2 Rarities and a New Big Year Record

 

After a very quiet September for rarities, things finally started happening over thanksgiving weekend and I added two new birds to my yearlist... Which yes, brings me up to 347!! a new Ontario Big Year record!!

Let's start things off by skipping back in time...  On the afternoon of October 8th, when my phone buzzed with the news of a Magnificent Frigatebird that was seen flying over Lake St. Clair in Chatham-Kent. This is a very rare bird in Ontario (only _ records), and not one I was planning on seeing this year. Since it was only a flyby I wasn't overly hopeful, as these kinds of birds are often seen by one person, then never again. For the rest of the afternoon I watched my phone, ready to chase it if it was refound... but the discord sever was silent. Then, just before sunset, Donny Moore refound the frigatebird at Lighthouse Cove, where the Thames River empties out into Lake St. Clair. According to Donny's report the bird was in tough shape, sitting on the rocks and then awkwardly flying up and falling into a tree branch. I wondered if it would even survive through the night.

The next morning the bird was seen at sunrise, falling out of its roosting tree and landing on some branches on the shore. It seemed that it had indeed survived the night, but how much longer it would last was the question. I wasn't overly in the mood for a chase, as I had a nasty stomach bug the day before and was still rather under the weather. Luckily Alessandra was able to drive me down, so I could just nap in the passenger seat for most of the time : ) 

It felt weird to me, chasing a dying bird like this. Yes, it was a tick for the big year and a big rarity to add to the list... But seeing lots of birders drive from all over to see this lost bird suffering during its final hours, I don't know... just not as exciting as most chases are. When I arrived there were a few birders present, including Jeremy Bensette. This was fun, because with frigatebird I tied Jeremy's record of 346. While there the frigatebird was just hunched over a log on the far side of the river in an awkward pose, only moving once to try and lift its wing. A few hours after I left a local rehabber came by and humanely euthanized the bird, putting it out of it's misery. I never would have gone for it if I wasn't doing a big year, but that's the way it is sometimes! I look forward to seeing my first healthy frigate flying around and acting like they normally do.

- Sad Magnificent Frigatebird

The long weekend wasn't over yet though! I'm not sure why, but it seems like every year there are at least 1 or 2 good rarities that show up on thanksgiving weekend. Maybe this is just the all powerful bird gods being mean, pissing off a lot of birders who are tied down with family events and can't leave. 

Hot on the heels of the frigatebird, on the morning of October 10th a Tropical Kingbird was found in Windsor by Eddy Beaubien. It was posted around 2pm, so we left Guelph immediately and headed west. No reports had come out since the initial sighting but waiting any longer would be risky as sunset is fairly early and it takes 3 hours to drive there. Luckily, I was feeling back to normal, so I could actually enjoy this chase.

After a tense hour passed with no news, Paul Pratt refound the kingbird at the same location it was first seen. I was pretty relieved by this, as if the bird was still there then chances were quite high that it would remain for a few more hours until I arrived. Just over a week ago there was another Tropical Kingbird in Ottawa, but it was only seen once in the morning and then never again... exactly what I feared would be the case with this bird. Having two of these birds in the province in such a short time span is insane too, since they represent only the 4th and 5th records of this species for Ontario! (Assuming that is the Ottawa bird is accepted as tropical by OBRC). 

When we were about half an hour out, and positive reports still kept appearing on my phone it finally started sinking in that I was about to break the record. The excitment was building!! After what seemed like an excruciatingly long 30 minutes I arrived in Windsor and screeched up to the line of cars parked along a small side street. Camera, check. Binoculars, check. Remember to stop and turn off the car before getting out? check. The wait to see the bird was not long, almost immediately after I crossed the street I looked up at a tall, leafless tree where a large crowd of birders were pointing their optics and saw a yellow flycatcher hawking for insects. Tropical Kingbird, check! 347!!!

After 283 days, over 70,000 kilometers and a lot of time spent chasing birds and living off of Cliff Bars (Not an official sponsor, just to clarify), finally surpassing the record felt amazing to say the least! We timed our arrival well too, as just then the kingbird decided to call a few times, for the first time that day. This confirmed the bird as tropical, ruling out the very similar looking Couch's Kingbird.

- Tropical Kingbird, species #347!

High fives, fist bumps and congratulations were given by many of the surrounding birders. Jeremy had just rolled up, and posed for a few photos, as well a slow-motion high five video : ) Thanks for all your advice and support this year Jere! It was a cool experience to have him there for my record tying AND record breaking bird. Compared to the dying frigatebird, the kingbird was full of life, darting around the area, catching insects and putting on a show. I couldn't have asked for a better record breaking bird.

- The Scene

- With Jeremy Bensette, former record holder

- Yours Truly

I watched it for over an hour, chatting with the now dwindling crowd of birders and enjoying an unseasonably warm October evening. Long lines of Turkey Vultures passed by, and a two Peregrine Falcons shot by fairly low overhead. What will likely be my last Chimney Swift of the year flashed over a treeline, before disappearing out of sight as quickly as it had came. As the sun dipped beyond the horizon the Detroit skyline was cast in a soft golden colour, truly a perfect evening all around. On the way home I stopped with Alessandra for a celebratory meal at A&W, partly because that fits with the big year budget and partly because there was nothing else open : )

Now, with over 2 months left for the big year, lets see how hard I can make it for somone to break the record ; ) on to 350 and beyond!!

Ontario Yearlist @ October 10th - 347