February Shorebirds!

It seems that oddities are the norm these days, thanks to the weather. My last post dealt with butterflies in February. Not to be outdone are shorebirds in February.

(Note: only the last photo in this blog post was actually taken in Feb.....the rest were obtained from my archived files.)

Killdeer have been around for a few days now; that isn't all that much of a surprise.

American Woodcock have also been around, and aren't too far off their normal arrival. Given that some stayed quite late in the fall (5 were recorded on the Rondeau Christmas Bird Count on December 18), is it possible that some of the handful that have been reported in the last week are actually winter survivors?

The most surprising shorebird arrival was one I unexpectedly saw yesterday, Feb 27. I was scanning a large, scattered flock of waterfowl at the head of Rondeau Bay. Some ducks and coots were close to the edge, which is piled up with black organic material, and appearing as mud flats. There were 4 Killdeer, and as I was scanning, a Lesser Yellowlegs popped into view! Unfortunately as I was scanning through my scope at about 45X or more, and with the sun shimmer, there was no way I could get a photo at all. But its size, (body size about the same as a nearby Killdeer, although slimmer) long bright yellow legs which made the bird stand taller than the Killdeer, and the long pointed beak were quite diagnostic, as was the habit of darting around in search for food.

As far as I am aware, the earliest record of Lesser Yellowlegs for the Rondeau Provincial Park checklist area is March 23, which occurred quite a few years ago (pre-1979). So this bird yesterday was more than three weeks earlier. According to the ebird database, the earliest record for Ontario was March 6, 1977 in the Hamilton/Royal Botanical Gardens area of Spencer Creek, so this record of Feb 27 is the earliest date ever for Ontario by about one week.

Still with the shorebird theme, but not one that I expect to see for quite a few weeks yet, is this Ruddy Turnstone. I feature it because the February, 2017 issue of Birding, published by the American Birding Association, has just declared it as the Bird of the Year for 2017. I photographed this individual from my kayak as the bird wandered along the edge of the sandy island in Rondeau Bay.

I did get a couple of other 'first of the year' birds yesterday, however, but no other shorebirds. I finally got the long-staying Orange-crowned Warbler along the South Point Trail, as it hung out with a group of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees. No photos, though.

The other FOY was a Turkey Vulture which flew low over the trees at the north end of the Campground, and enabled me to get only this one quick shot as it flew right over my head.

Happy late winter birding!

February butterflies!

I don't know that I have ever had butterflies flying about in February, but then I don't remember a February quite like this!

Some butterflies overwinter as adults instead of larvae or pupae, so when the warmth arrives, they are out and about early. With the abnormally high temperatures these last few days, I figured it would likely get some butterflies out. Yesterday, Marie and I went to Rondeau since it was ~15C here at home. I knew it would be cooler by the lake, but I didn't expect the fog. So with temperatures not getting above about 7C and heavy fog, of course butterflies were not out. We got some exercise, did a little photography and visited with friends instead, so it was still a successful outing.

Today I decided to start off inland, and went to the municipally owned McKerrall Woodlot a few kilometres NE of Chatham.

As expected, it looked like mid-winter, minus the snow. But in the shelter of the woods and out of the wind, the sun made it suitable for butterflies. The temperature out in the open reached about 17C, perhaps a bit more in the micro-climate. I saw my first Eastern Comma of the year! The following photo wasn't one I took today, as the critter I saw did not want to settle down long enough for me.

After leaving McKerrall Woods, I meandered around Chatham-Kent looking for some open grown trees to photograph for a project I am working on. More on that perhaps in another post. I eventually ended up back at Rondeau, since as I got closer it was clear that fog wasn't going to be an issue today. The temperature was still cooler than inland, as it was still only about 8C at the park entrance due to the wind off of the now ice-free bay. But at the more sheltered eastern side of the park, it was warmer, reaching at least 14C at times. A walk along parts of the South Point Trail and Harrison Trail only produced one more Eastern Comma, and it was flying steadily northwards. I never did see it land....hence no photos of this one either.

Earlier in February Marie noticed something under a window at home.

It is the pupa of a Cabbage White butterfly. We grow a lot of veggies in our garden out the back that these butterflies really like. We were still getting things like kale from the garden into mid-December. Marie is careful about picking off the caterpillars before bringing them in the house, but this one must have been missed, so it escaped and found a suitable place to spend the winter in its next stage!

I really don't expect to see too many more butterflies flying about until at least the end of March or into April. At least hopefully we won't have that kind of weather until then....when spring comes super early, it is bound to create havoc with the plants and wildlife.

Counting birds....in your yard!

This weekend, February 17-20, 2017 is the Great Backyard Bird Count weekend. If you feed birds, it is an opportunity to share your findings in another one of the citizen science projects that are being promoted by the likes of Audubon, Cornell University and Bird Studies Canada. The results will give an overall view of the status of winter birds in different parts of the country, and contribute to the overall status of wintering birds over time.

Feeders are great places to enjoy in the winter, especially if there is enough snow to attract the birds. With that condition, however, when the snow is gone and spring-like temperatures are here, the birds are more spread out and not as likely to visit feeders as much. But there are always some.

Full information on how to get involved with this GBBC may be found at this link.

Aside from the pleasure of watching birds and their behaviour interacting with each other, it is a perfect opportunity to get some appealing photos. The photos that follow were all taken at, or in the immediate vicinity of, a feeder, but not my own. (Full disclosure: we fed birds every year for more than 30 years, but since we now live in the winter crow capital of Canada, I got tired of feeding primarily crows and squirrels, so I go elsewhere to enjoy and support bird feeder action :-(.

Some of the more common species to be found are:

American Goldfinch

American Tree Sparrow

Black-capped Chickadee

Dark-eyed Junco

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Cardinal

Red-bellied Woodpecker

White-breasted Nuthatch

Pine Siskin

Some species, like Pine Siskin, are very erratic in their arrival to southern Ontario, and this winter they have been noticeable by their absence for the most part.

If you are a little more fortunate, you may find:

American Robin

Tufted Titmouse

Eastern Towhee

Pine Warbler

And if you are really fortunate, maybe one of these will enjoy your feeder!

White-winged Dove

Happy Winter Bird Counting!

Concerned about Lyme Disease? You should be!

Tick season is fast approaching, and in some parts of Ontario it is already here! The milder weather we've had recently has prompted ticks to emerge.....not a lot yet, but one local birder found a deer tick (a.k.a Black-legged Tick)  on his clothing just a few days ago.

Once the weather warms up to stay in the next few weeks, the presence of deer ticks will be all too common in natural areas. And not just natural areas.....they can be almost anywhere there is long grass, shrubs, etc. For example even if you are an expert golfer, chances are you have lost a ball in the rough....where ticks may be lurking. You don't have to be in those areas yourself. If you have a pet that roams around in such areas the ticks can be transferred to you or a member of your family.

I've made several blog posts about Lyme Disease, describing the 6 times I have contracted it over the years. You can read a bit about my experiences by checking out these at post #1, post #2, post #3 and post #4.

Unfortunately the diagnosis and treatment for Lyme Disease is all too poorly known. It is controversial at best, and the leading health authorities are not always up to speed on the issue. There is an attempt to establish a Lyme Action Plan (Framework) by the federal government and partners, which would seem to be all well and good. There is a draft plan out for review right now. However it has little action and no funding associated with it, so what is the point? The bottom line is that it does not provide any meaningful action towards protecting Canadians from the effects of Lyme Disease.

If you are concerned about this....and you should be if you spend any time out doors....then please take a moment to sign the petition for this draft Lyme Action Plan (Framework) to be rejected, and for the federal government to come up with something that will be effective.

You can read about this draft plan here. Please sign the petition.....if you ever contract Lyme Disease, you may be glad you did!

A CBC and a birding hotspot

Christmas Bird Count data is fun to examine.

On a local scale, the Blenheim/Rondeau CBC started in 1939, making the most recent count the 78th. I have been involved with this count since about 1969. I am not the compiler, but I have maintained the spreadsheet in the last few decades.

Over the first 20 years of the count, the number of species averaged 46. For the most recent 20 years of the count, the number of species averaged 107. Since the beginning, we have recorded 191 species, including a handful of birds counted during the official count week but missed on the actual count day.

Why so much difference?
-Are the birders that much better? Perhaps.....at least there are more resources available to help birders become much more proficient throughout the year, which likely translates into better identification.
-Are there more birders now, allowing greater coverage? It might be a factor, as the first 20 years for which the number of observers are given averaged 15 birders per count, whereas in the most recent 20 years, it has averaged 21 observers per count. However at the time I started on this count, and up until the last decade or so, participants were required to pay a fee in order to be listed as a participant, and I know that some people decided to forego having their name in the list of participants and did not pay, so likely there may have been a few more than the 15 participant average. In the most recent decade or so, no payment is required (although donations are appreciated) so every participant is accounted for.
-Are the optics that much better? There is no question that binoculars and 'scopes have improved immensely in the last 2-3 decades. No one uses the old standard, clunky 7 X 50 binoculars with low quality coating, or the standard Bushnell Spacemaster scope with a basic zoom that deteriorated quickly as soon as you started to zoom. They seemed great at the time, but fortunately the optics companies recognized the market potential for improved optics. The resulting competition amongst optical equipment providers has been a tremendous blessing to birders, with so many high quality binoculars and 'scopes available at decent prices.
-Is the habitat that much better? For many CBCs, it certainly is not better...quite the opposite, but in the case of this particular count, where Rondeau Provincial Park and Rondeau Bay is a cornerstone of the natural habitat, there hasn't been a lot of change.
-Has the weather changed? This might be one of the most significant factors. The mild autumns in the last couple of decades or so, resulting in the delay of winter's arrival likely causes more birds to take their chances and linger longer. Whether they survive or not is another question.

Red-throated Loon

Related to the delay of winter, is the increased amount of open water available for waterbirds. Waterbird diversity and numbers have gone up considerably in the last few decades. In addition, the arrival of invasive species such as Zebra Mussels, has caused tens of thousands of diving ducks to remain on Lake Erie longer than they used to. For example, during the first 20 years of this count, there was an average of 5 Greater/Lesser Scaup observed per count. In the last 20 years, we have recorded an average of 11174 Greater/Lesser Scaup, with an all-time high of 56019 observed in 2001!

Greater Scaup

Regardless of the actual factors, but likely a combination of those just listed, bird numbers are better than ever, in terms of species diversity. It wasn't that long ago when we thought tallying 90 species was the benchmark for a successful count. The first year we achieved that was in 1971, when we tallied 94 species. It wasn't until 1994 when we hit the magical 100 species mark. Since 2000, we have tallied less than 100 species on only two occasions. In the most recent decade, we have hit 115 species on two occasions.

With so many years of data, there are some interesting observations. (Note: of the photos that follow, only a couple were actually taken during the count.....most of the time, counters are too busy!)

The species holding the highest record the longest goes to Northern Bobwhite, when an amazing 89 were tallied back in 1944. Of course this species is now endangered in Ontario. They are so rare, that I don't even have a photo of one taken in Ontario. This next photo was taken during one of my visits to southwestern Missouri, where the tallgrass prairies are still relatively abundant across the landscape, and the Northern Bobwhite population is reasonably healthy.

Its numbers had been dwindling steadily in Ontario for several decades. They were tallied fairly regularly for the first few decades of this CBC, albeit in declining numbers, up until 1977. It was the the combination of severe weather in southwestern Ontario for three successive years: a major ice storm of March, 1976, along with the blizzards of late January in both 1977 and 1978 that finished them off. They have only been recorded once since 1977, and those four birds noted in 1988 were likely the result of an attempt at re-introduction.

Another 'oldest record' is that of Ring-necked Pheasant, when 17 were recorded in 1950. They have been recorded since then, but 1950 still has the record, and likely will for some time to come.

As one might expect, there have been some amazing numbers of some species in various years. For example there were:
-625 White-winged Scoter observed in 2014
-15300 Red-breasted Merganser in 2011

-627 Ruddy Duck in 2014

-53 Pied-billed Grebe in 2001
-75 Northern Harrier in 1973
-74 American Kestrel in 1999

-8202 American Coot in 2001

-32 Wilson's Snipe in 1998

-26 Snowy Owl in 2014

-44 Winter Wren in 1983
-55 Carolina Wren in 2006

-6 Northern Mockingbird in 2004

-4 Little Gull on more than one occasion, most recently in 2007

-30 Eastern Towhee in 1960

-540 Swamp Sparrow in 1976

-17132 Snow Bunting in 2004

-137 Eastern Meadowlark in 1974. It is currently a legally Threatened species in Ontario.
-575 Rusty Blackbird in 1976. It was being considered a Species At Risk fairly recently, but so far has not quite made the list.

-1037 House Finch in 1992. It only arrived in Ontario in the late 1970s and the population exploded for a few years but has declined to a more realistic number in the last couple of decades. We've averaged a mere 229 over the last decade.

There have been some unusual sightings, as well. We've had 14 species of shorebird, most notably American Avocet, Black-bellied Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper (twice),Western Sandpiper and Red Phalarope.

There have been 12 species of gull, including 12510 Ring-billed in 2001.

There have been 9 species of woodpecker including both Black-backed and American Three-toed. A Brant was recorded in 1968, and a Tufted Duck in 1983. There were 3 Virginia Rail in 1986 and a Spotted Towhee in 1990. There have been 7 species of warbler and a Sage Thrasher in 2008.

Sage Thrasher of 1981 on the Marsh Trail

Each count is different, depending on the autumn and early winter weather leading up to the count, and of course the weather of the day. I've been canoeing in the open marsh some years, and some years there have been very high winds and blizzard conditions making even getting around difficult let alone counting birds. We have only had to reschedule one count due to weather so far, back in 2007.

It is clear that the Rondeau/Blenheim/Erieau area is a hotspot for birds, and birders, even in winter!