tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4802071578367223972024-03-17T13:04:45.930-07:00Chronicles of an Ontario BirderBy Kiah JasperKiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-82278910281899112062024-01-31T10:56:00.000-08:002024-01-31T10:56:02.782-08:00Check out the new blog/website!!<p> </p><p><br /></p><p>In my last post I mentioned that I haven't posted much content recently because I was quite busy during the late fall of 2023... Well a large reason for that was because I was spending a lot of time building a website for a new business I created with Alessandra! The business is called GyrKite Birding Tours, which combines the names of both of our favourite birds (the Gyrfalcon and Swallow-tailed Kite). The goal is to do what we love (birding) and share our passion for the outdoors with others, while travelling around to fun birding locations. For this upcoming year, we will be focusing on Ontario for our guided trips, but if all goes well we will be branching out to other parts of Canada and even the tropics in the future! Right now we're in the launch phase trying to spread the word about our company with the birding community, so if you could share it with friends family we would greatly appreciate it.</p><p>On the new website we've also started the "GyrKite Blog", where we plan to do posts about bird identification, bird-finding in different regions as well as updates about our tours. I still plan to use this blog from time to time, though I won't be posting at the same rate that I did in 2022 : ) </p><p><br /></p><p>If you've enjoyed reading this blog, I encourage you to check out the new blog and follow along! Maybe even join use on a tour one day!</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://gyrkitetours.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">LINK TO GYRKITE TOURS HERE</span></a><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KsDY6uUQQk-smMckIHDL_UsX73FY5Q5NijWOAaR-fRK73Uer9aYmgge8oz9i-XOECMlJtokqFu9O7dysToNrc6LKG-uaTx_gjeYnyFlq12oQO8yuScx0rpl0n21ly5dtpX1M2p11y8vIrpiI5GfblpOyxSvhqlmVDk__ZMn5emhmulI2YQHdVF0XoSk/s1620/CSC_0343.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1620" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KsDY6uUQQk-smMckIHDL_UsX73FY5Q5NijWOAaR-fRK73Uer9aYmgge8oz9i-XOECMlJtokqFu9O7dysToNrc6LKG-uaTx_gjeYnyFlq12oQO8yuScx0rpl0n21ly5dtpX1M2p11y8vIrpiI5GfblpOyxSvhqlmVDk__ZMn5emhmulI2YQHdVF0XoSk/w400-h266/CSC_0343.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Gyrfalcon from 2020... Because why not??</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-67432446721006679712024-01-31T10:53:00.000-08:002024-01-31T10:57:32.148-08:0050 Days of Rare 2023 - highlights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> I just wanted to write a post summarizing my 50 Days of Rare highlights back in the fall of 2023. Originally I was going to post an update about my birding once or twice a week, but that didn't really happen mainly because 1). I didn't see many rare birds and 2). I got rather busy in late October.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall the "competition" was really successful, with around 55 Ontario birders signing up. 42 Rarities were added to the spreadsheet, with the winning bird being a Dusky Flycatcher (3rd Ontario record, 1st for James Bay), found by Jeff Skevington at Netitishi Point on the coast of James Bay. Some of the other notable highlights listed below;</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Jonathan Ruddy (Short-billed Gull in Renfrew)</div><div><br /></div><div> Brandon Holden (Dovekie on Lake Huron)</div><div><br /></div><div>Dave Don (Little Blue Heron in Hamilton)</div><div><br /></div><div>Doug McRae (Purple Gallinule at Presquile)</div><div><br /></div><div>Max Segler (Slaty-backed Gull and Thick-billed Murre at Netitishi)</div><div><br /></div><div>Jeff Skevington & Lev Frid (multiple Northern Fulmars at Netitishi, also Razorbill by Jeff)</div></div><div><br /></div><div>To see the full list of rarities, check out<span style="color: red;"><b> </b><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10IQU7A5pWm1Y4rNajSEUSuzKwmfuZP55i2aaxI_4e40/edit" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><b>this spreadsheet </b></span></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the fantastic artwork Alessandra did for the Dusky Flycatcher!</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTYyTz-zCb5TtVPRIGM3ItT_Yq3XeX4Szl_GijzF02x4oe7RvyK6O-3geO2-FSJ1nH0HK5MooROuvnrc7MoUS_1V5yC2Y0Ta89cotH1-agljY8OGGNGiTq361VoUIVMCG7tiLOFuqs8pIrJpWuJmB9lrtbyOb9PMYjqWJ9bYsSZQZwNHoWVdztzN0Cpc/s1440/1D27F9BF-0E00-4C22-B258-5EBFF04809A9.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="1440" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTYyTz-zCb5TtVPRIGM3ItT_Yq3XeX4Szl_GijzF02x4oe7RvyK6O-3geO2-FSJ1nH0HK5MooROuvnrc7MoUS_1V5yC2Y0Ta89cotH1-agljY8OGGNGiTq361VoUIVMCG7tiLOFuqs8pIrJpWuJmB9lrtbyOb9PMYjqWJ9bYsSZQZwNHoWVdztzN0Cpc/s320/1D27F9BF-0E00-4C22-B258-5EBFF04809A9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Alessandra's Dusky Flycatcher digital art</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><div>Alessandra and I tried to get out daily for some rarity searching every day, and with the exception of about 5 days we stuck to this well. Sometimes I was only able to spare an hour or two, during which I'd tend to check somewhere local like the Oliphant shoreline or Red Bay. I tried to do as much lakewatching as I could, mainly in the Kincardine/Inverhuon area but also close to home at Red Bay. It was an interesting season for birding on the Bruce... rarities were few and far between, but there were a few really fun days for waterfowl migration, and also a massive invasion of Dunlin in late November. As much as I enjoy finding a rare bird, just being out birding and witnessing an impressive day of migration can be very rewarding. We ended up submitting nearly 200 eBird checklists during 50DOR and explored several areas we'd never been to before, another fun bonus.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBd1pwgHnK4oQl5HCzAg0NE2eVakNT9UpHqBCbVK4ESkExolt1lv8hLmcn3IcAj9OIn-K5fZT4I_lINJKgrqrLmtoYiE4sHZ0yTy5ARrG3eQXyzeqNbNonOeo6tp4HPKcv1QvFtMijqp4_u1p-OKzf7XAW5Wak-gN3VsdknyeHSB0TXS52bF-fLLHzXfY/s5568/C317151A-88A1-4377-8D70-FAD06A4DDF28.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBd1pwgHnK4oQl5HCzAg0NE2eVakNT9UpHqBCbVK4ESkExolt1lv8hLmcn3IcAj9OIn-K5fZT4I_lINJKgrqrLmtoYiE4sHZ0yTy5ARrG3eQXyzeqNbNonOeo6tp4HPKcv1QvFtMijqp4_u1p-OKzf7XAW5Wak-gN3VsdknyeHSB0TXS52bF-fLLHzXfY/s320/C317151A-88A1-4377-8D70-FAD06A4DDF28.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Pine Siskins</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g_pEqy6gaiE47q4dL0JBjIybA7_gNLUwNystNw6qK1ItnFe4iQlXhLWLt6CW7o6Z8-gg3lO9JSCvkKUinvRy37YLGxJFkPAhyphenhyphen9ERreU31wLzqJIyB_Lnctf1niahHxGkvcVS5gqhhdSydFU-jgHvjjyP7HEX3U506MslbwIABZoEt4iXWCvvN498kSY/s3012/E593615F-5739-4FA5-BC5B-CB0360394B74.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2127" data-original-width="3012" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g_pEqy6gaiE47q4dL0JBjIybA7_gNLUwNystNw6qK1ItnFe4iQlXhLWLt6CW7o6Z8-gg3lO9JSCvkKUinvRy37YLGxJFkPAhyphenhyphen9ERreU31wLzqJIyB_Lnctf1niahHxGkvcVS5gqhhdSydFU-jgHvjjyP7HEX3U506MslbwIABZoEt4iXWCvvN498kSY/s320/E593615F-5739-4FA5-BC5B-CB0360394B74.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- White-winged Scoter<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>My personal highlight was on November 7th, when Alessandra an I had a juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake flying by Dunsmoor Park in Kincardine. This was the 6th record for Bruce County (per eBird) and a species I had wanting to add to my county list for a long time. It was too far for photos unfortunately, however I'll include one of my old ones just for fun.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuajnN0bV6tCN26R2-aCxdVEZV-QmEEr0dNjgQpaubcTmEWGaA4KuF24bfsmBgOs5EnsBFuP1hQeq80g5voe4AQeON8lq8hiWzRFo6CqNMVG6xRUlKXdj50aQXgl_LZgvB19khpUuV6IZZ5KaMyoQaKznUkVtDYMu-Sa1euPDXUikmXbmDu67cxJFKetk/s665/6AC90C56-ECA0-421D-9EB4-95C9E61F432C.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="665" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuajnN0bV6tCN26R2-aCxdVEZV-QmEEr0dNjgQpaubcTmEWGaA4KuF24bfsmBgOs5EnsBFuP1hQeq80g5voe4AQeON8lq8hiWzRFo6CqNMVG6xRUlKXdj50aQXgl_LZgvB19khpUuV6IZZ5KaMyoQaKznUkVtDYMu-Sa1euPDXUikmXbmDu67cxJFKetk/s320/6AC90C56-ECA0-421D-9EB4-95C9E61F432C.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Black-legged Kittiwake from 2019</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>My 2nd best bird of the fall was a Forster's Tern on October 6th, also at Dunsmoor Park in Kincardine. Around the 15th record for Bruce County, and my 2nd for this location (the other was September 27th, 2020... similar date too!). This bird stuck around for a few days, and most of the local birders were able to cross paths with it.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFBo0HFJjWSrrGN4mRgbE291bUAdUmxn2tudDBGo9T-b67Mo74BcoOQTM1uH07rNAMYlO61shR_am_l_O-CV-qB1bghGhLcMhOtA_vGbFFoyne9QvY-b2H7lXzJsgWiGR9MpJbOqfVBmX0CY56IUzQ1DWIfYPki8zN9PIsJKlziKc99zZm14fE2Dwvvk/s640/EB72D865-C709-494E-A658-3DD7F48A2560.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFBo0HFJjWSrrGN4mRgbE291bUAdUmxn2tudDBGo9T-b67Mo74BcoOQTM1uH07rNAMYlO61shR_am_l_O-CV-qB1bghGhLcMhOtA_vGbFFoyne9QvY-b2H7lXzJsgWiGR9MpJbOqfVBmX0CY56IUzQ1DWIfYPki8zN9PIsJKlziKc99zZm14fE2Dwvvk/s320/EB72D865-C709-494E-A658-3DD7F48A2560.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Forster's Tern</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>While we birding in Oliphant on October 1st, Alessandra spotted a Nelson's Sparrow that was skulking in some dense fen vegetation. This was the 6th record for Bruce County, and the 3rd year in a row there has been one at this location.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2GPdQypR7_DJycNrdjpWi1nl4e8tErwCvfY7cjvLg5GvaXHXWhJVeGjsmoG80IfWvJFV8elhYesfLoJsUn2Lr39-jF14sdKSk3efNpWDY5aQLyWLNR6p4HxQi_v2uMW7UQmuWQZDFrC5_UqhysUQIP_dHKKkbvG68FULaA0abEbw98XdFYJFltSKx9s/s2560/68C538A0-CBA6-4CA6-B18E-78030568189A.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2GPdQypR7_DJycNrdjpWi1nl4e8tErwCvfY7cjvLg5GvaXHXWhJVeGjsmoG80IfWvJFV8elhYesfLoJsUn2Lr39-jF14sdKSk3efNpWDY5aQLyWLNR6p4HxQi_v2uMW7UQmuWQZDFrC5_UqhysUQIP_dHKKkbvG68FULaA0abEbw98XdFYJFltSKx9s/s320/68C538A0-CBA6-4CA6-B18E-78030568189A.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Nelson's Sparrow</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>And that was basically it for my 50DOR rarities! One of the slower falls I have had for self finding... But that's the way it goes sometimes! Regardless it was still really fun getting out birding so much! I'll link a few highlight checklists below...</div><div><br /></div><div>Oct 23 - Fun finch migration in the yard</div><div><a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S152922466" target="_blank">https://ebird.org/checklist/S152922466</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Oct 22 - Kincardine lakewatch, Bruce highcount of RBME and a good duck flight</div><div><a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S152871030" target="_blank">https://ebird.org/checklist/S152871030</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Oct 6 - Solid Kincardine lakwatch & FOTE</div><div><a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S151564519" target="_blank">https://ebird.org/checklist/S151564519</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Oct 8 - Kincardine lakewatch... good duck flight, county highcount of SUSC, also juv LBBG</div><div><a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S151742003" target="_blank">https://ebird.org/checklist/S151742003</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nov 7 - Kincardine lakewatch, 84 Snow Geese (by far the highest # I've had in Bruce), county highcount of LTDU & the BLKI</div><div><a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S153965694" target="_blank">https://ebird.org/checklist/S153965694</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nov 10 - A fun day at The Bluff with friends... 2 Golden Eagles were the highlight. Later in the day we found the latest record of Ruddy Turnstone for Lake Huron</div><div><a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S154203243" target="_blank">https://ebird.org/checklist/S154203243</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to everyone who participated in 50DOR! It was nice to have some extra motivation to get out birding, and I look forward to doing it again next fall : )</div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-88796280429473202132023-10-27T14:22:00.004-07:002023-10-27T14:22:51.853-07:00Calendar Ad<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div> Hey everyone!<p></p><p><br /></p><p>I’ve decided to sell calendars for the first time this year, and I’m advertising early so people could get some in time for Christmas if they want. I posted this on social media and figured I may as well throw it on the blog as well.</p><p>I’m still working out which photos I’ll be using, but below are some of my favourites from the last two years as samples… note that not all will appear in the calendar, definitely some of them, plus shots of similar quality.</p><p><br /></p><p>I’ll be printing two sizes of hangable wall calendars:</p><p><br /></p><p>Small (11.5”x8”) - $28</p><p>Large (17”x11”) - $35</p><p><br /></p><p>Both prices include shipping in Canada </p><p><br /></p><p>Email me at kiahjasper@gmail.com to order ✌️</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntZTVdG4hUSZa3lPPJAvBYzW3dsJmvMG7uqhaqJa0eDHeVg2CdXhOgMJLnoLnCjpFbP4CpdnFoBRdkLcvbcsu4lGppsxyZtPC3surHyGphM8nXYmvkv5QyPr-Oflt_ChSPEfMqq2X8_3WMmH4JqXZ2KzrxpIhid5R6JyQjwQTxskdcK7V9KDOcvst1Hk/s2048/2A5423AB-B554-4E94-A656-2600096E4876.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntZTVdG4hUSZa3lPPJAvBYzW3dsJmvMG7uqhaqJa0eDHeVg2CdXhOgMJLnoLnCjpFbP4CpdnFoBRdkLcvbcsu4lGppsxyZtPC3surHyGphM8nXYmvkv5QyPr-Oflt_ChSPEfMqq2X8_3WMmH4JqXZ2KzrxpIhid5R6JyQjwQTxskdcK7V9KDOcvst1Hk/s320/2A5423AB-B554-4E94-A656-2600096E4876.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzZG04fF_e3fwm69kiYGJs2a9J7f_Ufq9tMF4-EKcToavSGEhmO_6hBSteJawRoeyCzqbMTzLuE9ywkRoq4vi-k1LdroGqx-dPmGaDNmoZTqZjCdgDl7EhSnIFALQ8y98HJG5DhfblQnrr4xyctRwwAOLcHcwInQsYv7nqAk8ns3FKk1JB0P10JmVwII/s1920/5C5AA911-77DF-4A1B-9569-042B4E8D90D8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzZG04fF_e3fwm69kiYGJs2a9J7f_Ufq9tMF4-EKcToavSGEhmO_6hBSteJawRoeyCzqbMTzLuE9ywkRoq4vi-k1LdroGqx-dPmGaDNmoZTqZjCdgDl7EhSnIFALQ8y98HJG5DhfblQnrr4xyctRwwAOLcHcwInQsYv7nqAk8ns3FKk1JB0P10JmVwII/s320/5C5AA911-77DF-4A1B-9569-042B4E8D90D8.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcDNzWCN1c_jkBGWK2wqW_09BLuMjga1siXOr0FdNs-hU61i4CoDMjLsnyXwCDRBuUW4sRojIQR5Ffq7XOZ-hh61WbOV64aOGCOc6QgidwOT0WT0hzwmrqxau_O7YOy3Ky6VE5sLqzm3Z6JuD_YQAKHOPM24l3C7eiNn3Agtvuz9LMTMexqf1RiMOnQw/s5120/6A7F9F13-77C9-4FBD-BFCB-9240794BBA74.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3416" data-original-width="5120" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcDNzWCN1c_jkBGWK2wqW_09BLuMjga1siXOr0FdNs-hU61i4CoDMjLsnyXwCDRBuUW4sRojIQR5Ffq7XOZ-hh61WbOV64aOGCOc6QgidwOT0WT0hzwmrqxau_O7YOy3Ky6VE5sLqzm3Z6JuD_YQAKHOPM24l3C7eiNn3Agtvuz9LMTMexqf1RiMOnQw/s320/6A7F9F13-77C9-4FBD-BFCB-9240794BBA74.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7Jy9lPWMQjNZaGvsoqdNC8C4uQ8VN74cfm36u0P-61fGenh-GTHPNV5Zr3iYXFDkWBMajz0O_FTdHXK-2PqbIs-K8DkTbeHFiiB8BPQfFsTBM8JaMilLzQpfM0MxXGt7JXgLzOgvCWCePhqlVzBEHq4-wiNNE2Hhorf6710SBNRbbxa6J9WNhK0xyY4/s1920/7B1CD03C-91EB-408D-B661-27AE47DA5AED.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7Jy9lPWMQjNZaGvsoqdNC8C4uQ8VN74cfm36u0P-61fGenh-GTHPNV5Zr3iYXFDkWBMajz0O_FTdHXK-2PqbIs-K8DkTbeHFiiB8BPQfFsTBM8JaMilLzQpfM0MxXGt7JXgLzOgvCWCePhqlVzBEHq4-wiNNE2Hhorf6710SBNRbbxa6J9WNhK0xyY4/s320/7B1CD03C-91EB-408D-B661-27AE47DA5AED.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYGYy2p-1j8h-whkDl_zK3oiIU0AW4Q_KDfAHg_6ycBi11Ylp21poWzouKT9mWg5u_l_mhHazbWQSXT-O-eYHji8IcCXOVgJi5m9bNAcIxw0Krm-GUEzQ2AU44oDDwcFPHaJhvKuVfKJccFcjqyau_AMyAqgfrXprpQmqJ2oBCggBNfHAG7QXQAi3pds/s2560/92F98152-09A7-435A-8CE2-736DA0061A8E.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYGYy2p-1j8h-whkDl_zK3oiIU0AW4Q_KDfAHg_6ycBi11Ylp21poWzouKT9mWg5u_l_mhHazbWQSXT-O-eYHji8IcCXOVgJi5m9bNAcIxw0Krm-GUEzQ2AU44oDDwcFPHaJhvKuVfKJccFcjqyau_AMyAqgfrXprpQmqJ2oBCggBNfHAG7QXQAi3pds/s320/92F98152-09A7-435A-8CE2-736DA0061A8E.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDDiPlVBkbK5siK7s0KFyZ2ffJpitJb6QHS5plHibuHjXN7ncvzn0WEs62OBJ5tNUWU8E98alyoXSxcjR-U-riK9VFLFLlQujMWRNisDFNpi5S9QNGHBzYZxHKFoCdj390PsYCrea434P_wBNAk3j3pY14qwWPV5X87zdcSrL-MojKkKeVmp5Y-zOOBU/s2048/B04CD3E0-9A9A-4896-9C88-6315A38F4595.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDDiPlVBkbK5siK7s0KFyZ2ffJpitJb6QHS5plHibuHjXN7ncvzn0WEs62OBJ5tNUWU8E98alyoXSxcjR-U-riK9VFLFLlQujMWRNisDFNpi5S9QNGHBzYZxHKFoCdj390PsYCrea434P_wBNAk3j3pY14qwWPV5X87zdcSrL-MojKkKeVmp5Y-zOOBU/s320/B04CD3E0-9A9A-4896-9C88-6315A38F4595.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZDFub3oDdFbpp86PNdpzEQPPr5KXtBiFdtKxrFDhUAnUuJqGcmBLrNNQ5uHaGy3ksetICVnJwYCR7NS3oG0XnNKH4xMsMA7IuB5uNdMAWeY53nksZO8gOYtlR6eQeBY1b4eXGnwLS9qmq2Jjo0l07tXCzIlv6Dbi9EzSFeuQGzWG-QPFHRLR8r0NOlk/s2048/F0FD1D35-FE4B-43F1-9172-4186F21BC40F.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZDFub3oDdFbpp86PNdpzEQPPr5KXtBiFdtKxrFDhUAnUuJqGcmBLrNNQ5uHaGy3ksetICVnJwYCR7NS3oG0XnNKH4xMsMA7IuB5uNdMAWeY53nksZO8gOYtlR6eQeBY1b4eXGnwLS9qmq2Jjo0l07tXCzIlv6Dbi9EzSFeuQGzWG-QPFHRLR8r0NOlk/s320/F0FD1D35-FE4B-43F1-9172-4186F21BC40F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-11589073566975091722023-10-14T16:28:00.001-07:002023-10-14T16:29:54.990-07:00Bruce Birding Oct 4th -10th<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> Another quick update on some recent "50 days of rare" birding fun<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>- Oct 4</p><p>Alessandra and I decided to spend the morning working the Ferndale Flats area, with hopes of turning up a cool sparrow or longspur. Migration was fairly slow, although there were lots of American Pipits, Lapland Longspurs and Eastern Meadowlarks around. After covering most of the eastern Ferndale area we headed over to Lion's Head and birded around the harbour area... All the usual suspects plus first of fall Surf Scoter. Tons of pipits around the Mar area on the way home, but overall a pretty uneventful day.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikEUPh7ovjybXTEOo2BPGGjcxYEEu2NP7iH9VSEYTwt5ZC13KiDYr6o0eU3cQ9g99x5HYltjfJ0S3I26ykSAQhNXxaOWaVsnEE42SpEAnelZ9L3ZqKQ6jdjXD1VQtyIhI2BZyaWJhfKw6m10lK1Judvkg9oefShbt8aJ1W6x20GCGwwoYPkaPxAd-D2U/s1280/F71FB1B8-079E-47AB-BBFD-AF18029F7A7B.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikEUPh7ovjybXTEOo2BPGGjcxYEEu2NP7iH9VSEYTwt5ZC13KiDYr6o0eU3cQ9g99x5HYltjfJ0S3I26ykSAQhNXxaOWaVsnEE42SpEAnelZ9L3ZqKQ6jdjXD1VQtyIhI2BZyaWJhfKw6m10lK1Judvkg9oefShbt8aJ1W6x20GCGwwoYPkaPxAd-D2U/s320/F71FB1B8-079E-47AB-BBFD-AF18029F7A7B.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- American Pipit</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXzQ3Pa17Un9eIzZJAolqLVH4EXEayni60RQ5Le_nQo7uflSo6YGjsv17nZmwoBxpXvmWqzMf05WIP192LvP0PqLvCmKNZ0i5zQL1u7P1eIq3cpC7Hel81PB6RMm1FchDKMEAeCrBwN7tqJNqXDCzZ3lATwyxITI1hi43BmTStuV2qmCDE1uz_meAyXbM/s2560/139F09EE-C75F-4E7A-854C-EA85D6C0DC3F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXzQ3Pa17Un9eIzZJAolqLVH4EXEayni60RQ5Le_nQo7uflSo6YGjsv17nZmwoBxpXvmWqzMf05WIP192LvP0PqLvCmKNZ0i5zQL1u7P1eIq3cpC7Hel81PB6RMm1FchDKMEAeCrBwN7tqJNqXDCzZ3lATwyxITI1hi43BmTStuV2qmCDE1uz_meAyXbM/s320/139F09EE-C75F-4E7A-854C-EA85D6C0DC3F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Horned Lark</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcbU6hOuhLO3Zi8ypYTlKtxmtoO_Khgqf5s43E9Chu5GIhpxsnx3Z6IGB40Fa-tq7nppriAx1dyXlpKZxWtGc8QIebVz7VsYMWLNvWBc3OiQ1uCi_H13NT_7eOiEGitsYmWQLpuKFTSjT44pMhw7i7U7n4o5fKAF9QgU8D2mkq2zY9vHMMvdL5LdccPU/s960/37DBE319-F494-4DF8-BF69-3878B82D764F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcbU6hOuhLO3Zi8ypYTlKtxmtoO_Khgqf5s43E9Chu5GIhpxsnx3Z6IGB40Fa-tq7nppriAx1dyXlpKZxWtGc8QIebVz7VsYMWLNvWBc3OiQ1uCi_H13NT_7eOiEGitsYmWQLpuKFTSjT44pMhw7i7U7n4o5fKAF9QgU8D2mkq2zY9vHMMvdL5LdccPU/s320/37DBE319-F494-4DF8-BF69-3878B82D764F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Pipit</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>- Oct 5</p><br /><p>The winds were quite low during the morning, so we drove over to Oliphant to bird the shoreline for a few hours (low winds make Nelson's Sparrow hunting easier, plus there's more visible shoreline). The north flats area had a few groups of Black-bellied Plovers, plus yellowlegs and 8 late Semipalmated Plovers... Basically the same stuff that's been in the area for a few days. A thorough walk around the grasses and shoreline of the Oliphant Fen area produced 0 Nelson's or LeConte's Sparrow, but there were a few cool birds to keep things interesting... 12 American Golden-Plover, 9 Pectoral Sandpipers, lots of dabbling ducks and a longspur. On the way home we stopped by Sauble River mouth, where there were basically no birds to speak of! It was midday at that point so we headed home for the day.. No other highlights.</p><div><br /></div>- Oct 6<div><p>Conditions looked decent for lakewatching around south Bruce, so Alessandra and I got up early and drove down to Kincardine for a watch at Dunsmoor Park. On the way out the door we heard several Gray-cheeked Thrushes flying overhead, my first of year for Bruce. Arriving at Dunsmoor just after dawn, we spent the next several hours watching waterfowl and gulls migrating by. It wasn't the best day I've had there, but honestly not terrible for the date! Highlights listed below;</p><p>- 39 American Wigeon</p><p>- 12 Northern Pintail</p><p>- 61 Redhead</p><p>- 3 Greater Scaup (first of fall)</p><p>- 12 Lesser Scaup</p><p>- 12 Surf Scoter</p><p>- 2 Red-necked Grebes</p><p>- 4 Black-bellied Plovers</p><p>- 1 Common Tern (late)</p><p>- 1 <b>Forster's Tern</b> (not annual in Bruce... around 18 records all time. My 2nd for the county, and also this location!)</p><p>- 16 Common Loon</p><p>- 1 Peregrine Falcon</p><p>- 1 Swainson's Thrush (watched it come in from wayyy out over the lake)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQypiCYs4AAQxvVaDWMmZBWAYCLDf__XizD1VkrHUXgeHYDYOY0Wc1zHhHXAXWHXEKjqMK5UtRQbY-CjcDfwBv_G_LbGxSFD2JAqrCUJh2xZ5wKVb0mnc5OnJvHSe9a3uzvgZ7Tmn1N_TVUR-IhYoaS97kK-tUj9WD7Qn3A5dlOqe_wgTiPi0Yo_MYrAY/s960/01ECF9BE-B9B6-4905-B8B5-DE18729A7B0C.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQypiCYs4AAQxvVaDWMmZBWAYCLDf__XizD1VkrHUXgeHYDYOY0Wc1zHhHXAXWHXEKjqMK5UtRQbY-CjcDfwBv_G_LbGxSFD2JAqrCUJh2xZ5wKVb0mnc5OnJvHSe9a3uzvgZ7Tmn1N_TVUR-IhYoaS97kK-tUj9WD7Qn3A5dlOqe_wgTiPi0Yo_MYrAY/s320/01ECF9BE-B9B6-4905-B8B5-DE18729A7B0C.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Forster's Tern</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-p2O3w_2rEc5F9jvF2-hF38lDA2RltPb4SN0hl10hjdzV1_UW1prSRnIbPiN5dEARC0fsOm4h_2CqCCjAUUHe2WiSOaV5ferAPFOAPiPJNnYh-shGbVmIrWVbLqdKmMiaAPeLClMW4XXjdXyQAyUHhMtS-8qObkg2lQsMAjsY2eZhe9hsyehqaaci4r4/s1280/8D0A2FAD-A820-476D-B2B8-5629C5CE8DD5.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-p2O3w_2rEc5F9jvF2-hF38lDA2RltPb4SN0hl10hjdzV1_UW1prSRnIbPiN5dEARC0fsOm4h_2CqCCjAUUHe2WiSOaV5ferAPFOAPiPJNnYh-shGbVmIrWVbLqdKmMiaAPeLClMW4XXjdXyQAyUHhMtS-8qObkg2lQsMAjsY2eZhe9hsyehqaaci4r4/s320/8D0A2FAD-A820-476D-B2B8-5629C5CE8DD5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Peregrine Falcon</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlW5KcnfQ2RkJqjYi7yGRVT9iaY2dRaxzwgg82GGAuRX8aO0WT5OZ1Fo74BEHmMBpGNvOcJXgYJ6IEmwG1xfavhzBWseyvU_GFg9rLOHVqS6LMTX5fAF2ZnuOKpj6iiF2F1tmJlxEeXvVgdB4qbXqqMX-oXM5NmX7E1CsaMH2tjEECWH51jlELFAKS6k/s1280/8351E09B-9E55-44E5-89BF-09E4BE8C63A5.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlW5KcnfQ2RkJqjYi7yGRVT9iaY2dRaxzwgg82GGAuRX8aO0WT5OZ1Fo74BEHmMBpGNvOcJXgYJ6IEmwG1xfavhzBWseyvU_GFg9rLOHVqS6LMTX5fAF2ZnuOKpj6iiF2F1tmJlxEeXvVgdB4qbXqqMX-oXM5NmX7E1CsaMH2tjEECWH51jlELFAKS6k/s320/8351E09B-9E55-44E5-89BF-09E4BE8C63A5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Semipalmated Plover</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXromNyhnlPrhN3AQGZvTK-LternjiX0xEN2PDlv7hbjuCT_lwu8lszApntJLW7C55-0xP9aPwF1nva7V4jz4FhLfQW2ObwHiGEyp7zxA7L_ICQ4L2CKdCRI3g6fUPX5F7QUJWjFgrC9wFCi2XX2HGkHi9OW9J5uSB9SafVY0pXnC6HEpnabRAfrw-voM/s1280/49368AD3-4B16-47C2-B951-34184C22E556.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXromNyhnlPrhN3AQGZvTK-LternjiX0xEN2PDlv7hbjuCT_lwu8lszApntJLW7C55-0xP9aPwF1nva7V4jz4FhLfQW2ObwHiGEyp7zxA7L_ICQ4L2CKdCRI3g6fUPX5F7QUJWjFgrC9wFCi2XX2HGkHi9OW9J5uSB9SafVY0pXnC6HEpnabRAfrw-voM/s320/49368AD3-4B16-47C2-B951-34184C22E556.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Surf Scoters</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JdEJGgIqe5UvmojgkEbR27PCVLTobFSStSwxDRrH9ViPlivCNFGxY4bDzSLgJAg0sWMDV2WpVKU9qsapIjz7ok9SKZIyyohds5N5EzgqGY9hlH-v7f0x4Y2xSnz2nHg4c35weXfQArHg9YzvAvwtInC66pUITZBNmzbAYIvn6WXzbLMpc2qJWoB2S5s/s960/D8A08DF2-C7B3-4FD2-844E-64006AEB1182.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JdEJGgIqe5UvmojgkEbR27PCVLTobFSStSwxDRrH9ViPlivCNFGxY4bDzSLgJAg0sWMDV2WpVKU9qsapIjz7ok9SKZIyyohds5N5EzgqGY9hlH-v7f0x4Y2xSnz2nHg4c35weXfQArHg9YzvAvwtInC66pUITZBNmzbAYIvn6WXzbLMpc2qJWoB2S5s/s320/D8A08DF2-C7B3-4FD2-844E-64006AEB1182.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Swainson's Thrush fleeing the lake</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Checked a few spots on the way home, but no real highlights to speak of. 2nd yard record of Green Heron calling after dusk was cool though.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>- Oct 7</p><p>Considered another lakewatch, but the following day looked a lot more promising/I was tired, so we birded locally around Oliphant. Several Black-bellied and Semi Plovers, a lone golden-plover and some Dunlin were the only shorebirds around, and a juv Peregrine Falcon with a full crop whipped by... maybe not encouraging many shorebirds to stick around the area. Heavy peregrine migration all along the coast that day, with a highcount of 30 new Grand Bend. We tried the Sauble Beach waterfront<span> after that, where we had 3 more peregrines, some scaup and a rather unexpected bird... a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flying by the sand dunes. Caught me off guard at first! My latest record for the county by weeks and only our 3rd October record... pretty cool. </span></p><p><span>We cut inland after that, checking the Wiarton harbour and sewage lagoons. Again pretty slim pickings, only highlight was a lone Ruddy Duck.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_x0DCQN2gA9dtxA9di9rTeZhUHne78iNVHw3iJvo2hqbWPkyaU_B2K6y6cnsF67NOcKK_nXt5nKffUSnMVNG8Jj9N9O28d0IJHadW7vq0HiUD04DVmVCCGsgP7W6mbp-WrtSElmyuQoaE3cyjUw-LptCqfrxuOXyqpCXfh7If-75-u_i6qPfwsREVEw/s610/D81FE4E2-5920-4D15-A85B-2B03051A03B3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="610" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_x0DCQN2gA9dtxA9di9rTeZhUHne78iNVHw3iJvo2hqbWPkyaU_B2K6y6cnsF67NOcKK_nXt5nKffUSnMVNG8Jj9N9O28d0IJHadW7vq0HiUD04DVmVCCGsgP7W6mbp-WrtSElmyuQoaE3cyjUw-LptCqfrxuOXyqpCXfh7If-75-u_i6qPfwsREVEw/s320/D81FE4E2-5920-4D15-A85B-2B03051A03B3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- vismig Yellow-billed Cuckoo<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6n5h6-t9Ynu8d7HSIuH2PosGxNzmC0Grw_pcZehVNvjU-FdQ5o6MRwDiz5MtuGSD_eNtJ0T0UyFvP43kArdwnq_tDYqvRuddCPTd8rHYgTreKA4RdognhCF4uY2OgJ4x9OhdCQJhw6c4rJWsqIN-79Q8OQhrRMFnpvwRJ7sZir96hbWUznif-x84GZvM/s5568/A672385D-A3D6-4560-98FE-6142A86D24AE.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6n5h6-t9Ynu8d7HSIuH2PosGxNzmC0Grw_pcZehVNvjU-FdQ5o6MRwDiz5MtuGSD_eNtJ0T0UyFvP43kArdwnq_tDYqvRuddCPTd8rHYgTreKA4RdognhCF4uY2OgJ4x9OhdCQJhw6c4rJWsqIN-79Q8OQhrRMFnpvwRJ7sZir96hbWUznif-x84GZvM/s320/A672385D-A3D6-4560-98FE-6142A86D24AE.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Yellow-billed Cuckoo, when it briefly landed<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOw703Z_hhYZ_gBBw81AvkDFOnfTNeIBdHC4WCvALc8sGZlcZ25_FGzBunUnW4AnFpSjPubGO1ff9vDEINu8suy0w5fmHKG4ufc7NHGl58xNvpC7Xo32SV5b7yJ4NJTTJrySCh2sBCNUcPPo2__oOtiUj4v7Hbo_2F3j36XQrsYdOOgFdjH1Yzukoynrk/s1471/C180F6B6-CF4B-42DA-BE2B-58665A81DAC5.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="1471" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOw703Z_hhYZ_gBBw81AvkDFOnfTNeIBdHC4WCvALc8sGZlcZ25_FGzBunUnW4AnFpSjPubGO1ff9vDEINu8suy0w5fmHKG4ufc7NHGl58xNvpC7Xo32SV5b7yJ4NJTTJrySCh2sBCNUcPPo2__oOtiUj4v7Hbo_2F3j36XQrsYdOOgFdjH1Yzukoynrk/s320/C180F6B6-CF4B-42DA-BE2B-58665A81DAC5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Peregrine Falcon with full crop<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IvyHXqBk4Deul-hUhSJgh4dMZjfyIWduOLnIzsyzQxjOIVnqKQ0LF7QYlFYt_iVBwV9OVj-FpT509CvYr0UHKFOelTm10-Vs2RoTtt02wCgQxSjbOOCZSpIzkTjiU9Pa1QkPDXRboa3-VZSH41bwJVGPWj7MkEWFbCmyEZ3SjBvX6rTYHPi7rpZftM0/s960/DAA1740F-5591-47B8-8AB4-BF3A749DC536.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IvyHXqBk4Deul-hUhSJgh4dMZjfyIWduOLnIzsyzQxjOIVnqKQ0LF7QYlFYt_iVBwV9OVj-FpT509CvYr0UHKFOelTm10-Vs2RoTtt02wCgQxSjbOOCZSpIzkTjiU9Pa1QkPDXRboa3-VZSH41bwJVGPWj7MkEWFbCmyEZ3SjBvX6rTYHPi7rpZftM0/s320/DAA1740F-5591-47B8-8AB4-BF3A749DC536.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- a very buffy juv American Golden-Plover<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-wNg13QecTX581yRQpEStelRzuJFJasiEg8nJFnx0zID7h0udN68R-c7RQeq86dV62redWzEbQUSErnFRfkXoIAyxrbcYkGpvfzwtrJ3U95mxuCiqazqHUL6lh0q52s9hyphenhyphenb4oTFU13bidk7IgmpEJiQYpaFbSvGWjiLl39r9iIG2_CY5OOWiEr82DAA/s3840/418FBE57-8E7B-4500-A595-405973048633.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="3840" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-wNg13QecTX581yRQpEStelRzuJFJasiEg8nJFnx0zID7h0udN68R-c7RQeq86dV62redWzEbQUSErnFRfkXoIAyxrbcYkGpvfzwtrJ3U95mxuCiqazqHUL6lh0q52s9hyphenhyphenb4oTFU13bidk7IgmpEJiQYpaFbSvGWjiLl39r9iIG2_CY5OOWiEr82DAA/s320/418FBE57-8E7B-4500-A595-405973048633.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Pectoral Sandpipers</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span>- Oct 8</span></p><p>Originally this day was looking a lot more promising, with wind gusts forecasted near 100kph from the northwest, giving me high hopes of another Bruce jaeger day. Unfortunately the winds got lighter as the day approached, and what we got turned out to be around 50kph with gusts of 75, the direction also shifted, from northwest more to straight north. I still drove down to Kincardine to try it out, arriving with Alessandra shortly after 7:30. Erik (aka Boomer) drove down to join us as well, staying for the majority of the day. Several others came and went, though the bands of near horizontal rain scared off most sane birders. The reason I like Dunsmoor so much is because there's a nice sheltered viewing area under a pavilion, so you can still scope while staying dry and avoiding the worst of the rain on nasty days. Shortly after arriving massive numbers of Ring-billed Gulls started streaming over... nearly 2000 in under half an hour. The duck migration was also fantastic, some of the best I've had in Bruce during early October. The Sabine's Gull/Jaeger numbers were less fantastic on the other hand, with a grand total of 0... We ended up leaving around 2:30, so a solid 7 hours of lakewatching. No crazy highlights, but it was a really fun day of watching/chatting with friends! Quinten did a great blog post comparing what all the birders out along Huron saw, read that <a href="http://birdsbugsbotany.blogspot.com/2023/10/southern-lake-huron-lakewatching.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a>.</p><p> Here's the<b><span style="color: red;"> <a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S151742003" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">eBird list</span></a></span></b> for full numbers, but here are some highlights;</p><p>- 40 Green-winged Teal</p><p>- 60 Scaup (40 Greater, 20 Lesser)</p><p>- 181 Surf Scoter (New Bruce highcount.. old one was 41!!)</p><p>- 118 White-winged Scoter</p><p>- 1 Black Scoter (first of fall)</p><p>- 1 Long-tailed Duck (first of fall, early)</p><p>- 240 Common Merganser</p><p>- 1 Red-necked Grebe</p><p>- 1 Sanderling</p><p>- 81 Dunlin</p><p>- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull (surprisingly rare in Bruce. I see 1-3 a year)</p><p>- 2 Common Loon (way less than Friday.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIT0ya7FsvQL-amdp9Ym2G0YdoVbFki5R-09rq129jR_oYtj8ashxfQn1Zg3x0yBAkG2CL-eIJRNcry5GAHbNdgBtATdNUBxqTfjcir1h5szXhH4MqzH0LOFBnr34e8N6TSok5wZwggeaaAYw8MhLll2YaYXGT6EsR5nS1XBF67KsYRItIcS7ZRpEikc/s2560/2AAF61E8-A8A7-4DE3-A580-EC2FF4FE6B6F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIT0ya7FsvQL-amdp9Ym2G0YdoVbFki5R-09rq129jR_oYtj8ashxfQn1Zg3x0yBAkG2CL-eIJRNcry5GAHbNdgBtATdNUBxqTfjcir1h5szXhH4MqzH0LOFBnr34e8N6TSok5wZwggeaaAYw8MhLll2YaYXGT6EsR5nS1XBF67KsYRItIcS7ZRpEikc/s320/2AAF61E8-A8A7-4DE3-A580-EC2FF4FE6B6F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Surf Scoters</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs74LoFZv2lm4v0NJovFYluR1EygRUwJa37TjtHp9QCvb3lPrrwpfCEXtjl16hm6PuP8PTp7mtcRhWUATKFyImrcurz-bWIwenVpe-bIAK_sNujUXZCMdppqCXvtWa4PGpCtaS08Skx75VlHEd4_l1Ritt8X2vb5j9TjxCmMl0gLIJ8EhKUYHS975ZPM/s1280/9CE0826E-53B0-46D4-816A-7F2A7BB5FF2A.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRs74LoFZv2lm4v0NJovFYluR1EygRUwJa37TjtHp9QCvb3lPrrwpfCEXtjl16hm6PuP8PTp7mtcRhWUATKFyImrcurz-bWIwenVpe-bIAK_sNujUXZCMdppqCXvtWa4PGpCtaS08Skx75VlHEd4_l1Ritt8X2vb5j9TjxCmMl0gLIJ8EhKUYHS975ZPM/s320/9CE0826E-53B0-46D4-816A-7F2A7BB5FF2A.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Lesser Black-backed Gull</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-_yNWz7z0eN3gozPiLcz2BKDKFTm2vwN6kyo9_oKYPWhAAOKYj7t21-WLm-Dke-VammmGY7sj6YHLC_EhR_1LtNy9LIbMdMXhHuuQetqG29_7I7Riki-qJk_zOCi_EAnMR8l1XMP5pMCEsebJC11WaUVOWy_LIBwblQ9u3uT4c6lCC85ItOCxcKWebQ/s1920/94C285B4-086E-4F38-810C-EF97BA88878B.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-_yNWz7z0eN3gozPiLcz2BKDKFTm2vwN6kyo9_oKYPWhAAOKYj7t21-WLm-Dke-VammmGY7sj6YHLC_EhR_1LtNy9LIbMdMXhHuuQetqG29_7I7Riki-qJk_zOCi_EAnMR8l1XMP5pMCEsebJC11WaUVOWy_LIBwblQ9u3uT4c6lCC85ItOCxcKWebQ/s320/94C285B4-086E-4F38-810C-EF97BA88878B.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- More Surfs</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajg97YN1-FZBoS_gMjE9IQiftP9h2Cizvz8lmmrkAH2pZkb81HznvlR3rGsnGepUTKnvdpD9LUXgufLeqMv_DKyjeNX4wsGSTfWejGjIG8kskHeN2T1YQEiKDTduqegLvZNRGSz2nHwJpE5oLfnh1wDxYK5eR61VUYaBQUIIuklEHm2tovBKx8FdHcH4/s3200/BFCA0758-F81C-4435-9234-61D1B30BDA07.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajg97YN1-FZBoS_gMjE9IQiftP9h2Cizvz8lmmrkAH2pZkb81HznvlR3rGsnGepUTKnvdpD9LUXgufLeqMv_DKyjeNX4wsGSTfWejGjIG8kskHeN2T1YQEiKDTduqegLvZNRGSz2nHwJpE5oLfnh1wDxYK5eR61VUYaBQUIIuklEHm2tovBKx8FdHcH4/s320/BFCA0758-F81C-4435-9234-61D1B30BDA07.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Dunlin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEo5LZYANILmkIT_hU42D7NBWMv5Y-uuFaAo_OWtdcl0UpVwdsjd0TXvji4M-l2P2JwBcN6ogqQsOtjEkF7r8t4BsVaY5wSRQpHKc6bjhig_8q3BZ7lugvd2nLbUEzTV_51lFqwRyUqlkS9QaHnD8LtwqZ7bNNFnW6ohidcQeOOon89kUH0fhi2Ib73vc/s4480/E4D75F59-9091-484B-ADF5-D38B978986D0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2984" data-original-width="4480" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEo5LZYANILmkIT_hU42D7NBWMv5Y-uuFaAo_OWtdcl0UpVwdsjd0TXvji4M-l2P2JwBcN6ogqQsOtjEkF7r8t4BsVaY5wSRQpHKc6bjhig_8q3BZ7lugvd2nLbUEzTV_51lFqwRyUqlkS9QaHnD8LtwqZ7bNNFnW6ohidcQeOOon89kUH0fhi2Ib73vc/s320/E4D75F59-9091-484B-ADF5-D38B978986D0.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Surf every other photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>- Oct 9</p><p>Heavy rain and west wind for the majority of the day. I still got out to check a few spots, but didn't spend very long. The highlight of Petrel Point/Spry Lake/Wiarton Lagoons was Trumpeter Swan and some scoters... so yeahhhh</p><p><br /></p><p>- Oct 10</p><p>In the morning Alessandra and I drove over to Petrel Point for a lakewatch, conditions weren't great but I don't lakewatch locally nearly as much as I should so I wanted to give it a try. After half an hour of being there a band of rain came in and we bailed, but before that we had a few peregrines and a Surf Scoter, the latter being a new bird for my 5MR (so sad....). We noticed there were a ton of sparrows along the roadside between my place and Petrel, so we spent the rest of the morning hunting for rare sparrows between Red Bay and Stokes Bay. I was really feeling optimistic about a Harris's, or really any rare sparrow considering the massive numbers... Wasn't meant to be though. By the time we returned hope we'd seen well over 1200 sparrows, with the bulk being White-crowned (700) and Dark-eyed Junco (350). Shortly after returning home I saw a report of a Harris's Sparrow from MacGregor in South Bruce the day before... of course.</p><p>Rest of the day was spent contemplating life</p><p><br /></p><p>- Oct 11</p><p>Spent most of the day driving down to Pelee for a big year presentation in Windsor, so I wasn't able to bird very much (mainly due to leaving too late). I did bird a lot on the 12th/13th though, which I'll cover in my next post. </p></div>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-61280908750760809142023-10-03T20:00:00.000-07:002023-10-03T20:00:00.132-07:00Early October Rarity Hunting at Oliphant<p> </p><p>Follow-up to my previous post about<i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">50 Days of Rare</i>... </span>This one just covering how I've started off the challenge.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of my goals this month is to get out birding as much as I can, particularly at spots that have high potential for rarities. For the past few weeks the weather has been quite boring in terms of "rarity weather"... High pressure just holding over northeastern North America and giving us hot, sunny weather with mainly poor winds. So not exactly inspiring conditions to go rarity hunting. Promising weather is coming down the pipe though, and by the weekend there should be some interesting birding to do. Anyways, I decided to keep things local until then and bird the Lake Huron shoreline hard, mainly between my place and Sauble Beach. This area has some great birds around this time of year in the past, most notably Michael Butler's Ontario first Eurasian Dotterel... so the potential is definitively there for something cool. The water levels have dropped significantly at Oliphant this season, which has created lots of promising habitat (large mudflats/exposed shorelines). This is something I've been waiting for for years, so I'm thrilled that I'm able to be home this fall to see it. </p><p><br /></p><p>- October 1</p><p>Alessandra and I drove to Oliphant at sunrise and met up with Alfred Raab to scour the "North Flats" area. The morning was nice and sunny with basically no wind at all, which was kind of cool since we could hear birds calling way out on the islands (over a kilometer away). Lots of pipits/siskins flying overhead, as well as some Lapland Longspurs and "Yumps" kept things interesting. Right off the bat we came across a large flock of shorebirds containing 6 species, most notably 12 American Golden-plovers, 1 White-rumped Sandpiper and 9 Semipalmated Sandpipers (getting late for them). For a local birder this was quite exciting, as it was the largest flock of shorebirds/best diversity I had ever seen there. Pretty pumped to see what happens there this season! After that we scoured the fen area for songbirds, and Alessandra got on a Nelson's Sparrow, the 6th record for Bruce on eBird... not a bad way to start off the month! No major highlights after that, 2 more American Golden-plovers were cool though! By the time we finished off there it was midday, so we headed back home for the day.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NOW503tA-enfAZespIplBp80EDNjAs2_CybNs10MeH0KdZBq20u_FHwxZVuBPfPI251zY0t8iqkgCbBeZr0zB9WBXXEi1It4OpijSMASG61DtTZjgKv_2tuyykc7lt0HXywvUUvwKtQ_r1yJGecBaEVoxg20zGDt3jZGS-F6ij2J-cRLRrfI3Rvimvw/s2560/4AA5B833-454A-4A24-892E-D767E6BC1755.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NOW503tA-enfAZespIplBp80EDNjAs2_CybNs10MeH0KdZBq20u_FHwxZVuBPfPI251zY0t8iqkgCbBeZr0zB9WBXXEi1It4OpijSMASG61DtTZjgKv_2tuyykc7lt0HXywvUUvwKtQ_r1yJGecBaEVoxg20zGDt3jZGS-F6ij2J-cRLRrfI3Rvimvw/s320/4AA5B833-454A-4A24-892E-D767E6BC1755.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- American Golden-plover</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_hmDuhK0MHIoiEsY_LySioEIQFavj2UuPYlBDbzcrchfNxNcqJIJcvSBzpxOBW-9TG1M2Z1YUUk_jTxJjbobPiqDZe5qwUkn8O2lgubj6dN6qkihxEbcMXzI1BM0VYBB6g81Re1oBb8b0oo53mpn2BXTKRE_N_cHoEFl_fM3zUQ5a1B7WnRTxZXFJtk/s1920/30E99B23-3862-4B4E-B6AF-D1E818FEE438.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_hmDuhK0MHIoiEsY_LySioEIQFavj2UuPYlBDbzcrchfNxNcqJIJcvSBzpxOBW-9TG1M2Z1YUUk_jTxJjbobPiqDZe5qwUkn8O2lgubj6dN6qkihxEbcMXzI1BM0VYBB6g81Re1oBb8b0oo53mpn2BXTKRE_N_cHoEFl_fM3zUQ5a1B7WnRTxZXFJtk/s320/30E99B23-3862-4B4E-B6AF-D1E818FEE438.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Semi Plovers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PuRCSauVSVMbq5KYzShFa5U9CYwVX611bcvAc-OzOel7T0h-_c9PbZa-ZNfSxSGSXKfN0sF6jHg8C1iCAP29GcGp-rdd_X-CY9ylaVH7z3oKbPOwJX5lcZ8FccPTY8y69pOzlqDTG3voKlaTxg2oJjOFAYpyK6FFXLOE1YLwKn_BXnh6HQbMnGHKEoc/s2560/D957A747-0024-44F8-B7A4-BC32BD05A083.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PuRCSauVSVMbq5KYzShFa5U9CYwVX611bcvAc-OzOel7T0h-_c9PbZa-ZNfSxSGSXKfN0sF6jHg8C1iCAP29GcGp-rdd_X-CY9ylaVH7z3oKbPOwJX5lcZ8FccPTY8y69pOzlqDTG3voKlaTxg2oJjOFAYpyK6FFXLOE1YLwKn_BXnh6HQbMnGHKEoc/s320/D957A747-0024-44F8-B7A4-BC32BD05A083.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Nelson's Sparrow</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Nothing else too noteworthy besides a patch rarity... House Sparrow.</p><p><br /></p><p>- October 2</p><p>Birded the yard for an hour at sunrise... ended up with 32 species so not too productive... But there were a few highlights including yard lifer Blue-winged Teal, 2 Northern Shovelers (3rd yard record) and a decent passage of Yellow-rumped Warblers (53).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz533HXFMGCPsAFoGX3OSTFQSBwjkIXlDh8F176DZYbrDbmqH4Sf4J4L634ZKJ-YPT1A2WE9qPLa3ZlaGeaHQWYNObePoPZCnuJDMSeYVuPReb2hwa4CKE6e3zJkI3IjmjVYYm5qjkVzV_02Xq3W3ANpBwCCYYC5gRQs6oxGIKMD2Mr8Tobc0KDDgNIRc/s1920/08C84545-A26C-4977-8F71-8396A17905EF.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz533HXFMGCPsAFoGX3OSTFQSBwjkIXlDh8F176DZYbrDbmqH4Sf4J4L634ZKJ-YPT1A2WE9qPLa3ZlaGeaHQWYNObePoPZCnuJDMSeYVuPReb2hwa4CKE6e3zJkI3IjmjVYYm5qjkVzV_02Xq3W3ANpBwCCYYC5gRQs6oxGIKMD2Mr8Tobc0KDDgNIRc/s320/08C84545-A26C-4977-8F71-8396A17905EF.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpeWxBAubLMSIKwOedAHLL9gRfdvROzzS0C8yt63kIXOoL8U0i68FH8JGppQluMZcfvaSToK0gDGjBDoS4UvFfCP2VdwRi-EMWSIgIU0P_A3A3OeSlxvitRNkCTgywpAJ9RlLK1Y-Msdp_E887yvAq_zgXJ40DIljnLEP1pCUKx25vAF-q4gQ6vdqqBEg/s960/1758A369-94E6-4D2E-8FE0-5EBC4E9F6F88.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpeWxBAubLMSIKwOedAHLL9gRfdvROzzS0C8yt63kIXOoL8U0i68FH8JGppQluMZcfvaSToK0gDGjBDoS4UvFfCP2VdwRi-EMWSIgIU0P_A3A3OeSlxvitRNkCTgywpAJ9RlLK1Y-Msdp_E887yvAq_zgXJ40DIljnLEP1pCUKx25vAF-q4gQ6vdqqBEg/s320/1758A369-94E6-4D2E-8FE0-5EBC4E9F6F88.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Blue-winged Teal</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxO9gw1pmuAp6xvC50Sl2t3ISuaqG1IPz0JWBrvpl5g4wviqdvJ8AmICfMvqaF13K9Oux-Y19VcteEbDPsaUr5DbY-gB7BiTLtlPP3rbFxufI2EhhW6phtopqj1RQP9sn_-5NS75Og592nFyuSCZMCzYne3lZAL8J3iqVaclPTzP2NQG_yiwBII4gZy4/s960/E65A356B-2648-4DA1-BDA3-9D2FB0B9AFBE.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxO9gw1pmuAp6xvC50Sl2t3ISuaqG1IPz0JWBrvpl5g4wviqdvJ8AmICfMvqaF13K9Oux-Y19VcteEbDPsaUr5DbY-gB7BiTLtlPP3rbFxufI2EhhW6phtopqj1RQP9sn_-5NS75Og592nFyuSCZMCzYne3lZAL8J3iqVaclPTzP2NQG_yiwBII4gZy4/s320/E65A356B-2648-4DA1-BDA3-9D2FB0B9AFBE.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Yump</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>After that Alessandra and I drove over to Oliphant and combed most of the shoreline. It was fairly quiet compared to the previous day, highlights being 1 American Golden-plover and 17 Semipalmated Sandpipers. There was a dog walker at the good spot where we had a lot of luck the previous day, so that hurt our shorb count I'm sure. From there we headed down to Sauble Beach, where we spent a bit of time scanning the beach and river mouth. Again not too much, save for some Bonaparte's Gulls. On our way back towards home we checked some field habitat (nothing) and the Wiarton Sewage Lagoons (a few Redhead). We had stuff to do for the rest of the day so no more birding.</p><p><br /></p><p>- October 3</p><p>Arrived at the Oliphant shoreline just after sunrise and started scouring the fen area for sparrows and shorebirds. Nothing on the sparrow front, but the plovers put on a decent showing with 8 Black-bellied, 6 American Golden and 13 Semipalmated. A few other random things but nothing noteworthy...</p><p>Once we were done at Oliphant we drove north along the shoreline, stopping briefly at a few spots before visiting Petrel Point to look at the perfect Scissor-tailed Flycatcher habitat (fun fact, this spot has Fulvus Whistling-Duck record). Petrel was very dead, not even a single Black-capped Petrel flying by... annoying...</p><p>It was really heating up at that point so we headed home for the day to get some chores/computer work done. It may hurt my chances of finding birds, but I hate birding midday on hot sunny days, it just kills my enthusiasm/drive... Would I go out in gale force winds and driving rain? You know it. A hot, cloudless day with no wind? Forget it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyways that's what I've done so far this month, 78 species so far for October. More posts to come in the near future</p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-4935018227840576872023-10-03T18:44:00.003-07:002023-10-03T19:01:47.312-07:0050 Days of Rare... revamped!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>A shorter post this time around, I figured I would share an update about what I've been up to!</p><p><br /></p><p>After finishing up a work contract with Birds Canada in mid August, Alessandra and I headed off on a 35 day journey exploring western Canada. We saw so many cool places and I got lots of lifers... But I want to save that for several longer posts to give it the justice it deserves... should get to that soon : )</p><p><br /></p><p>We arrived back in Ontario just in time for the annual OFO convention in Peterborough, driving straight there from Sault St. Marie. Alessandra had to do emceeing on Saturday night (killed it of course) and I introduced my new bird of the year program. We did some birding with William Konze, seeing over 90 species and scoring a lot of county ticks in the area. Fun times...</p><p><br /></p><p>Once we got back home on the peninsula, we rested up for a few days and took a much needed break after living in my chevy cobalt for such a long time. I spent a few days birding around the yard, which turned out to be surprisingly productive... highlights include yard lifer Blue-winged Teal, nearly 500 morning flight Yellow-rumped Warblers and some other fun things. My best list of the week linked here. As October started to draw near I started getting really hyped up for rarity season, and my favourite month of the year to bird. One thing that has bugged me slightly over the last number of year of birding has been the lack of rare birds I've found during the month of October. It's arguably the best time of the year to find good birds in the province, but the list I have of rarities to show for my effort is relatively low.</p><p> After giving it some thought, the main issue that's been hurting my chances is kind of funny... I like fun birding too much. Previous to 2022, I mainly birded my yard/local patch during the fall, focusing on morning flight and hawkwatching. Both of those forms of birding are very enjoyable to me, but the rarity yield is quite low. Hawkwatching in general has low yield in Ontario, maybe a Swainson's Hawk or Black Vulture if you put in enough effort, but other than that it would have to be something pretty mega. As far as vismig goes, there's definitely potential there for rarities there, but the type of stuff I get here turns up rarities quite infrequently (that could be a whole other post). I definitively don't want to give the impression that I'm complaining, I'm not! Sometimes rarities just aren't the vibe, and I find it just as enjoyable seeing large numbers of migrants pass through in a morning. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, I want to try and do things a bit differently this fall. My goal is to try and find rarities, and bird as frequently as I can and see what happens! Because the more you're out looking in productive areas, the more you'll find. After I decided to do this, I was trying to come up with ways to motivate myself and get others on board for some hardcore rarity hunting... Then I remembered reading something awhile back on Brandon Holden's blog, a challenge that he ran with some friends called "50 days of rare". If you want to check out that post click<b> <a href="https://peregrineprints.blogspot.com/2012/09/50-days-of-rare-its-almost-time.html?m=0&fbclid=IwAR2tg9ZCpbflcunZtwld9Zd5bXwXx8QOurLe_c8VH7m_eYR5xZcIQWnYRBM_aem_AaEMz-B1SpnRppiPxUnP_xgwNhAhoFaijY0vEA827HZg80ClDQA4O9BQvqPBNoNgd1M" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Here</span></a>, </b>but to sum it up the idea was to motivate birders around the Great Lakes region to get out and search hardcore for vagrants and blog about it. Basically right what I was going for! I then decided that I would try restarting this challenge, with a few tweaks and changes of my own (mine starts on Oct 1. instead on late September, mainly because I had the idea a bit late). I drafted up a post and then threw it up on some of the provincial birding servers... That post below..</p><p>" Here’s how I’m going to do it. Since it’s later than mid September, I we will do it from today (October 1) until November 20th. Birds you saw today can count. Rules and information can be found below… </p><p>1. The bird has to be self found (check out Punk Birders Self Found rules. Posted on the Facebook group I made).</p><p>2. The bird has to be in Ontario during the dates I mentioned above.</p><p>3. The winner of our friendly competition will be determined by who finds the rarest bird (rare is a bit subjective, but it will default to the rarest at a provincial level. More discussion in the group).</p><p>4. Unlike Brandon’s version you don’t have to have a blog to participate. The aspect of telling people your birding plans is kind of fun though! So we can still do some of that if people are interested.</p><p>5. The winner will receive bragging rights… and a free T-shirt, with artwork of their winning rarity done by Alessandra Wilcox 🙂</p><p>The idea is to have some fun/see what other people are finding in the province and have some motivation to get out birding a lot during peak rarity season. I’ve made a Facebook group where people who can join can post their finds/discuss (that way the server won’t get cluttered). So to sign up like this message and I’ll message you information on how to join the group</p><p>Here’s the link (everyone who asks to join will be accepted).</p><p><a href="https://m.facebook.com/groups/3640031096241766/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF" target="_blank">https://m.facebook.com/groups/3640031096241766/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF</a> "</p><p><br /></p><p>So there you have it! So far 35 people have joined and some folks seem hyped up... I'm excited to see what's found! A few people (coughHoldencough) were a bit hesitant to join up at first, but came around after they discovered a T-shirt was on the line. Maybe if this is popular we can get a plaque or something, but I think it would be fun if it became an annual thing. It really isn't about prizes though, but having some community motivation and comradery to get out there and find cool birds. If you want to join then just click the link above!</p><p>I'll try to post here a fair amount this month about the progress, so stay tuned!</p><p><br /></p><p>Here's a Swainson's Hawk photo from out west to end off the post <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJY_eynNtRiUC9-uO6UgWTkq5eW6S0ClfV6bn70M5K55eV_iD4eyAtd5al35zNp4VyfLso4aBJJPOnMJmVpfzme0jNLACLOn6-aEMEs8sAGz5CK4zoNPg9-5_LBDgVXTtY3M2xsflqlaZWSQw3ekDCZNh4i7T0W1tSN2o0XV7cUPdElbGZ_XUJqPgrE4/s5120/190ED7B8-DF08-4CEE-9F49-37BA540DC952.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3416" data-original-width="5120" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJY_eynNtRiUC9-uO6UgWTkq5eW6S0ClfV6bn70M5K55eV_iD4eyAtd5al35zNp4VyfLso4aBJJPOnMJmVpfzme0jNLACLOn6-aEMEs8sAGz5CK4zoNPg9-5_LBDgVXTtY3M2xsflqlaZWSQw3ekDCZNh4i7T0W1tSN2o0XV7cUPdElbGZ_XUJqPgrE4/s320/190ED7B8-DF08-4CEE-9F49-37BA540DC952.jpeg" width="320" /></a></p><br /><br /><p></p><div><br /></div>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-33837678959239513702023-07-23T13:12:00.001-07:002023-07-23T13:12:33.220-07:00Pacific Golden-Plovers in Ontario<div><br /></div>I found this post that I started back in 2020 and thought I would edit and repost now!<br /><br />
I've done a lot of research over the winter about birds that Ontario needs for it's all time list and I keep coming back to a few species. One of these species is PAPL, which has occurred numerous times along the eastern seaboard, yet somehow manages to avoid Ontario.. so I'm going to do an atypical blog post and really get into the vagrancy/ID of Pacific.<br />
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Ok so let's start with the basics. According to eBird, there are 8 records in the Northeastern US and 7 in eastern Canada as of November 2020.<br />
The dates are as follows; 04-21 (MA), 05-12 (NL), 05-20 (NL), 06-05 (NL), 06-26 (NL), 07-16 (NL), 07-25 (DE), 07-25 (MA), 07-30 (NL), 09-01 (NY), 09-04 (NJ), 09-06 (VT) (iffy..), 09-11 (ME), 09-14 (NL), 12-06 (NL).<div><br /></div><div>Since writing this there have been at least 5 more... 04-23 (NS), 09-25 (MA), 08-26 (MA), 10-29 (CT), 09-16 (PA), 05-16 (NJ) Which makes it even more frustrating that Ontario hasn't had one....</div><div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jRgbYqKguIg/XnvUQyV0WVI/AAAAAAAAB24/YVYdiNNlr0wQ8JKjUGIODKjjTW_EjQ76ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screenshot_20200325-175635.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jRgbYqKguIg/XnvUQyV0WVI/AAAAAAAAB24/YVYdiNNlr0wQ8JKjUGIODKjjTW_EjQ76ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot_20200325-175635.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2020</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EEmGEARpTKO0WlEPboYr4h3gVuLFrsbFISX97-p_1zTJARd1BXzIpqnBR5w3i00hpW2tPC6XHlE3d6JJgQlJ7e2RKAILrZjxQd-OSRGROf1bwq4mTNg0zlypLEJ9OTpuSQaWIzS7yzLXiL1gN_4h9BuEzoHg2WvF-gi2oqs13F1YhqeSgUsk3bt2/s941/Screenshot%20(66).png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="941" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EEmGEARpTKO0WlEPboYr4h3gVuLFrsbFISX97-p_1zTJARd1BXzIpqnBR5w3i00hpW2tPC6XHlE3d6JJgQlJ7e2RKAILrZjxQd-OSRGROf1bwq4mTNg0zlypLEJ9OTpuSQaWIzS7yzLXiL1gN_4h9BuEzoHg2WvF-gi2oqs13F1YhqeSgUsk3bt2/s320/Screenshot%20(66).png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
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<br /></div>There is a trend of birds showing up during June and August, with a few records in April, May and December. The December record is a wacky one from Newfoundland, though there are others from Florida in the winter (more expected there though). July/August seems like the most likely time for an Ontario sighting to me... and to make things a bit easier there aren't a ton of AMGP around then either. <br />
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It's been suggested that the east coast birds are mirror image orienting, meaning they migrate 80-160° in the wrong direction. As you can see above, almost all of the records are close to the Atlanta. This could be because the plovers book it across the continent and stop only when they hit the ocean? Or maybe just due to the lack of good habitat. A lot of shorebirds will fuel up on breeding grounds, then migrate a very long distance before setting down again (why Ontario gets very low numbers of almost all shorebird species, they fly over but just don't land). Some of the PAGP that breed in Alaska migrate 2000km nonstop to wintering grounds on islands in the Pacific Ocean, so the eastern records make sense if you picture the map flipping and the birds heading east instead. Anyway with all of our sewage lagoons, farm fields and Great Lake shorelines, we should have more of a chance to get a PAGP than some of the surrounding states. Unlike AMGP that are often see in fields and areas lacking any water, Pacifics seem to prefer to forage along shorelines and in wet areas.<div><br /><div>
<br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> -Identification.</span></b></div><div><br />
Ideally we could get a definitive alternate (breeding plumage) male in prime light, with an AMGP right beside it for good comparison. This is unlikely to happen though and we will likely get a or a juvenile or ratty adult in prebasic plumage. After a lot of reading on the subject, I've narrowed it down to a few useful field marks.<br />
<br />1) Primary/Tertial ratio </div><div> - On the folded wing of a Pacific Golden-plover (PAGP) 2-3 primaries usually extend beyond the longest tertial, while on American (AMGP) 4-5 primaries are usually visible. I say "usually" because molt and viewing conditions can make this hard to judge. Americans have relativity short tertials and long primaries, while Pacifics have long tertials and shorter primaries. This sounds like it should be pretty reliable and, while it's a good feature at time, it may also be one of the most problematic. Almost any plover can be molting it's tertials and primaries, which means that the ratio could be thrown off/fit the wrong species. It can work well as a supporting feature though, and may be helpful in the final identification.</div><div><br />
2) Primary projection past tail</div><div>- On a similar note, the primaries usually do not extend past the tail on PAGP, whereas they normally extend past the tail on AMGP (or are at least even with it)... extension being 0-9mm in PAGP and 12-22mm in AMGP. The long wings of American often gives the tail a scissor-like vibe.</div><div>
<br /><br />3) Toes</div><div>- This is an iffy field mark, but I thought I'd mention it. On a flying Pacific, the toes *should* extend past the tail, where they fall short on an American. Looking at photos it seems to work sometimes.. but can be quite deceiving depending on angle/what the bird is doing. Having flight shots never hurts though!<br />
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<br />4) White line on flanks/side of breast</div><div>- For use on adult alternate/Prebasic plumaged birds. On PAGP, there is a continuous white line from the head to the tail. On AMGP the white ends abruptly at the flanks, which are totally black. Female Pacifics have a less defined breast than males and the breast can be covered in white splotchy areas. Males have a solid black breast with a well defined white line along the side.<br /><br />5) Tibia</div><div>- on Pacific, the tibia (upper leg) usually isn't feathered as heavily as American, which gives it a long-<span style="font-family: inherit;">legged appearance. PAGP tends to have a longer tarsus than American, with the tibia more exposed and less feathered</span> proximally, giving it a somewhat longer-legged appearance than AMGP. This is true in all plumages.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">6) Bill</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">- T<span style="font-family: inherit;">he bill on PAGP is al</span>most always longer and thicker than that of American, which appears more obviously when the birds are side by side. Looking through photos this seems to hold up quite well!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div>7) Golden Speckling/Overall Vibe</div><div>Adult Pacific's tend to have more, and larger golden spots on their back than American's do, and while in preformative molt there often seems to be a lot of messy white splotching throughout (not really seen on AGPL). In Prebasic plumage, PAGP often show a more buffy face as well. As for the impression the bird gives, or the "vibe", this is tough for me to write about as I've never seen one in real life. Reading accounts from other people/looking at photos and videos, PAGP usually have lankier and taller impression than AGPL, with a rounder head. I'll update this when I see some in the future : )</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's have a look at bird pictured below. It's a fairly bright and well defined plover in definitive alternate plumage, with a white line extending unbroken from the head to the undertail coverts. Three primaries are visible past the longest tertial and the primary projection seems to be pretty short (tough to judge from one shot sometimes though).<br /></span></div><div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gmPtQWGkNb6u34cSm8PPspMIbxvTQnh40TezRXTN9_MhLNpzjD-UgQtvQzroch4MrL_ocTTBROYS66LXXbRSnEVok8j0InI18Y8E9xo5cVzA9O0k4MBfoLL0YWNXe0fAhDy504kGGhFwvalUoM1FsbVngC_Hm0MKNVDNdNeos1bS6HoI95WnMAfD3Y4/s749/B641BF60-D2E0-4D2E-869B-173A45A5006F.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="749" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gmPtQWGkNb6u34cSm8PPspMIbxvTQnh40TezRXTN9_MhLNpzjD-UgQtvQzroch4MrL_ocTTBROYS66LXXbRSnEVok8j0InI18Y8E9xo5cVzA9O0k4MBfoLL0YWNXe0fAhDy504kGGhFwvalUoM1FsbVngC_Hm0MKNVDNdNeos1bS6HoI95WnMAfD3Y4/s320/B641BF60-D2E0-4D2E-869B-173A45A5006F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">- Pacific Golden-Plover </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(<a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/194417791?_gl=1*1kar287*_ga*NDA2NTE0NDYuMTYxMDc0OTg5Mw..*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTY5MDA0NzkzMC4xNS4xLjE2OTAwNDkyOTAuMjQuMC4w&_ga=2.1121783.737647235.1689874348-40651446.1610749893" target="_blank">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/194417791</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiD9rWc6nGMDIJ1i6srz82OE73LpGaJxW8iPiyS3ci5cHfh1sHl71_Se9-l9RUuS2A6hUY4RMRvL3deU4sWiSTTCbeEFJCr3Q4xNlJ9JduIwfjTSFm63-ieQ9GfVbixtJZa9Sz1ER5oTmh1wFlVHRYJVvP10Z_XF6pslwIeAseSELtifLhoxa9N1qLTsQ/s750/1E6F6C82-DA26-4D64-B168-E8419DA2F91F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="750" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiD9rWc6nGMDIJ1i6srz82OE73LpGaJxW8iPiyS3ci5cHfh1sHl71_Se9-l9RUuS2A6hUY4RMRvL3deU4sWiSTTCbeEFJCr3Q4xNlJ9JduIwfjTSFm63-ieQ9GfVbixtJZa9Sz1ER5oTmh1wFlVHRYJVvP10Z_XF6pslwIeAseSELtifLhoxa9N1qLTsQ/s320/1E6F6C82-DA26-4D64-B168-E8419DA2F91F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"> Things to note:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>short primary extension past tail/long tertials</li><li>white along flanks</li><li>long tibia due to lack of feathering</li><li>large, thick bill</li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>(<b>Quick sidenote. </b>I used pictures from the Macaulay Library for this post, however the resolution will appear poor because they are screenshots. To see the full quality images/photographer info, click the links below the photos.</div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>Now this adult American. It's a pretty straight forward ID as far as plovers go... white ending sharply above the beast, all dark flanks and undertail coverts, 5 primaries visible past the longest tertial. Primaries extend beyond tail, short tibia due to feathering.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN3pYpEJKEFUTGV0-F5USNUtWsR7AZqZu3r8WwskuChgtGe_Tl3XOgHY2HoMwNtHdktBqXt2m29e_RyYFEKy9an_elNLVYNkT5YwHPeu4jR2CYsUmtGJVQHqf_5WwykNVYKqnX-8_yBxaJ4TOdHg7glNyAY3Pm1GnL8bhqkXcwcTjlP4idYb01iTOmXY/s750/745B5720-6A9A-4350-AA8D-5B0FEC59111F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="750" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN3pYpEJKEFUTGV0-F5USNUtWsR7AZqZu3r8WwskuChgtGe_Tl3XOgHY2HoMwNtHdktBqXt2m29e_RyYFEKy9an_elNLVYNkT5YwHPeu4jR2CYsUmtGJVQHqf_5WwykNVYKqnX-8_yBxaJ4TOdHg7glNyAY3Pm1GnL8bhqkXcwcTjlP4idYb01iTOmXY/s320/745B5720-6A9A-4350-AA8D-5B0FEC59111F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- American Golden-Plover<br />(<a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/64786971?_gl=1*5um83f*_ga*NDA2NTE0NDYuMTYxMDc0OTg5Mw..*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTY5MDA0NzkzMC4xNS4xLjE2OTAwNDk2MTguNTQuMC4w&_ga=2.194064875.737647235.1689874348-40651446.1610749893" target="_blank">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/64786971</a>)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLp1znyRAyb-Lo1zI2JPLp-FxYmP6-u1UqvDr1B5Dl0AhSEdSm34e49wul_PNCoyZ7UOldbka0QSkwyhWoHfnK-tfnM1xUQMtyba4EGF_eQ0zWLh9UDLpMyVBLvRCKfM1l5XS5z3BHZ5cujBWlqNOIIGCeZuQpscb5s9j4Ez9TlsAKHy4wwvuYo0E8JE/s745/4B7700A4-41D0-44F0-A71B-4D950918EFA0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="745" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLp1znyRAyb-Lo1zI2JPLp-FxYmP6-u1UqvDr1B5Dl0AhSEdSm34e49wul_PNCoyZ7UOldbka0QSkwyhWoHfnK-tfnM1xUQMtyba4EGF_eQ0zWLh9UDLpMyVBLvRCKfM1l5XS5z3BHZ5cujBWlqNOIIGCeZuQpscb5s9j4Ez9TlsAKHy4wwvuYo0E8JE/s320/4B7700A4-41D0-44F0-A71B-4D950918EFA0.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"> Things to note -</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>long primary extension past tail/short tertials</li><li>white limited to upperparts, dark flanks/undertail</li><li>lots of feathers around tibia</li><li>Shorter, thinner bill</li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Juvenile birds</span></b><br />
<br />- Juvenile Pacifics usually appear buffy golden overall, where American is more gray and dull in comparison. This seems to hold up among most juveniles, though it becomes increasingly less obvious into late fall, when the feathers become worn and more grey. Juveniles gain their first plumage on breeding grounds in the tundra, then begin a preformative molt once they reach their wintering range. Juvenile plumage is mainly visible July through October, though sometimes all the way into November. PAGP also lack the very prominent white supercilium shown by AMGP, instead showing a golden wash through the supercilium and face. This golden yellow look gives pacific a very warm and buffy appearance. Most birds lack vibrant golden tones by November, though some is retained on the head and scapulars.</div><div>
<br /> - The primary formula mentioned for adults (3 Ps visible past longest tertial) can still be used on juvenile birds, although molt effects this heavily. This is somewhere where APGL differs from PAGP, as American is the only<i> Pluvialis </i>plover that includes all of it's primaries during preformative molt in the fall... Which could potentially create confusion and give a bird a "shorter winged" look. Keep in mind that most Americans molt later when they reach wintering grounds, however preformative molt could start as early as mid/late October. Because of this difference in molt timing, it stands to reason that in the spring birds with fresh primaries should be AMGP, while birds with old primaries should be PAGP (which don't molt flight feathers until after their first summer). There can definitely be tricky birds during this time, so careful documentation is required. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Something else I found while researching different articles/videos was that juvenile Pacific head shape differs from that of American. The head of an American looks more capped and squared off than that of a Pacific, also American often has a thinner nape line. I went through a lot of photos on Macaulay Library, and this does hold up quite well. There are Pacifics that appear capped, but if you look at that, the bill, and the buffiness of the face together, it's often quite reliable!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ok, with all that said, lets have a look at some photos! </div><div><br /></div><div>First up is this juvenile bird from Washington, US. It is very buffy overall, with an off-white, sort of golden supercilium. It also shows a long bill, long tertials (3 primaries visible past tertials) and the primary projection past the tail is quite short. Additionally, the cap isn't that dark/prominent and there isn't much coarse streaking. All told a pretty solid pacific!</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiT78Ty5pfr7LokOwFk4V8vi4BVJ4Pap6oBFI6w4smqpCaUXlVGKzUY-3-fB50bP-Z6lFpQw9ZI4T9QCfSy-8_ZhgKVt8QhBD-aoDGcpzO_TyQkTyQUzWfAybZz30ISvX37Y2gd5n3WUJKuUp10E2gOE_BM8be1XqdhtyNFKcdKsAN5GTRHA4FTsmasKcU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="320" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiT78Ty5pfr7LokOwFk4V8vi4BVJ4Pap6oBFI6w4smqpCaUXlVGKzUY-3-fB50bP-Z6lFpQw9ZI4T9QCfSy-8_ZhgKVt8QhBD-aoDGcpzO_TyQkTyQUzWfAybZz30ISvX37Y2gd5n3WUJKuUp10E2gOE_BM8be1XqdhtyNFKcdKsAN5GTRHA4FTsmasKcU" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Juvenile Pacific Golden-Plover</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/68994211">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/68994211</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>For comparison, here's a photo of a juvenile bird from here in Ontario. Compared to the PAGP above, it is very grey overall, with a bold white supercilium and a shorter bill. The face is very stark grey and white, lacking the buffy golden tones. Similarly the rest of the bird's plumage is very grey overall, as seems to be the case with a lot of young AMGP. The long primaries are clearly visible, with 4 projecting past the tertials and going well past the tail.</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnX6VRLwkOfUhx1qv4ir4uZwAfq20V-QROtIVlvew_cLa26b5AH7TaIo_XM8Z75TFG--pm_rKaKKOWC4y9OztsWYd6hWwDr6dFBh8515_Si9TEt1SOLKx38j9kYNBIt8f_1GSkMnyyJK964a33ZX77LRFiMu5J1rYzRM6e7O5LuBk6WeJZ92X5Aib-_uM" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="320" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnX6VRLwkOfUhx1qv4ir4uZwAfq20V-QROtIVlvew_cLa26b5AH7TaIo_XM8Z75TFG--pm_rKaKKOWC4y9OztsWYd6hWwDr6dFBh8515_Si9TEt1SOLKx38j9kYNBIt8f_1GSkMnyyJK964a33ZX77LRFiMu5J1rYzRM6e7O5LuBk6WeJZ92X5Aib-_uM" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Juvenile American Golden-Plover</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/176382611" target="_blank">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/176382611</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's an AMGP from Toronto, clearly showing a long primary projection/extension past tertials, a white supercilium and a strong capped look to the head (dark crown contrasting strongly with nape).</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVLMPbCKGSYgt7mNc4esubGz4qSgJpLigThZNSHs08p5l5YmIixqTysbp8ZP7TaFeCvS4rMR7-Zzsy5U1mdKdop4GgnJraO_DSMfnaDoGN3D_m6fO9m1tqlBQdNLKyLJVYyw0MbOKfm9iUpcMDiyaf26LQIdwGPn_7Q5Spqa1PE1Nlq-AlKi9BfmbsKx0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVLMPbCKGSYgt7mNc4esubGz4qSgJpLigThZNSHs08p5l5YmIixqTysbp8ZP7TaFeCvS4rMR7-Zzsy5U1mdKdop4GgnJraO_DSMfnaDoGN3D_m6fO9m1tqlBQdNLKyLJVYyw0MbOKfm9iUpcMDiyaf26LQIdwGPn_7Q5Spqa1PE1Nlq-AlKi9BfmbsKx0" width="267" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Juvenile American Golden-Plover</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/176385361">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/176385361</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This photo from Alberta shows an AMGP that is quite buffy overall, with a fairly nondescript supercilium and a pretty golden speckled back. Note the strongly marked, dark cap, short bill and long primary extension past tertials. Also, even though the face is quite dark and messy overall, it still has more of a "cold" grey look to it.</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4Ow_-JmxaKb9i83KBSTxrTMfnXvopD3aXyCgqbLnLN8yxPIWQch78inng7MQRpP7WwkIwJdkVJDMLPaFsSFnH2o6PJVtWkxfgPBic8zkuqZ3f7n_hGMHdZ5B09TVR531701-PGP8-u9c5nEkPEFeSQuiQ2cI5DlKqaLmnx16HfKFtrma9uU3lJozervo" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4Ow_-JmxaKb9i83KBSTxrTMfnXvopD3aXyCgqbLnLN8yxPIWQch78inng7MQRpP7WwkIwJdkVJDMLPaFsSFnH2o6PJVtWkxfgPBic8zkuqZ3f7n_hGMHdZ5B09TVR531701-PGP8-u9c5nEkPEFeSQuiQ2cI5DlKqaLmnx16HfKFtrma9uU3lJozervo" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Juvenile American Golden-Plover</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/92559831">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/92559831</a></div><div><br /></div><div>To show an extreme side of things, check out this juv PAGP from Alaska. This birds entire body is very golden, from it's head all the way down to it's face. Hardly any white or grey visible in the face, just a yellowish wash. Short primary extension past tertials also visible. This bird does have a bit of a capped appearance, though it's not as stark/obvious as it is in most AMGP.</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZ8xHr498TE9fUvbBzBW80npP5bjpZwzevgw0zI9ufmk4kAupU0C7xscs36ZLtO8txONJ49hsQLwZYX8Yp9HEazDZijwHIWzyy61g1NRhrqJTVSo7Z8A2jOu5YVjAmw8oCdau5OvOqqDrYIm534fR2zxiK3PFg1Ob75Mz4FFKuJ0xqCOQen6NVGHj0Nk" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="320" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZ8xHr498TE9fUvbBzBW80npP5bjpZwzevgw0zI9ufmk4kAupU0C7xscs36ZLtO8txONJ49hsQLwZYX8Yp9HEazDZijwHIWzyy61g1NRhrqJTVSo7Z8A2jOu5YVjAmw8oCdau5OvOqqDrYIm534fR2zxiK3PFg1Ob75Mz4FFKuJ0xqCOQen6NVGHj0Nk" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Juvenile Pacific Golden-Plover</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/39406811">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/39406811</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Next up is this adult bird, one of the East Coast from North Carolina. It was taken in August and the bird is clearly in the middle of heavy molt, with some of the body feathers, scapulars and tertials appearing very worn and ratty. It's tough to use the primary/tertial ratio on this bird, though the primaries still appear to not project very far past the tail. This bird clearly has a very large bill, and there is white visible all along the edge of the flanks/undertail coverts. Limited feathering visible on the tibia as well. </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwyJGksfdM6_2SDJOj157YJ5GrAft1yTD-UJDL3YFzu1yR2J4rBhUK2dGD4EHTnzH3hu1FfNDoshrRupTV8APcmL0rzrFsUrXJQZGAts70BqR5k4z8eX9VRKJOopcqBnAVxM7fOVrMVxRA8iO6nQJ4OSg7AZxfA0W-E8QclLSc9fRSU1NeIw8i5Bt1wZQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="231" data-original-width="320" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwyJGksfdM6_2SDJOj157YJ5GrAft1yTD-UJDL3YFzu1yR2J4rBhUK2dGD4EHTnzH3hu1FfNDoshrRupTV8APcmL0rzrFsUrXJQZGAts70BqR5k4z8eX9VRKJOopcqBnAVxM7fOVrMVxRA8iO6nQJ4OSg7AZxfA0W-E8QclLSc9fRSU1NeIw8i5Bt1wZQ" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Adult Pacific Golden-Plover in prebasic molt</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/468421261" target="_blank">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/468421261</a></div><div><br />
Most of the Eastern records are either adults in July and August, or juveniles later in the season. The adults tend to be quite worn and messy, though most aren't that big of an ID challenge if you know what to look for. Here's another adult, this one from Massachusetts in late July. Face very white with large bill... lots of white on the flanks/undertail coverts, very large golden speckling on the back, short primary projection past the tail. If you click the eBird list after viewing the photo, the finder has some thorough comments about the sighting which are cool to read!</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6ldRliiup_yfdqRx4KuyK_JTeDlrn01URruANTvtO4vAM-1FQiklM9wl31NUrQZ1uS6c1cKO1zzbL_YqThTizA2SOp_FCIk0SeV_UDuUv5-UzhmfLULLD58Kiwsx594T2alGj7rX2F8TDkIpX_JBVO2_X6ekhnayrYHciIk87P6Dx0c2mnm8S9Dyt8Uc" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="320" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6ldRliiup_yfdqRx4KuyK_JTeDlrn01URruANTvtO4vAM-1FQiklM9wl31NUrQZ1uS6c1cKO1zzbL_YqThTizA2SOp_FCIk0SeV_UDuUv5-UzhmfLULLD58Kiwsx594T2alGj7rX2F8TDkIpX_JBVO2_X6ekhnayrYHciIk87P6Dx0c2mnm8S9Dyt8Uc" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Another ad prebasic Pacific</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/35586901">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/35586901</a></div><div><br /><br /></div><div>Something interesting I found while going through photos... the old world PAGP appear a lot more golden in juvenile plumage. Like this bird for example..</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGtUORBmexaWbl0aXF67ZWSIHp8cJEV0tU3FnweQvjSWyadqAPtzsBmyTbRDY_WBZ3iT9QiofbwTwHsxg0XO7kq_lk1oXGUEt8a4tVIMSDr_q5xAfIbDJjxDgxLMajbp7JstO2ewJhL1488P71iL4oq8Ta8LXwtH8oieP1NvUL8h_WM_7Tj09gFL4ALZ4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGtUORBmexaWbl0aXF67ZWSIHp8cJEV0tU3FnweQvjSWyadqAPtzsBmyTbRDY_WBZ3iT9QiofbwTwHsxg0XO7kq_lk1oXGUEt8a4tVIMSDr_q5xAfIbDJjxDgxLMajbp7JstO2ewJhL1488P71iL4oq8Ta8LXwtH8oieP1NvUL8h_WM_7Tj09gFL4ALZ4" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Juvenile Pacific Golden-Plover (Hong Kong)</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/117240631" target="_blank">https://macaulaylibrary.orHg/asset/117240631</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Another interesting thing to note.. especially later in the season (Nov/Dec), some juveniles are quite worn and seem to totally lose their golden colouration.. like this bird..</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoYrD8HZoIunoOm12Bj9LVI_OrRkFRV67WOJiN1tj6j7J826tztEDxoK_OgwnEzQZPAI-1MH4jzqEEn8QGSEUFpryLcnFDI2GPVzVQ_-bXxVRbDqpCMOuGd2o5tIeFZBT07QqlfbUbkH9YyUa0FUBnu2yebIl07x2dyJU9z--iAEAizvid8GdnF5UYo94" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoYrD8HZoIunoOm12Bj9LVI_OrRkFRV67WOJiN1tj6j7J826tztEDxoK_OgwnEzQZPAI-1MH4jzqEEn8QGSEUFpryLcnFDI2GPVzVQ_-bXxVRbDqpCMOuGd2o5tIeFZBT07QqlfbUbkH9YyUa0FUBnu2yebIl07x2dyJU9z--iAEAizvid8GdnF5UYo94" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Juvenile Pacific Golden-Plover in December</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/124200061" target="_blank">https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/124200061</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>It's worth noting that I didn't discuss adult birds in full basic plumage at length. This is the most unlikely plumage to show up in Ontario, so I mainly focused on the ones that pertain to the majority of the Eastern ABA records (juvs and summer/early fall adults). Identifying an adult in basic isn't too much different from a juvenile bird though, as most of the field marks mentioned will still hold up! There is also the possibility of a 1st/2nd alternate showing up during the spring, but again I wanted to keep this fairly short and focus on the most likely plumages.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>- Conclusion</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>I have a few takeaways from searching through a lot of Golden-Plover photos are articles. The main one is that most features are variable, and if you're trying to identify a bird based entirely on one thing it may result in misidentifications: for example, assuming a very dull grey bird is always an American, or relying on the primary ratio and not taking molt into consideration). A few ID marks hold up quite well... I found the very stark, "capped off" look of juvenile American Golden-Plovers is found on almost all birds, though sometimes Pacifics can show a bit of a cap too. It can definitely be a starting point though, like any of the ID marks mentioned above. The primary extension/primary to tertial ratio is also very helpful, though not without it's faults (molt, viewing conditions). If all the features start lining up though, it's likely that you have a bird worth investigating further! Americans that are very buffy/golden usually will display at least one or two characteristics of it's species, while the same can be said for a dull pacific with a smaller bill.</div><div><br /></div><div> Study a bird that seems even a bit "off"... look very closely at the entire bird, and try to take good notes describing everything you see/document it well with photographs. Careful observation of any Golden-Plover you come across will be helpful, as once a good familiarity is established with Americans it will be a lot easier to notice when something looks different. Some distant birds simply aren't IDable too... and it's ok to leave a bird as a "sp" sometimes...</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Hopefully this post makes the idea of finding and identifying a PAGP a bit less daunting! These are just my thoughts from doing a bit of research, and are by no means a definitive identification guide. I may add a quiz on this subject soon, or add more photos/comparion pics if people are interested!<br />
<br /><br />References; Birds of the World (2023), Johnson O.W., and P.M. Johnson (2004), Kauffman K (2000), BirdGuides <a href="https://www.birdguides.com/"><span style="color: black;">website</span></a> (2010), M. Reid (2011)<br /></div></div></div>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-78162376496986120032023-06-26T16:59:00.001-07:002023-06-26T17:10:26.147-07:00Norfolk Big Day - May 19<p> </p><p> I'm a bit late to the game here... mainly due to work... But I promised to write a post about my May 19th big day in Norfolk County so here it is! A big thank you to everyone who donated and raised money for Birds Canada and OFO.</p><p>***Warning... Very long and detailed post... got carried away</p><p>Ever since I got interested in the world of birds, the concept of a big day has always been alluring to me. As shocking as this may be to hear from someone who did a big year, I enjoy fast paced, competitive birding. Maybe it comes from, in part, my background playing sports and fascination with numbers and lists. I spent a lot of time reading blog and magazine articles about listing big day attempts, In Ontario and elsewhere... the accounts of birders racing around a region in a desperate, sleep deprived state trying to identify as many species as possible fascinating to me. A big day is a real test of knowledge and endurance, almost more of the latter honestly... When trying to muster the energy to keep pushing for new birds after 18+ hours of intense birding. The knowledge part is no to be scoffed at either though, definitely a make or break aspect if you're aiming for a high number. I don't mean ID skills either, though that certainly helps, I mean knowing locations inside and our. It's 4pm, and somehow even though you have had a great morning with lots of migrants, you are missing Northern Waterthrush. There are eBird reports 20 minutes away, but time is money on a big day and 50 minutes for 2 birds isn't a very good use of time. Luckily, you know of a small, out of the way wetland that nobody visits, and it's also on the way to your next stop. A quick drive by with the windows down easily produces waterthush, and it only took an extra 5 minutes. It's scenarios like that that make the planning effort of a big day so much easier, when you have a strong familiarly with a region and know where to find basically every target bird you could need. </p><p>In Bruce, I would try to do a serious big day at least once a year. Sometimes this would be with friends, travelling the distance of the county, but other years I did a more local approach and attempted a biking big day in my local patch. On top of being an adrenaline rush, a World Cup of birding even (though the opponent was just a high number most of the time), the big days were also fundraising efforts for Birds Canada and the Ontario Field Ornithologists, so that was the added incentive I didn't need to keep doing them year after year. During the beginning of the Covid pandemic in 2020, my friends and I decided to make a birdathon team and do yard "big sits" from our respective yards across the province. Even though it was quite different from what I was used to doing, it was still one of the more birdathons I have done (post here), and we raised more money than I had on any past birdathons!</p><p><br /></p><p>Back in April of this year, Alessandra and I decided to do a big day around the Long Point region, since we would be staying down there for the field season anyway. I was really hoping that work wouldn't get in the way of doing the big day on a perfect weather day, of which there are precious few of every spring. Luckily our supervisors allowed us to take time off for it if we gave several days notice, so things were looking up, with a rough plan do do our big day around May 20th. I'm sure other birders share this opinion, but May of 2023 was a bit of a letdown in terms of migration. At least around Norfolk and Lake Huron, there was never really a crazy good migration day for the entire month. Sure there were some fun days, but not a single day (for me anyways) with high double digit numbers for multiple warbler species. Something similar happened in 2021, when the midwest experienced a fantastic migration, and here in Ontario things were delayed, then we had a few days of clear skies and everything seemed to have migrated over and left the province. This made choosing a day for a birdathon rather tough, as there wasn't an obvious day to pick. While looking at Birdcast and wind maps, May 19th started to look like it would be our best chance. It fell on a Friday, so we would have the following day off to recover after birding all day. We decided to give it the green light on the night of the 18th, and then went to bed promptly at 8:30.</p><p><br /></p><p>NORFOLK BIG DAY - MAY 19, 2023</p><p><br /></p><p>2:45am, the wake up alarm sounded. Was I slacking because I didn't start at midnight? Maybe a little, but we felt pretty confident that we could get all of our night targets before dawn with time to spare, and it was going to be a long day anyways. Alessandra and I quickly got dressed and stumbled out of the Old Cut field house (where we are living for the season) to the car, where we started driving off of Long Point towards the mainland. It was a cool night (around 7 degrees) and there was a slight breeze coming off the lake, though luckily not strong enough to impede hearing by much. A quick stop at the old provincial Park produced our first two birds of the day, American Robin and American Woodcock. Next we headed inland and spent some time listening around the forest tracts by Backus Woods. Barred Owl was a surprisingly easy addition, and we ended up hearing 4 during the night... Pretty good for Norfolk! We also heard plenty of Eastern Whip-poor-wills and a single Eastern Screech Owl, though every Great Horned Owl in the area chose remained silent. Grasshopper Sparrow and Field Sparrow were both night singing as we drove by the Timpf Farm, both welcome predawn additions. After that we stopped at Hahn Marsh, where we added 8 more species including Virginia Rail, Sora and Common Yellowthroat. It was just after 4:00am at this point, but the marsh was already starting to wake up for the day. Owls secure (- GHOW) we drove back to the point, where we wanted to be at dawn to try and find most of our migrants for the day. On the way we went for a walk at Big Creek, where we added both bittern species, Common Gallinule and Marsh Wren with only a short walk. The fish flies were nasty though, and walking through swarms of them left many caught on my hair and poncho... I hate how they try to fly into your mouth and nose. Getting back into the car was also a challenge with the flies, well over 50 snuck in with us and started buzzing all over the car : (</p><p>On the way back to Old Cut at 5:05am, we did a quick drive through of Hastings Dr, where it was evident that daybreak was about to occur. We heard and saw 23 species, and birdsong was everywhere. Nothing too unusual, just some new day birds like Eastern Kingbird, Baltimore Oriole etc. Arriving at Old Cut at 5:30am, we met up with our 3rd team member, Dale Auchinleck, who was a last minute addition a few days before our big day. </p><p>We had met Dale the previous week at Old Cut, a keen 19 year old birder from Germany who was a volunteer bander at LPBO for the season. After mocking a fellow volunteer for doing "intense birding" with a birdathon team at Pelee not three days before, Dale rather unexpectedly asked if he could tag along on our big day team. He mentioned that he didn't want to slow us down because he wasn't great with Ontario birdsong, but honestly the opposite turned out to be true during the course of the day, when he spotted several species that we would have otherwise missed. I've noticed that a lot of European birders travelling here for the first time are often sharper with identification than a large majority of long time local bird enthusiasts here, which I feel mainly steams from their intense studying of field guides and online resources before they travel here. Last spring I was birding on the tower at Point Pelee with a few Dutch birders, when they started picking out high flying female warblers in morning flight, something that only a small handful of Ontario folks are proficient at. For the majority of the day Dale came along with us, nailing IDs at a quick pace"...</p><p>After walking around the net run and looking off the dike at Old Cut, and not seeing too much besides Northern Parula and Swainson's Thrush, we headed out and into the new provincial park with hopes of nailing down a lot of migrant species. Half an hour later we were well into the park, and migrants were few and far between. Even though migration conditions had been decent overnight, there did not seem to be much of a turnover in migrants. The skies were clear, which meant a lot of birds probably just went right over.. Also cold temperatures likely didn't help much either. Walking through the first campground area led to an increase in new birds though. We heard a Prairie Warbler singing briefly, had a few Orchard Orioles and a Mourning Warbler, and Dale spotted a Red-throated Loon flying over. Shorebirds had been quite sparce for the entire month, but it seemed like we picked a good day as birds were finally arriving. A flock of Semipalmated Plovers flew by the beach, as well as some distant peeps (grrr). A single flyover Bobolink on our way out of the park at 8:00am would be our only one of the day. At this point our species list was at around 108.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEges8KvsfG-oNqcZRnG9KkoAB1cZ8cHr6GhQ04VIfS1g3kNqw6QmUhbn8CR0lvHBj9qgSwNCz3bL8bHh3nxkbQCDbAfJqIRIbTUaaitmUZ-WVVN89tbIeEW3CsTn_Etln70t2D7dcLtKHTPDPXKtJbdQhehO-mcD5dWoWCJl6VkGpo5OaL6_pG5b6GvqiQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEges8KvsfG-oNqcZRnG9KkoAB1cZ8cHr6GhQ04VIfS1g3kNqw6QmUhbn8CR0lvHBj9qgSwNCz3bL8bHh3nxkbQCDbAfJqIRIbTUaaitmUZ-WVVN89tbIeEW3CsTn_Etln70t2D7dcLtKHTPDPXKtJbdQhehO-mcD5dWoWCJl6VkGpo5OaL6_pG5b6GvqiQ" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Baltimore Oriole</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu5lIStONHwTIKbCY_EO89gH4Tq9Omgf5pp9SCDuLiTfANP26FuaM9metJvsn-1dnvmiimT1WlWI7BFtn6l5HZRVzFjXeYPtdzN17QngDN5lwCOio_XYgpr_vzs-2CGRIxY-0c7pw-YftwkI2Rr1yLkWzyh5xyXWcSzDaqsTiDnbmEvYNgmBRbdDlGv4c" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="828" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu5lIStONHwTIKbCY_EO89gH4Tq9Omgf5pp9SCDuLiTfANP26FuaM9metJvsn-1dnvmiimT1WlWI7BFtn6l5HZRVzFjXeYPtdzN17QngDN5lwCOio_XYgpr_vzs-2CGRIxY-0c7pw-YftwkI2Rr1yLkWzyh5xyXWcSzDaqsTiDnbmEvYNgmBRbdDlGv4c" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Me and Dale birding the park</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We then gave the trails at Old Cut another check (nothing) before getting in the car and heading inland, where we hoped to connect with some different breeding birds and hopefully more migrants. Our first stop was Backus Woods, which is definitely one of the best spots around the Norfolk region when it comes to forest bird diversity. A quick loop around the north trails netted us some good day birds, including Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Prothonotary Warbler, Hooded Warbler and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. While getting back into the car I spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk fly overhead, a nice bird to get as accipiters (and most raptors) can be tough on big days. Continuing with our Backus momentum, we made a detour over to the Timpf Farm, snagging Eastern Bluebird, Vesper Sparrow and Red-tailed Hawk with ease. We then circled back towards Port Rowan, stopping briefly at a small flooded field on Concession A along the way to look for shorebirds. Well, calling it a flooded field is a bit generous. It's really just a tiny puddle (maybe a 2 meter diameter of water) surrounded by long dried up and cracked soil and some tall grasses. You wouldn't think this would be an overly productive spot for shorebirds, but somehow it's been more reliable than most other locations in Norfolk. This visit proved to be no different, after a few minutes of scanning 4 Semipalmated Sandpipers and a lone Lesser Yellowlegs revealed themselves, with Horned Lark in the adjacent field being yet another new addition.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht_ja3X9zGl1nVBmsSwNQC5-924YDrmHfJ6D-KerkdgdFvpYtlruuLJX8U3aoukzTHpAihxIH8oBJURYc0ciHKv6CgK4BwVc6VH4W4khRuMblDVZJOPTHTcZUCXmmDafVJiTmfGNKTZ9XqGGua9JpDUxAMzrMkmo8OI6PmecyEpnVsFsHoNz9ZHHSrKTM" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht_ja3X9zGl1nVBmsSwNQC5-924YDrmHfJ6D-KerkdgdFvpYtlruuLJX8U3aoukzTHpAihxIH8oBJURYc0ciHKv6CgK4BwVc6VH4W4khRuMblDVZJOPTHTcZUCXmmDafVJiTmfGNKTZ9XqGGua9JpDUxAMzrMkmo8OI6PmecyEpnVsFsHoNz9ZHHSrKTM" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- "shorebird hotspot"</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p><p>A walk around the Birds Canada headquarters was extremely productive, producing 14 new birds for our ever growing list. Willow Flycatcher and Blue-headed Vireo singing at the forest edge, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck and Northern Shoveler on the lake, as well as another Dale specialty.. the elusive Savannah Sparrow (another species that we only had once all day). We got lucky while scanning the bay, as a flock of shorebirds whipped by then dropped out of sight into an obscured inlet. Most of the flock was made up of Black-bellied Plover and Dunlin, with a single Ruddy Turnstone mixed in. As I said before, seeing any shorebirds around the area had been a challenge all month, so this was another nice bonus. </p><p>It was starting to really heat up at this point in the day, so we headed to Turkey Point to see if there were any shorebirds loafing on the beach.. and also to get some lunch. The main target for this location was Bonaparte's Gull, and maybe some shorebirds if we were lucky. A scan of the beach and marina revealed nothing, and I do mean nothing. There always seems to be some bonnies here, so that was a major oof. Dale treated us to lunch at a burger joint in Turkey Point, and then we were off again! The large food intake and first "rest time" of the day did have an effect on the team though, as soon after driving away both of my teammates were having an afternoon nap. I took advantage of this time to do some driving around the countryside, hoping to pick up some shorebirds and raptors. Driving through a few townsites with the windows down produced Chimney Swift and House Finch... Two more easy birds out of the way. My main destination was a small flooded field just outside of Walsingham, where we had had some luck with shorebirds during the past few weeks. Most of the fields around Norfolk had been dry all May, so actually finding one with water was a bit of a challenge. After pulling up to the said field and waking up the others, we scanned the field for signs of life. A lot had changed in a week, as it was now almost completely dry and overgrown with grasses. We still managed to pick up a day bird though, 6 Least Sandpipers were scurrying around the dried up muddy area.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWLZXUhpCRkEusfXUOkvj6MnEf8j_4HLDM_Wtit_bjU-nUhCcMqWcuDiLZW2l8kqsZ7sRL-wfSUUmOiECbGOQEFSs6g0Npe8kRmRslIrhu_eYD4ahkGwez8taPOMyp9S9x1sqwYg_0FRrUObqXwJbjOWMhbQe4DtA_3b7m9aIBcLlMbt0I44f48MFUtDM" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWLZXUhpCRkEusfXUOkvj6MnEf8j_4HLDM_Wtit_bjU-nUhCcMqWcuDiLZW2l8kqsZ7sRL-wfSUUmOiECbGOQEFSs6g0Npe8kRmRslIrhu_eYD4ahkGwez8taPOMyp9S9x1sqwYg_0FRrUObqXwJbjOWMhbQe4DtA_3b7m9aIBcLlMbt0I44f48MFUtDM=w180-h320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Midday nap vibes</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>It was mid afternoon at this point, the sun glaring and the temperature near 25 degrees. The birding was definitely quieting down a bit, so we decided to return to Old Cut to get some snacks/water and walk around the shaded trails... Maybe kick up a lingering White-throated Sparrow. On route we stopped by Hastings Drive again, for a quick scan of the sandy beach at the end of road in case shorebirds dropped in. That turned out to be a very good decision, as the a large group of shorebirds were roosting on the sand! Among the 85 Dunlin were; 3 Sanderling, 21 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 12 Short-billed Dowitcher and also a Spotted Sandpiper a bit further down on the rocks. All but the Spottie and Dunlin were new, a fantastic score for some midday birding. Behind the shorebirds sat a Trumpeter Swan and a Caspian Tern, both new day birds. The former can be a tough bird to track down when you want it, and the latter had just been a weird miss up until that point. The daylist was up to 144 at this time.</p><p>Back at Old Cut we spent around half an hour working the forest for birds, of which there were a surprising number of considering it was the worst time of day for passerines. We saw 54 species around the station trails, including one new bird, A Ruby-crowned Kinglet... Quiet late and unexpected! We decided a good use of the late afternoon/early evening would be driving slowly around the sand roads at St. Williams and Backus, hopefully hearing a Pine Warbler or some cuckoos from the car... Both weird misses. The drive would turn out to be fairly quiet, but we did get our Pine Warbler (148), and also a surprise Blue-winged Teal flyby on the way out of Backus (149).</p><p>It was just after 7pm at this point and time was running out, so the big question was what to do with the remaining daylight. A few ideas were looking for songbirds in forest or walking Big Creek, but ultimately we decided to go back to Hastings and bird there thoroughly for an hour. Hastings had been quite good to us during the day, and there was also a report of Red Knot and White-eyed Vireo from earlier in the day... Both would be good day ticks, but also they are fun birds to see at any time in southern Ontario. As we were heading for the causeway, I spotted two Common Ravens sitting out in a farm field. Another tough Norfolk bird, and also our #150 for the day! Arriving back at Hastings, we quickly set up the scopes and scanned through the shorebirds again. This time the Red Knot (151) was quite obvious (of course), feeding out in the open with a group of Dunlin. Riding on that success I scoped through a flock of gulls that were loafing on the beach and picked on an immature Lesser Black-backed, a good bird away from the tip of Long Point (152).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGBKykgxPsxgcNCImn40fPxsBl6_jf4jbUj6dskqCdxAs8Q--ivYDmGbK79IfgBjYVxwxC64MePaXgZF6MEYeXPypokh_Jpbs15K1weF6INos0v6FBD3Ppc1grVEPOBJDz--niJspsSgKCs8Gda6-TEl3hFVhsohQQHhH_4-zRq30Zc-YL2EHDW8MTjpE" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGBKykgxPsxgcNCImn40fPxsBl6_jf4jbUj6dskqCdxAs8Q--ivYDmGbK79IfgBjYVxwxC64MePaXgZF6MEYeXPypokh_Jpbs15K1weF6INos0v6FBD3Ppc1grVEPOBJDz--niJspsSgKCs8Gda6-TEl3hFVhsohQQHhH_4-zRq30Zc-YL2EHDW8MTjpE" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- See the Red Knot?</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnBNqUM6LeNM7xfeUUUo_UWQjA5O_u5rqiPChx3jvV4yrR5Q8dUhkoBCE4SDiQGgpXSLuXIsksDzgB2Qzx42SNcOFmwAFKq7X97RCFqbKhyVZ4EbN9s6w-PGwEh8caSCvDDqyRo2OyWC9vLqSYyXk8kDbA8m6BAE8sVy-4a6SAQvy9rGmncPn8xPLq4ME" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnBNqUM6LeNM7xfeUUUo_UWQjA5O_u5rqiPChx3jvV4yrR5Q8dUhkoBCE4SDiQGgpXSLuXIsksDzgB2Qzx42SNcOFmwAFKq7X97RCFqbKhyVZ4EbN9s6w-PGwEh8caSCvDDqyRo2OyWC9vLqSYyXk8kDbA8m6BAE8sVy-4a6SAQvy9rGmncPn8xPLq4ME" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Dunlin flock</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRewAsOFSCZPpfGQeHbpuUqtavBOprWvlBijRlugLsLgiJir6RX8rlBESLRmRw76MQ5lOUWuYgy4kWwXWfX0DjVSBASTcVU4fDVR-KDaTw9tiFHkipId9zQhj0eAah3K4PDghr18i-5M8lqiMPmecfK6Bo9q9bG_JwCMtvT2k12bfWlry-6-jdZCpFSh4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRewAsOFSCZPpfGQeHbpuUqtavBOprWvlBijRlugLsLgiJir6RX8rlBESLRmRw76MQ5lOUWuYgy4kWwXWfX0DjVSBASTcVU4fDVR-KDaTw9tiFHkipId9zQhj0eAah3K4PDghr18i-5M8lqiMPmecfK6Bo9q9bG_JwCMtvT2k12bfWlry-6-jdZCpFSh4" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Lesser Black-backed Gull</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p> A bit further down the beach a ratty, stained orange duck sat with some Mallards, head tucked in to its wing. Investigation with the scope revealed a female Greater Scaup (153), another late, unexpected bird. Waterbirds secured, we started working the treeline at the edge of the road to try and find that pesky White-eyed Vireo. A lot of songbirds were moving around the shrubs, including our last two easy warblers for the day, Canada (154) and Wilson's (155). We didn't admit defeat until the sun was basically out of sight and all the songbird activity had ceased... Ah well you can't get them all!</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8JyqxbkQKi9ihZtDO7a-kNtz_B8lmfy8Gaj6EjZpRaWwUmH18X1XkXGkPIaWCh90YSnBbYcxfZDyFKxl5iSpHnLnsLKDUnLVXbL3GWQWx9SNyBANeR5p6qz405fssMyba9Jctzzn5np5RJc5gXZzqpaHn7mm-XatdnM22btBZedBtd8Gt1nVfYUYQD_o" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8JyqxbkQKi9ihZtDO7a-kNtz_B8lmfy8Gaj6EjZpRaWwUmH18X1XkXGkPIaWCh90YSnBbYcxfZDyFKxl5iSpHnLnsLKDUnLVXbL3GWQWx9SNyBANeR5p6qz405fssMyba9Jctzzn5np5RJc5gXZzqpaHn7mm-XatdnM22btBZedBtd8Gt1nVfYUYQD_o" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Trumpeter Swan flying off to roost with Canada Geese </td></tr></tbody></table><br />We dropped Dale off at Old Cut after that (he had to band the next day) and headed to Big Creek to have a look off of the viewing platform to look for Black-crowned Night-Herons. It only took a few minutes before Alessandra and I saw a lone bird flying over the distant treeline, just as the sun was about to set. That Night-Heron (156) would end up being our last species for the day, not a bad species to end a fantastic day! We did put in some time listening for nighthawk and Great Horned Owl around New Provincial Park, but the wind picked up a bit and it just wasn't meant to be. At 10:30 we stumbled through the doors at Old Cut and immediately went to sleep, an exhausting day but well worth it.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>Weirdest misses? Red-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Harrier, Common Nighthawk, Cooper's Hawk... Lots of weird stuff.....</p><p>In the end we raised close to $800 for Birds Canada, so it was definitely worthwhile. In the future I would love to try some more variations of the birdathon, like a pure biking big day and an attempt at the Ontario record.... </p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-47680750809420731852023-05-15T15:56:00.001-07:002023-05-15T15:56:40.601-07:00The blog... It's... Alive?!?<p> It’s been months since my last post, perhaps the biggest span I’ve gone without writing since I started my blog. It was so hectic trying to keep up with posts during 2022, so I think I had a bit of writing fatigue after the year was over haha. Also, life has been pretty busy recently! </p><p>In early April I moved down to Long Point with Alessandra, where we are both working for Birds Canada on the Forest Birds At Risk program. The field season so far has been tiring, yet rewarding, and the free time I have after work is normally spent birding/sleeping. The average day here involves waking up around dawn, then driving to a forest tract around the Norfolk/Elgin region with Alessandra and our two other coworkers. We then split up and survey the area, keeping track of all the birds we encounter, but mainly focusing on one species… the Louisiana Waterthrush. Later in the season our other 4 target species (Red-headed Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Cerulean and Prothonotary Warblers) will take up most of our time, but for now the waterthrush is the only one back on territory. Louisiana’s are unique as far as Ontario warblers go, arriving back in the province in early April and setting up territories shortly after that. Their preferred habitat in this region is deep ravines with fast flowing water, where they teeter along the banks in a state of constant tail bobbing hunting for prey. They occasionally nest on sloughs in Carolinian forests too, though this doesn’t seem to be as common. They remind me of dippers, as much as one who hasn’t seen a dipper can be reminded of one… as they sit on logs and rock in the centre of rapidly moving water, plunging their heads in to grab microscopic invertebrates. This past week has been a busy one, as several of the pairs we are monitoring have nests with eggs, and one even has chicks now! It seems like the season has only just begun, but this will be my 6th week conducting Waterthrush surveys. Soon I’ll be getting even busier, as next week point count season begins… a grueling month of predawn bird surveys around Norfolk County, with other species at risk surveys in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to the Huron Fringe Birding Festival, because this year I’m leading 4 hikes and also giving a presentation on my big year. I am not looking forward to driving to Bruce and back during my only days off, doing a big day hike, and then returning to Norfolk for predawn the next day… life of a working birder though : )</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3Gm8lsoZMIkObCxn7eBrt4VkWPwRcJf-n8MS83Jfw7J1IO9nLEVgzw3qAsvJ0m19jFCEWE2LsqZFAgkZ2Ab17qoNV4B_Uic9GQCYDawWccotw4EbaWVdnkUtKfJC0UYkTPVyVXfYZoY7ABzVlYKbsFg489x7jmQY6uAOSmOq2p0V-JdDfnRFJSGmv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3Gm8lsoZMIkObCxn7eBrt4VkWPwRcJf-n8MS83Jfw7J1IO9nLEVgzw3qAsvJ0m19jFCEWE2LsqZFAgkZ2Ab17qoNV4B_Uic9GQCYDawWccotw4EbaWVdnkUtKfJC0UYkTPVyVXfYZoY7ABzVlYKbsFg489x7jmQY6uAOSmOq2p0V-JdDfnRFJSGmv" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>Since we arrived here, we have had plenty of time to bird as we have weekends off, and the work day normally ends in the early afternoon (though on most days a midday nap is required before heading out again). It’s been an… interesting… spring for migration down here, with several surges of birds and also long periods of limited movement. It’s kind of funny, growing up in Bruce I was used to the counties around Lake Erie getting all the migrants first, and then having to wait a week or two until they reached me. This year though, it seems a lot of species are showing up on the peninsula before I’m getting them here!! Almost like the birds are avoiding me😅. There have definitely been some highlights so far though, and it’s still only mid May so spring migration is just getting good now.</p><p>All of the rarities I’ve crossed paths with so far were in April, with nothing tooo rare for a few weeks now.</p><p>A few days after starting work, Alessandra and I found a Fish Crow at the “New” Provincial Park here at Long Point. While it’s not that big of a rarity (1-3 a year around the area), it was still a new self found bird for me… so I was happy with the find. During that same week there was also a female Ruff on the Long Point Causeway. This bird was very distant, shown well by this record shot(?), but scope views were still nice enough. There would later on be a 2nd (possibility 3rd) Ruff found here, but we only saw the 1. I still haven’t seen a adult male Ruff in Ontario, though I’m sure I’ll cross paths with one someday.</p><p><br /></p><p>On April 14th a rather strange bird appeared near Long Point... A Black-billed Magpie. In Ontario normally these birds are only found East of Thunder Bay near Rainy River, so one in the southern part of the province is very unusual. To make things even more interesting, this was the 4th magpie reported in the southwest in the span of a week! The first showed up near London, followed by another just outside of Guelph and one by Hamilton. There wasn't any overlap between the reports, so it could just be one or two birds involved... Hard to say though. Magpies are rarely kept in captivity, but I guess anything is possible. We drove over to chase it since it was only a few minutes, and within a few minutes of waiting a Black-billed Magpie called and flew down beside the road. I am leaning towards a wild bird, since magpie movement is poorly known and the timing fits with other sightings around the south (there was one a few years ago at Pelee during May). Oh yeah, I was recently voted onto OBRC! So I guess I will be dealing with these records next year...</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAWwqNociEnn_W5PxkW1nWPaohxnvapB4d4hR3CKYExfNMjy0zLDe7onV4gCHDeml55vK7vzQwTvuwJl08U7KISqo2pPU9S3q4nXYUqzHCilZrqgm8aSj8bXao8nmqCx_FDUNwezk4W596esugmCI-ZwpqKKxyBe-rDTB9CnM7IZGBYirkSqeIqj7p" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="724" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAWwqNociEnn_W5PxkW1nWPaohxnvapB4d4hR3CKYExfNMjy0zLDe7onV4gCHDeml55vK7vzQwTvuwJl08U7KISqo2pPU9S3q4nXYUqzHCilZrqgm8aSj8bXao8nmqCx_FDUNwezk4W596esugmCI-ZwpqKKxyBe-rDTB9CnM7IZGBYirkSqeIqj7p=w320-h213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Black-billed Magpie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>The biggest highlight so far was on April 24th, in the form of a Swallow-tailed Kite. On April 22nd a kite was reported to eBird late in the day, with the comments saying it was just circling over the road. I thought it was probably a legit report, but given the one-observer-wonder nature of most raptor sightings, I figured it wouldn’t be seen again. Then, the next day another birder reported the kite in almost exactly the same spot, again just circling over the road. At the same time, a Henslow’s Sparrow was reported at the provincial park. Alessandra and I quickly drove up to the kite spot, arriving only around 40 minutes after the initial report. Searched for 2 hours… nothing, but seemingly every other species or raptor was flying over! We then went to look for the Henslow’s, but the wind had picked up a bit and we came up empty. A bit dejected, we headed back to the cottage for a meal, figuring we wouldn’t see either rarity. Then guess what? They are both seen at the same time again at 4pm! Though reports didn’t surface for another two hours… frustration… drove back to the kite spot again and stayed until dusk… Nada. Ironically I think I would have seen one of these birds if the other wasn’t also found, because ping-ponging back and forth between them caused me to miss both. The following day we had to work, but as soon as we were done we drove back to look for the kite again. It hasn’t been seen so far that day, but migration conditions were quite poor so I was pretty sure it was still hanging around. We parked beside the road and began the stakeout, and no more than 20 minutes later, wham… Swallow-tailed Kite circles over the field beside us! We watched it for over two hours as other birders came and left, the kite looking a bit miserable in the cold weather. Since the bird had arrived temperatures had been under 10 degrees, getting close to 0 at night, and it was rainy with hardly any insects around. When we were observing it a brief snow flurry passed by, probably the first the kite had ever seen… a strange combination for sure… snow and a kite. It remained cold for the rest of that week, and the bird was observed hunkering down and not being too active. A few days later, it was gone for good, never to be seen again. Fingers crossed it managed to survive and get out of Ontario! Truly a magnificent bird, it was my 2nd time seeing this species in Ontario, and the first for Alessandra.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgE6-Xfg41wYjs-3L0MDQfrV8mALf1aJoRAHU67_D-IbKDo5sDEl-3t0dXhfZY3loFp1VyfQMow8V9Ehb7FFj0ZgV9cYaR9imrQDI_wm1dPau-YleqoqMvB15AbD7i_P-ONWmzmdtkK7sN_FuQFFZ10vhhcQlO9HD47lDWeZBNMXAqXEElxGdf0K3Wy" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgE6-Xfg41wYjs-3L0MDQfrV8mALf1aJoRAHU67_D-IbKDo5sDEl-3t0dXhfZY3loFp1VyfQMow8V9Ehb7FFj0ZgV9cYaR9imrQDI_wm1dPau-YleqoqMvB15AbD7i_P-ONWmzmdtkK7sN_FuQFFZ10vhhcQlO9HD47lDWeZBNMXAqXEElxGdf0K3Wy" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Swallow-tailed Kite</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCibImD17-OOqTevmTjvyrWFM77ipvHupXzQpeYhHY1dpAhxy0AkG5N6Gs5Lz4yJlCtFYwNkm8h-GJUP08Y-b2OPRVBS9_OwH5rDdqpe81Qab_dOfjaa_HTXRhgbWm9hWRJdTVA1-QBj_j-UM4mjTzoC9suqJgxsMY7v72bNtv4OwuNQuENAZ9Dy-f" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCibImD17-OOqTevmTjvyrWFM77ipvHupXzQpeYhHY1dpAhxy0AkG5N6Gs5Lz4yJlCtFYwNkm8h-GJUP08Y-b2OPRVBS9_OwH5rDdqpe81Qab_dOfjaa_HTXRhgbWm9hWRJdTVA1-QBj_j-UM4mjTzoC9suqJgxsMY7v72bNtv4OwuNQuENAZ9Dy-f" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin3psJoGwz-cNjHNwTxFGyd0moiPSlgDsjWfJNfkCrVDHwyK9Iep-C3w2HZzrv7Ggi30V46_n5OC_furVveT1HK9LiyLZI39E1pvFVFdeUD6wdbf2Ibx3VRU3CqvcyNphRoTiRG5OKkpE1dEDZAo0U_70kGZUSU_asVQ5D9w7WLGsyV8agzhbIrDuy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1659" data-original-width="2045" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin3psJoGwz-cNjHNwTxFGyd0moiPSlgDsjWfJNfkCrVDHwyK9Iep-C3w2HZzrv7Ggi30V46_n5OC_furVveT1HK9LiyLZI39E1pvFVFdeUD6wdbf2Ibx3VRU3CqvcyNphRoTiRG5OKkpE1dEDZAo0U_70kGZUSU_asVQ5D9w7WLGsyV8agzhbIrDuy" width="296" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p>Overall though, I have found this to be one of the quieter spring migrations I have experienced. The lack of morning flight birding (due to work) may be hurting my impression of this spring too, as I haven't hit a single big day for movement. Hoping things pick up later this month...</p><p><br /></p><p>In other news, Alessandra and I are doing a Birdathon big day around the Long Point area next week! The original plan was to do it this weekend, but there simply aren't enough breeding birds back yet. We are trying for a really high total (ideally 170s or higher), so hopefully things pan out. I'll write a post about how it goes. Donations appreciated! </p><p>https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/Birds_Canada/p2p/birdathon23/team/gyrkite/</p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-1393429507981242922023-02-20T11:03:00.000-08:002023-02-20T11:03:11.370-08:00Winter birding back at home<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I haven’t posted on here for some time now, with the big year being over things are just less frantic these days and my urge to write has dwindled slightly.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It’s been interesting birding “normally” again and experiencing a quiet winter around my local patch on the Bruce Peninsula. A part of me misses the chaos of it all, the feeling that I always have to ready to go, driven by the all encompassing pursuit of a record. Overall though I enjoy the feeling of peace, and being able to pause and opportunity nature at a slower pace. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This winter has been rather uneventful for birds in the area, aside from a few county rarities like Little Gull and Harlequin Duck (neither seen by me). Due to an apparent crash in rodent populations in the open habitats around the peninsula, there area virtually no raptors wintering here. A day long drive around Ferndale in January only produced a single Rough-legged Hawk, and I’ve only seen two Snowy Owls since the new year. The irruptive northern finches are also lacking, aside from Pine Grosbeaks which are around in low numbers. I’ve seen a single redpoll this year, and no crossbills or Evening Grosbeaks. The other main irruptive species we get here is Red-breasted Nuthatch, and similar to the finches, they’re around in very low numbers too (I’ve had 1 in my 5MR, a far cry from 2021, when I had 150 on a single road!!).</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6CnYe-hQl1AuyQzpROK_ZlzVNIxCZ_BVfX9jSSna_DYAPCS92DtnBcvXGt6d1d2-Dr2szD9PATEFgdCtDfhtp9RXu6CzrKUhUdkFZBs77Y8ddbjezQNuM4v_aVXmYADItA1gOvt-zMMouE8c4yYKtgyL1A0TXlHerdokH-Kmu6Qx2X9z9T8dcqY4A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6CnYe-hQl1AuyQzpROK_ZlzVNIxCZ_BVfX9jSSna_DYAPCS92DtnBcvXGt6d1d2-Dr2szD9PATEFgdCtDfhtp9RXu6CzrKUhUdkFZBs77Y8ddbjezQNuM4v_aVXmYADItA1gOvt-zMMouE8c4yYKtgyL1A0TXlHerdokH-Kmu6Qx2X9z9T8dcqY4A" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Snowy Owl</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This may sound rather bleak, especially considering the majority of year the sky has been an unrelenting shade of winter grey. In some ways it has been too, but there are always exciting moments if you look close enough. An adult Northern Goshawk has been wintering around my area and it has appeared briefly in a flash of power and speed a few times, the classic way to encounter this mysterious forester hunter. Last week it gave me and Alessandra a rare, prolonged view as it circled over the yard. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4nl_NUMtlr-IXlw_prwXxRyoimC354mdbz_OB-DB1hfKcTx7nTlujKNYZ-Op_pVmZfxqq21MapiMJe5wLlS0byR8YMmkZPxuKuG95zoaTKInhhEq9ClJigtV4alaHSaoao0DAtyyW2BwKuJLvSeERGDx82kw0n8eOWzKf2nUQFtIZNw-aaGazq_q/s403/C2C717AF-8312-4392-9308-624BA098B44F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="403" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4nl_NUMtlr-IXlw_prwXxRyoimC354mdbz_OB-DB1hfKcTx7nTlujKNYZ-Op_pVmZfxqq21MapiMJe5wLlS0byR8YMmkZPxuKuG95zoaTKInhhEq9ClJigtV4alaHSaoao0DAtyyW2BwKuJLvSeERGDx82kw0n8eOWzKf2nUQFtIZNw-aaGazq_q/w320-h198/C2C717AF-8312-4392-9308-624BA098B44F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Northern Goshawk</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">There have also been a fair number of Golden Eagles around this year, I’ve chanced into 4 so far while driving backroads of the county. This may be an annual winter bird here, but spotting a large, long tailed eagle flying in horizon with its wings held in a dihedral position never fails to get the heart racing. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPWaZWwOEXAaFTonLDUYklRJrusysJ7_qESs7t-jc3MJhZskte2ieCig9HnPYJSZnL3SSoolc5ykQxC3odez2VU8omfgcu6J_BMgvdLdIHrHA74oXzc5dEXqKsmit_Jxz51f61FLPJDKjcApM-a7Dh4BP7hGP_Isl7psFzACVN7WrshUFNEJn-WMGr" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPWaZWwOEXAaFTonLDUYklRJrusysJ7_qESs7t-jc3MJhZskte2ieCig9HnPYJSZnL3SSoolc5ykQxC3odez2VU8omfgcu6J_BMgvdLdIHrHA74oXzc5dEXqKsmit_Jxz51f61FLPJDKjcApM-a7Dh4BP7hGP_Isl7psFzACVN7WrshUFNEJn-WMGr" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Golden Eagle</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Birding with Alessandra around the Bruce has been quite rewarding as well. Since she’s not very familiar with the county I’m able to introduce her to all of my favourite haunts, in a way it’s like rediscovering all the places that sparked my interest in birding years ago.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Come February I am always at high risk for getting pre-migration anticipation, and I begin to search desperately for signs of movement in the sky. This year the weather has been rather fluid, fluctuating back and forth between winter and spring conditions and never landing on one for very long before flipping to the other again. Last week we were treated to some unseasonably warm weather, with temperatures above freezing for over a week and even closing in on 12 degrees some days. On February 12th, a push of warm air and a sunny day (a rarity it seems) lured my out into the yard to try an impromptu skywatch. While not exciting by the standards of most southern Ontario birders, I was pleased with my day spent staring up into the blue. The 15 species I saw were highlighted by a flyover Horned Lark (my earliest by two weeks in the yard), 8 Bald Eagles and over 30 American Crows. Normally I get large flights of eagles here in mid March, but I’ve never had this many in a single day in February. Crows may not seem like a sign of spring for many, but they’ve always been one of my first spring birds here. Low numbers winter on the peninsula, though in my neighbourhood I hardly see any in December or January. Come mid February I begin seeing one or two flying over, heading north well above the trees and remaining uncharacteristically silent. As the weeks pass the crows increase in numbers, peaking with a few hundred in a single day over my property. They generally pass by in loosely formed groups, and they seem to be heading north with a purpose, silent as to not evoke the ire of the local crows (at least that’s my best guess at this).</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_iB_XXEbjFxV1-NMooQVdB9BarKPjICYPWJU_uIUoxivj_WgtIWsxRIjBbo0jPab4Dvs8i4kJGOfVKv26XpX3PBk8MGOG4wZ-AT-VZkMNGaHYGw-e9dpXBbAex1NZOSfh5Fnm15KAm80C_DZ5om7j-PYzmm9DIVqWY-ggCQs9dQ3duZ88r-l7WnkG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_iB_XXEbjFxV1-NMooQVdB9BarKPjICYPWJU_uIUoxivj_WgtIWsxRIjBbo0jPab4Dvs8i4kJGOfVKv26XpX3PBk8MGOG4wZ-AT-VZkMNGaHYGw-e9dpXBbAex1NZOSfh5Fnm15KAm80C_DZ5om7j-PYzmm9DIVqWY-ggCQs9dQ3duZ88r-l7WnkG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Horned Lark</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> A few days ago I went on a Bruce Birding Club field trip around the southern part of the county, where we came across some more early migrants in the form of American Wigeon, Canvasback, Ring-billed Gulls and Horned Lark. The ducks will push northward with the first warm fronts in February, then retreat only as far as they have to when the weather sours. It seems like an interesting strategy, as most winters they are forced to bounce back and forth several times before conditions improve for good. Ducks are strong fliers though, so travelling a few hundred kilometers probably doesn’t faze them much.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">As I’m writing this we appear to be approaching the end of the warm weather for a bit, the forecast saying we’ll be experiencing more seasonal temperatures for the next several weeks. I’m hoping for another early spring, and I can’t wait to get back into the excitement of spring migration. Late March has always been one of my favourite times of the year, right when the American Woodcock, Killdeer and Eastern Meadowlarks are appearing, the fields and forests melting and the mild evenings dominated by the song of American Robin and Red-winged Blackbird, after months of silence. Only another few weeks of waiting…</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSh_PHyzZF1S9D9Ld97_wQEE5BWxuHiv5CytGgWYcnlA34qVK2IBzHwTVlPqKP7voYGkSdeL7HKHPl-gmLEaS9hmKgwgjbD-cv6iosfmpN8DoCzIie8bKlH-L6cVvDQtqHIf3yZu_9B2uHYHbDorM4nnxgvtkuZTnha2nHxiYBXPEFQL6JbAvU8gIi/s4032/855EEA4A-4403-4300-AACC-B6C45D2CE337.jpeg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSh_PHyzZF1S9D9Ld97_wQEE5BWxuHiv5CytGgWYcnlA34qVK2IBzHwTVlPqKP7voYGkSdeL7HKHPl-gmLEaS9hmKgwgjbD-cv6iosfmpN8DoCzIie8bKlH-L6cVvDQtqHIf3yZu_9B2uHYHbDorM4nnxgvtkuZTnha2nHxiYBXPEFQL6JbAvU8gIi/s320/855EEA4A-4403-4300-AACC-B6C45D2CE337.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Not spring quite yet...</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-35038236948609414942023-01-28T18:00:00.005-08:002023-01-29T07:47:06.013-08:00Looking Back at 2022<div class="separator"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-size-adjust: auto;">It’s been a few weeks since my last post about big year stats… I was planning on following that up with several other updates, but there’s certainly less incentive now! During 2022 blogging was always a rush, most of the time I felt behind and there was a strong urge to pump out new content for people following along with my year.</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">December 31st was filled with a mix of emotions. Relief that the frantic chasing was over, and that I could now disable eBird/discord alerts and not have a constant sense of anxiety about where my car would be headed next. Nostalgia and a tad of sadness that the wild ride was actually over, because for the past 12 months I had such a driven purpose that I never really had to question what to do just, next bird, next trip, and so on. I spent the last day of the year birding through southwestern Ontario looking mainly for geese and waterfowl along the shoreline. It wasn’t exactly a picturesque winter day, with dense fog, a light drizzle, and temperatures refusing to drop below the freezing mark (8 degrees actually); it felt more like late March than December. There was still that winter greyness to the landscape though and the lack of singing robins, budding trees, and an overall sense of hope made it clear that winter was far from over. The Middlesex dump had a few hundred gulls roosting in the field beside it, though seeing them through the fog was a bit of a challenge. A single first year Glaucous Gull was the main highlight. </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVACQaalE3zK1CEMI4PSTlyEbmUta46hRbmxsODFCBYVpui0LS6KhwySxPT0ZcqS3J8v-uBWzm8tqcMRXuOWsEi5A0rnzVkeeLZGVCbf3J5U9UxtiAhe9DH1ZY674HeGQ28PeBMVY684v5-QqEv1spFFqjrwmqZjGxt4ccDVMwEhSEo24ldgzfvJh8/s2272/455DC013-CEBE-4D7B-A1B5-D7A4CA674E45.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1831" data-original-width="2272" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVACQaalE3zK1CEMI4PSTlyEbmUta46hRbmxsODFCBYVpui0LS6KhwySxPT0ZcqS3J8v-uBWzm8tqcMRXuOWsEi5A0rnzVkeeLZGVCbf3J5U9UxtiAhe9DH1ZY674HeGQ28PeBMVY684v5-QqEv1spFFqjrwmqZjGxt4ccDVMwEhSEo24ldgzfvJh8/s320/455DC013-CEBE-4D7B-A1B5-D7A4CA674E45.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Glaucous Gull</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I wasn’t really planning on being in Ontario at that point. The idea was to visit Alessandra’s family in Ohio for a week after Christmas, but, like many plans laid during a big year, things can change quickly. First southern Ontario was blasted with an intense winter storm during the days around Christmas, with extensive road closures and 4 feet of snow shutting down travel. Second, during the last week of the year William and Ezra got a Gyrfalcon for their yearlist bringing them both to 357, only two birds behind me. Since February I had been up by a few, but around July I had established a 4 bird lead, which held through most of the fall. Ezra needed Ring-necked Pheasant, which are present year round on Manitoulin Island, so it was only a matter of a trip for him to gain one back on me. Once he got that in mid December it was down to 3, which was still decently comfortable though definitely not impossible to get back! I was very impressed with William who, despite being over 12 birds behind in September, managed to close the gap and be tied with Ezra by December. Then they got gyr so I only had a lead of two. Unfortunately, William had missed some birds earlier in the year so he would need two real rarities to catch up. Ezra on the other hand needed goshawk, which meant if he got that he’d only need one rarity to catch me. Mainly because of this (and weather), we decided not to leave Ontario until the 31st. That way if something did show up I could *probably* still get it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that that I was that competitive with the other guys… both Ezra and William had successfully broken the old record too and we’d taken numerous trips together during the year, and at the end of it a big year is really a personal challenge. There was some aspect of competition though, but I feel like that’s just unavoidable at a certain point. If I lacked motivation for chases, or just getting out birding, having the others so close behind would light a fire in me to keep going and give it 110%. I wasn’t just going to back down at the end of the year and hand it over ; )</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Of course I couldn’t leave the province, and my big year, without a bit of last minute stress when a possible Ivory Gull was reported in Ottawa on December 30th. As much as I wanted 360, I really did not want to drive 7 hours all the way across the province on the final day of the year. Luckily, it wasn’t refound in the morning and after 10am it would have been too late for me to get there from the south regardless, so I continued towards the border. A few final stops in Erieau and Wheatley turned up a soggy Great Horned Owl, a variety of gulls, and a cursed domestic duck that I swear gave Steller’s Eider vibes until I got it in my scope. </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqU7k79_4IZJwdhs-pXaAEfdhiw9yBCoHBwz7dXOtJfm2e9BHkeRvQYEvxgBraKzFustdRGW_K7dZsBztuT2_l40WCwjwFxgnHDjD-JJ6FbuX2pAvC4uzpygMWzmfl9f_JTgwjWk2yREML2S1jtpdPC2axOagMu6Ofajk7V4pgWoGrych_UndMIXl/s4032/ADD1C4C1-8C6A-44BA-88F8-8F4684F057FA.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqU7k79_4IZJwdhs-pXaAEfdhiw9yBCoHBwz7dXOtJfm2e9BHkeRvQYEvxgBraKzFustdRGW_K7dZsBztuT2_l40WCwjwFxgnHDjD-JJ6FbuX2pAvC4uzpygMWzmfl9f_JTgwjWk2yREML2S1jtpdPC2axOagMu6Ofajk7V4pgWoGrych_UndMIXl/s320/ADD1C4C1-8C6A-44BA-88F8-8F4684F057FA.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Great Horned Owl, Erieau </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSt12ONSEa2Kvvd1VoFZSp1lWshPFo2OZBbjQ9F71xLkJinIay0uG_h4BtZhwS3zjMS8vbv99lUMGkA6VKRsg6RsrPdpnA25mZopHuLUfeD5X5uXu3tsq1Vc-Uy-L69PQqRHM7gT02tv2l_J4DBQCHCJJI6rVWwNITwJ0MTDj670bXA-B8Tg2BNBV/s4032/0E74D9C3-F3D8-476B-8245-F019E9406D45.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSt12ONSEa2Kvvd1VoFZSp1lWshPFo2OZBbjQ9F71xLkJinIay0uG_h4BtZhwS3zjMS8vbv99lUMGkA6VKRsg6RsrPdpnA25mZopHuLUfeD5X5uXu3tsq1Vc-Uy-L69PQqRHM7gT02tv2l_J4DBQCHCJJI6rVWwNITwJ0MTDj670bXA-B8Tg2BNBV/s320/0E74D9C3-F3D8-476B-8245-F019E9406D45.jpeg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Wheatley, December 31st</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Coming up to the border in Windsor, I looked out the window and spotted a Blue Jay flying over the highway, my last Ontario bird of 2022. My first of 2022 was a Great Horned Owl in Niagara, not a bad starting and ending bird! </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">As we drove south over the Ambassador Bridge, and down through Detroit to join up with I-75, the sun set on the final day of the year. Ironically, as soon as we had crossed over into the US the skies had cleared and it was a gorgeous day for the remainder of the drive, of course. Listening to my music playlist, which was carefully edited during my many long road trips around the province, I was hit by a flood of memories from the year. Camping on the Wetum Road in -45 in the deadly silence of the north, snarfing down cliff bars and other dried food and watching the northern lights shimmering above. Spending long days in Ottawa in March and April, watching tens of thousands of geese fly through the air, searching for that one that was a little bit different. Living at Point Pelee for a whole month in May, birding dawn ‘til dusk every day, exhausted, but full of excitement to see what migrants the next day would bring. That was actually my first time visiting Pelee during the spring, something I’d been meaning to do for years. Watching reverse migration off of the tip was without a doubt the most fun birding I did all year, and I can’t wait to go back! The spring also brought me Alessandra, who on top of being an amazing girlfriend, also turned out to be my perfect travelling companion for the rest of the year. She did such a fantastic job of keeping me motivated and going on chases with me, which really shows how supportive she is because, although she’s obsessed with birds, she doesn’t really like twitching.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">There were definitely low points in the year too, like chasing Townsend’s Warbler 4 times and spending a whole 28 hours sitting in that cold back yard (finally got it though), getting covid in February and a bad flu in the fall. </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Exploring the province so thoroughly is something that I think often isn’t highlighted as much as it should be during big years. Going into 2022, I had a decent familiarity with southern Ontario, but anywhere north of Sudbury and east of Toronto were unknown to me. Seeing Ontario, from the steep winding hills of northern Ontario, to the frozen Arctic Ocean in Kenora District, and the valleys of Ottawa were experiences I’ll remember for the rest of my life. There are many spots that I only visited briefly and want to return to in the future. Being constantly on the go is the nature of a big year, usually only spending as much time as is necessary at any one spot; see the target bird and move on.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-c7F1d-HpT37uTPgyVCGvAEYVvVVoh56cKOkKlW1D2iKjLMjgo50WzD8IHTYRWnUOOiz6kUxeFeoEr9fw1Rr9GyupZs8LOvxNHkmkfjSrnpJS8PrHZfv7EyVl7oY5yxHKZqrYJ8YuvOOp36yt95Nw7IH5s832xwidRachr-7JNvbKM90f75aFFxC/s4096/DC22E2BF-1C24-441A-BAFB-CCFE9BFFE966.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2086" data-original-width="4096" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-c7F1d-HpT37uTPgyVCGvAEYVvVVoh56cKOkKlW1D2iKjLMjgo50WzD8IHTYRWnUOOiz6kUxeFeoEr9fw1Rr9GyupZs8LOvxNHkmkfjSrnpJS8PrHZfv7EyVl7oY5yxHKZqrYJ8YuvOOp36yt95Nw7IH5s832xwidRachr-7JNvbKM90f75aFFxC/w400-h204/DC22E2BF-1C24-441A-BAFB-CCFE9BFFE966.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Walking by Attawapiskat </td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisz2ie202fzOh9M3TogIUf5gxBy_Zn0PPpcofeic7PkQ2KBFwaD9gTzCYxQy_9g5Zjdwq8OCCm_8oGg1563rdiaDNanCEz5c6ixiFCa4OFzxjU3sFKJB2EMXEo1UMELN9O4Xxb5fxgc41tmhjQRNKP7sJhOJF5Xa7GNbn0p4ZuuP4sTFQusGZdMVYn/s4032/E28692C0-3DCB-40CD-B849-21F8529DF381.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisz2ie202fzOh9M3TogIUf5gxBy_Zn0PPpcofeic7PkQ2KBFwaD9gTzCYxQy_9g5Zjdwq8OCCm_8oGg1563rdiaDNanCEz5c6ixiFCa4OFzxjU3sFKJB2EMXEo1UMELN9O4Xxb5fxgc41tmhjQRNKP7sJhOJF5Xa7GNbn0p4ZuuP4sTFQusGZdMVYn/w300-h400/E28692C0-3DCB-40CD-B849-21F8529DF381.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Thunder Bay area</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjIm5CiLwVsXTsXr59JrutdrXiHcHGMUrnQAUzJBAQK6UOtu7j3gwWdV7m08sZC0powu3wcYT6ORf5TmEX6IUZ0cqRNCwMgnahyPb-sQr9mOzp4eQlI1jXU_CFfpE0HrfTFnQwaol8sGifkALPAomFvUPhkxSikSwV1ULy5VbFW0BnEk-5bZjr3d7/s1920/CE913B9A-5CB9-4BB5-AE5A-BC16ED02F1C2.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjIm5CiLwVsXTsXr59JrutdrXiHcHGMUrnQAUzJBAQK6UOtu7j3gwWdV7m08sZC0powu3wcYT6ORf5TmEX6IUZ0cqRNCwMgnahyPb-sQr9mOzp4eQlI1jXU_CFfpE0HrfTFnQwaol8sGifkALPAomFvUPhkxSikSwV1ULy5VbFW0BnEk-5bZjr3d7/w225-h400/CE913B9A-5CB9-4BB5-AE5A-BC16ED02F1C2.jpeg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Lake Superior </td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvtf0mNZWDoPHZHDK3Gs1ap_GBuG-LiCZyL95LiSB2UX5RcxKYdfBl9So3VmaS03TJ0B7nHebv1ehHwfYILeajlTYPKcqw71s7tqeo5ka9w5jJah_fjN_RR4Ph9p61H-H-OFt976URzsx2jOmpIuwDUJ4zznB0ewKzJWsj2vpvOOzWRGlt8W4zM4L/s4032/AEC36852-931C-4B8A-8217-B42C9505FDAA.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvtf0mNZWDoPHZHDK3Gs1ap_GBuG-LiCZyL95LiSB2UX5RcxKYdfBl9So3VmaS03TJ0B7nHebv1ehHwfYILeajlTYPKcqw71s7tqeo5ka9w5jJah_fjN_RR4Ph9p61H-H-OFt976URzsx2jOmpIuwDUJ4zznB0ewKzJWsj2vpvOOzWRGlt8W4zM4L/s320/AEC36852-931C-4B8A-8217-B42C9505FDAA.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Dinner, big year style</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">On a whole, I’m very pleased with how it went, the most exciting year of my life thus far! I’m almost tempted to write a book about it honestly, I just have so much that I want to say about my adventure with the birds... A big year is a numbers game, but ultimately it was the experience, birding for a whole year and seeing amazing places and species that stuck with me the most.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> Will I do it again? Probably not, though I did enjoy it and couldn’t rule anything out for sure. Maybe I’ll come back in Sandy Komito fashion (The real life, less jerkish version of Bostick from “The Big Year” movie) if my record were to be broken : )</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> There are so many people that deserve to be thanked for helping me last year, be that emotional support or generous gifts of gas cards and other things. A huge shoutout to my parents of course, who were so encouraging throughout all big year. The Bruce Birding Club folks too, Fred, Marilyn, Bob, Anne-Marie, Susan, Bruce, Liz and many others! Thanks for being some of my most loyal blog followers during the year and constantly pumping me up. A huge shoutout too for all the folks who allowed me to stay in their homes during my journeys around the province, that saved me so many nights in my car. The Huron Fringe Birding Festival was a big supporter of my big year as well, and this year I’ll be leading numerous hikes for them (see that <a href="https://huronfringebirdingfestival.ca/page/leader-biographies" target="_blank">Here</a>)</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I’ll do another post soon with my photography highlights from 2022! </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Also I’m doing a webinar for OFO on February 7th for those who want to tune in!</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5JpmYb9-FfPgWwcdQOUTNNRU-yIWVdd1q-EG5XZQTDJAYmPCz3zXavpWDCAUNDBDzD3Y0uQuCDbXT1ANoU2K67IBVApkofuRS-3PQKJg0tK20wpnZW_p6Qf6RXG6W4aLm-GBb7nyuvG9QcD58LmIBdJE9GU8wdJnFxdTy5D9VtV0YPowU19pD8Ot/s2048/B5C4D699-8F76-4007-AF27-213BAB188EB0.jpeg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5JpmYb9-FfPgWwcdQOUTNNRU-yIWVdd1q-EG5XZQTDJAYmPCz3zXavpWDCAUNDBDzD3Y0uQuCDbXT1ANoU2K67IBVApkofuRS-3PQKJg0tK20wpnZW_p6Qf6RXG6W4aLm-GBb7nyuvG9QcD58LmIBdJE9GU8wdJnFxdTy5D9VtV0YPowU19pD8Ot/s320/B5C4D699-8F76-4007-AF27-213BAB188EB0.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Dovekie, Toronto</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></div><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /></span><p></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-37738780272691277432023-01-06T17:26:00.003-08:002023-01-09T14:47:34.330-08:00My 2022 Big Year From a Stats perspective<p> </p><p>I'm going to write several wrap up posts about my big year, I just have so much that I want to talk about! First off I want to talk about some statistics and stuff from 2022. As some of you may have noticed from reading along for these past 12 months, I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to numbers and stuff ; )</p><p><br /></p><p>So as you may know, all Ontario birds are broken down into a code system from 1 to 6, with 1 being the easiest and 6 being the hardest. For a recap on that check out <a href="https://chroniclesofanonbirder.blogspot.com/2020/12/2021-big-year-strategy.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">this post</span></a>. Here is a breakdown of the how many birds I saw in each code:</p><p>Code 1s - 203/203, 100% of Code 1s</p><p>Code 2s - 73/73, 100% of the Code 2s</p><p>Code 3s - 43/46, 93% of Code 3s</p><p>Code 4s - 25/41, 60.1% of Code 4s</p><p>Code 5s - 12 (kinda pointless including % for 5s and 6s, they’re just too rare).</p><p>Code 6s - 3 </p><p><br /></p><p>I ended up seeing every code 1 and 2 bird, though this was pretty expected because missing even 1 of those would be terrible. I had all but two of these birds by late August, then I added Parasitic Jaeger and Brant in the fall.</p><p>Code 3s are the swing species on a big year, and the number you see will seriously effect how well your year turns out. I did very well with 3s, and I only ended up missing 3 of them! Those 3 were Black Guillemot, Smith's Longspur and Western Kingbird. The former two I never really had a shot at, because I didn't go to Hudson/James Bay during the right time. The kingbird hurts a bit, but it was really a tough year for them! </p><p>I managed to track down over half of the code 4s, which I'm quite happy about because these are all tough rarities. I also saw 15 code 5 and 6 birds, this also really helped my total for the year. As far as I know there were 375 species seen in the province in 2022, so I saw 95.7% of them!! Not too bad!!</p><p><br /></p><p>What about self found birds? I mentioned in January that I was going to keep track of that, and ideed I did. My original goal was to get to 300 for self found, however I didn't go to James Bay so that became pretty tough. Also there was no good hurricane this year, so that hurt my chances as well. I could have done better for sure if I targeted some of the birds I needed, but with more pressing big year birding to do I never really did that! As such I missed dumb things like Brant, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper and Sabine's Gull. I seemed to be the only one who didn't find a chat at Point Pelee... I still hit 288 though, which I'm quite pleased with : ) I mean that's still 18 higher than my previous highest Ontario yearlist (with chasing). This also brings my all time self found list over 300. What about highlights? I didn't find as many OBRC birds (2) as I had hoped, but I found a lot of code 3/4 birds, including some that were just removed from the review list...</p><p>Here were some of the rarer ones ones! Favourites highlighted</p><p>- King Eider, Barrow's Goldeneye (female),<b>Willow Ptarmigan</b>, American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Willet,<b> Western Sandpiper</b>, All 3 Jaegers, Razorbill, Black-legged Kittiwake x 8, Franklin's Gull (in Ottawa), Arctic Tern, Pacific Loon, <b>Little Blue Heron</b>, <b>Swainson's Hawk,</b> <b>Cave Swallow, Lark Sparrow,</b> Worm-eating Warbler, Summer Tanager, <b>Blue Grosbeak x2</b>, Dickcissel x2...</p><p>Not too shabby!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Now lets talk about missed birds for a bit, just because why not? The list of missed birds is as follows;</p><p><b><i>Curlew Sandpiper </i></b>- One observer wonder in Ottawa, reported late and not seen the next day</p><p><i><b>Painted Bunting </b></i>- One seen in morning flight at Long Point, 2 others at feeders and not shared</p><p><b><i>Chuck-Wills-Widow </i></b>- One of the more annoying ones. For the last decade the Prince Edward birds had returned, but 2022 they were absent. Also there was only one at Point Pelee, heard a few times at night and then never again.</p><p><b><i>Western Kingbird</i></b> - A few were seen in Rainy River in June, but 2 weeks before I went there. Then one unchaseable bird in eastern Ontario. I was hoping I could get it in the fall, but the only two fall birds were morning flight flybys...</p><p><b><i>Least Tern </i></b>- Seen only once in Lambton on a lakewatch, not chaseable.</p><p><b><i>Wood Stork</i></b> - 12 birds were seen flying over Point Pelee in early September, then a few were seen by another observer the next day. Also on that same day one was seen beside a river in Stratford! I was working during the first day, but I don't really think it would have made a difference because they were slippery...</p><p><b><i>Cassin's Kingbird </i></b>- 2 Birds were seen by single observers in Algoma and Thunder Bay. Again, not chaseable.</p><p><b><i>Say's Phoebe</i></b> - One in Thunder Bay in early May, then William found his own in Sudbury in June! Unfortunately his was just before sunset and wasn't seen the following day. </p><p><b><i>Northern Wheatear </i></b>- One observer wonder in Algoma</p><p><b><i>Smith's Longspur</i></b> - None were seen out of range in 2022, but lots were on breeding territory on Hudson Bay... So I could have had this bird for a several thousand dollar plane flight...</p><p><b><i>Swainson's Warbler</i></b> - Long Point (inaccessible area) and Pelee Island (one day wonder) in May...</p><p><b><i>Gray Flycatcher</i></b> - An annoying bird in Brant. Misidentified as a Willow Flycatcher and reported after sunset... not seen the following day... annoying. This would have been an easy chase if posted same day.</p><p><b><i>Atlantic Puffin </i></b>- Several people had flybys in Ottawa, but they were never seen on the water and thus, not chaseable.</p><p><b><i>Black Guillemot </i></b> - William, Ezra and the other folks who went to James Bay in October got a guillemot, so I could have seen this bird if I went on the trip.</p><p><i style="font-weight: bold;">Barn Owl</i> - A suppressed bird in January, rip. No others were seen this year as far as I know.</p><p><b><i>Burrowing Owl</i></b> - My most annoying miss of the year... This bird was refound at TTP in Toronto in early January, while I was up by Thunder Bay. I tried the next day and dipped. Then after that I spent a whole day and it was seen an hour and a half after we left. A big snowstorm hit later that week and most people assumed it was dead, but apparently it was seen in April by a TRC employee?!?</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyways yeah, I don't dwell on my missed birds, it's just not possible to see everything during a big year and there will always be ones that got away. Overall I'm thrilled with the way things went. As I said above, almost all of the species I missed weren't chaseable. For arguments sake though, I'll calculate how I would have ended up if I did things "perfect". </p><p>To start, let’s say I delayed my first northern Ontario trip and connected with the Toronto Burrowing Owl (360). Then I went to Rainy River in early June and saw Western Kingbird (361). Then if I had an unlimited budget I could have flown to Hudson Bay and got Smith’s Longspur in the summer (362). If I wasn’t working in early September I could have spent more time on Wood Stork, although honestly I likely would have still missed it. But let’s say I got super lucky and got one of them (363). I really felt like going to James Bay in mid October was the wrong call because the weather was promising for rarities in the south, of which there didn’t turn out to be any. To clarify I’m still ok with this decision, but if I did go I would have scored Black Guillemot (364). I’m not comfortable giving myself any other species on the list, because the rest weren’t chaseable in my opinion. So yeah, IF I was at Long Point on the right day I would have seen a Painted Bunting fly by, and IF I was on the right trail at night in Pelee I could have heard a Chuck-Wills-Widow, but that’s just fantasy land. So yeah, the best that I could have possibly gotten is 364, 5 more than my actual list… but that’s the way the cookie crumbled. The way it went I smashed the old record of 346, so definitely not complaining! On my budget too some of those things weren’t really attainable. I mainly just wrote that to show what was possible, not what I would have done differently.</p><p><br /></p><p>Favourite eBird list of 2022? <a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S107965958" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">This one </span></a></p><p><br /></p><p>Anyways those are the stats! I'll do another post sometime soon with a less number orientated look back on 2022. If anyone has questions about other list stuff, just message me or ask in comments!</p><p><br /></p><p>Ontario yearlist @ December 31 - 359</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBzQ_orMoqNPtjhNUy80E52tsHZ7F7KMImqXU5fcj6H0jbEFpUYpJ5Yd-IHtwk8d2YCvsR7RFyJ6vK94pvhRgdQWsQdIOh4GYZXYaCox9zf3vthcp0KDnduZNdcE2eAtAPbKkYLAMNN_x9cEiGaAI8bumfbt3yWfLXS9w88gdlZWkEj52472erZQ-/s2560/_DSC8079.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBzQ_orMoqNPtjhNUy80E52tsHZ7F7KMImqXU5fcj6H0jbEFpUYpJ5Yd-IHtwk8d2YCvsR7RFyJ6vK94pvhRgdQWsQdIOh4GYZXYaCox9zf3vthcp0KDnduZNdcE2eAtAPbKkYLAMNN_x9cEiGaAI8bumfbt3yWfLXS9w88gdlZWkEj52472erZQ-/w400-h266/_DSC8079.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Cerulean Warbler from May</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-58623117509961470602022-12-31T20:46:00.004-08:002022-12-31T20:46:49.721-08:00The end of the line!<p> Well folks, it is 11:30pm on December 31 of 2022. The end of my big year has come! I can’t believe this time has come already, it seems like just the other day I was starting my big year, chasing Mountain Bluebirds, Boreal Owls and other winter rarities…</p><p>359 is now officially the new Ontario big year record! Woot!! Hell of a ride…</p><p><br /></p><p>Right now I’m down in Ohio celebrating New Years with Alessandra’s family… was planning on doing a year end post, but the evening got away from me! Today I birded along Lake Erie for my last day of the year, which I’ll go into more detail on tomorrow. I’ll do more posts on big year stuff in the coming days and weeks!</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks for following along this year! It’s been a blast blogging this year : )</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBC32J3sHc8qF_zD9hK07VYzYnWbkb_fZtY0QAXvB2JJfbYG0ajTXX7uzF7Wme7EkW242lkcbCj1w6WTWyA1HQxDzrcdSwdw2naT-aZGAcyxJSyaXelXHcLUcx6FMtervXPQt1X3FSj12ZqMOkOL-Evo_bhrdRcQfjKGRUwVOoevYv4VJidxKugUG/s4032/905B5648-9702-4A22-A202-508190789AD5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBC32J3sHc8qF_zD9hK07VYzYnWbkb_fZtY0QAXvB2JJfbYG0ajTXX7uzF7Wme7EkW242lkcbCj1w6WTWyA1HQxDzrcdSwdw2naT-aZGAcyxJSyaXelXHcLUcx6FMtervXPQt1X3FSj12ZqMOkOL-Evo_bhrdRcQfjKGRUwVOoevYv4VJidxKugUG/s320/905B5648-9702-4A22-A202-508190789AD5.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>eBird alerts off, discord notifications silenced… time for a much needed nap : )</p><p><br /></p><p>Ontario Yearlist @ December 31 - 359</p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-59144285197856081912022-12-22T09:38:00.001-08:002022-12-22T09:38:35.282-08:00My third Cormorant of 2022<p><br /></p><p> If you told me when I started out my big year that on December 20th I’d be driving 3 hours to chase a water bird in the dark, I’d probably believe you. You see I have no mis illusions about twitchers being sane people, I have accepted this long ago. Anyways, at 9pm on Tuesday, December 20th I was rolling up to Hamilton in search of a cormorant.</p><p><br /></p><p>I’ll stop here and back things up a bit, specifically 5 hours earlier before this madness began. I was just driving back home from Sauble Beach, where Alessandra and I had been running a few errands for my parents, when I received a call from William Konze. William and I usually call each other when a rare bird shows up, so my mind immediately jumped to that possibility. He was over in Ottawa with Andy Nguyen, searching for Gyrfalcons after a successful Gray Partridge hunt (with binoculars, not guns), so he could just be phoning to talk about that… however, that was the less exciting possibility. “Check the Hamilton RBA on discord, there’s a Great Cormorant”, turns out my first hunch was right, there was a rare bird.</p><p>The Great Cormorant is a slippery fiend, and a bird that had been assigned to my “annoying misses of 2022” list along with other horrible, malicious birds like Painted Bunting and Western Kingbird. The first one of the year was in the winter, and although it was never technically in Ontario, it was tantalizing close… 1km across the river in Niagara Falls. That was annoying yes, but the topper came on October 23rd, when one was photographed on the Ajax waterfront in Durham. This individual was posted too late in the day to chase, but birders were there right up until sunset and it seemed like it was roosting there. The following day I was at the location before dawn… but nothing, no corm, it had vanished in the night. Knowing all this, I think you would understand why I have mixed feelings about this Atlantic mega-cormorant.</p><p>After a quick dinner back at home, and a bit of texting with Alvan and other observers, I made the decision to drive down immediately and search for it in the dark. My reasoning was 1) even if there was only a small chance of seeing it at night, it was better than no chance and 2) I would rather drive down at night than leave at 3:30am in the morning. Also Ezra Campanelli had seen the bird in the evening, bringing him within 2 birds of me…Alessandra was instantly on board with chasing it, which I’m not sure means she’s as crazy as me or she's just the most supportive girlfriend ever. Christmas wrapping was put on hold, gear loaded into the car, and we were off. Arriving at Bayfront Park, we pulled up to the Pier 4 parking area and walked out to the tip of land. According to Alvan the bird was sitting out on a rocky breakwall. My scope is actually pretty impressive at gathering light in dim conditions, and with the faint lights shining off the docks of the marina we could make out shapes in the dark. Several hundred gulls roosted along the rocks, and meticulously we picked through them one by one. Great Black-backed still stood out, so surely a cormorant would too right? It’s interesting birding at night, as the normal issues associated with using a scope (heat shimmer, distance) are replaced by the shroud of darkness. Despite over half an hour of scanning in the cold, we couldn’t resolve any of the shapes into cormorants, though a few geese did give us a start. We returned back to Paris to stay with my aunt for the night, with plans to return the next morning.</p><p>December 21st marks the winter solstice, the day with the shortest period of daylight during the calendar year. On the plus side, since sunrise is so late it meant I didn’t have to wake up at an ungodly hour, so that was nice. On the down side, if I didn’t immediately find the cormorant I wouldn’t have much time to search during the day. </p><p>We met up with William and Andy at Pier 4 at 6:30am, and the scene was basically the same as I had left it only a few hours before. Although sunrise isn’t until 7:49, the sky begins to lighten slightly around 6:40. It was around that time that my scope landed on a dark, bird-like shape tucked in behind some Herring Gulls. A few minutes of intense staring, plus a slight increase of light, resolved the bird into a cormorant. Size alone made it a Great because it towered above the nearby gulls (Double-crested look similar in size to gulls). Finally it was light enough that we could see extensive white on its throat, the clincher for the identification. The bird preened for about half an hour, then took off, circled twice low over our heads and disappeared over the high level bridge towards the city.</p><p><br /></p><p>Poor record shots....</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBEEa11CxPpnGKRPE9q1Y_c0EftEvtTGCxz8jhhknzRS9RYvBiqwLj8Z78RP0ADDGmAojgIh0VV1g9FJACXcsidFHjkuI2ARZ6Cf6mdWc97SjILbHzdpt3EdbsIHOrjAiH3oOq__Cb-7onrHkmITMVxxxrnMQbqETi6OtbxX3xclO8DkauiwvZplL/s1000/321078858_527692722749050_5134332632250860395_n%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBEEa11CxPpnGKRPE9q1Y_c0EftEvtTGCxz8jhhknzRS9RYvBiqwLj8Z78RP0ADDGmAojgIh0VV1g9FJACXcsidFHjkuI2ARZ6Cf6mdWc97SjILbHzdpt3EdbsIHOrjAiH3oOq__Cb-7onrHkmITMVxxxrnMQbqETi6OtbxX3xclO8DkauiwvZplL/s320/321078858_527692722749050_5134332632250860395_n%20(2).jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- First view predawn!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuDSbRlgIhkS-D2deHaPhWQIpJaBiLGVDD674ObxEj1b_EXBhTCDVk8F7JV-aLgRYz76bgIQ1CdTECzqy9ZBwVh3X7yIPIgck6n8dj7b60Lp-CYQc2HWPfhkrZaH8FlDYPLm5_TK2ptXLOeEAehlZsvvXX_8uV_k_fkEhUJxUYW3kV4BaaXQAtXEy/s640/CSC_1006.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuDSbRlgIhkS-D2deHaPhWQIpJaBiLGVDD674ObxEj1b_EXBhTCDVk8F7JV-aLgRYz76bgIQ1CdTECzqy9ZBwVh3X7yIPIgck6n8dj7b60Lp-CYQc2HWPfhkrZaH8FlDYPLm5_TK2ptXLOeEAehlZsvvXX_8uV_k_fkEhUJxUYW3kV4BaaXQAtXEy/s320/CSC_1006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Great Cormorant</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLJTA1Ykg4yCRF7CjieIEGXqhYTrIaKWh9GH86w1wcGpT5GO0N1hOmWqHZCCuELvdJvS4gpyapJl4WfJ1aoda2FNUDAhSs_v4P2W2JMK3iyGkdbYTk59JMOq1KaSLwrEE_XXPhPYOzgyd_QmZM9gxT7WVEtkhDNy0eninI50RXFzA793dqT1wxe45/s640/CSC_1007.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLJTA1Ykg4yCRF7CjieIEGXqhYTrIaKWh9GH86w1wcGpT5GO0N1hOmWqHZCCuELvdJvS4gpyapJl4WfJ1aoda2FNUDAhSs_v4P2W2JMK3iyGkdbYTk59JMOq1KaSLwrEE_XXPhPYOzgyd_QmZM9gxT7WVEtkhDNy0eninI50RXFzA793dqT1wxe45/s320/CSC_1007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DxiCsmFPrdddgsyPBaM4B5DKLOrFAltN9acJjxEpnLD24Fdex12JSREidceHEbYPzjB7CQKlJPI1_HrcN0XJvm-J-T_S0qiKo9BiedDGLM3osLc_DsLYoJssj81aowhsjxoHVZyYV3tvjPpF3Xe0l0A-eU6FNTtVILaRlJSSm4zgKzl0PIfYDC2n/s640/CSC_1008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DxiCsmFPrdddgsyPBaM4B5DKLOrFAltN9acJjxEpnLD24Fdex12JSREidceHEbYPzjB7CQKlJPI1_HrcN0XJvm-J-T_S0qiKo9BiedDGLM3osLc_DsLYoJssj81aowhsjxoHVZyYV3tvjPpF3Xe0l0A-eU6FNTtVILaRlJSSm4zgKzl0PIfYDC2n/s320/CSC_1008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEpu4-W1uR3SUiHCnQ13N_yPjqXrBAmR8ftvgMwEtmihr5BB-5DF1pIZySTA95G3noyVm_rjWGVbkNBklja6iZGWUlyWj9GU7fA8DYL0t4LeiyGtmY5jWVx782QEZCe3zwzgMKlDA59OQOOo0H9nhxmUTijhIcNXnNP7llKH5ClSPlegGqAXsptpJ/s640/CSC_1009.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEpu4-W1uR3SUiHCnQ13N_yPjqXrBAmR8ftvgMwEtmihr5BB-5DF1pIZySTA95G3noyVm_rjWGVbkNBklja6iZGWUlyWj9GU7fA8DYL0t4LeiyGtmY5jWVx782QEZCe3zwzgMKlDA59OQOOo0H9nhxmUTijhIcNXnNP7llKH5ClSPlegGqAXsptpJ/s320/CSC_1009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The birders who arrived after sunrise were pretty disappointed, but luckily for them after another 40 minutes the bird returned, landing on the same break wall where it had spent the night on. My fingers were getting cold by this point (in my rush to leave the previous day I have forgotten all of my warm gloves), so after taking a few more photos we headed back to Bruce. It has been a pretty decent year for Atlantic birds for me... Great Cormorant, Dovekie, Razorbill and Northern Gannet. Will this be my last bird of 2022, who knows? One or two more would always be nice, but it’s a matter of chance at this point.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ontario yearlist @ December 22nd - 359</p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-83011403268302187562022-12-15T09:00:00.001-08:002022-12-15T09:00:00.190-08:00Alcid twitching <p> </p><p><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">On a big year the prospects for new birds begin to seriously dwindle in December. Most vagrant songbirds show up in November, so if there was something like a Black-headed Grosbeak at a feeder, chances are it would have been found already. Similarly, it’s very late in the year for shorebirds and puddle ducks to show up, because most of these birds are earlier migrants. The most likely rarities to show up, that would also be new for me, are the following;</span></p><ul class="ul1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li2" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Common Eider</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Short-billed Gull</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Common Gull</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">California Gull</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Barn Owl</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Thick-billed Murre</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Gray-crowned Rosy Finch</span></li></ul><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">There are also more remote possibilities like other alcids, Ivory Gull and lingering warblers, but those are never too likely. It just comes down to a waiting game at this point. Self finding a new bird is fairly unlikely, so for the month of December I remain on the ready, phone nearby in case a bird is reported. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">On December 10th my phone flashed with a Discord message to the Ontario Wide Bird Alert. My heart raced. What was it?! Dovekie. Ashbridges Bay in Toronto. Panic. Could I get there in time? I was in Bruce with Alessandra, 3 hours away from Toronto. It was only 10am at that point so daylight wasn’t an issue, but alcids are notoriously flighty.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We were off immediately, heading south at high (but technically legal…) speeds. Two hours out I got a message that the bird had flown out in to the lake and disappeared in the chop. Despair. Measuring in at only 20cm long, finding a small bird like that in a large, wavy expanse of water is near impossible. Then twenty minutes later it flew into the marina that it was originally seen in and landed. William called when we were under and hour away and said it was being quite cooperative and swimming close to shore. Hope grows. 5 minutes away I get a text from him saying it just flew out of the inlet again. Disbelief, more panic. We rolled into the parking lot and I full out ran the remaining 800 meters, around the marina and out the the rocky point. The amassed crowd there said it hadn’t been seen in several minutes, so the best bet was to just wait there for it to return. My phone chimed with another alert, the bird was seen in the water by the parking lot, the same parking lot that I was l just in! I started jogging back there, followed by a few others. We were stopped in our tracks halfway there with news that the Dovekie was now back at its original spot at the point. Frustration, and more running. This time the bird didn’t fly away, and when I arrived it was swimming contently just offshore. Relief.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I climbed down the large rocks to get down to the birds level, where I spotted a large flat rock that was just above the water. I laid down and waited, as the Dovekie worked it’s way up the shore, popping up for a few seconds and then diving for a long period of time. It then emerged out of the water right in front of me, almost touching distance. I rattled off twenty shots before it dove again. Over the next hour and a half I watched it working back and forth along the rocks, sometimes drifting out further but always ending up back by the shore again.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This bird represents the first truly chaseable Dovekie in Ontario, so it was an Ontario bird for everyone present (and a full on lifer for me). I find a lot of birds look larger when they’re on the water, but seeing this seabird up close really showed how small it really is (smaller than a Robin!!). With a tiny bill, a striking black back and head, a white belly and throat and a partial black collar, its a gorgeous little bird. When it dives it’s wings come out, giving it the impression of a tiny, short-necked penguin. I got soaked by Lake Ontario waves several times, but honestly it was worth it. By far one of my favourite experiences this year, in the top 5 easily. Just such a charismatic and enjoyable bird to watch, and being 358 for my yearlist didn’t hurt either : )</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxfOiYuRj9H1i-bXquZefFzmfqRaF-_uSYaz_UADitKHCsn-LtBHgewjcOseoQrt4gfo1_Y1nygivRah7hNu97QzAAewiOG6v7x89FpuM9z3CaPIElY3_GGrV7iUFk9BGzoJnST9Va1qCtM0T-VkYFTuYEW1ployiZFQSzQsGZmzqxNjP_Fon15IC/s1440/43CC9B2A-B829-4614-89C8-C0FD62A4F80E.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxfOiYuRj9H1i-bXquZefFzmfqRaF-_uSYaz_UADitKHCsn-LtBHgewjcOseoQrt4gfo1_Y1nygivRah7hNu97QzAAewiOG6v7x89FpuM9z3CaPIElY3_GGrV7iUFk9BGzoJnST9Va1qCtM0T-VkYFTuYEW1ployiZFQSzQsGZmzqxNjP_Fon15IC/s320/43CC9B2A-B829-4614-89C8-C0FD62A4F80E.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Dovekie photo'ing<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoJ2JW-1sBfSvfiBfXs-Sw4dD4_GWR7TrN7ibUG4niGZa2azkP8ZnkiNh9Q87dCcGKrSdsotoK-2KZtaiqJcT3m531z1YMC0MrvoT0KjuLyv2-_WM8j6W89XuO6UdzlhZB4nhzd4K1IyI0GEeshtcyiq7I9SIc35Zy3eXcFbygh7D67y3_SZl9WpF/s4032/5ABD68B8-3959-4742-B613-982FD3F9DFDC.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoJ2JW-1sBfSvfiBfXs-Sw4dD4_GWR7TrN7ibUG4niGZa2azkP8ZnkiNh9Q87dCcGKrSdsotoK-2KZtaiqJcT3m531z1YMC0MrvoT0KjuLyv2-_WM8j6W89XuO6UdzlhZB4nhzd4K1IyI0GEeshtcyiq7I9SIc35Zy3eXcFbygh7D67y3_SZl9WpF/s320/5ABD68B8-3959-4742-B613-982FD3F9DFDC.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUC8OaTvBsaocXjfr3IvTmaOpw1Ov-T1-jg_lUwFiZRTXkAT-vxgizr4T13fqpLwyTpn0xYPbT2Nh0AcB6zrXWSsDsp10DyrdC98oaPfQgutsgRuGeBit2Q1e_324tWcHKpCVdd-uW8WHwArgje6lUb5O6fI5Iwo1Pq9s7RssRj_ZKpwiziCyAOqIk/s1440/3298D9F2-0F22-451C-B343-610D52CFDC84.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUC8OaTvBsaocXjfr3IvTmaOpw1Ov-T1-jg_lUwFiZRTXkAT-vxgizr4T13fqpLwyTpn0xYPbT2Nh0AcB6zrXWSsDsp10DyrdC98oaPfQgutsgRuGeBit2Q1e_324tWcHKpCVdd-uW8WHwArgje6lUb5O6fI5Iwo1Pq9s7RssRj_ZKpwiziCyAOqIk/s320/3298D9F2-0F22-451C-B343-610D52CFDC84.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Dovekie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3SWDCOp-c28h4ENosayaHN9WYleXhpm-5l1KvfBpUjd-C2-a1UW0TeW0tJbYfNjjL4qPd4Vn7Kjjpp5pz3MHzKxiQ6I8hPNvufPk65YEdZ1m-P0OIFADedVfkzS-zIFYGwSAVeK1AQzjjk1qbkg8vWpgXzlqn512D-MgG1plYVSBZIOkLIMhWY1O/s1440/C15EF080-B8F4-41FB-9426-73CB675A4069.jpeg" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3SWDCOp-c28h4ENosayaHN9WYleXhpm-5l1KvfBpUjd-C2-a1UW0TeW0tJbYfNjjL4qPd4Vn7Kjjpp5pz3MHzKxiQ6I8hPNvufPk65YEdZ1m-P0OIFADedVfkzS-zIFYGwSAVeK1AQzjjk1qbkg8vWpgXzlqn512D-MgG1plYVSBZIOkLIMhWY1O/s320/C15EF080-B8F4-41FB-9426-73CB675A4069.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Dovekie<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHz8QFBeWZq1GJlZFmihWeTeCDfYpewfl3RJ05xPbZeiABynYvocy_QqYd6yeCjnOiGL2QUIDWGHF0zoKS1MnT4YwFLtNX9cR1VL9Xj2zCr5imdYsuxY4gfOioD7TivOp2RN-fEJU3l1PYy24AqOyTN2slXz73W7k79kajT73Ez_m39ZcM3NE6RMk1/s6000/DSC_0856.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHz8QFBeWZq1GJlZFmihWeTeCDfYpewfl3RJ05xPbZeiABynYvocy_QqYd6yeCjnOiGL2QUIDWGHF0zoKS1MnT4YwFLtNX9cR1VL9Xj2zCr5imdYsuxY4gfOioD7TivOp2RN-fEJU3l1PYy24AqOyTN2slXz73W7k79kajT73Ez_m39ZcM3NE6RMk1/s320/DSC_0856.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLLQd24nHKjxOm_R3ZnqKM9pqMbn7oaUct-Q-6X0CQqOKpbCpoRDUgbASuxSj60hyQ3dUBvBC191Qtuhh6HuPYUoV12QP4Dr9CoaULjNr2FKSz7UppPXVndaAxLwo_L-PWEQGtIInJ8lBT4z2pcKuG4f1LmVoQwBRBB-UibKVAa57NyASqW7q7j4U/s5120/CSC_0957.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3416" data-original-width="5120" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYLLQd24nHKjxOm_R3ZnqKM9pqMbn7oaUct-Q-6X0CQqOKpbCpoRDUgbASuxSj60hyQ3dUBvBC191Qtuhh6HuPYUoV12QP4Dr9CoaULjNr2FKSz7UppPXVndaAxLwo_L-PWEQGtIInJ8lBT4z2pcKuG4f1LmVoQwBRBB-UibKVAa57NyASqW7q7j4U/s320/CSC_0957.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I spent the past few days helping William look for Gyrfalcon on the peninsula, but we came up short. Large numbers of Bohemian Waxwings, Black Scoter, Red-necked Grebe and several Northern Shrikes and dark morph Rough-legged Hawk provided some highlights though.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Ontario yearlist @ December 14th - 358</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></span><p></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-89679688189070077302022-12-14T16:54:00.003-08:002022-12-14T16:54:56.876-08:00Niagara Gulling in early December <p><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">As the sky began to warm into the pre sunrise glow on December 3rd, I was heading down Victoria Road in Guelph with Alessandra… our destination, Niagara On-The-Lake. Unlike a lot of my drives this year, the purpose of the trip was not to chase a rare bird, but to lead a Gull outing with Justin Peter for OFO.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This year has ended up being a whirlwind of big year activities, and having free time to actually lead bird walks was hard to come by. Things start to slow down in December though, as winter sets in across the province and less rarites show up. Niagara region is also a good place to be at this time of year, as a lot of my “likely” (I use the word lightly with massive quotations) new yearbirds are rare gulls.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Arriving at parking lot just west of the Niagara River mouth, I found a collection of twenty odd birders clad in winter gear with an array of spotting scopes aimed at the lake. The keeners, arriving before the start time and antsy to get going. Justin was easy to spot, with a commanding personality and also being a full foot taller than most of the birders around him. I hadn’t seen him since we lead a hike together at the Huron Fringe Birding Festival 3 years ago, so it was nice to catch up again. Neither of us had lead a hike in this region before, and frankly didn’t have much of a plan for the route, so after a brief strategy talk we got the group together and headed out. The idea was to start at Queens Royal Park by the river mouth, then work our way up the river to the control gates above the falls. With a group of over 30, the real challenge is trying not to lose people on a tour with many stops like this one.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The first stop turned out to be the best of the day, at Queens Royal Park. We had been there for several minutes already, adding common species like Red-breasted Merganser and Bonaparte’s Gull, when Alessandra told me that she had just seen a Razorbill! Refinding it took several minutes, but soon enough my scope landed on a large, black and white alcid with a thick bill. My second Razorbill of the year, and ironically in the same spot as my first in the beginning of January. This was a lifer for many in the group (including Alessandra) and definitely the highlight of the day. After watching it dive and swim around with some Horned Grebes for awhile, I spotted a second Razorbill with it! Pretty crazy stuff. My photos are subpar because of the distance, but they’re marginally better than my January ones.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyC0Xf54-kGKFSG1Mn4y0XEoIvVly9D7i6GzXa444bS_KuObcAA2IuoHis0Mc6pJdcpKzVdYfuSDpuHB-TVGgD84vzNfsDkHXWlelTFbQM2WetSM1mhoip6nyWOwZMqlPQkAEDw6y8JG_Xn-asMEESFVpVvKgnB0HkbFcXyX9sURJ8jYnEDkxeBHIR/s1065/DA3F2539-1633-4770-AB34-12196FF1C58F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1065" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyC0Xf54-kGKFSG1Mn4y0XEoIvVly9D7i6GzXa444bS_KuObcAA2IuoHis0Mc6pJdcpKzVdYfuSDpuHB-TVGgD84vzNfsDkHXWlelTFbQM2WetSM1mhoip6nyWOwZMqlPQkAEDw6y8JG_Xn-asMEESFVpVvKgnB0HkbFcXyX9sURJ8jYnEDkxeBHIR/s320/DA3F2539-1633-4770-AB34-12196FF1C58F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Razorbills</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8KZ9wOVdfQqIysESdUoVPSvAYdFO2UzM8uILqqzkxiFIC_UsgYzn5i7BSN8A1qVLyGTCtFnoF_vSAIXF_azbO6VxDeCNrn4fW2uhWEXwujUQQwyFIjdscGFjtuwqWXJOCq19i111cgJBKX6R3zKxHaCz4HsH_XOm6OOFXzuUeVyxiMjUuJY0ebQj/s4032/72132883-4ECE-45EB-820B-DC25738AB83D.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8KZ9wOVdfQqIysESdUoVPSvAYdFO2UzM8uILqqzkxiFIC_UsgYzn5i7BSN8A1qVLyGTCtFnoF_vSAIXF_azbO6VxDeCNrn4fW2uhWEXwujUQQwyFIjdscGFjtuwqWXJOCq19i111cgJBKX6R3zKxHaCz4HsH_XOm6OOFXzuUeVyxiMjUuJY0ebQj/w300-h400/72132883-4ECE-45EB-820B-DC25738AB83D.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Alessandra post find</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Starting the day with a seabird sets a pretty high bar to follow, and while none of the birds we found during the day matched it’s rarity, there were definitely highlights. An adult Little Gull at Queenston, circling into a frenzy of several hundred Bonaparte’s, banking occasionally to reveal its jet black underwings for a few seconds before disappearing into the fray again. Several Iceland Gulls at Adam Beck, including two adults </span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">of the “Thayer’s” subspecies, with darker primaries and more streaking on the head. We also found a rare Herring Gull x Lesser Black-backed Gull hybrid, only my 2nd time seeing this combination in Ontario.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWB93n6cRw4zxcGPBe8JvgdRiBeAILbA7v56L_qCou9uaq6VM1l-MW_a73bDzQRnEv1eR1dGduxzPLmdlAF-ioeiW368Tmuk8pvlwGLGsM_HEG0d2htpp1COvcZXSQ6C_W_GdsWpZt1zGFGSug687tYOZC1QljrNdMKqB9iUziFkjY5S86L3_T_PvQ/s4032/ADCFAAB2-7E6B-4271-90E9-3F17E49E52CD.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWB93n6cRw4zxcGPBe8JvgdRiBeAILbA7v56L_qCou9uaq6VM1l-MW_a73bDzQRnEv1eR1dGduxzPLmdlAF-ioeiW368Tmuk8pvlwGLGsM_HEG0d2htpp1COvcZXSQ6C_W_GdsWpZt1zGFGSug687tYOZC1QljrNdMKqB9iUziFkjY5S86L3_T_PvQ/w400-h300/ADCFAAB2-7E6B-4271-90E9-3F17E49E52CD.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- The Group</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">After the group disbanded around 3pm, Alessandra and I drove back down to the river mouth to meet up with Andy Nguyen, William Konze and Luke Raso to watch the flyby of gulls. Our hope was to see a Black-headed Gull, which there had been a possible report of up river in the morning. Hundreds of Bonaparte’s flashed by, their wings illuminated in the golden hour light as they rose up and banked, then dipped into the shadows and disappeared out into the lake. I ended up counting around 3,800, but no Black-headed. Last year around this time I had 12,000, so weaker numbers this season apparently. A nice Red-throated Loon provided some photon ops here though.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXltLEsvnfGLMjLfsDoKuihPU8Hcr0zFMMVMKNNgamI3kA7rfJYWEytIFDikENlcRG-QJ4lF5pua7ncKueaX9RWKHDaPRs36i5L-SjLu1xqKQIQsvuqnXTa1waVf0Ql4jLSwYYiggkCL0hsk7WbiwEBW_uWgTedxNpCLYTwTvX16wAjVoCIwtOGvUv/s1728/DSC_0734.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="1728" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXltLEsvnfGLMjLfsDoKuihPU8Hcr0zFMMVMKNNgamI3kA7rfJYWEytIFDikENlcRG-QJ4lF5pua7ncKueaX9RWKHDaPRs36i5L-SjLu1xqKQIQsvuqnXTa1waVf0Ql4jLSwYYiggkCL0hsk7WbiwEBW_uWgTedxNpCLYTwTvX16wAjVoCIwtOGvUv/s320/DSC_0734.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Red-throated Loon</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHAPC7P110SNP2-aKShe_fU44QIREadZBniO3OAKqZMUCBXKeZtI0jkGtBH5ENDO8z85lKByKH-Ys56Yh6kRIpgW6lHyLF6707Hhc_to1Stg6LAB3UiXIb_7WOcRNY35FewvZbaiFGcdXocWyB893x_lHYkuvrKSmLj_ON88fSWqJLiCGPWXXked_/s1582/DSC_0737.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1582" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHAPC7P110SNP2-aKShe_fU44QIREadZBniO3OAKqZMUCBXKeZtI0jkGtBH5ENDO8z85lKByKH-Ys56Yh6kRIpgW6lHyLF6707Hhc_to1Stg6LAB3UiXIb_7WOcRNY35FewvZbaiFGcdXocWyB893x_lHYkuvrKSmLj_ON88fSWqJLiCGPWXXked_/s320/DSC_0737.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I ended the day by strolling along the top of the falls with Alessandra, where hundreds of Christmas lights are arranged around the parks and roadsides. Coupled with the falls being lit up by massive beams of coloured lights, it gave the </span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">whole area a nice festive feeling and was a nice end to a day of relaxed winter birding.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrxY9MAvGbj4wOHB5B9ZwP_63Il02JASpqYMuIQy3vCeH1tvjdSBKM_sdnpROgJz029DGtB7zP5I0MhBtx8tuF3dsHiNBjHIjdx6M2NW-t9_biQIR-3gFxL1bwRA9U8-DWgXYEFwFOw7e39ydV-kH-2SzwLp1Mi_lRAJR0daJedurGsXl8V8SrBOK/s4032/F3698476-E159-4C01-8FA5-ED90B402DF8E.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrxY9MAvGbj4wOHB5B9ZwP_63Il02JASpqYMuIQy3vCeH1tvjdSBKM_sdnpROgJz029DGtB7zP5I0MhBtx8tuF3dsHiNBjHIjdx6M2NW-t9_biQIR-3gFxL1bwRA9U8-DWgXYEFwFOw7e39ydV-kH-2SzwLp1Mi_lRAJR0daJedurGsXl8V8SrBOK/w400-h300/F3698476-E159-4C01-8FA5-ED90B402DF8E.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr></tbody></table><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTHlXxAnyjHZVqKavDVPRqe3kX-4agrMGx90fE-o5UEsWHnqbB-UYAadDsDECRef54cANsXoiOGHu6TxbCQGbtBqZGZ6tt0C3peL2EGCKBsl8GT7G5Slr_PlyATrT-0aMHlCcuEAeJAuogb5E4gAe9VzCUApgGu6Sr5ungGnKd-CUZEuywlXxqQUY/s4032/9C640FDB-904B-42CE-A5AD-854B047140A1.jpeg" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTHlXxAnyjHZVqKavDVPRqe3kX-4agrMGx90fE-o5UEsWHnqbB-UYAadDsDECRef54cANsXoiOGHu6TxbCQGbtBqZGZ6tt0C3peL2EGCKBsl8GT7G5Slr_PlyATrT-0aMHlCcuEAeJAuogb5E4gAe9VzCUApgGu6Sr5ungGnKd-CUZEuywlXxqQUY/w400-h300/9C640FDB-904B-42CE-A5AD-854B047140A1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-8377677323825733402022-11-30T16:25:00.005-08:002022-11-30T16:32:10.737-08:00The Big Year Takes To The Air<p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> Going into my big year I always knew that chasing a bird in northwestern Ontario was a possibility, however I thought I had gotten off easy. With it being late November and rarity season winding down, the possibilities of new birds were getting slim. In fact, I had just done a talk about my big year for a naturalist club in Bruce, during which I somewhat smugly said I didn’t have to go on any insanely long chases for a single bird.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Somewhere in western Canada however, a young male Bullock’s Oriole heard of my arrogance and decided to do something about it. It flew east, hundreds of kilometers out of its normal range, and landed a bird feeder in Dryden, located in the near-to-nothing land of Kenora district. This bird was smart though, it didn’t just show up at any bird feeder, it picked one that had someone watching who’d recognize it as a rarity. Yes, this bird was out to taunt me, and to hurt my bank account. Of course this isn’t what happened in reality, but that’s my feelings on it, as I for one believe that most birds are aware of the humans who watch them and have a cruel sense of humour. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">On November 24, Penny Pat posted the Oriole to a birding Facebook group for northern Ontario. News then spread to the southern birders, including the big year folk. Messages were sent to her, and after confirming that the bird had been seen the following day (to rule out it wasn't just a one-day thing) I booked a flight to Winnipeg. You may wonder why I flew out of the province, well that’s because Dryden is so far northwest that it’s actually about as close to Winnipeg as it is to Thunder Bay, and the former was cheaper.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Ezra and William came along too, plus Susan Nagy and her husband Jim, who were generous enough to rent a car for all of us to go in. Because of the insane fluctuations in flight prices, it made more financial sense to come back on Monday night, which gave us a full day to bird around Northern Ontario on Sunday. This wasn't my preference, but I was excited with the additional possibility of finding a rare bird (rosy-finch was on the mind).</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Saturday morning started off with a 3:30am departure from Guelph, followed by an hour long drive to Pearson International Airport and a few hours of waiting before our 6:30am flight. As is almost always the case Pearson was chaotic and crowded with travelers, though despite this we still got to our gate with plenty of time to spare.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">After dozing off shortly after takeoff, I awoke on the plane around 8:30, and was momentarily confused because we were meant to be landing at that time. Ah or course, a new time zone... Often the source of confusion while travelling. A bank of clouds hid most of my view of Lake Superior, but occasionally it appeared below us, all dark and ominous, which is the default vibe for this northern water body. As we passed over the imagery aerial border and dipped through the clouds, I got my first view of Manitoba… a patchwork of sprawling snow-covered fields, winding rivers and small pockets of conifers. Definitely a Northern feel to it, not quite prairie land but certainly different from home in southern Ontario. </span></span><span style="font-size: 19px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu85b-46fpm5cIMr7f9TydDjAsRxEMaZktJtcUiNVZmT1-vPiWATuIQVohpIE9tE96Hax-4i-kO9vgfkeUPyhJWhSi-JFsuyN3lFjXh5h3nvBb3CbbDfBCVHSOt9v1P1Sevdua7lAlKehn0XUmy0nqaThEgD0pcEhuW40Frmub_I8j39TCiOolfh4/s4032/F49E8BC6-8FE6-42AA-97A5-894F1763E779.jpeg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu85b-46fpm5cIMr7f9TydDjAsRxEMaZktJtcUiNVZmT1-vPiWATuIQVohpIE9tE96Hax-4i-kO9vgfkeUPyhJWhSi-JFsuyN3lFjXh5h3nvBb3CbbDfBCVHSOt9v1P1Sevdua7lAlKehn0XUmy0nqaThEgD0pcEhuW40Frmub_I8j39TCiOolfh4/s320/F49E8BC6-8FE6-42AA-97A5-894F1763E779.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Manitoba Countryside<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqh9RYS9dCQMATcE-bvy35bEAfSSvAkguC5L0fOzHvMBQdWV1Cb3AlArkpsBnB_oEXA8XMnWkroUScZEPyev7f2Fv3h-gGC-bypb5OZ1ul2gTXr1bLr0RaG5qY6g638hm-v2bNvraQH-HR0DnbwRO2iyEuj0cn1DDtcPcpSA5xNNg60xiG_32W6Qeg/s4032/C5BC06AA-20E7-4382-B212-846C6182D015.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqh9RYS9dCQMATcE-bvy35bEAfSSvAkguC5L0fOzHvMBQdWV1Cb3AlArkpsBnB_oEXA8XMnWkroUScZEPyev7f2Fv3h-gGC-bypb5OZ1ul2gTXr1bLr0RaG5qY6g638hm-v2bNvraQH-HR0DnbwRO2iyEuj0cn1DDtcPcpSA5xNNg60xiG_32W6Qeg/s320/C5BC06AA-20E7-4382-B212-846C6182D015.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Outskirts of Winnipeg</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 19px;">The Winnipeg airport proved to be, unsurprisingly, far less busy than Toronto. After grabbing some snacks and picking up our rental for the trip (a black Toyota Rav4) we were off! </span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">Actually, getting out of Winnipeg proved to be a challenge though, as winding through the busy city streets and getting to the highway took over half an hour in itself. Some Black-billed Magpies flew around the more open parts of town, the first of many we’d see during the next few days. Then, after finally getting on the main highway, the first long drive of the trip began.... 4 hours east to Dryden. </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Northern Ontario, as well as most boreal habitat around this latitude, tends have depressingly low bird diversity at this time of year. The occasional raven or eagle beside the highway, a flock of Pine Grosbeaks on the top of a Spruce Tree, but few other lifeforms to speak of. Driving here for an entire day and seeing less than 10 species is certainly possible, if not the case most of the time. With all the big year birders in the car naturally there was talk of birds seen, missed and so on, which was most of the conversation during the drive over.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Arriving in Dryden, we followed Pat's directions (turn at the police station, look for the fifth house down the street) and pulled up to the driveway in question. To avoid spooking the bird we used the car as a blind, and not 10 minutes later the Bullock’s Oriole flew into the feeder and grabbed a berry. Success! And it was sweet. We spent over an hour there, watching it come and go (briefly land on a car window), admiring this rare and expensive visitor to Ontario. The Bullock’s Oriole is quite similar to our familiar Baltimore, in fact the two were considered the same species until a few decades ago, when genetic research was done and the AOS made the decision to split them. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Females can be quite an ID challenge, but luckily this bird was a first year male, and was quite distinct. With a dark black throat, orange on the auriculars, breast and tail and broad white wingbars on dark, greyish black wings. The yellow on the belly fades quite sharply into a buffy off-white of the belly, creating a sort of two-toned look to it. Overall, an interesting looking bird, and also lifer for me.<br /></span></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighSEas9RZ6GiUT3h1J-Counh0VhL-11gDW5n1rfd4I7Jl7jtOwOWQD-7ZsLGbqNfKYk6vRAl2-6rKcYX7osrmcARIK7bUXw3t6fA0QbPmVvf_xNutKo-Xf8r6BI827i0bW9fX1kW1lB90gLN0wt-0pTiM4euPaT5IzcUMzveeCCzwzVn5gWZZoVSU/s1280/CSC_0678.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighSEas9RZ6GiUT3h1J-Counh0VhL-11gDW5n1rfd4I7Jl7jtOwOWQD-7ZsLGbqNfKYk6vRAl2-6rKcYX7osrmcARIK7bUXw3t6fA0QbPmVvf_xNutKo-Xf8r6BI827i0bW9fX1kW1lB90gLN0wt-0pTiM4euPaT5IzcUMzveeCCzwzVn5gWZZoVSU/s320/CSC_0678.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Bullock's Oriole</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtisS637UO-pSt07d3WDWJ3KsH-PWAn8omyy38CM5CiVvucGnV5hqbVuJo7B5UzWUEFpcWWXNDWGOK0YRddb8L6S3-iyWSg4BlenKNLFPfd_2r_vI1w2WuF3naYS0wrtn9e1XF-TuyuyfdHctMgv20EI-nUADwEgNO0a475dCR8BDzozlUxieRxcg/s960/CSC_0677.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtisS637UO-pSt07d3WDWJ3KsH-PWAn8omyy38CM5CiVvucGnV5hqbVuJo7B5UzWUEFpcWWXNDWGOK0YRddb8L6S3-iyWSg4BlenKNLFPfd_2r_vI1w2WuF3naYS0wrtn9e1XF-TuyuyfdHctMgv20EI-nUADwEgNO0a475dCR8BDzozlUxieRxcg/s320/CSC_0677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXy1aP0ymx7OYDKqkMLoLIl07U0BkcHUE2T2VIqdtTkiieu0RHvUIZzl1eOTF9BdDubJ9pBFgFZ_kJPPLnJEgpHESrVSaBKqAhDu0fie7S48dqmZETywcX-daO7qulJg_h8q2gFZ4i75VH6iFUtAI9S9-K5RsCXnZjvS_LOdugwXi09CnNrZD8DuJ/s1280/CSC_0674.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXy1aP0ymx7OYDKqkMLoLIl07U0BkcHUE2T2VIqdtTkiieu0RHvUIZzl1eOTF9BdDubJ9pBFgFZ_kJPPLnJEgpHESrVSaBKqAhDu0fie7S48dqmZETywcX-daO7qulJg_h8q2gFZ4i75VH6iFUtAI9S9-K5RsCXnZjvS_LOdugwXi09CnNrZD8DuJ/s320/CSC_0674.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rlCbdDkxAaqpCEgs8MoyI9LSJwK57BOcdaaqpiakBP0sGIA6mW4xDggQthA4PLJ1YlyWT4CtFp0m5uj6bIK-V4i49EmcktJMZ8PFz3iq3c3CHIrBzIcSzCrmpjjvJap6fDre3wx8pIOk0j-Wl2deQvkn6PHY2IjAWU8Pm76-y9Yi_XZ8wCztBAxK/s2560/CSC_0673.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rlCbdDkxAaqpCEgs8MoyI9LSJwK57BOcdaaqpiakBP0sGIA6mW4xDggQthA4PLJ1YlyWT4CtFp0m5uj6bIK-V4i49EmcktJMZ8PFz3iq3c3CHIrBzIcSzCrmpjjvJap6fDre3wx8pIOk0j-Wl2deQvkn6PHY2IjAWU8Pm76-y9Yi_XZ8wCztBAxK/s320/CSC_0673.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6gr702sVOPvZPLfxovArhSQhhKPwXfmBRPxX6klyZ1y2VlaeWK9WrrL8lncKbaLUO9PP9k5S_xmgq4WLnVWFIGYpQEVOOXxRsMXmF65mDhUMaQK6vUfscr6mnNrCw7CS9bcYgRhbQt5989tibi6WnDUdiov89udOTV1R8I1Whtff2AWEYAdtl_7H/s4032/4E3AD086-A565-4F3C-9517-6EF065C99785.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6gr702sVOPvZPLfxovArhSQhhKPwXfmBRPxX6klyZ1y2VlaeWK9WrrL8lncKbaLUO9PP9k5S_xmgq4WLnVWFIGYpQEVOOXxRsMXmF65mDhUMaQK6vUfscr6mnNrCw7CS9bcYgRhbQt5989tibi6WnDUdiov89udOTV1R8I1Whtff2AWEYAdtl_7H/s320/4E3AD086-A565-4F3C-9517-6EF065C99785.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Oriole Stakeout</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">After we were all satisfied, we moved on and drove the remaining 3 & a half hours to Thunder Bay, where we spent the next two nights at a nice Air B&B in town. Following the long day of flying and sitting in a car, stretching my legs and enjoying a sleep in a comfy bed was a welcome break. While being a nice car, the Rav4 is a bit tight and uncomfortable with 3 people in the back seat.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Since we were only in the north for another full day there was no time to waste, even if the 5:45am alarm made me want to silence it and just sleep for the remainder of the morning. We piled into the car, stopped briefly for some cheap drugs (caffeine, in the form of barely passable coffee) and headed south to the town of Rossport.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-vfvTsQYe4LAfDKhNpSTMNvIilFFYnKP0V0uZ_foXmNS002_POp4ULFfhHJsRKvg4ZSiqpbinV6llLV5uwE7srYgN55Lwku-i7aDNAo66MP_CK0ACmDmSQFEjZ11NiubbHbw8uR4IBjj9mh8uGfLBvgk95fmXC6whD4DKQVwPk_wNQ4aBQf0xUOf/s4032/056DF21D-F80D-41DA-963F-571EEB27F209.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-vfvTsQYe4LAfDKhNpSTMNvIilFFYnKP0V0uZ_foXmNS002_POp4ULFfhHJsRKvg4ZSiqpbinV6llLV5uwE7srYgN55Lwku-i7aDNAo66MP_CK0ACmDmSQFEjZ11NiubbHbw8uR4IBjj9mh8uGfLBvgk95fmXC6whD4DKQVwPk_wNQ4aBQf0xUOf/s320/056DF21D-F80D-41DA-963F-571EEB27F209.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The town of Rossport is a two hour drive south of Thunder Bay, and something about its geography makes it perfect for rare birds. Whatever it is, this place just brings them in! 3 Lazuli Buntings, Painted Bunting, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Mountain Bluebird and Say’s Phoebe to name a few. Nothing was being seen when we visited, but it seemed like as likely of a place as any to find something good like a rosy-finch or a Black-headed Grosbeak. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We arrived just after daybreak and spent a few hours wandering the streets around the town, which has a quiet, northern community vibe... In fact you could be convinced the town was abandoned until residents start waking up around 10am. Sheltered from Lake Superior by a large chain of islands to the west, the town (with a population of a mere 100 residents) is basically just 4 streets of small, pleasant looking log houses nestled between the water and the Trans Canada Highway.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbWZOG4NYNKIFs68ZcpgZIkKBwahwKxHfKP6dMr__dgq_HZc7wW-R47vxcksAkpJp_AaCdw3oPiQwmsAyllfCH68-qtMzaumuszApv8a_TLtYOGpBsCrUWlc_5HknGrq2PkPtgE7uEr9XkTCmWPQiaCx_n2mpfA2Uaaj7kjsWziOzh3vgrJHoD8Vd/s4032/4CADDAED-5D42-4E29-B5F8-0576F3073905.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbWZOG4NYNKIFs68ZcpgZIkKBwahwKxHfKP6dMr__dgq_HZc7wW-R47vxcksAkpJp_AaCdw3oPiQwmsAyllfCH68-qtMzaumuszApv8a_TLtYOGpBsCrUWlc_5HknGrq2PkPtgE7uEr9XkTCmWPQiaCx_n2mpfA2Uaaj7kjsWziOzh3vgrJHoD8Vd/s320/4CADDAED-5D42-4E29-B5F8-0576F3073905.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Sunrise at Rossport<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The birding was very good, and we saw a total of 25 species there, which although low by southern Ontario standards, is quite good for the north in late November. 5 of these were filter tripping species for eBird too. Highlights listed below;</span></p><ul class="ul1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">3 Common Mergansers </span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1 Red-bellied Woodpecker</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1 Northern Shrike (new for the Rossport hotspot)</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">5 Boreal Chickadees</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">7 Bohemian Waxwings</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">10 Red Crossbills</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1 Song Sparrow</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1 Red-winged Blackbird</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2 Northern Cardinals</span></li><li class="li1" style="font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Redpolls, both grosbeaks and lots of siskins</span></li></ul><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Some of those may not sound too exciting, but they are good birds in Thunder Bay! The cardinal and woodpecker were the only ones in the county this month in fact. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CwkRZj8olbKgvoB5Z-MuJuxAZg2UCL6lo43V5IB0U53ngpsZBG1yF3sT8-Uc3VQa-1tANLuwkDDtDKhiZA_6Vx_S6QBTMBfR493UGH_w3o51XUmyUjYcdd0T_OMUTKN19l0BPaoKlyllWUKRNW-vZWW7rBt4hNxedKncoollUC0cYGPodE5l924x/s1920/CSC_0669.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CwkRZj8olbKgvoB5Z-MuJuxAZg2UCL6lo43V5IB0U53ngpsZBG1yF3sT8-Uc3VQa-1tANLuwkDDtDKhiZA_6Vx_S6QBTMBfR493UGH_w3o51XUmyUjYcdd0T_OMUTKN19l0BPaoKlyllWUKRNW-vZWW7rBt4hNxedKncoollUC0cYGPodE5l924x/s320/CSC_0669.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Red Crossbills</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsa9DUYW7E3hI2AaQZUwpOLM7MQICICfCet_dTd5tqTfn2AYQGAOXX2P4jkqFuiAtWuLdBi76_PZAQWGcz1mm2GhV4b6B89QSfcWOO32X8-tU5AQo5qFJAMy21mIz4QY3Xjbp_PNPu0aIXVKA9a8HagdgF8R9Kdegz1ubDT7009B68KDi4jeLTgcH/s960/CSC_0668.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsa9DUYW7E3hI2AaQZUwpOLM7MQICICfCet_dTd5tqTfn2AYQGAOXX2P4jkqFuiAtWuLdBi76_PZAQWGcz1mm2GhV4b6B89QSfcWOO32X8-tU5AQo5qFJAMy21mIz4QY3Xjbp_PNPu0aIXVKA9a8HagdgF8R9Kdegz1ubDT7009B68KDi4jeLTgcH/s320/CSC_0668.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Red-bellied Woodpecker</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTweYAA8ZiOcVwa-ItxNH3jYOIWSsU-6Wbd5Hx8QnCWtmIdAazoBDFRpTrUACJMVOhqLgtajennDRHHqAJmFJ2erE5Xqnia5jLucFfZNJCMBnawFuCbuTgtiaTl0swPR0ZiU7loEu3VTPSlu3xh1U-e5-1_paHGvLyggpGFiEE0qJwvelJmCKPq7_g/s960/CSC_0666.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTweYAA8ZiOcVwa-ItxNH3jYOIWSsU-6Wbd5Hx8QnCWtmIdAazoBDFRpTrUACJMVOhqLgtajennDRHHqAJmFJ2erE5Xqnia5jLucFfZNJCMBnawFuCbuTgtiaTl0swPR0ZiU7loEu3VTPSlu3xh1U-e5-1_paHGvLyggpGFiEE0qJwvelJmCKPq7_g/s320/CSC_0666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Boreal Chickadee</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rInzentgqLhDAf1MdN3kBpGQNH1Lm3BsOzDnGGGj8ZjwoPfL-7e9S2WQqgRX8sDoA2fWSEeffk9-vFn89pa12H8KRL87rFvyxSYwmUGQEK-jKoI4t8vYvt6saNff-vOKlVbEXOPLcXmD5VdTNg0u9UqOQe5N01JXiSEufdMUdDEb1Q8gtwvBS9pz/s1280/CSC_0665.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rInzentgqLhDAf1MdN3kBpGQNH1Lm3BsOzDnGGGj8ZjwoPfL-7e9S2WQqgRX8sDoA2fWSEeffk9-vFn89pa12H8KRL87rFvyxSYwmUGQEK-jKoI4t8vYvt6saNff-vOKlVbEXOPLcXmD5VdTNg0u9UqOQe5N01JXiSEufdMUdDEb1Q8gtwvBS9pz/s320/CSC_0665.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Another Red Crossbill</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P1St-Fo7I9JOj2Pykcnwc4W17RWlOAhX8QDcgKEl0fSWLZykBWGJFPAruJt6cV93KFJ_q0wwoIduIX6OgyWClbYmEaZ-5CyyTew-qWnti-HVIvjgXYZNlf2n6NyA6Q83wCE4D4G7Qkw_p_xHR2S00wQGtE8BXQPGMOGq6paSbSpxlnVXN7m1IGNc/s1920/C96C3BD9-9227-4AFF-932C-CE660B086146.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P1St-Fo7I9JOj2Pykcnwc4W17RWlOAhX8QDcgKEl0fSWLZykBWGJFPAruJt6cV93KFJ_q0wwoIduIX6OgyWClbYmEaZ-5CyyTew-qWnti-HVIvjgXYZNlf2n6NyA6Q83wCE4D4G7Qkw_p_xHR2S00wQGtE8BXQPGMOGq6paSbSpxlnVXN7m1IGNc/s320/C96C3BD9-9227-4AFF-932C-CE660B086146.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Walking Rossport</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQuuNaRgGpjb6U2wzosjPW-tSc_ta4PeKgtbdTwoFWWfJILH4mWIERpBkhmyOZYLFyf1AEPvJRCyQPJLH3iqARN3Clm2tNpJ98DIwcOHGKZrMK_Yzsxljr6girpigsE1JTUedr15KIndc8xEg2ifQoA3BiSx5xz_QeHWbQP-re3ZM21REXLDy5qPV/s908/A1BEBBF2-4AFB-4B1E-9FF6-ACCED1075ABF.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="908" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQuuNaRgGpjb6U2wzosjPW-tSc_ta4PeKgtbdTwoFWWfJILH4mWIERpBkhmyOZYLFyf1AEPvJRCyQPJLH3iqARN3Clm2tNpJ98DIwcOHGKZrMK_Yzsxljr6girpigsE1JTUedr15KIndc8xEg2ifQoA3BiSx5xz_QeHWbQP-re3ZM21REXLDy5qPV/s320/A1BEBBF2-4AFB-4B1E-9FF6-ACCED1075ABF.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Random Sign</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We spent the remainder of the day checking other small towns on the way back to Thunder Bay, although we were never as successful as we were in Rossport. One highlight was finding a berry tree with a mixed flock of Bohemian Waxwings and Evening Grosbeaks, not something you see too often.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7rSV9dxtxcKbxv6DGh6HRwcH5GBSrJwmeRyxd1ZmzCDb61T3wQcpsJFFAYhfwj8EfqKjHJsO5wBkZtbuPcZssJm5x6zz9_Ci-U-lCIkZhPZ6OyrsJstX3a5Q0cp7DfAe130SsNFUwiSzUBo_H1ywmo-v12d4pRMkh2ot1159rQL-HrDf6i9NZ7Yyc/s4480/CSC_0663.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2984" data-original-width="4480" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7rSV9dxtxcKbxv6DGh6HRwcH5GBSrJwmeRyxd1ZmzCDb61T3wQcpsJFFAYhfwj8EfqKjHJsO5wBkZtbuPcZssJm5x6zz9_Ci-U-lCIkZhPZ6OyrsJstX3a5Q0cp7DfAe130SsNFUwiSzUBo_H1ywmo-v12d4pRMkh2ot1159rQL-HrDf6i9NZ7Yyc/s320/CSC_0663.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Bohemian Waxwing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sJZ2W1lwQmWqFOUurZSO4TMrvR_9rkvJGrfGx05Aa-nzRJOpEH5veOr_KAWEoN3yR6HZJ1kguosiSnSS-BcAAEkusc1YeBrvcYq_jtF2IynT914DZNysKH817MofrB43iTgYxj_Kz9cQ-V6Kayg8ygpxd3XLiysXk5S1Y1XmZgDcZqahvVJeqzCb/s2560/CSC_0662.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sJZ2W1lwQmWqFOUurZSO4TMrvR_9rkvJGrfGx05Aa-nzRJOpEH5veOr_KAWEoN3yR6HZJ1kguosiSnSS-BcAAEkusc1YeBrvcYq_jtF2IynT914DZNysKH817MofrB43iTgYxj_Kz9cQ-V6Kayg8ygpxd3XLiysXk5S1Y1XmZgDcZqahvVJeqzCb/s320/CSC_0662.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- BOWA and Eveing Grosbeak</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Another weird find in the towns were aliens… small, green and wooden, with a variety of different expressions, the towns around the area seemed to be weirdly fascinated with them, as we saw well over 60... standing in in front lawns, hiding behind windows and perched atop fences. Some intense research (a good search) turned up a CBC article about these. Apparently, a local artist makes them and they’re a huge thing here, and they’re even shipped out all around the world…. Strange…<br /></span></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnFzDU0NV130uH4iRD95-yvXW_w2GNPtA0eWNmvoSKyJAb1atuW3MT5df_u7t4B6QO2GRm1hAzw_LdXh4u8lpSK9weplRCN-JIotcGaf7NALIrWVEs0b7qQ9DfoETuDkOUK3hdluhQoXQwazzzpu4htZUHe5IJY_g1n_l__nsrK0qjXYq2LtPcZIC/s866/59106DA1-D320-4C17-8545-A0C29A711426.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="866" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnFzDU0NV130uH4iRD95-yvXW_w2GNPtA0eWNmvoSKyJAb1atuW3MT5df_u7t4B6QO2GRm1hAzw_LdXh4u8lpSK9weplRCN-JIotcGaf7NALIrWVEs0b7qQ9DfoETuDkOUK3hdluhQoXQwazzzpu4htZUHe5IJY_g1n_l__nsrK0qjXYq2LtPcZIC/s320/59106DA1-D320-4C17-8545-A0C29A711426.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Alien</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjufVPRfXn9CUNYaMeu7ZsfBUyrY44pIeqUcwLm90bnG9n0Qy9BAEVK3XsxL9dwCCY7xnwEDbMV9l3QDuaJ4S8GF8vhpEiAnCm3YOFARwAPwMLudTzRtmdp7o-xx2psnaQxsa1MUok1o5xdsE0Eammuihl0-bmiofrzdJ_a5H4hJZRIA1byedWe-B_/s1766/8E4731A2-D26F-4B8A-9F10-745E6382FB13.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1766" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjufVPRfXn9CUNYaMeu7ZsfBUyrY44pIeqUcwLm90bnG9n0Qy9BAEVK3XsxL9dwCCY7xnwEDbMV9l3QDuaJ4S8GF8vhpEiAnCm3YOFARwAPwMLudTzRtmdp7o-xx2psnaQxsa1MUok1o5xdsE0Eammuihl0-bmiofrzdJ_a5H4hJZRIA1byedWe-B_/s320/8E4731A2-D26F-4B8A-9F10-745E6382FB13.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Creepy<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the town of Nipigon we came across this large tower on the side of a ridge. There were some birds around (Evening Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls), so we spent a few minutes exploring the area and climbing the tower, which looked promising as a hawkwatch/morning flight spot during migration seasons.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqb_Y_XCHwcoKKa5awBdVEluGPBkqleOiU-Gr-FrlZi6rkByUpWNmxBE6TJ8YQ0PLPDeQs7Ekr_yBnFoW-Qr6K0DdaXapLMwZJ3-Xb58JXi8WSm6okRe4etVNI3pA0pR7prSLPz2kmMp13VEjfaX1HF2jHogutllzHM2OsEG5TtEqSTEF_c7NvGRTE" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqb_Y_XCHwcoKKa5awBdVEluGPBkqleOiU-Gr-FrlZi6rkByUpWNmxBE6TJ8YQ0PLPDeQs7Ekr_yBnFoW-Qr6K0DdaXapLMwZJ3-Xb58JXi8WSm6okRe4etVNI3pA0pR7prSLPz2kmMp13VEjfaX1HF2jHogutllzHM2OsEG5TtEqSTEF_c7NvGRTE=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Nipigon Tower</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSvIAm0kRmCzzGavaaBoA7KneBOD3tZRov7OsnQ7e_niLl5gqsKodtrAs4SgRiExTLKq8QiaXSejAysDGO12zf4t8IK73XVuG-VqlO5YJFOPjP7-cD2YDm1ZoBkZEmJcRqnAzbnES9KWIQmqJC3WbAY90laEHcHdHjJUHPYNeQNq6x-fWCfQdaw7-/s4032/6FCB5CF9-9EDB-4568-AF5B-9AFCE15B587F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSvIAm0kRmCzzGavaaBoA7KneBOD3tZRov7OsnQ7e_niLl5gqsKodtrAs4SgRiExTLKq8QiaXSejAysDGO12zf4t8IK73XVuG-VqlO5YJFOPjP7-cD2YDm1ZoBkZEmJcRqnAzbnES9KWIQmqJC3WbAY90laEHcHdHjJUHPYNeQNq6x-fWCfQdaw7-/s320/6FCB5CF9-9EDB-4568-AF5B-9AFCE15B587F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fear of heights 0 - Kiah 1</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCiDya9BkTafd0qF2yWhw2kSOoG-bqQW2kuIkXm2OL18YC_m0_0SHWROyNlo7Eya9bg6Hp1STuZbEEviDIS9gUeRJcTCyd_H6ATT7jEZRWwvycBZZdXdO4M6FP_47dhx0VH_lfl7fov5GzpsHk24bHBGUoOkjvOjoEWr3FqrDSCFuw4mOCsUMpHDF/s8646/1CB03963-EFA5-4E7B-A775-671B0B234C08.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3932" data-original-width="8646" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCiDya9BkTafd0qF2yWhw2kSOoG-bqQW2kuIkXm2OL18YC_m0_0SHWROyNlo7Eya9bg6Hp1STuZbEEviDIS9gUeRJcTCyd_H6ATT7jEZRWwvycBZZdXdO4M6FP_47dhx0VH_lfl7fov5GzpsHk24bHBGUoOkjvOjoEWr3FqrDSCFuw4mOCsUMpHDF/s320/1CB03963-EFA5-4E7B-A775-671B0B234C08.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- The view</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Nightfall is early during this season, so in no time our rarity search was cut short by darkness and we were forced to retreat back to Thunder Bay. The Canada vs Croatia FIFA game provided some entertainment that evening... but the 4-1 loss was a bit tough to watch : )</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">On Monday morning we spent an hour birding around the waterfront of Thunder Bay, mainly looking for Gyrfalcons, then started making our way back to Winnipeg. We had good luck with weather the previous two days (sun/cloud and 5 degrees, which is crazy for this part of Ontario in late November), but that luck had since run out. The morning was damp and cold with a constant light drizzle of rain. Any Gyrfalcons in the area were sensibly spending the day resting somewhere dry, so after checking out the grain silos and finding Mallards and Canada Geese (both tripped the eBird filter) we called it quits.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 19px;">The 8 hour drive back to Winnipeg proved to be a long one, especially for Jim, who drove for the entire trip. We were a bit pressed for time, so we didn't do much birding on the drive back, however we did stop back in Dryden and drove around the town to look for for birdfeeders. A flock of 350 Bohemian Waxwings were the main highlight, with nothing else of note besides Black-billed Magie (not rare here, but a fun sight for us </span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">southerners).</span></span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 19px;"> Something I'm not using to seeing, that was quite common here was the deer in town yards. Small groups of White-tailed Deer were scattered all over the town lots, sleeping under trees and beside garages, watching cars drive by from less than 20ft away... and never seeming fazed by the human activity.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 19px;">Around the border we encountered slush covered roads and a snowstorm, a bit of added stress as the Rav only had summer tires... Seriously, why do rental companies in snowy parts of Canada do this? All was well though, and we arrived back at Winnepeg with plenty of time to spare</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSXAwcvOBgX-sv0SrjuEi32tWuVU7HczG-UkDAcezWhVAoKTDTCxB-bNPdA333atzMaAN3Dpqit8c1jOklE4BpsXkfjiwN_olBpNaw0VDYTfagCnD001o3UKCRg-nWQQhYtSs5YqNzld0iwyIt3fUaeNSOxhxn2xzSn6NqwmucFYlzd8VCwEu2i1sC/s4032/8FEF4619-EBBD-4465-8FF5-CBC80EE28921.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSXAwcvOBgX-sv0SrjuEi32tWuVU7HczG-UkDAcezWhVAoKTDTCxB-bNPdA333atzMaAN3Dpqit8c1jOklE4BpsXkfjiwN_olBpNaw0VDYTfagCnD001o3UKCRg-nWQQhYtSs5YqNzld0iwyIt3fUaeNSOxhxn2xzSn6NqwmucFYlzd8VCwEu2i1sC/s320/8FEF4619-EBBD-4465-8FF5-CBC80EE28921.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Bohemian Waxwings</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFvqKVn7103h3tbhck_EuIkNtwpZk_eNfejCrxzcAeyRGN2tNEk8hI92ljuUhyL0R_UU20jugMHTPMyX4cf8MCSH9GvsWu29Vvqi4uBuRf9Ot_tUiad-1dM53-gk-QUOrg9Sxva7C1NCX3omUIwA9_5kFSumMnBjGPpHwIAOmeAULxFkZ6TPP3qtv/s4032/566C58E5-FBDF-4B6F-BE8D-B2661A860FFD.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIFvqKVn7103h3tbhck_EuIkNtwpZk_eNfejCrxzcAeyRGN2tNEk8hI92ljuUhyL0R_UU20jugMHTPMyX4cf8MCSH9GvsWu29Vvqi4uBuRf9Ot_tUiad-1dM53-gk-QUOrg9Sxva7C1NCX3omUIwA9_5kFSumMnBjGPpHwIAOmeAULxFkZ6TPP3qtv/s320/566C58E5-FBDF-4B6F-BE8D-B2661A860FFD.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Tame Deer</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">Waiting for the flight at the airport dragged on for a bit, as did the flight home, but that's often how it goes on the way back from chasing something... The way there is always more exciting. Due to some delays in disembarking I didn't get back to Guelph until after 2am, quite tired but happy with the success of the trip.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">One final note, I do not recommend Flair Airlines... The leg room/seats are subpar, the website constantly crashes, customer support charges you to even talk to them... and they try to scam you for extra money at every corner. That is all.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">Ontario Yearlist @ November 30th - 357</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-19350486810875229162022-11-27T09:09:00.007-08:002022-11-27T09:12:44.478-08:00Shameless advertising <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div> <p></p><p>Not my usual type of post… but I thought I would use this platform to advertise Alessandra’s art! She’s working on a number of commissions for Christmas now and is available to do others if people want. </p><p><br /></p><p>They’re pretty great : ) buy them…. </p><p><br /></p><p>This is from her Facebook post</p><p><br /></p><p>…….</p><p>Hey everyone!! Just putting this out incase anyone’s looking for a quality Christmas gift for someone they cherish (or hate, no judgment). </p><p> </p><p>I’m making custom bird art! I can bring any bird species to life, with some added creative flare! </p><p>I have two main mediums I work with, Watercolour and Acrylic, and the subject will be a full bird with your choice of background, or a bird portrait. </p><p><br /></p><p>Watercolour is my favourite medium and I'm selling custom originals on your choice of paper (8.5"x6") or board (10"x8") for $80 and $95 respectively.</p><p>I can also do Acrylic paintings on canvas (10''x12''), these are more detailed and can include multiple birds, multiple species, + plants, background etc. These are more time consuming and use more expensive materials so I charge $230-300 depending on the details. </p><p><br /></p><p>Shipping is extra but I will be more than happy to deliver right to your door if you will be around Wellington or Bruce County! </p><p><br /></p><p>Some recent examples </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxYjsUhVwV6uYIm_EagqQMBIgEFDT6-m6dU__8ott75_YXP_jlUXnIlcVTwVnXAnUGOT9Z04KjLmqPLrypJv6M19VDxPUAz5mJWkKBOi08h_rUUJgXEPyANGsASL_UllOdAyRS9JD51-qlz-RT1ssirOYQOOeEH515rueht4XczKlJBfPXgliMcqY/s1632/9ACBA820-E3C1-4390-AFDB-76F444A754E0.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxYjsUhVwV6uYIm_EagqQMBIgEFDT6-m6dU__8ott75_YXP_jlUXnIlcVTwVnXAnUGOT9Z04KjLmqPLrypJv6M19VDxPUAz5mJWkKBOi08h_rUUJgXEPyANGsASL_UllOdAyRS9JD51-qlz-RT1ssirOYQOOeEH515rueht4XczKlJBfPXgliMcqY/s320/9ACBA820-E3C1-4390-AFDB-76F444A754E0.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DL9PvN8ZI_LiRNTm1LJ4ctvzljIPNi4GxAxDPQlGWOm0iW-EKXUHvxH7BmqXVeekDS-dwe2iKfl094QYPcwSaZLIqu3Vfmi2zVD7rAnLO5e7FUIclwiMl7I8YeGwdXB0tWwlbDQwcbXe_ltmNgqPcvCtX78ALARYrb_Zqig1AhPsD4mHmBKW8hjj/s1697/37F82A4E-B9A0-4B55-A544-F360A4CC1504.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="1423" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DL9PvN8ZI_LiRNTm1LJ4ctvzljIPNi4GxAxDPQlGWOm0iW-EKXUHvxH7BmqXVeekDS-dwe2iKfl094QYPcwSaZLIqu3Vfmi2zVD7rAnLO5e7FUIclwiMl7I8YeGwdXB0tWwlbDQwcbXe_ltmNgqPcvCtX78ALARYrb_Zqig1AhPsD4mHmBKW8hjj/s320/37F82A4E-B9A0-4B55-A544-F360A4CC1504.jpeg" width="268" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTu033au0PpzT6oh8uRBostGPCuUDcvAVswZLjR7yb4KvvXqW31c7e16B2kfKKHMfFmiEukyPQYOryUSy9RHXhC078OHw8niXdTZudc3VbWv8CRhG3_HzuHzzIwjeHfty1XkYxGLwXJxSFR5lKaiv908eUBMrUtBYTmcPwLRdEhYP_ca_wW-J0ECN/s1441/399606F6-6A8D-4A85-8E73-DF1016B528BE.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1401" data-original-width="1441" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTu033au0PpzT6oh8uRBostGPCuUDcvAVswZLjR7yb4KvvXqW31c7e16B2kfKKHMfFmiEukyPQYOryUSy9RHXhC078OHw8niXdTZudc3VbWv8CRhG3_HzuHzzIwjeHfty1XkYxGLwXJxSFR5lKaiv908eUBMrUtBYTmcPwLRdEhYP_ca_wW-J0ECN/s320/399606F6-6A8D-4A85-8E73-DF1016B528BE.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSClhsV32ISlXq0ghh9rfo1HlMT0VDnzMGE-l2NA1BFWqtC8Dd_dGF7Yh9wlcOmIRAuHL1PorPUml7j3oJ4qB7tVVB_QUbl_ADM6YUifwix9o_1_IPHyyrhIMxWmZ163qi75icm3nwRwN3CTDBAK5ta22koxOSEoR6b-GGTIfO49nWqNV8puRCVrie/s1495/B59CE09C-1823-4A77-BA92-8092780ED5AD.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1495" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSClhsV32ISlXq0ghh9rfo1HlMT0VDnzMGE-l2NA1BFWqtC8Dd_dGF7Yh9wlcOmIRAuHL1PorPUml7j3oJ4qB7tVVB_QUbl_ADM6YUifwix9o_1_IPHyyrhIMxWmZ163qi75icm3nwRwN3CTDBAK5ta22koxOSEoR6b-GGTIfO49nWqNV8puRCVrie/s320/B59CE09C-1823-4A77-BA92-8092780ED5AD.jpeg" width="256" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtpw3pwxuu9gX0nY8re2TLqjfISW5Cjvhgq1mmwXJTF-W-nked80076usOdK248xPK9e7Wcx-gRL6GwXeH2-a7QT--6jC2B03QDRtKmp8mjgGm7nrjcp4fuIE3uaooNZSTl9z32XqyXUXjPF1cyNJcOKwSLJPFegDQjFaYNBUro7eIBEv5Wou7OhNE/s828/F3B2AEC1-8094-47DB-AFFE-AEDBE507CB7F.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="828" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtpw3pwxuu9gX0nY8re2TLqjfISW5Cjvhgq1mmwXJTF-W-nked80076usOdK248xPK9e7Wcx-gRL6GwXeH2-a7QT--6jC2B03QDRtKmp8mjgGm7nrjcp4fuIE3uaooNZSTl9z32XqyXUXjPF1cyNJcOKwSLJPFegDQjFaYNBUro7eIBEv5Wou7OhNE/s320/F3B2AEC1-8094-47DB-AFFE-AEDBE507CB7F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>You can message her on Facebook (Alessandra Kite), or email alessandra_wilcox@yahoo.com</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Big year related post with an insane chase coming in a few days </p><p><br /></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-13719949031732620882022-11-17T17:42:00.001-08:002022-11-17T17:42:57.035-08:00Back to Ottawa for a Goose<p> </p><p><br /></p><p>When I was at Fifty Point November 6th, waiting for Cave Swallows to fly by, I was talking with some birders about my most likely new additions for the year. The first thing I said was Northern Gannet, then an hour later I see a gannet at Fifty! After the gannet, I explained that things are getting considerably harder because Pink-footed Goose is my most likely bird. That afternoon, of course, a Pink-footed Goose was found near Voyageur Provincial Park in Prescott and Russell by Jacques Bouvier. The goose had actually been around the area for a week, although it had only been seen on the Quebec side until then. </p><p>Because I was busy the next day chasing the gallinule, I decided to wait to go until that Wednesday, with the plan being to spend several days searching for the goose if need be. Since the spot was an hour east of Ottawa, doing it in a single day felt a bit risky and not that enjoyable! </p><p><br /></p><p>On the morning of November 9th, Alessandra and I were picked up at 4:00am in Guelph by Isabel Apkarian, who had dipped on Pink-footed Goose 4 times in the past and was out for revenge. We stopped a few minutes later to pick up the last member of our goose hunting party, fellow big year birder William Konze. The Subaru Crosstrek looks quite spacious from the outside, an illusion that quickly fades however when 4 people, several scopes and a mound of supplies are piled in. It did have adaptive cruise control though, which may be worth the trade for space... even if the annoying lane assist sensor wouldn't shut up for the entire trip.</p><p>After several hours of driving, I received a message that Jacob Stasso had just seen an Atlantic Puffin at Dick Bell Park in Ottawa. It was only a flyby and chances of refinding it were slim, but we were only an hour away from the spot so we changed course and headed into the nation's capital for a quick alcid detour. It was a bit of a shock to the system getting out of the car to a chilly wind beside the Ottawa River, after the 25 degree Cave Swallow weather only a few days before.... That's Ontario for you. After talking to Jake and spending an hour looking along the river, it became obvious that the Ottawa River is indeed very long, and a puffin is a small bird to find in such a large space. Since there were a number of local birders out looking who all knew the area better, we left the puffin search to them and drove the remaining hour & a half to the goose spot.</p><p>The best location to view from was a small dirt road beside a large dam, that spanned the river and was closed off for construction. It seemed a bit iffy about people being allowed in the area, but if you look like you belong workers tend not to bother you, so we walked up the edge of the road and began scanning. Vince Fyson joined us shortly after that and helped scour the area for the rest of the afternoon. Numerous Cackling Geese and a single Snow Goose were mixed in with the thousands of Canadas present, but not our hoped for pink-footed variant. We gave it our best until light made scanning impossible, then drove back to Ottawa. where the Skevington's had graciously offered to let us stay. As is the case every time I have visited here, we were treated to wonderful food (thanks Angela) and entertaining stories... Always a nice part of visiting Ottawa.</p><p><br /></p><p>The next day we were up at 4:00am again because we wanted to make it to the dam for sunrise, when a lot of geese take off to spend the morning foraging in nearby fields. William seemed to be slightly more awake than the rest of us, so he drove while everyone else passed out. Upon arriving at said dam, it was quickly visible that there were hardly any geese there. It seemed that they had roosted somewhere else for the night, so we turned around and drove down the river a bit further to find a vantage point to scan. I was just starting to wake up when we pulled over beside the road a few kilometers away, where we spotted several large rafts of geese sitting out on the river. Just as we were setting the scopes up they started taking off, so I began rapidly scanning through the flying flocks. My scope passed over a slightly smaller goose, with silvery wings, a white tail and a dark head. It was the Pink-footed Goose!! I proceeded to lose it a few moments later when it disappeared behind a treeline. The rest of the group hadn't seen it, and were rightfully quite frantic. <br />We piled back into the car and William gunned it inland while we tried to keep the lines of flying geese in sight. After 10 minutes of skillful James Bond level driving, we arrived at a cornfield where large numbers of geese were descending. Suspense... had we followed the right flock? had the pink-foot peeled off? Isabel got on the bird as it was landing with canadas. Success! An Ontario lifer all around, we enjoyed amazing views of it in the scope for half an hour as it contently fed with the other geese. After putting in 3 long days looking for this species in the spring, seeing it felt pretty satisfying : ) This was 356 for my yearlist, and 350 for William (big congrats on breaking the 350 barrier sir!).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk6L7lqDZcgs2CzatityYoPNwaEqWa7nbchrkSo6TzD9gFwbY4R9KRbwwclJhwCzb13YBu3yDDu3bTK98I7jrw9xhA5eMwLXH-NF6mEyZJFvGZCNwkjNtubJMDgGyYGnUV-wkG-eoJs0HL7D1ZC2VB2-QT2kKY0QBiwXMHBMoL4JFyI0iDuXV8E7v/s1280/CSC_0531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBk6L7lqDZcgs2CzatityYoPNwaEqWa7nbchrkSo6TzD9gFwbY4R9KRbwwclJhwCzb13YBu3yDDu3bTK98I7jrw9xhA5eMwLXH-NF6mEyZJFvGZCNwkjNtubJMDgGyYGnUV-wkG-eoJs0HL7D1ZC2VB2-QT2kKY0QBiwXMHBMoL4JFyI0iDuXV8E7v/s320/CSC_0531.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Pink-footed Goose with Canadas</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkW0-RGhk96FnSwDOStivP-Zm-b8E5wDamjqTLZ1X9Y82vnTDaWrk5e7E_GqCY9bHqD6PLL8TaVPdHFswHF3J9P68o29OhG0Jtc0juqX_T7lBiNmGgzcmEj5jIfwuB8d5nM8EKcXO0dIFFbm_rIwwN7nJh31beieZzz-XP4CndCs_ds58R6Rzr472j/s640/CSC_0532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkW0-RGhk96FnSwDOStivP-Zm-b8E5wDamjqTLZ1X9Y82vnTDaWrk5e7E_GqCY9bHqD6PLL8TaVPdHFswHF3J9P68o29OhG0Jtc0juqX_T7lBiNmGgzcmEj5jIfwuB8d5nM8EKcXO0dIFFbm_rIwwN7nJh31beieZzz-XP4CndCs_ds58R6Rzr472j/s320/CSC_0532.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGvshwa-rjfbO9cJel7Uju9gONJ6mWELc31vlWyh8CE92yYHUnIJvn9t7kD18C4o3A_N6cuGOWWf5iQA4KO0Oatf6mHh3iI0JgFrLY705Cv6woHikaUkNcqFnDNEeD23omRsR7tJp1WGgbl2t2_JUe8e_fCkyDGBubmXMW_l0tbY_S6EWbLNjNktD/s614/A6F903E2-2B06-49A6-836C-70B360316460.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="614" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGvshwa-rjfbO9cJel7Uju9gONJ6mWELc31vlWyh8CE92yYHUnIJvn9t7kD18C4o3A_N6cuGOWWf5iQA4KO0Oatf6mHh3iI0JgFrLY705Cv6woHikaUkNcqFnDNEeD23omRsR7tJp1WGgbl2t2_JUe8e_fCkyDGBubmXMW_l0tbY_S6EWbLNjNktD/s320/A6F903E2-2B06-49A6-836C-70B360316460.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- #356<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_TCFVzHSQtjn_AzdJNgb9wXUT-FtSE4JGy2X2536dS_IS-3WaPOrqadYF1jhZLh6MJnlCZ9-jMXf0Ti8084Cnra6gC04FlI1H2iqWMfB2sLEzQWGL-wnafHH_U7Fl86N9K69vfSQsW-pJnq-DgtV34uPftbtrGIu04Is96_CjzZ4aAvWGdvwgzw_/s4032/42D577AA-22CB-465D-AB39-99D751698319.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_TCFVzHSQtjn_AzdJNgb9wXUT-FtSE4JGy2X2536dS_IS-3WaPOrqadYF1jhZLh6MJnlCZ9-jMXf0Ti8084Cnra6gC04FlI1H2iqWMfB2sLEzQWGL-wnafHH_U7Fl86N9K69vfSQsW-pJnq-DgtV34uPftbtrGIu04Is96_CjzZ4aAvWGdvwgzw_/s320/42D577AA-22CB-465D-AB39-99D751698319.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Alessandra in goose watching stance</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We spent the remainder of the day searching for Barnacle Goose (which William needs) and scouring the river for alcids, but came up short on both. That evening we enjoyed another great meal at Jeffs and had Eric Baldo over to play Wingspan (a birding board game). The following morning we returned back to Guelph, satisfied we wouldn't have to return to Ottawa for another goose in the near future. Unless...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Since then I have been busy leading a few bird hikes in Grey/Bruce and birding around Guelph and Hamilton. No new birds, but a few highlights including;</p><p>- My first self found King Eider of the year (flyby at Van Wagner's Beach)</p><p>- Self found female Barrow's Goldeneye with Alfred Raab on a birding hike around Owen Sound</p><p>- First of fall Northern Shrikes and Common Redpolls, also great views of a Golden Eagle</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In rarity news, there is a Limpkin in Lewiston NY... just across the river and actually visible from Ontario... so close but so far........ arrrr. A plee to US birders, please flush this bird across the river. Use firecrackers, whatever in necessary.. Just make it happen ; )</p><p><br /></p><p>Kidding of course...</p><p><br /></p><p>Ontario yearlist @ November 17th - 356</p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-87394253154999147742022-11-08T18:36:00.000-08:002022-11-08T18:36:04.355-08:00Lake Ontario Provides<p> </p><p><br /></p><p>I'll start off this post by going back in time to last week, when I was looking at weather maps for the upcoming days. From last Thursday to Sunday, a low-pressure system wind was moving north from the gulf coast, bringing with it powerful south/southwest winds all the way up to Ontario. With that kind of setup in the late fall, the chances of rarities turning up here are high. </p><p>On top of that, this system was perfect for bringing Cave Swallows to Ontario. Although caves are code 3s, their numbers fluctuate greatly depending on the year. Some seasons there are numerous reports around the province, while during others there are none. It just depends on the weather. Why these birds disperse north in large numbers during late fall is a mystery, but. When these birds first arrive here (generally after a day or two of strong winds) they are often see a long north facing shorelines during south winds, and then after that when the weather turns, south facing shorelines on north winds.</p><p>Saturday morning found me at the western edge of Niagara County just after sunrise, at Fifty Point Conservation Area, which juts out into Lake Ontario. Since this location has had Cave Swallows in the past, and the winds were ideal for that day (strong south) my hopes were high. Shortly after arriving I was joined by the usual crowd (the other big year birders plus Erik VDK and Isabel), and we began our watch. The first two hours passed by rather quickly, with large numbers of loons and ducks keeping our interest. Then, just around 10am I spotted a flock of 25 Swallows flying by, going west above the trees inland. They were gone a few seconds later, and all I was able to tell for sure was that they were small swallows with square tails. Almost certainly caves, but for my first one I needed a better look. We trekked inland to a parking lot with a nice, raised hill for viewing, a spot recommended by Brandon Holden. This turned out to be a good choice, as twenty minutes later another flock of swallows flew over, this time right overhead and definite caves. 353! This was a lifer for me too, and one of my remaining 3 code 3 species. </p><p>I ended up staying until 1:30, and finished up with 45 Cave Swallows... Not too shabby!</p><p><br /></p><p>The photos are a bit subpar, but that's how it goes sometimes...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKxMj6oO6ijMiqpeOZkdOVeGOZlhtc05PQ-VYihpRt8ATgE-k5yLyEoGKSf3sdKl1M1jheQlZFjm2cQuHevbWDO3sue9zUlOT6mZHtlXhowEQvKpTtXoqnQmBCZV36PQ3ZMy_O20gVRs4fbrW6Rn2PODR8MAgytGs-jTAVbcTi1kxK07Rdljijeyd/s640/CSC_0404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKxMj6oO6ijMiqpeOZkdOVeGOZlhtc05PQ-VYihpRt8ATgE-k5yLyEoGKSf3sdKl1M1jheQlZFjm2cQuHevbWDO3sue9zUlOT6mZHtlXhowEQvKpTtXoqnQmBCZV36PQ3ZMy_O20gVRs4fbrW6Rn2PODR8MAgytGs-jTAVbcTi1kxK07Rdljijeyd/s320/CSC_0404.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Cave Swallow</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKi6f4jHlVOgMUAwMGsoQcuBGw1obHmw6Mn-k1fUQF84OarrX1K0yVRsxS7Nuhrc-wNEZ1F4iNDBAVF0vVh-8RMp761od7INB8SQUIKvlmThMGNsoowXaPjhdGQX351Cq7tp_tDN1pIe2mV5IoSFwTDkKDSAopJPVpUqk767hoJfGtmdvFLgH-VZo6/s640/CSC_0405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKi6f4jHlVOgMUAwMGsoQcuBGw1obHmw6Mn-k1fUQF84OarrX1K0yVRsxS7Nuhrc-wNEZ1F4iNDBAVF0vVh-8RMp761od7INB8SQUIKvlmThMGNsoowXaPjhdGQX351Cq7tp_tDN1pIe2mV5IoSFwTDkKDSAopJPVpUqk767hoJfGtmdvFLgH-VZo6/s320/CSC_0405.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQfMqT_gFoNH6wJWrbcVWmVs6qMd2zFS9mILpyqXmyO3R6ejICjrEmC5CvmgXm6VAQotNhDUw7-XDWtntUetHKjF8wZFYqcLxgK7ZFg2zNlXsSWB5oVhCYw2DmouSob8IgCj-IHDifuVUmGuIGTqx3hmhrC-260H1rHgLAYT4kr2hI5CbrrWNN20e/s640/CSC_0406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQfMqT_gFoNH6wJWrbcVWmVs6qMd2zFS9mILpyqXmyO3R6ejICjrEmC5CvmgXm6VAQotNhDUw7-XDWtntUetHKjF8wZFYqcLxgK7ZFg2zNlXsSWB5oVhCYw2DmouSob8IgCj-IHDifuVUmGuIGTqx3hmhrC-260H1rHgLAYT4kr2hI5CbrrWNN20e/s320/CSC_0406.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> The following day the winds were a bit lighter and more southwest and south, but I decided to go back to Fifty Point again for another watch. One reason was that seeing Caves in Ontario is a pretty rare opportunity and I wanted to take advantage while I could, another was that Alessandra needed it for life and couldn't make it the previous day. On top of that, there was a chance of something rare on the lake while we were there (gannet was on the mind).</p><p>Only about half an hour after arriving we had our first flock of caves, this time 8 birds. Again, views were brief and right above us, so my photos weren't really any better. That was followed by a flock of 5 birds, higher up this time. A cloud bank passed over after that and the winds shifted a bit, which for whatever reason shut down the swallow passage. </p><p>Then I saw on discord that a Northern Gannet had just been seen of Fifty Point, a mere 500 meters from where I was standing! I full out sprinted from the parking lot out to the end of the point, where I got brief views of a distant gannet before it disappeared out of view in a thick feeding flock of mergansers. A crowd of birders had amassed at the point, and together we waited for it to return. </p><p>It took a bit of patience, but about an hour later we picked it up along the shoreline further east. It was flying towards us... and ended up flying past the point only a few hundred meters away! This was a Ontario bird for me and Alessandra, and a great addition for the big year. We waited for a bit longer, with a nice highlight of a Little Gull flying past, then headed out for a celebratory meal with Andy and William.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg_JNxcZ8Z9y6oUCAEf_68fN8hhCA83bGl2D5FLHhfZBRdZNYfhD8bf8nc31oOxeXPmqPv7_HoUOe1vYDOeJ9zVcMpXmuJGT8WLVZX2bNaaTY1mHw0Uc7Y_6rmhNZA75ltFWWouhXicAV3SqhS2_dWFbI1V66lbiXZZCo5OV_NKrCA4HJkSg1hrH6/s960/CSC_0515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg_JNxcZ8Z9y6oUCAEf_68fN8hhCA83bGl2D5FLHhfZBRdZNYfhD8bf8nc31oOxeXPmqPv7_HoUOe1vYDOeJ9zVcMpXmuJGT8WLVZX2bNaaTY1mHw0Uc7Y_6rmhNZA75ltFWWouhXicAV3SqhS2_dWFbI1V66lbiXZZCo5OV_NKrCA4HJkSg1hrH6/s320/CSC_0515.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Northern Gannet</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqEgrznQMZ4PN0K_AOIhvo356mJD77SSHn7sWFd-mgDKhthChtVeEyOJANkP-dj2Gyz5_BEIFe7k2Ah1cC6T7ptuI-B_Xevom4eaoBrylIzEI63Zt3mGaR6Iszpvo8p7mz6Z3Gp7_JI-6sChEby-JB4RRgdyEwQCwEsNL5HfKfyGf89j7aGBE9j_J/s960/CSC_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqEgrznQMZ4PN0K_AOIhvo356mJD77SSHn7sWFd-mgDKhthChtVeEyOJANkP-dj2Gyz5_BEIFe7k2Ah1cC6T7ptuI-B_Xevom4eaoBrylIzEI63Zt3mGaR6Iszpvo8p7mz6Z3Gp7_JI-6sChEby-JB4RRgdyEwQCwEsNL5HfKfyGf89j7aGBE9j_J/s320/CSC_0516.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>After a week of slow birding 2 new birds in 2 days was quite exciting, but the fun wasn't over there. That evening news came through of a Purple Gallinule that was found at Second Marsh in Durham! This was a bird that was on my radar for an addition this fall, but I wasn't too hopeful as it's getting a bit late in the year now. Juvenile gallinules often disperse north/get lost in the fall and can get brought up by the same systems that bring Cave Swallows to Ontario.</p><p>The next morning, I was at second Marsh with William shortly after sunrise. A quick survey of the area where the bird was seen, which was a small cannel of water beside an extensive marshland came up empty. A trail ran along the cannel, but seeing the water was a bit difficult due to high reeds. We scoured back and forth for over an hour, then someone down the path shouted that they had it. Another sprint ensued. Down the trail, a few birders were enjoying amazing views of the Purple Gallinule, that had just come out of the reeds and was showing nicely. #355 for the year and a lifer too! Bird secured we headed back to Guelph, not a bad 3 days if I do say!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazw9fuhu6SuvrG9hd7K7DyJDS5KMgEueyFLbGjVzFb1nogrx1-_5avk7LoQpe6ECYx6lBEQDIoVcbgj6RMzOT5rIE3Oo2eIPSQwY407bfXiS-M-cCakMaP9Rsq-Sld6BQWwxND3sbSQvbSuVJ0rJMNa8LIVzfEx6J5P-u39rHkdUyO5dOPIqZdQod/s1920/CSC_0514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazw9fuhu6SuvrG9hd7K7DyJDS5KMgEueyFLbGjVzFb1nogrx1-_5avk7LoQpe6ECYx6lBEQDIoVcbgj6RMzOT5rIE3Oo2eIPSQwY407bfXiS-M-cCakMaP9Rsq-Sld6BQWwxND3sbSQvbSuVJ0rJMNa8LIVzfEx6J5P-u39rHkdUyO5dOPIqZdQod/s320/CSC_0514.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Purple Gallinule</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Tomorrow I am headed to Ottawa for several days in hopes of seeing a Pink-footed Goose that was found on the weekend... </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Ontario yearlist @ Nov 8th - 355 </p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-75615675980541712602022-11-01T15:18:00.002-07:002022-11-01T17:05:53.470-07:00The Bluff - October Addition<p> </p><p>On October 30th the conditions looked decent for a morning flight watch at "The Bluff" in Huron County. This is one of my favourite birding spots, but I've visited it a lot less than normal this year due to big year madness..</p><p>Anyways there weren't any rare birds around to chase, so I got up at a time that was much too early and headed over to the Bluff with Alessandra. There we met up with Isabel Apkarian and Andy Nguyen for a day of standing on a sand cliff beside the lake. Activity started off fairly slow, but things began to pick up after 9am with large flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Siskins. After seeing all the recent grosbeak reports across southern Ontario it was fun to connect a flight of them (my first ones since March). Red-necked and Horned Grebes were sitting out on the glassy calm water, with Red-throated and Common Loons flying out in the heat shimmer. The winds had shifted a bit more southwest than I was hoping for, which seemed to contribute to lower numbers of birds than expected. A massive flock of geese contained 2 Snows and 2 Cackling, adding further to the day list. While scoping a distant treeline I spotted a flying Pileated Woodpecker, a new species for my Bluff list.</p><p>By noon the songbird movement was winding down, with only the occasional flock of finches passing over. We were considering packing it in, but then a bit of a raptor movement started with a few groups of southbound Red-tailed Hawks, so we stayed until almost 3pm. The raptor highlights were a lovely dark Rough-legged Hawk, a Golden Eagle and an adult Northern Goshawk. Unfortunately for Andy he needs goshawk for the year and left twenty minutes before I had it... Next time Andy! <br />The Black-capped Chickadee movement was pretty fun as well, with groups of 5-20 birds moving all day through the corn field. It's a bit odd to look up and see a flock of chickadees in the sky, not how you see these guys most of the time. I always wonder where these chickadees and coming from and where they're going... </p><p> Highlights from the the day below below;</p><p>- 9 Red-necked Grebes</p><p>- 5 Red-throated Loons</p><p>- 1 Wilson's Snipe</p><p>- 1 Golden Eagle</p><p>- 4 Northern Harriers</p><p>- 17 Sharp-shinned Hawks</p><p>- 3 Cooper's Hawks</p><p>- 1 Northern Goshawk</p><p>- 72 Red-tailed Hawks</p><p>- 1 Rough-legged Hawk</p><p>- 1 Pileated Woodpecker</p><p>- 350 Black-capped Chickadees</p><p>- 474 Evening Grosbeaks</p><p>- 22 Purple Finches</p><p>- 324 Pine Siskins</p><p>- 632 American Goldfinches</p><p>- 2 Lapland Longspurs</p><p>- 16 American Pipits</p><p>- 55 Species total</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWGLisivydqVVnYMJnQK0YzskNfsZxV9wk1Rxti-xu26xl73N00OctkkDek2Jb_v7S3gaxX_-dxnWHQPrXNbIz8wO8Yuve54736n2IeHQnuiUrG0ONU56Su7i6BGPxi4hNwTlFo0GMbJ2kJFSi4GOQv5h6ezCvz66-AULyL6JrLi-b3AyAjKDDlXd/s640/CSC_0368.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWGLisivydqVVnYMJnQK0YzskNfsZxV9wk1Rxti-xu26xl73N00OctkkDek2Jb_v7S3gaxX_-dxnWHQPrXNbIz8wO8Yuve54736n2IeHQnuiUrG0ONU56Su7i6BGPxi4hNwTlFo0GMbJ2kJFSi4GOQv5h6ezCvz66-AULyL6JrLi-b3AyAjKDDlXd/s320/CSC_0368.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Rough-legged Hawk</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SlARurxYowPRVDbMfPAavfhsPPVhScxGxTm3Qa-xF6sscx0Gxn2j-Qng3ueoYLUZL8j9rborf4H9fCLvn_BZshFEwyNbwLHvfpw4L9lhal85plm8Uvc7WtCykMB-RD27hq-uYY1Ir25fM1jVkrvj57e8hcI6_WXDgeFjWE1PgvebOM14coT6gUVd/s640/CSC_0373.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SlARurxYowPRVDbMfPAavfhsPPVhScxGxTm3Qa-xF6sscx0Gxn2j-Qng3ueoYLUZL8j9rborf4H9fCLvn_BZshFEwyNbwLHvfpw4L9lhal85plm8Uvc7WtCykMB-RD27hq-uYY1Ir25fM1jVkrvj57e8hcI6_WXDgeFjWE1PgvebOM14coT6gUVd/s320/CSC_0373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Wilson's Snipe</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwNAh2pRxhZlZfTA19LwpvxwSg_tFUhgUhMnBWv3cOH7chOj9TXNa2Gaxc69E-iqjqPA2nEHwtZlNbWIuMbZlxxMSsHenC0uIur1jV2X8IvTSeaRN09oqt4cxaXnJJa66mEwAxiki3T7R3rqoE4UC2qsKNsSW9Y1FzD-De-XSJxFnrta1cluycMaW/s3200/CSC_0370.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwNAh2pRxhZlZfTA19LwpvxwSg_tFUhgUhMnBWv3cOH7chOj9TXNa2Gaxc69E-iqjqPA2nEHwtZlNbWIuMbZlxxMSsHenC0uIur1jV2X8IvTSeaRN09oqt4cxaXnJJa66mEwAxiki3T7R3rqoE4UC2qsKNsSW9Y1FzD-De-XSJxFnrta1cluycMaW/s320/CSC_0370.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Pine Siskins</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd76Ity3sidHMv7LtYLpJggRjblcBzX_wLMwqyL-hXWFNVjWcbZ5RxoRSRuYK4xgYm3Cwh3oXv2NoMfM3QF9iLeAsAENlspM4YxxEZu6HFv_Z4Eg0NV-KlJWMjP76i-N9VStmuEAO1dio9DyodzzS513k2jFyxVHv7uXwkQ3h--haVACDAYyvv0HW6/s3200/CSC_0372.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd76Ity3sidHMv7LtYLpJggRjblcBzX_wLMwqyL-hXWFNVjWcbZ5RxoRSRuYK4xgYm3Cwh3oXv2NoMfM3QF9iLeAsAENlspM4YxxEZu6HFv_Z4Eg0NV-KlJWMjP76i-N9VStmuEAO1dio9DyodzzS513k2jFyxVHv7uXwkQ3h--haVACDAYyvv0HW6/s320/CSC_0372.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Siskins</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShsIpuAR1aOqIJ1A62kvLCJbs1Yp_I52iBr9_UaExvSvsykcX2B5_J5UeU3S6cYh9Wvm5oo_bVslVLRKzVcNGVxx8ZP3dI_ex9UL0HkIKa33b1RxINfjm-jSDWjWAmswFHRwnAztHO_QL0BsIN2Chktr_OcY1wHGHBRTaT6yxszWeiJloZmlLptZy/s1920/CSC_0376.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShsIpuAR1aOqIJ1A62kvLCJbs1Yp_I52iBr9_UaExvSvsykcX2B5_J5UeU3S6cYh9Wvm5oo_bVslVLRKzVcNGVxx8ZP3dI_ex9UL0HkIKa33b1RxINfjm-jSDWjWAmswFHRwnAztHO_QL0BsIN2Chktr_OcY1wHGHBRTaT6yxszWeiJloZmlLptZy/s320/CSC_0376.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Evening Grosbeaks</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-ztoHlNzCqRzBtV7--_Je4nn7KVLPIMU0U6fKe9SMXJb6fjfcApyu_scfWQrcImRmmnsI-mtR8Q5UW26QHDbC_5S77x_pRhjhpQvDJVqqiU-B91MeeTyrUxaPT_KAnF9hExDZpPk16sVPFSUZG4lvHyMw-L9lMFfimhfvBx7-fljwV6csEIPHM_Z/s3200/CSC_0369.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-ztoHlNzCqRzBtV7--_Je4nn7KVLPIMU0U6fKe9SMXJb6fjfcApyu_scfWQrcImRmmnsI-mtR8Q5UW26QHDbC_5S77x_pRhjhpQvDJVqqiU-B91MeeTyrUxaPT_KAnF9hExDZpPk16sVPFSUZG4lvHyMw-L9lMFfimhfvBx7-fljwV6csEIPHM_Z/s320/CSC_0369.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Evening Grosbeaks</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EWCfFwArAZTQGr1flHAOYPvipnEXjjzSMwkvknBSILEgJdyhNOfTRwMR9k8W2DTpwvFxlx-lsqqdojl_Ak0q6F7RnWi0F-YI3ptqafsmH28S_5LbcOt-ye48yZGW-9a0lrJje9zgseP81SX6nFlQ5rkOTI0JuCdCtOZEDy2poK_wewsbkAbr8FRD/s3200/CSC_0375.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EWCfFwArAZTQGr1flHAOYPvipnEXjjzSMwkvknBSILEgJdyhNOfTRwMR9k8W2DTpwvFxlx-lsqqdojl_Ak0q6F7RnWi0F-YI3ptqafsmH28S_5LbcOt-ye48yZGW-9a0lrJje9zgseP81SX6nFlQ5rkOTI0JuCdCtOZEDy2poK_wewsbkAbr8FRD/s320/CSC_0375.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">-More</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>A nice break from chasing and a really enjoyable day at one of my favourite spots: )</p><p><br /></p><p>On the subject of the big year this past week has been pretty annoying.... There have been 5 good birds... Ross's Gull, Great Cormorant, Gray Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird and Atlantic Puffin... and they have all been one observer wonders/not chaseable... Argh! A nice chaseable mega would be nice right about now please.... </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-24336334301281028942022-11-01T12:19:00.003-07:002022-11-01T12:19:00.165-07:00Back to Van Wagner's Again <p> </p><p>Last Friday (Oct 28th) the winds were out of the east, which meant of course that it was lakewatch time in Hamilton. On my way down that morning a few reports of Pomarine Jaeger came in from Van Wagner's, so my hopes were high! Of course, a rare bird would have been nice, but I wanted to get Pom out of the way since it was my last remaining "easy" code 3 species.</p><p>I arrived around 1pm and found a spot in the line of assembled birders to put my scope. This spot, a wooden platform with a prime view out at Lake Ontario sits directly behind the Lakeland Centre at Van Wagner's Beach. Because of its convenient location and its fame for jaeger watching, if it's a weekend and there are favorable winds, there will always be a crowd of birders gathered there. On top of the banter that happens whenever a crowd of bird people gather, this means that there are more eyes looking out at the lake, which usually means more birds spotted (the one drawback of a large crowd, is that sometimes when it gets slow on the lake, all the birders will get distracted talking to each other and nobody will be scanning...). For the next 4 hours I scanned back and forth and chatted with the folks beside me (Alessandra, Rich Poort and Andy Nguyen... who was there hoping to add pom for his big year too), and searched looking for jaeger-like specks on the horizon. As is often the case on most lakewatches, there was a lull in activity from 1 until around 4pm. Massive numbers of ducks that were flying out on the lake, mainly scoters and Long-tailed Ducks, but that was enough kept me from falling asleep though.</p><p>There were a few highlights during this time though, a juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake... and a new self found bird for me, a Pacific Loon that flew by mid-day. It was a species that I have always had my eyes open for, so finally finding one felt pretty good. I'm sure these loons are frequently overlooked in southern Ontario, as not many people pay attention to distant flying loons over the lake : )</p><p>Then, around 4:30 I picked up a jaeger in my scope heading away. Views were a bit distant, but I was able to watch it for over 5 minutes as it slowly circled higher and higher before becoming a speck on the horizon. It as a bulky looking jaeger with a prominent double wing flash and a heavy flight.... In other words species #352, Pomarine Jaeger! I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get photos, and the bird gods seemed to read my mind, as just after the first bird disappeared, I picked up a second Pom harassing some gulls right beside the shoreline. This bird was much closer than the last one, and I was actually able to get decent pictures as it whipped by (my first ones of a Pom too). This was a lifer for Alessandra and Andy (also #326 for his yearlist!) and by far the best views I have had of one.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaw8XoRFEWrfILByINO0nrlAbHkk8YtdEigd_oFgs3PJq-uZ8Vt-TFUSjiIy9PMrcZr0F_81xyiY6sGcoR73d8S_2oXBIX2jJ3y1Q_DW_bTu2z7Za_zHu6M3jncFBuGWnBHvZ1Fo8Nc-Dz9q4qwhP7r3T0G2-m6fx_2QMkqfU_BVdE9ww80KYEWLvW/s640/CSC_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaw8XoRFEWrfILByINO0nrlAbHkk8YtdEigd_oFgs3PJq-uZ8Vt-TFUSjiIy9PMrcZr0F_81xyiY6sGcoR73d8S_2oXBIX2jJ3y1Q_DW_bTu2z7Za_zHu6M3jncFBuGWnBHvZ1Fo8Nc-Dz9q4qwhP7r3T0G2-m6fx_2QMkqfU_BVdE9ww80KYEWLvW/s320/CSC_0305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Pomarine Jaeger</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i6PNsWFvL6GqfHATrmCZeJCI11HASrNbAFdjR58TgaNFfGnGCE9aBZSOkTvojp-WiYL1dME0-Xp072qjtpLKB9akU2da67tr7nvPTpP9d_e_5i6P2Ap6TVmyY3KkRv54R8RDC8T-SUMbrjm_xDQ_frojiZ-2rZ8xVn7zS_Yvz2I38qcNu1ptqezP/s640/CSC_0307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i6PNsWFvL6GqfHATrmCZeJCI11HASrNbAFdjR58TgaNFfGnGCE9aBZSOkTvojp-WiYL1dME0-Xp072qjtpLKB9akU2da67tr7nvPTpP9d_e_5i6P2Ap6TVmyY3KkRv54R8RDC8T-SUMbrjm_xDQ_frojiZ-2rZ8xVn7zS_Yvz2I38qcNu1ptqezP/s320/CSC_0307.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigKFrWLaueWne7dluZ4JeWR0kGz0ip3ScbNTDNfasMNVJH2OUo-uH0RlysB7SXth6XHIrzAbEXNGSATkI_r2k28Fg5KIGsp8JiqtH-g0omMbfEDPcxl29ln1Fn34I4rdrIJNjjHBLY2_uP1yUHrl9KbyhzYjm6-Br_8KckorVh5GHyeA4sgxWYbuym/s640/CSC_0308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigKFrWLaueWne7dluZ4JeWR0kGz0ip3ScbNTDNfasMNVJH2OUo-uH0RlysB7SXth6XHIrzAbEXNGSATkI_r2k28Fg5KIGsp8JiqtH-g0omMbfEDPcxl29ln1Fn34I4rdrIJNjjHBLY2_uP1yUHrl9KbyhzYjm6-Br_8KckorVh5GHyeA4sgxWYbuym/s320/CSC_0308.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhW1HGnXXY04SmefHFZzlDq9885u1IZb02mpWQFwkPx1TAu3f9rTpQckrZMfWWQWPo7ilQtqYy4U_A4qzN9_OZvcCwrGZBNGjsz0CJdlAr3zBSCiYDKK40uaYL_MMUwkIxp37ybb76O6-ix-B2qo4SDpFxFKjpyHtqvuA0Epy0DmlM91uQgIYH9f1/s640/CSC_0309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhW1HGnXXY04SmefHFZzlDq9885u1IZb02mpWQFwkPx1TAu3f9rTpQckrZMfWWQWPo7ilQtqYy4U_A4qzN9_OZvcCwrGZBNGjsz0CJdlAr3zBSCiYDKK40uaYL_MMUwkIxp37ybb76O6-ix-B2qo4SDpFxFKjpyHtqvuA0Epy0DmlM91uQgIYH9f1/s320/CSC_0309.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Things quieted down shortly after that, so we called it quits and headed home... a very successful day.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ontario yearlist @ October 28th - 352</p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-70503727800560239552022-10-27T07:52:00.008-07:002022-10-27T08:00:57.374-07:00Some yearlist thoughts<p> </p><p>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 <a href="https://chroniclesofanonbirder.blogspot.com/2022/08/big-year-review-and-thoughts-23-of-way.html" target="_blank"><b><i>post</i></b></a> 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).</p><p>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...</p><p>1) They had to have been found between October 18th (a few days ago when I made this) and December 31st.</p><p>2) They couldn't be just any rarity, I only included ones that I haven't seen this year. </p><p><br /></p><p>For my purposes I looked at data in the last 10 years. The following list was the result...</p><p>Year # of Rares</p><p>2021 - 12</p><p>2020 - 9</p><p>2019 - 10</p><p>2018 - 8</p><p>2017 - 7</p><p>2016 - 9</p><p>2015 - 7</p><p>2014 - 5</p><p>2013 - 9</p><p>2012 - 5</p><p>2011 - 4</p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p>Year % of chaseable birds</p><p>2021 - 8/12 </p><p>2020 - 8/9 (!!)</p><p>2019 - 5/10 </p><p>2018 - 3/8</p><p>2017 - 5/7</p><p>2016 - 7/9</p><p>2015 - 4/7</p><p>2014 - 2/5</p><p>2013 - 5/9</p><p>2012 - 3/5 </p><p>2011 - 3/4</p><p><br /></p><p>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. </p><p>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...</p><p><br /></p><p>Just some random numbers & what is going through my head right now : )</p><p><br /></p><p>In other fun news, I passed 30,000 views on the blog recently! Thanks folks</p><p><br /></p><p>I'll include a Golden Eagle on this post, because it's that time of year.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2L-4Wrwb7-0C1O1oS8dmSmh5w417D80CuZg-za_WgO1NHmjx3tnCN2hZDOKS7W09irkS0tcVYafazUMzb_AAah32jansD6K4QrNxDZ-8cELstIy_iwNicRWunFV7GlQDlrDjVVMAtCXTJQeH28uXcDFKGVqIVIxt3-4MHHltArzeaRUYr1QRwwXqn/s1920/_DSC0807.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2L-4Wrwb7-0C1O1oS8dmSmh5w417D80CuZg-za_WgO1NHmjx3tnCN2hZDOKS7W09irkS0tcVYafazUMzb_AAah32jansD6K4QrNxDZ-8cELstIy_iwNicRWunFV7GlQDlrDjVVMAtCXTJQeH28uXcDFKGVqIVIxt3-4MHHltArzeaRUYr1QRwwXqn/s320/_DSC0807.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-57803795022152614002022-10-26T18:52:00.008-07:002022-10-26T18:52:53.498-07:00The Big #350<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I’ve been meaning to write a post for a bit now, but things have been rather hectic on the bird front!</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3dkZtnsHpqttUGxQ5jdt0jkGSaj8Ou2PwC3MpCgwhGuto297wdO7gAvWnf0Ws9Sz1DCC3Doe9U37budBLSZACgo1ZaODFG9lblYaggaq8cWNnN0OzZdCz0MFrJvGnylpGbqWIxXSlb880lPeV1ylaRPMdRXJci7g8Ub9-_k0h9149nUdY4AIyJg3/s1280/CSC_0268.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3dkZtnsHpqttUGxQ5jdt0jkGSaj8Ou2PwC3MpCgwhGuto297wdO7gAvWnf0Ws9Sz1DCC3Doe9U37budBLSZACgo1ZaODFG9lblYaggaq8cWNnN0OzZdCz0MFrJvGnylpGbqWIxXSlb880lPeV1ylaRPMdRXJci7g8Ub9-_k0h9149nUdY4AIyJg3/s320/CSC_0268.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Tennessee Warbler</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEist6f-wag3DdiXUH9YgV9H3cyc5qYXbScA32P9S75jhJFls8Y2NVy8sNxfi7MoeXcNalNs6NFdA3ZEoKC88JvTDFU4r5mzCLrtX_DHZfKQy18G9Dqy40SsH27cr-ZWwtnFxPUJ6L1kcHUfXDOtD2Mc2RG0lRWmOEpnpFl1H4_e7DsaDnvW1R587ob6/s1920/CSC_0269.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEist6f-wag3DdiXUH9YgV9H3cyc5qYXbScA32P9S75jhJFls8Y2NVy8sNxfi7MoeXcNalNs6NFdA3ZEoKC88JvTDFU4r5mzCLrtX_DHZfKQy18G9Dqy40SsH27cr-ZWwtnFxPUJ6L1kcHUfXDOtD2Mc2RG0lRWmOEpnpFl1H4_e7DsaDnvW1R587ob6/s320/CSC_0269.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Gray-cheeked Thrush</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08eDvN3QlR4kpfi1BgvuCLYmM2Hb-BbX86bEzKb2xsjOAO-AhBJDSQ30AIu985E2QEJv6ik1SPjGC4zktNVvyCV3TJjgxkhxKVP5Hr_nKC2rgOsITF1A8M7hXLRzXMk40DJx3OInmkyDtBvjVQbMdlIJwWldipYgYfGkgwMRYfGXrtwaoky_YHawB/s2560/CSC_0262.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08eDvN3QlR4kpfi1BgvuCLYmM2Hb-BbX86bEzKb2xsjOAO-AhBJDSQ30AIu985E2QEJv6ik1SPjGC4zktNVvyCV3TJjgxkhxKVP5Hr_nKC2rgOsITF1A8M7hXLRzXMk40DJx3OInmkyDtBvjVQbMdlIJwWldipYgYfGkgwMRYfGXrtwaoky_YHawB/s320/CSC_0262.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Cape may, Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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. </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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 : )</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6OX1aCzGzrGgTvVgyEmPGHh8GLafnhNTjmUZzPTX3FCn-IT2FpCsj3mFjTuJ3sUXlX0ADqLNaC1FyBP52xYz49EWHvwurheZgActncOZziGsOBb692smQgFvl-zvJ41otJo4vwuwVMYlIkEL74MwudtfcFwLJ9TUCkQBd7dWFBj360m0m4PK_r5K/s1280/CSC_0266.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6OX1aCzGzrGgTvVgyEmPGHh8GLafnhNTjmUZzPTX3FCn-IT2FpCsj3mFjTuJ3sUXlX0ADqLNaC1FyBP52xYz49EWHvwurheZgActncOZziGsOBb692smQgFvl-zvJ41otJo4vwuwVMYlIkEL74MwudtfcFwLJ9TUCkQBd7dWFBj360m0m4PK_r5K/s320/CSC_0266.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Cattle Egret</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB9UdO2T8MSt45WpNsHwxo4g8kgOGOyA-FzrvmnyLz6pRronGtxVF9tBj1pRcxIljC7YVndAI67tlWIPIMRi3X8SV-WSA4m-TbngdKoCbO_o-qHZSsx3ELROHBjZHQSbIGaZ7HWiJRVnf8PAc54qgtxicCcH9wiqSxlodyM7XFapx_uQzKCxzyyE-/s3840/CSC_0267.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="3840" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB9UdO2T8MSt45WpNsHwxo4g8kgOGOyA-FzrvmnyLz6pRronGtxVF9tBj1pRcxIljC7YVndAI67tlWIPIMRi3X8SV-WSA4m-TbngdKoCbO_o-qHZSsx3ELROHBjZHQSbIGaZ7HWiJRVnf8PAc54qgtxicCcH9wiqSxlodyM7XFapx_uQzKCxzyyE-/s320/CSC_0267.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Natural habitat</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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! </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;">Pics are a bit crummy due to screwed up settings... but check out the deformed bill.</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TFmQ793uI25dToiRy6iFjs2Su7zvm4ElWedqZcaxuU6Swnirj8yGa5JamC5xE8UO3cQEq8NFpoAkzoPb-1yghq52or3eNeWK9RytuloR2b_sFHWyPR7zTyjiPk4dxO9XAa2Y-ENadire48N-TNn1sHJCZrRBNieVmo68c6dtRHpR8DKzu86yokTI/s1280/CSC_0263.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TFmQ793uI25dToiRy6iFjs2Su7zvm4ElWedqZcaxuU6Swnirj8yGa5JamC5xE8UO3cQEq8NFpoAkzoPb-1yghq52or3eNeWK9RytuloR2b_sFHWyPR7zTyjiPk4dxO9XAa2Y-ENadire48N-TNn1sHJCZrRBNieVmo68c6dtRHpR8DKzu86yokTI/s320/CSC_0263.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Townsend's Warbler</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCWVZg38Xyh2C9UUs8vPRhBH1-rUfaejaXx4s5iw4ULuT9fulae-rqLE4cUlYpn9FB_LIadT6I8-V4_BpEVcUiR1cTMoPcOSxJITAaO34IhF-M0HXopPTLaDufKTiyM6A8qNpgfkjbzEuSoGd3c7A3q_hW35YXkas13WVCzLsv4ZmOHdOx9GzL-2KN/s1920/CSC_0264.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCWVZg38Xyh2C9UUs8vPRhBH1-rUfaejaXx4s5iw4ULuT9fulae-rqLE4cUlYpn9FB_LIadT6I8-V4_BpEVcUiR1cTMoPcOSxJITAaO34IhF-M0HXopPTLaDufKTiyM6A8qNpgfkjbzEuSoGd3c7A3q_hW35YXkas13WVCzLsv4ZmOHdOx9GzL-2KN/s320/CSC_0264.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgST-4Qg0Jy5i__ExUU00iqHU4__5d9xaCahr1eeiFkwYDnjQ5CCLylgBTQQi11tBn2-ipe_GosHu0plQqS9YSRrhSI2sYI7plD9DWosmT9euAhtLnsMQ55RMAq1Gop0NnoaKb6VmTFVpR-lLa3kR7B0bHG_5WZX8xQ2VYrvujws3qYTLsRVEvwLvfs/s1280/CSC_0265.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgST-4Qg0Jy5i__ExUU00iqHU4__5d9xaCahr1eeiFkwYDnjQ5CCLylgBTQQi11tBn2-ipe_GosHu0plQqS9YSRrhSI2sYI7plD9DWosmT9euAhtLnsMQ55RMAq1Gop0NnoaKb6VmTFVpR-lLa3kR7B0bHG_5WZX8xQ2VYrvujws3qYTLsRVEvwLvfs/s320/CSC_0265.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">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!</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDIPrldXh7cU5uo55UnfZxHkxObKOMBjoo0XPmi8PeaR8Fv6cut6s_59BWSRRTJXOfD7uCJnv8QZwqaqF0mYIATJoThslnCO-lKg914lDBAIohKS5Op-Q6H1n_SrNr4uUtIxM-Z9f4yBakAqz7oBalZAPEDTd09WgKhQnHvYEpjec3oVKBTTR-9B3/s750/7EFA785C-E390-42A9-90AE-86C724EBC813.jpeg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="750" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDIPrldXh7cU5uo55UnfZxHkxObKOMBjoo0XPmi8PeaR8Fv6cut6s_59BWSRRTJXOfD7uCJnv8QZwqaqF0mYIATJoThslnCO-lKg914lDBAIohKS5Op-Q6H1n_SrNr4uUtIxM-Z9f4yBakAqz7oBalZAPEDTd09WgKhQnHvYEpjec3oVKBTTR-9B3/s320/7EFA785C-E390-42A9-90AE-86C724EBC813.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Laughable Red Phalarope record shot</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 19px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Ontario yearlist @ Oct 26 - 351</span></p>Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-480207157836722397.post-39084161998869921652022-10-13T11:22:00.004-07:002022-10-13T11:22:17.473-07:00Presqu'ile Shorebirding<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p> 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.</p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p>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. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-AdIzpKjlgnZq6WkEjtjXi7qbKqAOdZYiwtdRs9hApMhwKjx137fjUbuiOAijB6k4AlOvFYfuwfM4pqH3pCY6PqznpfmVbPoig4YbG5UJhU9S-zts-4LaUCHyPVc7Bx79nigfzPb7adZNt625cJ9NVhPAEhY4L7liLV2Bowv-r0MJuG-xkBr5mXI/s1920/_DSC9239.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-AdIzpKjlgnZq6WkEjtjXi7qbKqAOdZYiwtdRs9hApMhwKjx137fjUbuiOAijB6k4AlOvFYfuwfM4pqH3pCY6PqznpfmVbPoig4YbG5UJhU9S-zts-4LaUCHyPVc7Bx79nigfzPb7adZNt625cJ9NVhPAEhY4L7liLV2Bowv-r0MJuG-xkBr5mXI/s320/_DSC9239.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- White-rumped Sandpiper</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdt9tRUnM65kwNKqNP9Rr7QlT3gmJf6DgKWbKbXRHe1FRXqJPUs2nKtSum7zDM3R1hexXVmlJxclRVsbbid5tqYLzAB7vdOWa1d3F6qdW2X77Yww_ZaQPTp-leqTLeb4dP9mmIPh83b3XD-TLVuPq_tepGuNl3bn6IxtctCZ8fhSHRiDPlq8eRVOW/s1920/_DSC9241.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdt9tRUnM65kwNKqNP9Rr7QlT3gmJf6DgKWbKbXRHe1FRXqJPUs2nKtSum7zDM3R1hexXVmlJxclRVsbbid5tqYLzAB7vdOWa1d3F6qdW2X77Yww_ZaQPTp-leqTLeb4dP9mmIPh83b3XD-TLVuPq_tepGuNl3bn6IxtctCZ8fhSHRiDPlq8eRVOW/s320/_DSC9241.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Semipalmated Sandpiper</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOpDS3bTKpQ5Yw5-zT1yplitFQ1IPo6JXHZ0-ZlaWXhOu0hSHE1SAF2E0nvzBOHWaiDSaOCNUYomFf9B6Wh-WTQ59zJLnpSaWyeVFYT_hnPHrYmCwb9OkA3fewam6wLnylYtLQTdKZkuZuIbOP_X0d8dPObFcnhslzc6IgIrRYw_ntm5Ms-eYNd6K/s3840/_DSC9245.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="3840" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOpDS3bTKpQ5Yw5-zT1yplitFQ1IPo6JXHZ0-ZlaWXhOu0hSHE1SAF2E0nvzBOHWaiDSaOCNUYomFf9B6Wh-WTQ59zJLnpSaWyeVFYT_hnPHrYmCwb9OkA3fewam6wLnylYtLQTdKZkuZuIbOP_X0d8dPObFcnhslzc6IgIrRYw_ntm5Ms-eYNd6K/s320/_DSC9245.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- White-rumped, Baird's Sands and Dunlin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T3eTHiD3YaThkaAyJP--vWthe6LeyzCGH7bHDsFNhKfKHy9pPCsLbEWGqMFZsoXwPP4nFFIfsaVyt8Bk072yxUciZ_cpZ5c8whkKzJafctyCjjwNM6HA0SFNxMCs51WbY5afOqJkKCO-mCVNWfoxQ5AaSWQD1YHMeyXZbfL-CFs_2JpEx17BJ9OZ/s1280/_DSC9246.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T3eTHiD3YaThkaAyJP--vWthe6LeyzCGH7bHDsFNhKfKHy9pPCsLbEWGqMFZsoXwPP4nFFIfsaVyt8Bk072yxUciZ_cpZ5c8whkKzJafctyCjjwNM6HA0SFNxMCs51WbY5afOqJkKCO-mCVNWfoxQ5AaSWQD1YHMeyXZbfL-CFs_2JpEx17BJ9OZ/s320/_DSC9246.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- White-rumped Sandpiper</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOV9TNs3yLmKs-V05kMEWSQjXGyN3KJar7jUk3rb_v-bezFlGXc0DN5w-A-FBPsED-lJkIEr4unO8CyAySE2CbUgDJYQqWUykclyOuwtPCsXtl8FnTNjpdVU4-HSudiYo6Ixmu76jygXVgS296nLv-ct64fVVNQcyMJ2ezuTD2pDikiyW7kUpEhPq8/s1920/_DSC9247.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOV9TNs3yLmKs-V05kMEWSQjXGyN3KJar7jUk3rb_v-bezFlGXc0DN5w-A-FBPsED-lJkIEr4unO8CyAySE2CbUgDJYQqWUykclyOuwtPCsXtl8FnTNjpdVU4-HSudiYo6Ixmu76jygXVgS296nLv-ct64fVVNQcyMJ2ezuTD2pDikiyW7kUpEhPq8/s320/_DSC9247.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- White, the rump is</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uSO56WMovm9s4CiAlmVpx-2L36q_jXDQj7BRnLJAvPIzloaCeV95SYcU5Hbuku_3ExzXKk4i4PraYFI-YaM8lyPJ0VWZi2Xx26XNaa6PDKpf7qItlYpXpqvHnAPtTPJ0GEugl1snXMK5_4C-Jlf0M0Bi1R0ZoDkqUShJhP9hMd8lddjjnmczcgoL/s1920/_DSC9234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uSO56WMovm9s4CiAlmVpx-2L36q_jXDQj7BRnLJAvPIzloaCeV95SYcU5Hbuku_3ExzXKk4i4PraYFI-YaM8lyPJ0VWZi2Xx26XNaa6PDKpf7qItlYpXpqvHnAPtTPJ0GEugl1snXMK5_4C-Jlf0M0Bi1R0ZoDkqUShJhP9hMd8lddjjnmczcgoL/s320/_DSC9234.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Lapland Longspur</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>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</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SA8Jg-CXEaq1J4RqA_0igQyLVcKMwVSbDhrMUCcwxccQGPQVImRvj2_-PA9fbRE3B3EKvGEfv6zWVeYf91-eqwpqAfIIMQpQ7jkqCV6U_wZCkWDCoCkGVNQBriSeGJWFckr80xwoc2fAZdYQ0f6B3y7X0ntpzDH9Gg0k6z_pK7A6I8SqofRXBSkI/s960/_DSC9250.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SA8Jg-CXEaq1J4RqA_0igQyLVcKMwVSbDhrMUCcwxccQGPQVImRvj2_-PA9fbRE3B3EKvGEfv6zWVeYf91-eqwpqAfIIMQpQ7jkqCV6U_wZCkWDCoCkGVNQBriSeGJWFckr80xwoc2fAZdYQ0f6B3y7X0ntpzDH9Gg0k6z_pK7A6I8SqofRXBSkI/s320/_DSC9250.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Red Knot<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> 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. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1Hw7ThO2IIZUJEQKZYxxspKey8wIUiUrIfnvXhjFqS4TsAkhKiWp5eJc7qifNCZmU3OVF7ZzvYwabLMOoxueHen8hUCOQnvdDVIZEwsWc_sgVFVYuvFOAew0NWNl4yNF0w0nacC552Bjz6Gy4ueQCVZO_wAy_E1rvD8CdEddJkZINEnnGx3RwroW/s3200/_DSC9251.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1Hw7ThO2IIZUJEQKZYxxspKey8wIUiUrIfnvXhjFqS4TsAkhKiWp5eJc7qifNCZmU3OVF7ZzvYwabLMOoxueHen8hUCOQnvdDVIZEwsWc_sgVFVYuvFOAew0NWNl4yNF0w0nacC552Bjz6Gy4ueQCVZO_wAy_E1rvD8CdEddJkZINEnnGx3RwroW/s320/_DSC9251.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Purple Sandpiper</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCr3OKj8XIvP8_P9lMFm1mKqsiBia_izBUpydrC4ETd1nQxnqe8f00s2ODon1KvOV4elXhe9r2PiKIE8LBUvr-hJaq9aQ1wTX_aiX9x9oQhSwwBw9i88sDotcVRoeFWbA1UrivpAs1LyqrKq479IHIny4PCdp7yAFhxIQ4RGO47gTENNyfN9_nrCn3/s3200/_DSC9252.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCr3OKj8XIvP8_P9lMFm1mKqsiBia_izBUpydrC4ETd1nQxnqe8f00s2ODon1KvOV4elXhe9r2PiKIE8LBUvr-hJaq9aQ1wTX_aiX9x9oQhSwwBw9i88sDotcVRoeFWbA1UrivpAs1LyqrKq479IHIny4PCdp7yAFhxIQ4RGO47gTENNyfN9_nrCn3/s320/_DSC9252.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDXHrgwV_KhdkKENNM1V9gF2Y0kNanC18ReIsMNciegec6Gltroy4oCChCXfFRZ1eYiQgl0VgufR-ZviBJEeeQ4GGgG6ZdilKXOH1Blr9_CX-VYJC4V3xIn4hhxI98SlWP62pesGyt-l-8Wit2txh6DF5WfKoGP13-qU5atYGZifUN5uKUkZjua3X/s2560/_DSC9253.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDXHrgwV_KhdkKENNM1V9gF2Y0kNanC18ReIsMNciegec6Gltroy4oCChCXfFRZ1eYiQgl0VgufR-ZviBJEeeQ4GGgG6ZdilKXOH1Blr9_CX-VYJC4V3xIn4hhxI98SlWP62pesGyt-l-8Wit2txh6DF5WfKoGP13-qU5atYGZifUN5uKUkZjua3X/s320/_DSC9253.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GVBck-Y1ThVTZL2Y3kOBoDcHzDtItHTWNa-RActma7EeMSvDv9o_7dTdjw61hJ4z3yqgY6-OxTHwNNdqzKYdXMiKJe-_LwpvnEKkNzXzyMiy5-ygeqFMU3fgGXjKMsTJklGU8xKDg_eXDo0OuRM1foRSuGrwbGsJ0dwjLYEomLSHpZCjakHblTe8/s2560/_DSC9256.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2560" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GVBck-Y1ThVTZL2Y3kOBoDcHzDtItHTWNa-RActma7EeMSvDv9o_7dTdjw61hJ4z3yqgY6-OxTHwNNdqzKYdXMiKJe-_LwpvnEKkNzXzyMiy5-ygeqFMU3fgGXjKMsTJklGU8xKDg_eXDo0OuRM1foRSuGrwbGsJ0dwjLYEomLSHpZCjakHblTe8/s320/_DSC9256.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRFX_wVWuPQ01DBvLoWZTyb2a2Slyo6KLqoCffhamUjtPdpYzGQLGCLOWfdyVNNJpEePI3MUL22ASupZCitEt-vuAZn2lo3pE-Keb9wXfa1fjDZ5SbYyEV_kb2ljehiCMvrRJM_7HmkZYekVMlE8Tc8DBL7h5boXgKnfORmpYLS_kRui3-ChfPW4z/s3200/_DSC9257.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2128" data-original-width="3200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRFX_wVWuPQ01DBvLoWZTyb2a2Slyo6KLqoCffhamUjtPdpYzGQLGCLOWfdyVNNJpEePI3MUL22ASupZCitEt-vuAZn2lo3pE-Keb9wXfa1fjDZ5SbYyEV_kb2ljehiCMvrRJM_7HmkZYekVMlE8Tc8DBL7h5boXgKnfORmpYLS_kRui3-ChfPW4z/s320/_DSC9257.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkudEDbb_orl-vG4nW8H6n-t1Vmo0IFFRPe3Hx9gK1_R9qOClkXxI7h3mJAW1SIdzM2DXP2XuOBqn6vgXifjgFpOa5ps9dz8fp9HA1q0NWroMfZj3BB6S8Mkk0_e2fP2UBEcatzQwuV3Gc1CilNhWMXFhriqS5gKKBCwnXPPqgP-HZ5vjutf2PzZ05/s4032/1175DD69-C51C-4D75-9B97-C7C58B712C6F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkudEDbb_orl-vG4nW8H6n-t1Vmo0IFFRPe3Hx9gK1_R9qOClkXxI7h3mJAW1SIdzM2DXP2XuOBqn6vgXifjgFpOa5ps9dz8fp9HA1q0NWroMfZj3BB6S8Mkk0_e2fP2UBEcatzQwuV3Gc1CilNhWMXFhriqS5gKKBCwnXPPqgP-HZ5vjutf2PzZ05/s320/1175DD69-C51C-4D75-9B97-C7C58B712C6F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Alessandra crossing on of the submerged sections</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMk3w8hrNsIzkxcjz5xAag5KiyvsvuLQqwgW730XfNgnJ0m78FCoiOKayKI6h5KzInY083AEFjgcW2CApIOXVZboxlFeXBsqhZcFouF_ywy69gNFYL9YVSv3MptLLLluHjEArOCvmUNBsH0N-uhf1SMNTMlVjZ7_nnKrMHsEQeP2iKMc4ZRKlBVxE_/s4032/2581862E-DFFD-405A-8402-20F5416F0CA6.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMk3w8hrNsIzkxcjz5xAag5KiyvsvuLQqwgW730XfNgnJ0m78FCoiOKayKI6h5KzInY083AEFjgcW2CApIOXVZboxlFeXBsqhZcFouF_ywy69gNFYL9YVSv3MptLLLluHjEArOCvmUNBsH0N-uhf1SMNTMlVjZ7_nnKrMHsEQeP2iKMc4ZRKlBVxE_/s320/2581862E-DFFD-405A-8402-20F5416F0CA6.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Me with the Sandpiper. See it?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKvh_61eRrz8gKdhkrVWGMjpVD6xHH8TeQo_GnYWZPkWGZquKb1weIJBSajNnlVwr0zJV9WhSJb-mokyBHlmBtbzTWJv_JoJwWAMtXD0gAa5AG6aKCnRyo8hU4CGeWWyph2zcOkYqCTNTyDqp4SE1pSRaIWlxIqq_pwefvBq1frSAI68xlwS5J35n/s4032/C5E6DAE7-09B2-462E-BDCF-472E8291CCBC.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKvh_61eRrz8gKdhkrVWGMjpVD6xHH8TeQo_GnYWZPkWGZquKb1weIJBSajNnlVwr0zJV9WhSJb-mokyBHlmBtbzTWJv_JoJwWAMtXD0gAa5AG6aKCnRyo8hU4CGeWWyph2zcOkYqCTNTyDqp4SE1pSRaIWlxIqq_pwefvBq1frSAI68xlwS5J35n/s320/C5E6DAE7-09B2-462E-BDCF-472E8291CCBC.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">- Looking back from Gull Island<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Ontario Yearlist @ October 11th - 348Kiah Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242308492387108325noreply@blogger.com0