Birding at "Blufftown" - Canto II

 

After returning from Ottawa and successfully chasing Western Grebe and Willet, I returned back to Ezra's place for an evening of R&R. I was tempted to sleep in the next day, as there weren't any pressing birds to chase... however the winds were out of the southeast overnight and all day Wednesday, which meant perfect conditions for birding at the Bluff. It didn't take much to talk myself into heading there the next morning, even though the 5am wake up time wasn't exactly alluring!

The morning of April 5th found Ezra and I heading west towards Huron County in the predawn darkness. We had left about 25 minutes later than hoped for, which meant the sun was already rising before we arrived. This has to be one of my least favourite feelings in birding, being late to a morning flight spot. Being behind schedule chasing a rarity, I can cope with that... But seeing the sun rise while I'm on route to whatever spot I'm headed for in the morning, knowing that I am missing birds migrating past, man that drives me crazy : )

Upon arriving I spotted Brandon Holden at the edge of the Bluff, not surprising as he almost always arrives there before me. I  grabbed all my gear and was almost at the edge, when I saw Brandon frantically waving his arms at me. I made a mad dash the remaining 40 meters and looked in his scope, where I saw a male Eurasian Wigeon sitting on the water. It only stayed for a few seconds though, before taking off and flying south. Ezra, who was behind me had just arrived, only got a fleeting glimpse of the bird disappearing into the horizon.  Luckily, around 5 minutes later it flew by again, headed north with an American Wigeon. This time it was closer, and I was able to snap a few record photos. I already had this bird for the yearlist, however it's a species I had always wanted to see in visible migration and it was also a new bird for the all time Bluff list.

The rest of the morning was rather action packed with birds, nothing rare but it was fun seeing thousands of birds migrating past. It is getting better every day now. This is what I look forward to the most all winter, and what I enjoy the most about spring migration. Just the spectacle of standing in one spot, witnessing all of these birds actively moving by. There is a sense of frantic movement in the air, every bird seemingly moving with a purpose, and also the possibility of any number of rarities appearing at any minute. Only a few weeks away from migration insanity breaking out! I saw 3 yearbirds while at the Bluff;  Greater Yellowlegs, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and an early Caspian Tern. Some other highlights included:

- 1 Cackling Goose

- 22 Tundra Swans

- 414 Mourning Doves

- 55 Killdeer

- 16 Bonaparte's Gulls

- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

- 7 Northern Harriers

- 3 Rough-legged Hawks

- 127 Northern Flickers

- 3 Eastern Phoebes

- 41 Tree Swallows

- 1 Eastern Bluebird

- 3,500 American Robins

- 2 Purple Finches

- 163 Lapland Longspurs

- 4 Snow Buntings

- 5 Eastern Meadowlarks

- 15,000 blackbirds

(Full list Here)

Some pics...

- Eurasian Wigeon

- Eurasian Wigeon (top) & American Wigeon (bottom)

- Cedar Waxwings

- American Robin

- American Robin

- Northern Flicker

- Lapland Longspur

- Greater Yellowlegs

- Belted Kingfisher

- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

- Cackling Goose with canadas

- Snow Bunting

- Dark morph Rough-legged Hawk

- Light Morph Rough-legged Hawk

- American Kestrel

- Lesser Black-backed Gull

Ontario yearlist @ April 6th - 178