Some yearlist thoughts

 

So, a few days back I was thinking of what birds I could potentially add to the yearlist, and what my final total may be. back in August I wrote a post on this subject, and at that time I needed 2 code 2 speicies, and 11 code 3s. Since then, I have seen both of the remaining 2s (Parasitic Jaeger and Brant), and 6 of the code 3s (Long-tailed Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Purple Sandpiper, Cattle Egret, Red Phalarope, and Pacific Loon).

Let's assume I can come up with 2 of the remaining 5 code 3 birds... That would bring me up to 353. After that things get a bit trickier, as any future additions are hard to predict because they would be genuine rarities (code 4-6s). It is hard to know which of these rarities will show up this fall, but a few of them definitely will. I had a look back at OBRC records and made a list of OBRC level rarities (which are code 4 and above) that met two requirments...

1)  They had to have been found between October 18th (a few days ago when I made this) and December 31st.

2) They couldn't be just any rarity, I only included ones that I haven't seen this year. 

For my purposes I looked at data in the last 10 years. The following list was the result...

Year    # of Rares

2021 - 12

2020 - 9

2019 - 10

2018 - 8

2017 - 7

2016 - 9

2015 - 7

2014 - 5

2013 - 9

2012 - 5

2011 - 4

So in the worst of those years 4 rarities were found, and 12 in the best. Now keep in mind not all of those were chaseable, as often they were seen by a single birder and then never again. With that in, I narrowed it down to only the definitive chaseable birds.

Year    % of chaseable birds

2021 - 8/12 

2020 - 8/9 (!!)

2019 - 5/10 

2018 - 3/8

2017 - 5/7

2016 - 7/9

2015 - 4/7

2014 - 2/5

2013 - 5/9

2012 - 3/5 

2011 - 3/4

As you can see some years have significantly more chaseable birds than others. It's interesting that there has been somewhat of an increase since 2011 year over year... Maybe just due to more coverage of the province because of more birders?  Better reporting methods (i.e. Discord)? Anyways, as you can see, during the best year there were 8 chaseable rarities, and in the worst year there were 2. 

The average is 5... which honestly, I would not complain about! 5 would bring me up to 358. Now if we go into fantasy land... 360 would require 7 rarities, although that did happen in 2020 AND 2021. I would be over the moon if I ended with 360... although I feel like that is a tad ambitious...

Just some random numbers & what is going through my head right now : )

In other fun news, I passed 30,000 views on the blog recently! Thanks folks

I'll include a Golden Eagle on this post, because it's that time of year.

 

The Big #350

I’ve been meaning to write a post for a bit now, but things have been rather hectic on the bird front!

It started off last Saturday, when a Townsend’s Warbler was found visiting a bird bath in Rondeau at the Mcarthur's house. It was first seen several times in the morning, then it disappeared for a few hours before being seen by some local birders around 3pm. 

I was just finishing up a day of bird banding with Alessandra in Haldimand County when it was posted, and immediately started driving west. We arrived at the yard around 5:30 and began the stakeout of the birdbath, along with a crowd of gathered birders. The diversity of birds visiting this small bath was impressive, 13 warbler species including a few late ones like Cape May, Magnolia and Tennessee. Pretty crazy for October! We waited there until sunset, but the warbler we were hoping for never reappeared. I wasn’t overly surprised, as the park is massive, and warblers move around a lot… but still rather disappointing.

- Tennessee Warbler

- Gray-cheeked Thrush

- Cape may, Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped

I was considering going back the next day, but my hopes weren’t that high that the bird would be refound. Instead, I opted to lakewatch at Ipperwash Beach in Lambton County, since the winds were decent that day. The idea was that since Ipperwash is only an hour away from Rondeau, it would be easy enough to drive over if the warbler resurfaced. Large numbers of ducks were moving, and I had seen two distant jaegers (past the horizon and too far to identify) in the first half hour of being there… then I got the message. Ezra had seen the warbler again at the bird bath in Rondeau. No problem, I drove over and began me vigil at the backyard around noon. 6 hours passed…. No bird. Despair began to set in. 

The following day I returned at sunrise with William Konze, since the past two days the bird had been seen in the morning. It was a colder day this time and only 5 warbler species visited the bath while we were there. It began raining too, a damp October rain that soaks the coldness into your bones. We left around 1pm, dejected and without a Townsend’s Warbler on our lists. After another few days of no sightings, I assumed the bird was gone, or at least done visiting the yard.

I returned back to Bruce for a few days, since the forecast wasn’t that promising, and I had some stuff to pick up (plus I miss my home county!). Nothing was found for the first two days I was there, lulling me into a false sense of security. Then on Saturday morning I woke up and looked at my phone…. The warbler was just seen at the bird bath again. My sanity was slowly slipping away : )

I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about driving all the way back to Rondeau again, but I also really wanted this bird… so I said goodbye to my folks and headed back south again. This time the warbler was seen consistently all afternoon, foraging in an oak tree beside its favoured backyard. Hopes were high! On my way to the park I stopped briefly and picked up a Cattle Egret for the list. One of the easiest chases I’ve done this year, I literally saw it as I was driving up to the spot… a small field with some cattle (fitting). I was confident I’d see this species, but getting it out of the way was nice nonetheless.

- Cattle Egret

- Natural habitat

Back in the park. Two birders, apparently the only remaining ones there, were just leaving as I pulled up. They had seen it 5 minutes ago! I rushed to the yard and began madly scanning trees. 5 minutes passed, then 15. Dark thoughts began creeping in… oh god, will I really miss it a 4th time?! And by 5 minutes too?? I walked further back into the yard to scan some distant trees, then I heard Alessandra call my name. She had the bird! I frantically looked where she was pointing, then saw the small yellowish warbler hop down into the bath. This was definitely the most effort I’ve put into seeing one bird this year… the relief was immense. My 350th bird of the year!  

Pics are a bit crummy due to screwed up settings... but check out the deformed bill.

- Townsend's Warbler

The following day a Red Phalarope was found at Van Wagner's Beach in the evening, so I rushed down and enjoyed some distant scope views as it foraged out on the lake.... 351, check!

- Laughable Red Phalarope record shot

Ontario yearlist @ Oct 26 - 351

Presqu'ile Shorebirding

    It's interesting sometimes how things happen all at once. Like I was saying in my last post, all of September and early October had been pretty quiet on the rarity front. Then 2 megas show up over thanksgiving weekend. During that time, another bird that I needed was found at Presqu'ile Provincial Park, a Purple Sandpiper. Granted this isn't a rarity like my other recent additions, and purples are annual in low numbers around Lake Ontario. It is still a good bird though, and one I wanted to get out of the way before it gets too late in the season.

The section of the park where the bird was seen is closed off on Mondays for hunting, so I waited to go until Tuesday, assuming it was still there. A positive report came in shortly after noon, so I departed Guelph promptly with Alessandra and fought my way east through Toronto traffic towards eastern Ontario. Fall colours are peaking right now, and along the way we enjoyed a nice gradient of reds and yellows beside the highway. Yet another reason why October is my favourite month (with a few other close contenders). I've only been to Presqu'ile once before, back in April when I chased a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher there. During that visit I only had time so see the bird briefly before leaving, so I was looking forward to being able to explore one of Ontario's premier birding spots a bit more.

The Sandpiper was spotted on High Bluff Island, a tiny, partly vegetated island roughly 2 kilometers from the mainland (Owen's Point). By walking along a series of long sand/rock spits you can access High Bluff from the mainland, though as the causeway is barely above the water this can be difficult at times depending on the lake level. On the day we visited it was mostly passable, save for two small sections with a few inches of flowing water. I only had my running shoes on, so I just sucked it up and waded through (honestly it wasn't bad at all for October). Before getting to High Bluff we had to navigate around Gull Island, which sits half way between high bluff and the mainland. Gull Island is the smaller if the two, and is essentially just a slightly raised rocky area, a perfect home for a large number of colonial nesting birds during the summer months. As we made our way down the shore we encountered a nice selection of shorebirds, including Black-bellied Plover, White-rumped, Baird's and Semipalmated Sandpipers and some Sanderlings. A lone Lapland Longspur was a nice highlight as well. 

- White-rumped Sandpiper

- Semipalmated Sandpiper

- White-rumped, Baird's Sands and Dunlin

- White-rumped Sandpiper

- White, the rump is

- Lapland Longspur

After that we crossed another sandy spit and arrived at High Bluff, where the sandpiper was meant to be. As we made our way along the shoreline a flock of Black-bellied Plovers flew by, with a lone Red Knot mixed in with them. This was only my 2nd knot of the year, so a cool sighting. It landed briefly, giving me a chance to take a few photos

- Red Knot

 A few minutes later three small shorebirds flushed off the rocks ahead of us and whipped by over the surf. 2 Dunlin.... and a Purple Sandpiper! Success, and yearbird #348. It landed just down the shore and continued foraging, allowing us to approach quite closely.  Purple Sandpiper was a long-awaited lifer for me, and a good code 3 species to get out of the way. 

- Purple Sandpiper

This was definitely some of the best October shorebirding I've done in Ontario. Experiencing the small mixed flocks running along the rocky shorelines during the walk, with the scenic landscape of Presqu'ile in the background was a lovely introduction to the park. The weather was crazy nice for October too, over 20 degrees and sunny, truly "chefs kiss". We celebrated on the way out of the park by getting fish and chips in Brighton... a great way to cap off a productive and birdy day.

- Alessandra crossing on of the submerged sections

- Me with the Sandpiper. See it?

- Looking back from Gull Island

Ontario Yearlist @ October 11th - 348

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

 

Lakewatching in Hammertown

 

This past weekend I spent over 17 hours at Van Wagner's Beach in Hamilton, staring out at the lake in search of yearbirds. Long story short... I didn't add anything new! However, it was still a fun couple of days spent with a bunch of friends who I haven't in ages.

On Saturday the winds were decently strong out of the east (around 25kph), making it a promising day for lakewatching. Being a weekend, there were well over 50 birders gathered behind the Lakeland Centre, which always piques the curiosity of passing walkers and cyclists. It must be interesting for those not in the know, seeing a massive crowd of people bundled up in cold weather gear and looking out as the seemingly empty lake with an array of expensive scopes and cameras. Most of them mistake the scopes for cameras and ask what we are taking photos of, one person asked if we were taking photos of whales.... 

Anyways the day was quite active for birds, with some highlights including;

- 45 Surf Scoters

- 4 Long-tailed Ducks

- 8 Parasitic Jaegers

- 5 unidentified jaeger sp. (One was likely a LTJA but was just out of reach)

- 2 juvenile Black-legged Kittiwakes

- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

- Lesser Black-backed Gull

- Food acquired  

- Black-legged Kittiwake

- Black-legged Kittiwake

- Another, just in case you needed more

The following day the wind was quite a bit stronger (gusting over 50kph), and when I arrived with Alessandra just after 7:30am there were only a few birders hunkered beside the building. Things started off very active, with a juv Black-legged Kittiwake and a Parasitic Jaeger close to shore. Shortly after that 2 adult Black-legged Kittiwakes shot by together! It is very rare to get adult birds here in Ontario, so having 2 at once was quite a treat. I got a brief glace at a phalarope out over the water, but then it disappeared behind a wave and wasn't seen again...

After around 11am the activity died down, and the rest of the morning/afternoon passed without any major highlights. A bunch of my friends were there though, so we just hung out and goofed around a bit... lakewatching makes you crazy sometimes. 

- Hamilton Lakewatching

Peak rarity season in the fall tends to be from mid-late October to mid-November, so hopefully things pick up soon!

In rarity news there was a one observer wonder Couch's/Tropical Kingbird in Ottawa and a Say's Pheobe in Thunder Bay this week.... Grrr... 

- Peregrine Falcons