Kitchener Christmas Bird Count

20 December 2014

     Prior to to the turn of the twentieth century it was an established tradition for people in the United States to engage in the "Christmas Side Hunt."This involved dividing up a Christmas gathering into sides and going out with their guns to shoot whatever moved or flew. The party that brought in the biggest pile won the contest.

     An incipient conservation movement was taking hold, and many participants were becoming uneasy about this wanton slaughter, especially in light of declining populations of birds and other wildlife.

     On Christmas Day 1900, Frank M. Chapman, the distinguished American ornithologist, proposed that people should go afield and simply count the birds, rather than shooting them. Thus began the nascent annual Christmas Bird Count which now involves people concerned with birds, from not only the North American continent, but in many other locations around the world.

     The combined data from all the counts, consolidated by the Audubon Society, has become an important source of data on bird populations and trends, and is one of the very early examples of what is now known as citizen science.

     I have taken part in many CBCs over a lot of years, and Miriam and I were looking forward to doing the first of the two counts we do in this area.

     The whole territory covered by the count is split into various groups each having a leader, a team captain so to speak. For our party, Michelle Tomins has filled this function for many years and does an absolutely splendid job. No participants are ever better prepared by their leader than we are by Michelle.

     Here is our happy group before setting out into our territories.

Michelle Tomins, Janet Ozaruk, Miriam Bauman, John Tomins

       It looks like John said something funny when he took over the camera so that I could get in the picture.

Michelle Tomins, Janet Ozaruk, Miriam Bauman, David Gascoigne

      Michelle organizes a system whereby we drive our cars and park one vehicle at the Otterbein Parking Area  along the Grand River Trail, which will be the point at which we will end our walk along the river, a distance of about 3.5 kilometres from our point of origin. At this location there was a large concentration of ducks and geese on the water, so we mentally created a line of divide, and our two respective parties counted on either side of the imaginary line so that we would avoid duplication. At each area covered I will give the list of species we saw in the order in which we first saw them, not in taxonomic sequence. In brackets I will also state the number of individuals recorded there. 

Species: Common Merganser (1), Mallard (29), Canada Goose (2), Common Goldeneye (4) Gull, sp. (2), Herring Gull (2).

Common Goldeneye, male

     Having left our vehicle, we all got into John's car to drive to the Woolner Parking area, from where we would begin our walk, John and Michelle going in one direction from that parking area, Miriam, Janet and I heading off in the opposite direction.

      Along the way we stopped to check out a house with a variety of bird feeders; a predictably productive spot in years past. Today the activity was sparse. 

Species: House Sparrow (13), Blue Jay (1), Black-capped Chickadee (1), Northern Cardinal (1).

     

View along the trail

      At 08:37 we bade farewell for the moment to John and Michelle as they headed off to do their count and we commenced ours. The trail, known as the Grand River Trail, or alternatively the Walter Bean Trail, pretty much hugs the bank of the river and meanders through an area of hardwood forest.

     In contrast to previous years, it was tough to find birds, and the number of species seen, and the number of individuals counted was less than normal. I have no explanation why, but we would later find that other parties experienced the same phenomenon. 

     It was a pleasant day, warm for the time of year, with the temperature getting up to around 0°C, by noon.

     This Northern Cardinal was bathed in bright sunlight at the top of a tree.

     The view along the river is pleasant at any time of year, and today we were treated to several splendid vistas.

     For most of the way I followed Miriam and Janet as we made our way along the trail.

     

     When the leaves are off the trees it is easy to spot interesting features that might easily be missed when concealed from view by the luxuriant foliage of spring and summer. So it was with this nest of a Baltimore Oriole which would have been a place of great activity just a few short months ago.

     There was lots of ice on the water, and little floes were moving down river on the current at a rapid clip. When the sun was shining the ice sparkled and it was really quite magical. It was also really pleasing to listen to the sounds the ice made as floes jostled each other, and scraped along the build up at the bank.

     To no one's surprise evidence of beaver activity was commonly seen, many trees having been felled by these industrious rodents.

     I guess that a little snack of bark seemed appealing to Janet.

      American Herring Gull was the most common gull along the river, although gull sightings were pretty sparse overall.

     Here is another shot of the river.

     Common Mergansers were seen quite frequently, but they were skittish and seem to fly at the slightest provocation; indeed, without provocation at all! I was happy to get this shot of a female on the far bank with a few male Mallards.

     At the end of our walk, before getting back into the car, we sat down for what we felt was a well-earned rest, and Janet produced a bag of dried fruit and (kind soul that she is) shared with Miriam and me. It was delicious and just the little infusion of energy that we needed.

Species:  Black-capped Chickadee (12), Canada Goose (234), American Herring Gull (6), Gull, sp. (3), Mallard (311), Northern Cardinal (1), American Crow (1), Buteo, sp. (1), American Goldfinch (3), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), American Black Duck (7), Common Goldeneye 35), Common Merganser (9).

     Our next stop was at Forfar Park, a small island in a sea of housing, but a location that has traditionally been worthy of checking and has from time to time yielded rarities. Today the activity was muted, but several species were recorded, including this lone American Tree Sparrow, determined not to come out and pose for a picture!

Species:  House Sparrow (8), American Crow (4), American Goldfinch (2), House Finch (16), Black-capped Chickadee (3), Downy Woodpecker (2), Blue Jay (1), Dark-eyed Junco (2), Northern Cardinal (2), Cooper's Hawk (1), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), American Tree Sparrow (1), Common Starling (1), Mourning Dove (1).

       Janet could only be with us until noon so it was time to return her to her car. It was a delight to have had Janet along with us; she was an exquisite companion. 

      Miriam and I then went to meet John and Michelle at a Swiss Chalet restaurant for lunch. It was great to shed a few layers for a while and sit in the warmth and eat. Traditionally, Miriam and I have made sandwiches at home and have eaten in the car, but I think that Swiss Chalet may become a new tradition!

     After lunch we went to Kolb Park, where as had been the case all day, bird life was minimal. However, we did see what became the bird of the day, a male Northern Pintail.

     Pintails are decidedly uncommon so late in the year and we needed to fill out a rare bird report for this species.

     Once again there was ample evidence of the work of beavers and this winter storage gave away the location of the lodge.

Species: Black-capped Chickadee (3), Common Goldeneye (1), Canada Goose (164), Mallard (97), Northern Pintail (1), American Black Duck (3), American Herring Gull (1), Northern Cardinal (2).

     Our final stop was at Blue Springs where the birds were totally absent. We saw but two species and this was right as we were leaving. It was well past 15:00 by now and my right knee was giving me a little grief (old age creeping up on me I guess) so we decided to call it a day.

Species: American Crow (2), American Goldfinch (1).

     After each Christmas Bird Count there is a wrap up dinner hosted by one of the participants and everyone takes along something to add to the wide variety of food that always seems to be available. This year's event was hosted by Peter Coo and Dawn Miles, and we are very grateful for their fine hospitality. I had intended to take my camera to record some of the festivities, but I forgot to do so, so you'll have to imagine what it was like. The pictures will have to wait until next time!

Northern Mockingbird (Moqueur polyglotte)

Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos

Toronto, ON

12 December 2014

     I have fond memories of making a regular annual trip in years past to Niagara-on-the-Lake to find three specialty birds for the Province of Ontario, Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus, Tufted Titmouse Parus bicolor and Northern Mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird

     This was the only area in the province where one could reliably expect to find, after a little searching to be sure, these three species normally associated with more southerly regions.

     Now the distribution of all three species has become far more widespread, and Northern Mockingbird may regularly be encountered in the Toronto area, and several confirmed nesting sites have been documented. There are a couple of spots where I am quite certain of locating this species if I take the time to search diligently, or, if as was the case this morning, it comes to greet me almost as soon as I park the car. Humber Bay Park West was where I found this individual today.

     It was feeding on the berries seen in the pictures, and for the longest time was half-hidden, as it found the most appealing part of the crop I suppose. Finally it moved upwards and posed briefly for the photographs you see here.

     It is a handsome bird, characterized by large white wing patches when it flies, but capturing a mockingbird in flight is far from easy. 

     So far the winter has been quite benign, but even through last year's brutal conditions, the species seemed to survive and by now no doubt has a population acclimatized to our conditions.

     As regards the other two species mentioned above, Red-bellied Woodpecker, has become quite common in many areas, and we have even had it visit our backyard feeders on a few occasions. Tufted Titmouse is nowhere common in the province, but it can be encountered with a reasonable degree of regularity in Haldimand County.

     The other area I have often encountered Northern Mockingbird in the Toronto region is Colonel Samuel Smith Park, but this morning I was unsuccessful. The following shots show the extent of the snowfall experienced yesterday.

     Winter is part of what makes us Canadian and today was a classic day; sunny, bright and the temperature slightly below freezing; a day to be enjoyed by mockingbird and human alike.

White-winged Scoter (Macreuse brune) and Others

Lake Ontario

7 December 2014

     Today Miriam needed to go to Carlisle and Burlington, so, since it was a fine sunny day, I decided to go along with her and we did a little birding afterwards.

     Our principal quest was for scoters which by now are starting to populate Lake Ontario, as they do each winter. We were successful in finding two species, White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca and Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata; Black Scoter Melanitta nigra eluded us, if indeed it was present. It is at all times the most difficult to locate and appears in much small numbers than the other two species.

     There are huge rafts of ducks on Lake Ontario at this time of year, some quite monumental, and today we were treated to some of these large aggregations of diving ducks. Unfortunately, they were quite far out, certainly not what one would consider within good camera range. However, when dealing with nature you cannot control the subject, and we worked with what we had.

     Scoters are among the most enigmatic of ducks, in my opinion, with their outlandish bills, as can be seen in the following pictures of a Surf Scoter which came a little closer to shore than his chums.

      The following picture will give you an idea of the variety of ducks to be found in these large concentrations and you can see Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula, Greater Scaup Aythya marila, Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis, and, up at the top left corner, a Surf Scoter.

     This picture shows male and female Greater Scaup, of which there were at least a thousand present at this location alone.

     Again I present a Surf Scoter, this time keeping company with Common Goldeneye.

      These ducks are constantly diving and rarely seem to come up without a mussel in their bill. It certainly attests to the rich feeding ground that Lake Ontario provides for these species which will spend the entire winter on the safety of its waters.

      At the Canada Centre for Inland Waters several Trumpeter Swans Cygnus buccinator were present, some with young.

     Observe the size difference between the Trumpeter Swan and a male Bufflehead Bucephala albeola.

     At least four American Black Ducks Anas rubripes were spotted, although it looks as though the top bird in this picture may be a hybrid Black Duck/Mallard.

     When we left the Canada Centre for Inland Waters we had to wait in a long line of traffic because the bridge was raised to let a lake freighter pass from the open expanse of Lake Ontario into Burlington Bay.

     It was a great couple of hours of birding. Perhaps next time that elusive Black Scoter will be top of the list.

Redhead (Fuligule à Tête Rouge) on Lake Ontario

Mississauga Sailing Club

Mississauga, ON

4 December 2014

Redhead

      The Redhead Aythya americana is a relatively large diving duck, sometimes confused with the larger Canvasback Aythya valsinaria,  but it is in all plumages smaller, darker and shorter necked than a Canvasback.

Canvasback

It always seems to bring a special sense of joy when Redheads start to appear on Lake Ontario and today I was very happy to locate this small group.

They were feeding on abundant Zebra mussels and no doubt have now taken up residence for the winter. I will look forward to visiting with them often.

A Couple of Raptors in Haldimand County, Ontario

30 November 2014

      For many years, near the town of Fisherville, there was a certain location where sightings of multiple Short-eared Owls Asio flammeus were virtually guaranteed. I don't know what has happened since the last time I was there about ten years ago, but I could find not a one, and upon checking recent reports, it appears that other birders have had a similar lack of luck. This was a spot where at times one could see around forty birds at the same time, flitting around like giant moths in the crepuscular gloom, and the habitat seems to be unchanged, so what has caused them to move on is a bit of a mystery. There were many rodent burrows in the grass so the prey base seems to still be intact.

     We were sitting watching the feeders at the Ruthven National Historic Site in Cayuga, when this Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii made a pass at a Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura feeding on the ground. It missed its target! 

      Predictably, when it perched on a nearby branch, the feeders became very quiet in a hurry. However, the hawk made no attempt to snag this Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula  when it appeared, so perhaps it had fed well earlier, and even the swoop on the Mourning Dove was more reflexive than a serious attempt at capture.

     

     Just outside Hagersville, we watched a couple of Northern Harriers Circus hudsonius quartering the fields in search of prey. One bird, a female, dropped down on a vole and carried it off beyond photographic range. This male perched briefly on the ground before lifting off again and trying his luck at finding food. I managed a couple of quick shots. The result is quite awful I must confess, but since this is the first time I have ever succeeded in getting a picture of this species, I include it for the record.

Birds of the Conestogo Dam

29 November 2014

     It was a pretty grey day on Saturday, but Miriam and I decided that we would go out to see whether we could find any Snowy Owls Bubo scandiacus, since the first arrivals have already been reported in some locations.

     We did not succeed in our Snowy Owl quest, but at the Conestogo Dam there were large numbers of birds, especially Common Mergansers Mergus merganser,  Ring-billed Gulls Larus delarensis and Mallards Anas platyrynchos, with a few other appealing species thrown in for good meaure.

Common Mergansers

     It was really interesting to see the patterns formed on the water by the vees created by individual birds intersecting to create a kind of grid.

     Ring-billed Gulls, as might be expected were especially numerous.

     This is a location where it is profitable to scan for rarities such as Glaucous and Iceland Gulls, but none were to be found on this occasion.

    Here are the gulls massing with Mallards on the outflow side of the dam.

     I think that this must be my Northern Pintail Anas acuta period, for another handsome male was present among the hundreds of Mallards.

     Most of the mergansers stayed fairly far out but a few co-operative individuals came in closer to permit better photographs.

    Perhaps these three decided that single file was a better way to travel!