An Outing for Waterloo Region Nature with COVID at bay!

      It is with a great deal of pleasure that we are finally able to offer outings to our members again, now that we are permitted to have gatherings of people outdoors, with limits that will never be exceeded by our groups. The Delta variant is cause for concern, but we can only hope that more people will get vaccinated and its threat fades into the background.

     I always consider 1 September as the first day of fall, so an outing was a great way to get right into migration.

     Here are the details of our field trip.

Leader: David Gascoigne

Participants: Carol Anderson, Ross Getsinger, Denise Leschak, Karl Malhotra, Sandye Moores, Angélique Mori, Colleen Reilly, Adrienne Zoe

Angélique, Colleen, Denise, Sandye, Karl, Adrienne, Carol, Ross

     It was a picture perfect day for an outing, with modest temperatures, bright sunshine and light breezes.

     Usually on these outings Miriam accompanies me and she takes photographs while I am busy trying to find birds, identify them and provide some background information to the participants. On this day she had other plans and I am indebted to Adrienne and Colleen for permitting me to use their high quality images. Not only are they fine photographers they are very gracious people.

     Before getting into the details of the day's activities let me say a few words about Colleen and her group, The Pipits.

     This group is made up of in excess of a hundred keen naturalists with a variety of skill levels.

     They do field trips based on a range of organisms from birds to plants, amphibians, mammals, insects - anything related to natural history in fact.

     Recently, on one of their outings, Colleen crossed paths with our president, Janet Ozaruk, and we are going to explore opportunities for joint cooperation.

     Based on the few hours I spent in the field with Colleen I can only say that it will be a pleasure to be involved together.

DesJardins Canal, Dundas, ON

     This location is a remarkable spot for birding, with significant attractions at different times of the year.

     I have been coming here for at least thirty years, and in September have never failed to locate Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). Moreover, adults and juveniles are always present and it is instructive to see them together. For some of the enthusiastic naturalists on this trip, it was a first sighting of this species.

Black-crowned Night Heron (adult)

Black-crowned Night Heron (juvenile)

     Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) were also present, mainly keeping to cover at the edge of the water, but occasionally venturing forth to display their unrivalled beauty.

     The males are just emerging from eclipse plumage and are regaining their finery.

     It is always a pleasure to see Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps).

Urquhart Butterfly Garden, Dundas, ON

     At the end of the DesJardins Canal one finds the Urquhart Butterfly Garden (https://urquhartbutterfly.com/about/frederick-urquhart-a-short-biography/) where a riot of colours awaits the visitor at this time of the year. Some of the many plants found there, planted with pollinators in mind are:

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Tithonia

Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia)

Zinnia

     House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) found both food and cover. 

Grindstone Creek, Hamilton, ON

     The absolute stars of the show at this location were a couple of Green Herons (Butorides virescens) located close to shore and seemingly indifferent to to the cameras pointed at them.

     A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was stalking for food on the opposite side of the water.

     Several Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) demonstrated why they are considered by many to be the aristocracy of the avian world.

     Western Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) will soon be moving south, but an individual still here put on a great display for us.

LaSalle Park and Marina, Burlington, ON

     By the time we arrived at LaSalle it was time for lunch, which we were able to enjoy en plain air, entertained by a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) swimming and diving in front of us, joined by a couple of Mallards (Anas platyrynchos) and a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) or two.

     Cormorants were perched at several locations throughout the marina.

     Their number does not begin to approach the large flocks present just a couple of years ago as Ontario goes about the unrestricted slaughter of this gentle species, based on prejudice and hearsay, conspiracy theory and lack of science, stupidity and bloodlust, and fisherfolks' greed.  We continue to display an amazing proclivity to elect idiots as leaders so we can probably anticipate more of the same.

     Adrienne caught this dramatic flight of one of the lucky ones, who escaped the guns of those brave and noble folks who fire away at them, leaving injured birds to die a lingering, painful death, and young birds to starve in the nest waiting for parents who will never return with food.

     There was a movement of migratory warblers and other passerines that was the stuff of birders' dreams. 

Here are just some of the species that were passing through; these are the ones we managed to capture on camera.

Eastern Wood Pewee (Contopus virens)

Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca)

Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)

Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)

Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus)

     Adrienne had told me that she was very keen to get a shot of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilocus colubris) feeding on Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) and you will no doubt agree that she succeeded spectacularly.

     A female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) wanted in on the act.

     Adrienne captured a male American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla).....

     ..... and Colleen was able to contribute a female.

     A couple of Red-eyed Vireos (Vireo olivaceus) joined the throng of migrants forging their way south.

     LaSalle provided all the excitement one could wish for. Colleen and Angélique opted to go to Paletta park in the hope of another warbler movement. The rest of us decided to move on to Bronte Harbour in Oakville.

Burlington, ON

     Along the way, through Burlington, at Joseph Brant Hospital our passage was slowed considerably, and we were witness to a disgusting display by anti-vaccination fanatics, bent on disrupting traffic, impeding the flow of ambulances carrying sick patients, screaming obscenities, deriding the doctors and nurses who dedicate their lives to helping others, and spouting nonsense, and carrying signs promoting every conspiracy theory in circulation.

Picture from the internet

     It is sad that legitimate protest has descended to this.

Bronte Harbour, Oakville, ON

     We had a very pleasant stroll around the harbour but bird life was sparse. 

     Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena) have for several years been the main attraction for birders, spring through fall, and breeding has taken place consistently. This year we saw only two birds, quite far out, and no sign of young.

     We were unable to get a picture of the birds present, so I am adding a couple from my files, taken at the same location in years past.

     When we parted company to return home we all agreed that it had been a fine day's birding, enhanced by the pleasure of each other's company.

     I plan to run this same excursion again on 25 September and look forward to another fine outing.

Northern Parula (Paruline à collier) at SpruceHaven

08 September 2018

     Fall seemed to have arrived overnight and it was cool when Ross, Heather, Judy and I assembled to band some migrant birds. There was a little wind but in the sheltered areas where we locate our nets it was calm, and when the sun came out, even though the temperature never got much above 17°, it was quite pleasant.

     The prize catch of the day was our very first Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) at SpruceHaven, and I mean ever observed let alone caught in the mist nets. 

     This truly beautiful little bird was a rare treat indeed. 

     It breeds in the northern boreal forest with extensive lichen for nest construction and winters primarily in the Caribbean. In fact we have seen this species on each of our three visits to Cuba, where it is common. Small numbers remain on the mainland as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

     We wish our bird safe passage to wherever it is headed.

     Magnolia Warblers (Setophaga magnolia) are also still moving through and we caught three of them. This is a familiar species but we all still marvel at the sheer beauty of this tiny bird flying all the way to Central America.

     All the neotropical warblers have distinctive undertail patterns and can be identified by that character alone. This is very helpful since the bird is often observed high in the treetops and the underparts are more visible than the upperparts.

     Zonotrichia sparrows are to be expected as we advance towards mid September and we caught our first White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) of the fall.

     House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) is a fairly common local species, but surprisingly it is captured infrequently. Today we trapped two of them in the same net.

     This bird is a specialist seed eater and has a large powerful bill.

     A momentary lapse of attention caused Heather a little pain as the bird grabbed onto the the skin between her fingers. All in a day's work I suppose!

     This note is primarily for Phil Slade - Judy brought delicious cinnamon buns she made the night before. I ate two!

     We had planned to band again this morning but it was a mere 9° at 06h:00 with strong, gusty winds - unsuitable conditions for banding. Keep your fingers crossed along with us for propitious weather next weekend and we'll have more to report.

All species banded 08 September: House Finch (2), American Goldfinch (11), Tennessee Warbler (1), Magnolia Warbler (3), Northern Parula (1), White-throated Sparrow (1). Total:  19 individuals of 6 species.

Retraps: Grey Catbird (1), American Goldfinch (1), Common Yellowthroat (1). Total: 3 individuals of 3 species.

Quality not Quantity

01 September - 02 September 2018

     The pace of avian migration starts to really accelerate as we get into September and we detected this trend in some of the species we banded this past weekend. The number of birds we trapped was not huge, but we caught some consequential species that contribute to our knowledge of birds not seen at SpruceHaven during the breeding season, but moving through as they depart Ontario to spend the northern winter in Central and South America.

     Neotropical Warblers and Flycatchers (among others) are two distinct families that can provide identification challenges at times and our constant companion is "Pyle," the bird bander's indispensable guide. 

     As any bird bander will tell you, a bird in the hand can look quite different from the bird you observe flitting around in a tree, or in flight. And by having the bird in the hand and being able to take wing measurements, weight, and  examine other characteristics it is in most cases possible to identify the sex and age of the bird.

     Take for example, this Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus). 

     Pyle tells us that the orbital ring in an after hatch year bird is red (as opposed to greenish or dusky in a hatch year bird) and that the the shape and pattern of the outer rectrices show a rounded tip with a white terminus. 

     The red orbital ring is shown in the picture above and the details of the rectrices are shown below.

     Putting all this information together we can confidently identify this bird as an adult (AHY) bird.

     You can see the mosquito bites on Ross' forearm above - the price bird banders pay for plying their craft at this time of the year. 
     We were able to identify this Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) as a hatch year male based on the large, but mottled cap, and other plumage characters.

     It was very pleasing to be able to process a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventri), a species we see infrequently. 

    Whether this species could have been identified in the field is open to question. Empidonax flycatchers are notoriously difficult when they are not singing and several species are very similar indeed. Compound this lack of vocalization once the breeding season has passed, with less than perfect light conditions, rapid movement high in treetops and the fact that the bird is smaller than most leaves, and identification sometimes verges on alchemy! One has to be content often with the designation Empidonax species.
     Take a look at these two pictures of Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) taken from my files.

Male

Female (picture from Internet Bird Collection)

     The minute white flash, along with other characters, enables us to confidently identify this bird as a hatch year female Black-throated Blue Warbler.
     In a female hatch year Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla) the characteristic rufous patch on the head of this species is absent, as shown in the photograph below. The buffy eye ring is also diagnostic. 

     Bird banding is fascinating, challenging and very rewarding. Over time it contributes in no small measure to our understanding of the life histories of birds.
     Banders the world over are linked by a common passion and a dedication to helping the birds we love. For an excellent treatment of bird banding (ringing) in the UK see the excellent blog of my good friend Phil Slade  https://anotherbirdblog.blogspot.com

All species banded 1, 2 September: Black-billed Cuckoo (1), Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (1), Traill's Flycatcher (1), House Wren (1), Nashville Warbler (1), Magnolia Warbler (3), Black-throated Blue Warbler (1), Wilson's Warbler (1), Song Sparrow (3).  Total: 13 birds of 9 species.  
Retraps: Grey Catbird (1), Common Yellowthroat (1), Magnolia Warbler (1), Song Sparrow (1).