on the ground now. Around the trail were at least two Black-billed Cuckoos and a Yellow was also reported, by mid morning the black-bills found their way into our nets.

Black-billed Cuckoo

Just after lunch I headed along the coast towards Point Traverse spotting a flock of waders on the rocky shore, there were 32 Dunlin and a Semipalmated Sandpiper. Approaching with care I got within a few metres of the feeding flock enjoying the close views that are usually difficult to achieve back in Britain. I had been watching them for some time when a mighty “whoosh” was heard and the flock took flight. Looking up from my camera I was stunned to see a immature Peregrine just metres away from me circle round before swooping to the shore picking up a rather dazed dunlin before heading off along the shore. (Arrrgggghhh, why did it not get the one I was photographing?)

Semipalmated Sandpiper and Dunlins

Later a look in the harbour found 3 Least and Spotted Sandpipers with the resident Killdeers as the lake starts to look empty of wildfowl with just a handful of Long-tailed Ducks, White-winged Scoter and Red-breasted Mergansers left. Back just by the banding lab the Red-headed Woodpecker showed very briefly once again.

May Week 3

2009-05-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

21st May

Much the same weather as yesterday but less cloud first thing as the radar showed birds flying over without stopping. Numbers of Blackpoll numbers were up to 16 and a new female Hooded warbler was one of 190 birds banded. Just after lunch a walk around the wood delivered a Black-billed Cuckoo, Northern Flicker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher nest building and then the briefest glimpse of a Red-headed Woodpecker as it flew up in front. A calm evening had a Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will and 2 roding Woodcock still on good form just outside.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

20th May

Southwesterly wind remained resulting in mass arrival. A very busy morning brought us to 100 bird species and forms banded this spring with Eastern Wood-pewee, Traill’s Flycatcher and Blackpoll Warbler being new. 53 species were banded today with a total of 465 birds. After a late closure a walk to Traverse added to an impressive warbler tally. The days totals were 4 Blackpoll, 6 Bay-breasted, 4 Tennessee, 1 Canada, 80 Yellow, 20 Chestnut-sided, 80 Magnolia, 6 Myrtle, 1 Cape May, 6 Black and White, 14 Black-throated Green, 6 Black-throated Blue, 40 Redstart, 5 Ovenbird, 3 Northern Waterthrush and 14 Common Yellowthroats.

Traill’s Flycatcher

19th May

Sunny again with a southwesterly wind and the woods were alive, well with over 500 Cedar Waxwings anyway. A surprise catch for the morning when a female Yellow-breasted Chat was discovered (only the 7 caught in spring), also seen was a Northern Mockingbird and 3 Tennessee Warblers. The Afternoon was spent going to town for essentials, on route a roadside pool held 8 Least and a Solitary Sandpiper. Just to the west of Picton a marshy area had 6 Black Terns and a Common Nighthawk hawking overhead.

Yellow-breasted Chat

18th May

The sun was out again with a cool northwesterly wind. The morning total just fell short of our average total with 94 new birds with the best being a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Also retrapped was the Hooded Warbler from the other day. At lunch a flock of 110 Red-breasted Mergansers passed by, as did a Blackpoll Warbler through the yard. Traverse was quiet with 4 Blackburnian Warblers, 12 Purple Martins over and a young White-tailed Deer.

17th May

A sunny day with a brisk westerly wind. The morning banding was relatively productive starting off with a male Mourning Warbler followed by a Wilson’s, Bay-breasted and a Canada Warbler. The highlight for the afternoon was a pair of Eastern Bluebirds that showed well feeding around the cottages on the south side of the harbour. Also noted were 2 Philadelphia Vireo, 2 Tennessee and 5 Cape May Warblers along with a few Redstarts and Northern Parula.

Eastern Bluebird
Trip total reached 175 – 46 lifers

16th May

A day with great promise but for the weather. First net round started off well with a Grey-cheeked Thrush and Bay-breasted Warbler on an overcast morning. As the morning developed a rain front also developed just to the west so the nets were promptly closed at about 08:30 with hopes of re-opening within the hour but as time passed more fronts appeared that followed behind at frequent intervals with short heavy spells of rain. It wasn’t until mid afternoon that we decided to open the nets for a while as the showers had stopped and it was now very humid as temperatures exceeded 18oC. The haul was mainly Magnolia and Yellow Warblers with the addition of a Canada Warbler and a Philadelphia Vireo. The ground traps took the day’s tally past a hundred with 20 Blue Jays.

Canada Warbler

15th May

A great contrast to yesterday with no wind and wall to wall sunshine. Whilst opening the nets a different bird could be heard singing, a Black-billed Cuckoo. The nets started producing with a female Hooded Warbler, Canada Warbler and then a little gem in the form of an Orchard Oriole.

Hooded Warbler

The day count of Blackburnian Warblers reached 10 with a walk to Traverse where there were also 3 Eastern Wood Pewee and a Philadelphia Vireo.

May Week 2

2009-05-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

14th May

A day dominated by strong southerly winds and rain showers meant no banding was carried out! A brief look around the wood noted a Northern Parula and American Redstart. The harbour held a mix flock of swallows sheltering from the weather as 8 Chimney Swifts past overhead.

13th May

A bright sunny day with no wind and many birds. First year tick came just after net opening when a Swainson’s Thrush bundled into one. Next seen in the trapping area was a male Bay-breasted Warbler feeding high in the trees. The morning was good quality with 189 birds banded including a female Blue and Golden-winged Warbler along with 3 Scarlet Tanagers. Early afternoon I explored the lighthouse area picking up a male Blackpoll Warbler, 2 Orchard Orioles, Warbling Vireo nest building, ‘orange’ Scarlet Tanager and a skulky Sedge Wren. Heading back north a Chimney Swift flew overhead, arriving at Point Traverse I located a warbler flock along the cliff edge comprising of 3 Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black and White, Blackburnian, Cape May, Myrtle, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Northern Parula and Ovenbird. A Great crested and several Least Flycatchers followed on as well. On the road back to the obs a second Golden-winged Warbler was seen.

Sedge Wren

Scarlet Tanager

12th May

On the whole a glorious sunny day with very few birds. I carried out census once again with just 36 species noted but on arriving at the banding lab a bird was singing in the trees, close inspection revealed a White-eyed Vireo that promptly vanished on return from the census. The morning was spent showing visitors all the birds caught. The afternoon was spent trying to get onto the internet for the big game, thankfully I finally got on mid way through the second half to see that the mighty CLARETS were two nothing up! What a fantastic result but sadly I’m a little to far away for the big trip to Wembley so I had a beer instead to celebrate the win. An Evening walk was unproductive as the leaves start to emerge making spotting birds a little harder.

11th May

A sunny day proved to be relatively quiet compared to recent standards. I carried out the morning census picking up just 41 species, as it was obvious a departure took place over night. As the sun warmed up a flock of feeding swallows over the house contained my first Bank Swallows. We had a tape lure running this morning with a successful result when five male Bobolinks were caught together with an Eastern Kingbird. The standard nets also produced a smart male Wilson’s Warbler out of just over a hundred birds. This afternoon was dedicated to food shopping and laundry but whilst in town I got my first Chimney Swift.

10th May

Awoke to a brisk northwesterly wind today that hampered the nets with less than a third being opened. However it was obvious that birds remained from the previous day with warblers sticking low in the wooded areas. The only lifer for the day appeared first thing singing over a closed net 8c, a Bay-breasted Warbler. However most activity was from the banding lab through to net 3, here were 2 Indigo Buntings, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue Warblers along with a grey male Brewster’s Warbler.

A walk through the trees in search of a White-eyed Vireo came up trumps, not the vireo though but my second male Cerulean Warbler, an absolute stonker! Best of all though it was only a metre off the ground and showing very close, he just blew me away.

Cerulean Warbler

Noon passed and we kept the nets open a little longer and were rewarded when the Cerulean Warbler found itself in one of the nets. This is only the second bird to be trapped in the spring with the first back in 1999. The nets were closed shortly after with the final bird of the day being an Orange-crowned Warbler. Hot on the search for more birds the harbour edge produced another showy Cerulean Warbler and a Pine Warbler. Turning around I headed to Traverse where I bumped into Brendan as we both had just picked up a female Summer Tanager feeding in the trees overhead. The bird showed well along side a male Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Many warblers flitted around with at least 8 Northern Parula, 10+ Black-throated Blue, 6 Cape May and a banded Cerulean Warbler.

Summer Tanager

9th May

Today followed on from yesterday with a calm morning and initial signs were good with many birds singing around the netting area. The first net round produced the first baby robin of the year and by the second the nets were filling up quickly with the main culprit being Myrtle Warblers as a ‘Blue-winged Warbler’ type bird sang from the swamp. American Redstart, Tennessee Warbler, Northern Parula and Red-eyed Vireo were all added to the banding list. But the morning was cut short as a thunderstorm was tracked heading straight for us so all the nets were closed as it could be heard approaching in the distance. The morning’s tally still reached a very respectable 262 birds of which 112 were Myrtles. At 12 o’clock the storm hit with torrential rain for 15 minutes followed by showers.

Early afternoon and a stroll just out into the wood resulted in the finding of a male Golden-winged Warbler shortly followed by a fine Blue-winged Warbler as the sun started to shine. Both birds showed well alongside Blackburnian, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Black and White as well as several Black-throated Green Warblers.

Golden-winged Warbler

Around on the edge of the harbour a muddy puddle continued to draw in Cliff Swallows who are all busy rebuilding on the lighthouse. Heading for Point Traverse the wind increased from the west keeping birds lower down. On arrival I took the eastern path through the wood coming across a mixed flock, quickly picking out Baltimore Oriole and Scarlet Tanager I next came across a bird with a bright yellow throat. Closer inspection revealed the identity to be a Yellow-throated Vireo. I watched the bird for 10 minutes or so before the flock moved on disappearing from view. Efforts to relocate the bird just turned up another Golden and Blue-winged Warbler to end another great day.

Yellow-throated Vireo

8th May

A truly amazing day for migration with a light southeasterly breeze over night with high cloud, then from mid morning the lake was covered with low mist and birds dropped out of the sky. Leaving the house at dawn a Northern Mockingbird was spotted immediately, next on the list was a Magnolia Warbler. The banding was very hectic with a total of 434 birds banded (by far the busiest day) with the best being a smart Brewster’s Warbler that looked almost like a Blue-winged.

Brewster's Warbler

The afternoon was spent around Traverse with many birds to check. New in were Tennessee Warbler, Eastern Wood-pewee and a Red-eyed Vireo. Warbler numbers were impressive with final counts of 7 Northern Parula, 6 Chestnut-sided, 3 Black-throated Blue, 4 Magnolia, 7 Cape May, 16 Black and White, Northern Waterthrush, Blackburnian and 500+ Myrtle Warblers.

Northern Parula

May Week 1

2009-05-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

7th May

A rather wet day with many grounded birds before the weather cleared out during the afternoon. Just prior to noon the rain started to ease as David wandered around the netting area where he found a showy Blue-winged Warbler that sang frequently and feed low down mainly allowing good photographs in the dull conditions. After spending some time with this cracker I headed for Traverse where I got much the same as yesterday but there was no sign of the cerulean. Once at the west end of the trail I heard a loud cry from the marsh area to the south, as I looked up an immature Rough-legged Hawk drifted over. Going to investigate the cry I confirmed my suspicions as two Sandhill Cranes flew up from the marsh in front. Back at the east end of the marsh an American Bittern circled before heading off south. The wind had completely dropped by the evening leaving a flat calm lake with many ducks viewable. Grabbing my scope I almost immediately spotted a pair of Harlequin Ducks once again very distantly among the long-tails. Continued scanning located a Red-necked Grebe.

Blue-winged Warbler

6th May

A light southeasterly wind over night with high cloud lead to the opening of the floodgates. Around the obs new birds for a start were Common Yellowthroat, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Indigo Bunting. Mid morning and a male Golden-winged Warbler had been caught, whilst holding this bird for photographs a ‘blue-winged’ warbler type was heard singing in the wood behind. After a lengthy search I tracked it down to see what looked like a ‘blue-winged’ except for one feature, the bird had yellow wing bars which meant that it was another Brewster’s Warbler.

Golden-winged Warbler

Brewster's Warbler

The nets were closed shortly after noon and I was off to Traverse where there were many birds to check. I found a warbler flock and soon picked out 3 Blackburnian, 2 Black and White, Ape May, 8 Palm and 4 Black-throated Green from the numerous Myrtle. Next was a cracking male Chestnut-sided Warbler and then singing above my head appeared a stunning male Cerulean Warbler that moved around the treetops. On the road just outside Traverse was a flock of 30 male Bobolinks with a single female. As the sun started to set a Brewster’s warbler popped up in Traverse followed by a second male Golden-winged Warbler along the road back to the obs.

Bobolink

Trip total = 150, Lifers = 32

5th May

A quieter day today but a new bird in was a Green Heron that spent all day around the harbour. A Merlin flew over and as evening drew in an American Bittern started to call from the marsh near to the lighthouse. A scan over the lake got a very distant Red-necked Grebe.

4th May

A calm clear day meant it was a good day for migrants again, first was a male Black-throated Blue Warbler found in the wood at Traverse along with Black and White, Pine and Black-throated Green Warblers. Ringing produced a Red-breasted Nuthatch and another two Rusty Blackbirds. Around by the lighthouse a Whip-poor-will flushed off the beach, two Purple Martins flew over as three obliging Least Sandpipers feed along the shore on the point.

Whip-poor-will

3rd May

A slight drop and change in wind direction over night meant many new birds had arrived. There were lots of people around the banding lab so I got the chance to check out Point Traverse during the morning for a change. There were a few birds around but it wasn’t until the last little stretch when a warbler called from above my head in a lone tree that I was unfamiliar with. Straight onto the bird and I could see a grey bird with golden (yellow) wings, yellow forehead and a black eye-stripe! (white throat) Initial hopes of a Golden-winged Warbler were dashed as this turned out to be a Brewster’s Warbler. A hybrid of Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warbler. Back to the obs just as birds started to arrive with 4 Warbling Vireo, Black-throated Green Warbler, Cape May Warbler and 5 White-crowned Sparrows.

Brewster's Warbler

After closing, a trip around to the lighthouse yielded 3 Orchard Orioles along with 6 Baltimore and Red-bellied Woodpecker. Back around the inner harbour a second Brewster’s Warbler of the day was found singing a Blue-winged song (looked much the same as the morning bird).

2nd May

Caught today were two new warblers in the form of an Ovenbird and Northern Waterthrush. Whilst the sunshine brought a flock of 12 Broad-winged Hawks over followed by a Red-tailed Hawk. Around the wood at Traverse during the afternoon were Black and White Warbler and a Whip-poor-will.

Northern Waterthrush

1st May

The start of a new month produced very little change with highlights being a male Baltimore Oriole, Nashville Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The lake shore had 3 Spotted Sandpipers and a drake Gadwall flew by.

April Week 4

2009-05-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

30th April

Nothing much happening today, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak found the sunflower seeds in the morning. The afternoon was spent in Traverse looking for yesterdays worm-eating with no joy but other good birds were a Veery, Wood Thrush, Whip-poor Will and a Black and White Warbler.

29th April

A calm sunny day once again ended up with two goodies. Banding followed on from yesterday with nothing new but a Red-breasted Nuthatch frequented the yard. Straight after lunch a walk around Traverse was very rewarding with 3 Baltimore Orioles, male Scarlet Tanager, Cape May Warbler but the best was a Worm-eating Warbler that spent most of its time with a small warbler flock. This comprises only the 18th record for the point and first since 1996 for this bird right on its northern limit.

Pleased with our haul we headed back as the lake went flat calm. Grabbing my scope I started to scan through the thousand or so Long-tailed Ducks finding 6 Black Scoters, a pair of American Wigeon and many Buffleheads. As I worked through the distant dots I came across four birds driving consistently in close proximity, from their jizz these were obviously different, looking carefully I could see they had a large white patch at the front of their heads and then a reddish brown colour on the flanks. It was a group of Harlequin Ducks (2 males, 1 imm male and a female). We watched the birds for 10 minutes before they flew off further out onto the lake. Looking back at the records I was surprised to find that there had only been 32 previous birds in the Kingston area of which only three singles were spring records, a good end to a good day.

28th April

The day started with a Black and White Warbler in the yard followed by a Gray Catbird caught during banding. It was much quieter than yesterday and as noon arrived a few rain showers started to fall. In the afternoon all I could find were two female Pine Warblers as the number of Pine Siskins on the feeders increased to 30.

27th April

A cracking calm, sunny, warm day lead to an arrival of Yellow Warblers, Eastern Kingbird and a Broad-winged Hawk soared overhead. Ringing was good with 228 birds caught including 3 Rusty Blackbirds and a massive female Meadowlark. (impressive!!!!!)

After lunch a walk with Dave around Traverse produced a Great-crested Flycatcher. In the evening I headed towards the lighthouse through the swamp where feeding on the midges in the tree tops was a male White-winged Crossbill, the rest of my walk was relatively quiet (except for a Groundhog) until half way back when a bright orange chap was spotted high in a tree, a superb male Blackburnian Warbler in gorgeous evening sun.

26th April

A cool northerly wind resulted in very few birds. 4 Black Scoters flew by on the lake with some White-winged Scoters as 50 Canada Geese moved north slowly. Only passerines of note were 2 Blue-headed Vireos, 3 Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and 2 Western Palm Warblers.

25th April

We awoke to clear skies with a mild south westerly wind (9oC) and a quick glance at the latest radar looked very promising with birds moving over the lake following the tail of the front that was moving off northeast. Whilst opening the nets a Pine Warbler was singing over net 7. Back at the banding station two Western Palm Warblers popped up followed by a Blue-headed Vireo. Two hours had passed with a steady flow of birds trapped when visiting weekend birders arrived reporting a yellow-throated vireo at Point Traverse. Heading up there I couldn’t see any sign of the vireo but I found two more Pine Warblers (with bright yellow males possibly being misidentified as a vireo?), several Swamp Sparrows and a Whip-poor-will flushed off the path. Dave appeared saying the nets were hotting up with Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, White-breasted Nuthatch and a Lincoln’s Sparrow all in bags. Back at the station just in time as a Pileated Woodpecker flew past.

Then two novice birders appeared back from around the harbour reporting a Lark Sparrow, Dave was straight round and sure enough there he was feeding on the grass lawn with a Chipping Sparrow. (only fifth spring record for Kingston area). Banding continued with a record breaking total catch of 7 Pine Warblers (all in one day!) as a Nashville Warbler was added to the year list. Banding was stopped mid afternoon at 228 birds of 27 species.

A walk around the harbour produced many birds with Spotted Sandpiper, Least Flycatcher and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher being year ticks. Also of note were 10+ Brown Thrasher, 2 Eastern Towhee, 50+ Myrtle Warblers, 8 Field Sparrows and a finally tally of 14+ Pine Warblers were logged. Whilst around the swamp I near s*** myself when I bumped into my first Snapping Turtles. They are mean looking fellows and flipping big as I kept a safe distance. Arriving back to the safety of the house at dusk the front edge of a thunderstorm was just arriving as the wind increased and the temperature reached a very mild 22oC. Luckily the storm passed just to our north!

24th April

Following on from yesterday with no obvious arrivals except for a Savannah Sparrow that was attracted in. The morning gradually got busier as Ruby-crowned Kinglets reached 34 and two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were banded. Nothing much for the afternoon as thunderstorms arrived at dusk.

23rd April

Today was a much quieter day than yesterday with a fresh westerly wind blowing, we reached just over sixty birds banded. Mid-morning I spotted a Sandhill Crane flying high overhead in a northeast direction. Shortly later a fishing boat came into bother at the mouth of the harbour and had to release its catch attracting a swarm of American Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. In the evening the gulls were still lingering as I spent some time studying and photographing them.

22nd April

It was a nice calm start to the day with high cloud cover as the ground was damp from showers the previous evening. As the nets were opened a chorus of White-throated Sparrow, Myrtle Warblers and Slate-coloured Juncos could be heard. The initial net round produced about 20 birds but by the second round it was obvious that there were lots of birds here. New migrants for the year were a Field Sparrow and a Brown Thrasher. The six hours we up but net rounds were producing 40-50 new birds still so we carried on for a couple more hours non-standard banding. We called it a day having banded 288 new birds of 26 species with highest counts of 92 Golden and 36 Ruby-crowned Kinglets. A relaxing evening walk saw more of the same with birds feasting on the millions of flies from sparrows to woodpeckers to Buffleheads.

April Week 3

2009-05-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

21st April

Luckily the rain cleared just prior to dawn leaving a calm cloudy morning as the front moved off northeast. As the nets were opened it was obvious that new birds were around with many Juncos and Kinglets. The radar websites suggests that thousands of birds were on the move last night behind the weather system. The nets seemed busy all morning with 40 Juncos, 33 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 19
Brown Creepers as well as 2 Swamp Sparrows, retrap Northern Cardinal and a pair of Cedar Waxwings. A spring record was smashed as 13 Pine Siskins were banded bringing the total to 27 beating the previous of 16. A grand total of 158 birds were banded of 22 species.

Since the weather was now glorious with sunny spells we made a return trip to Amherst Island just to see how much difference a week makes. After 1.5 hours we made it to the island with a plan to count every Rough-legged Hawk and to find as many Snowies as possible (5 reported to days earlier). For a change we went clockwise around the island first passing the hotspot that held 7 owls last week but nothing was to be seen. Not to worry as just a little further on a white blob was sitting in full view on a fence post across the first field. Carrying on we kept an eye out for all birds seen previously with no luck as we arrived at the southwest corner with no more sightings. As for Rough-legged Hawks numbers seemed less from last week but we kept a tally. Half way up the west side and a scan produced a very distant Snowy owl at least seven fields away. Deciding we needed to get closer we dropped of the slight rise as a harrier drifted in front and from behind a tree on the right appeared another owl peached on a roadside fence post. Edging closer the bird seemed oblivious to our presence or more likely just didn’t care! We pulled up level with the immature male and he did not even move his head. Allowing close views of 10m or less he continued to watch/listen to something before flying a few post further away.

Happy with our views we continued in which time the other bird was now perched up with 3 Short-eared Owls swooping over her head. Further up the road heading to the centre of the island a bird was spotted feeding on some prey, followed by another just south of the ferry port. Heading west along the north coast road we came to an area that held birds last time and there straight away was a cracking adult male sat on top of a tree, half a kilometre further and a distant owl jumped up to a tree as well. It was now time to head back to the ferry so we spun the car around to find one on the 2nd telegraph pole in front, laughing that we had missed one less than 10 more poles down the road sat yet another bird! Yet again Amherst Island produced a great days birding as 9 Snowy Owls were seen (just how long will they stay?), what seemed to be less Rough-legged Hawks actually reached 134 (how much did we under estimate by last time?), 5 Short-eared Owls and 2 Ravens.

20th April

An overcast morning with a brisk easterly wind resulted in the nets being very quiet and due to the imminent rain forecasted we closed early. Highlight of the morning was an easterly movement of birds offshore including the first Black Scoters (62), White-winged Scoter (c.200) and Bonaparte’s Gull (c.400). The afternoon was a wash out.

19th April

Not surprisingly the rain had cleared to leave a sunny day but a cool wind brought the temperature plummeting to just 2oC. Banding seemed slow but steady with a couple late American Tree Sparrows being caught as were 9 Pine Siskin. A second Ruby-crowned Kinglet was trapped with a Myrtle Warbler being seen. An afternoon walk was quiet but as the temp increased the first clouds of midges (non biting) were seen with Golden-crowned Kinglets stuffing themselves as were everything else.

18th April

Awoke to see clouds for the first time today as the morning started with a female Merlin just after the nets were opened. Many birds were still around with our catch total falling just short of 100, the best by far being a stonking male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The afternoon was spent walking around the area of the lighthouse checking the lake along with wooded areas. The lake seems to be bustling with Long-tailed Ducks and Buffleheads all the time. In addition there was a pair of Lesser Scaup along with an eastly movement of 50 White-winged Scoters, 45+ Double-crested Cormorants and a Common Tern. Heading back into the swampy woods there were 4 Rusty Blackbirds along side the deafening frogs. At the obs a Savannah Sparrow dropped in to feed on the corn. Shortly after dark the heavens opened, briefly anyway!

Trip Total – 100 (10 lifers)

17th April

Birds birds everywhere. A very calm morning meant the nets were filling up nicely with lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets (54 to be exact). A White-throated Sparrow was new in but only seen briefly in the garden. Out of the 129 birds banded two were year ticks in the form of a male Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warbler and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

During the afternoon we headed across the county for some shopping and general jobs picking up several Purple Martins on route as temperatures soared to 19oC (great contrast from the start of the week). Back at the point and 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallows were feeding around the harbour. As the sun set the two American Woodcocks started their nightly routines. The birds start calling (short, explosive nasal call) from an open bit of rough ground surrounded by scattered cedar trees. Then after a while he takes to the air climbing to great heights swirling around making a strange twittering noise before plummeting back to his faithful spot on the ground.

16th April

I was trusted to carry out the morning census today counting any birds I could find on the set route. Well I reached a respectable total of 31 species with Hairy Woodpecker and Winter Wren being new whilst a Ruffed Grouse drummed in the background. A much quieter morning followed with less than 50 birds banded and no banding ticks! An evening walk saw the first Cliff Swallows circling the old lighthouse. Mammal highlights were a Raccoon that slept for the whole day in a large tree across the road. But the most thrilling sight was at dusk when 4 Beavers were seen in the harbour fresh out of hibernation.

15th April

The weather remained similar with just a slight decrease in the wind and straight away 2 American Tree Sparrows found themselves into my hands. Shortly followed by a Chipping Sparrow and then just prior to 9 o’clock Slate-coloured Juncos appeared on mass with 47 being banded, bringing the mornings total to 113 birds. The only other bird seen of note for the day was a White-breasted Nuthatch.

April Week 2

2009-05-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

9th April

My journey started early at Manchester Airport catching a flight to Heathrow before connecting onto a Toronto bound flight. I was off on my way to volunteer at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (www.peptbo.ca) for the spring migration to see how different it is from the UK.

I arrived at Toronto a little over 30 minutes late and made my way through customs relatively easily to the arrivals area where I met up with David Okines. Once all my gear was in the car we tackled the famous traffic of the city just about in peak rush hour as we headed east along with everyone heading home for the long Easter weekend! As we made steady progress the first birds spotted were Ring-billed Gull, Common Grackle, Starling, Red-tailed Hawk and a few others flying over. We finally arrived at Prince Edward Point in the dark being greeted by the calls of Wilson’s Snipe.

10th April

After a very long day yesterday I had a lie in getting up at 6:30 (11:30 UK time), Dave suggested that he would give me a tour of the area. First step out of the door produced some locals, mainly Song Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Robin and Cedar Waxwings. Moving 100m we were on the shore of Lake Ontario admiring all the numerous wildfowl. Starting with Common and Red-breasted Mergansers then 10 White-winged Scoters but the most numerous reaching over a hundred each were both Long-tailed Duck and Buffleheads. Moving around to the old lighthouse as the sun continued to rise resulted in Tree and Barn Swallow, Eastern Pheobe, Fox Sparrow, Brown Creeper, Eastern Towhee, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a pair of Wood Duck. Pottering back to the obs we picked up the rest of the common birds such as Golden-crowned Kinglet, Mourning Dove, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird and Slate-colored Junco all recently arrived back for the summer.

Over the next few hours we erected 19 mist nets ready for the banding season that starts tomorrow. All the nets are positioned along the edge of a wood running away from the obs. Mid afternoon and Dave took me on a trip to see some ducks, on route we saw American Kestrel, Blue Jay, Eastern Meadowlark and an Osprey. Arriving at Kaiser Cross there were some flooded fields covered with migrant Canada Geese. Moving over to the next field yielded American Black Duck, Blue-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck as well as Shoveler, Pintail and Gadwall. The visit finished with a pair of Northern Harriers quartering the fields at the back.

Trip Total – 53 (4 lifers)

11th April

Banding started bright and early at sunrise (06:30) as the nets were opened flushing an American Woodcock from the path in the process. The weather was clear with a northerly wind making migrant numbers low. As the morning progressed a Sharp-shinned Hawk passed over head followed by a Caspian Tern, Belted Kingfisher and a Bonaparte’s Gull. The six hour banding session came to a close with a tally of 5 Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Brown Creeper, 7 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 5 American Robin, 2 Song Sparrow, 3 Slate-colored Junco, 6 Brown-headed Cowbird, a Cedar Waxwing and a female Northern Cardinal.

A lazy afternoon produced a Common Loon offshore along with a thousand Long-tailed Ducks. Other sightings of interest were Red Squirrel, Chipmunk and the abundant Garter Snake with easily over 50 noted.

Trip Total – 61 (6 lifers)

12th April

Yet another clear frosty start to the day as the fresh northerly wind remained. The bird feeders attracted a House Finch and four American Goldfinch just starting to moult into their summer splendour. The nets were extremely quiet with only 3 new birds being caught so we closed early. Luckily the ground traps boosted the day’s catch with 43 Brown-headed Cowbirds being banded.

Hearing news that up to six Snowy Owls were still on Amherst Island we made an afternoon trip hoping to get some of the islands winter specialities before they all headed off north. Two ferries later and we arrived on the Island just after midday and were immediately greeted by our first Rough-legged Hawk within the first kilometre. It was soon very noticeable that Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Harriers were very abundant on the isle with its large rough fields. We crossed the island passing a wet area with a Lesser and 8 Greater Yellowlegs in attendance before taking a dead end coastal road scanning every field, tree, building, fence, etc. for a white blob. There was a strong heat haze making scanning distant objects hard as we started noting a few Red-tailed Hawks.

It wasn’t long though before we were stopped in our tracks as a white blob appeared over a hill, which surely enough turned out to be a distant male Snowy Owl. Good scope views were had as the impressive owl rested in a field. We continued up the road for less than a kilometre when a large white bird flew from behind the roadside fence, yes it was another Snowy Owl. This immature female bird proved very obliging as she landed closely in a field before flying back towards the fence, WOW.

Feeling very happy with ourselves we felt very confident that we could find the remaining 4 birds as they definitely lacked camouflage this late on in the year. We headed for the east end of the island picking up another bird followed by two more in quick succession reaching the northeast corner. We now had a plan to check every road on the island to see if there were in fact more than six birds after we had already seen 5 with just covering a fraction of the island all from the car. Next find however was a Northern Shrike followed by an Eastern Bluebird and a fly by Peregrine. We now had our eye in on the owls and soon were spotting them regularly mostly either sitting along the base of fences, behind grass tufts or rocks trying to shelter from the wind in open fields with rough grass. As we continued along the roads our tally increased steadily (is this really April?) with mostly distant birds. Our thoughts turned to thinking how many voles must their be to sustain this number of birds! Approaching the central road we stopped scanning a promising area with many hawks and harriers in view when Dave said quietly “look up”, there on the telegraph just 10m away sat another Snowy looking down on us (Shit!!!!).

As evening approached we headed for a wood for a casual walk and rest from all those owls finding some very inquisitive Black-capped Chickadees unhappy with our lack of food. Retracing our steps we headed back for the 8 o’clock ferry along a road previously checked. Straight away we encountered a Short-eared Owl then just 3km away from the ferry white figures started to appear on fences, first 2 then 3 and then over the next hill the next field astonishingly had five birds all sat out in full view!!! Earlier we had only seen three birds on this stretch of road, just how many have we missed?

Finally rushing back to the ferry we finally had time to reflect on an amazing days birding. Our totals were 80-100 Rough-legged Hawks (including 16+ dark morphs) with similar numbers of Northern Harrier seen but most incredible we had found 21 Snowy Owls (including 5 males).

13th April

Was another clear day with a cool northerly wind and banding was slow but the variety was good with a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Fox Sparrow, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch all new for the seasons list.

An afternoon stroll to Point Traverse yielded 80 White-winged Scoter, 6 Common Loon, 280 Bonaparte’s and a Great Black-backed Gull on the lake. The wood seemed very quiet with just a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown Creepers and Golden-crowned Kinglets.

14th April

As the mornings were getting warmer more birds started to arrive with a Hermit Thrush and Swamp Sparrow being banded. Best bird of the session though goes to the male Yellow-shafted Flicker, very smart indeed!!!!!!!!!! A Ruffed Grouse skulked in the undergrowth whilst a Vesper Sparrow ran along the road.

It was time for the weekly shop so off to Picton we headed but no sooner had we left the wildlife area a large white bird flew from the roadside fence off over rough land scattered with bushes and out of sight. You guessed it a Snowy Owl! After recovering from the shock surprisingly we carried on and did the shopping. On our return there was no sign but then a kilometre down the road there sat a familiar figure on a fence. In fact it was the wildlife area boundary fence making it the only second record for Prince Edward Point. Across the road was also a pair of Horned Grebes on the Lake.