Recent Birding Highlights (spoiler alert: Blue Grosbeak)

 Mid-summer birding is relatively slow, but steady. There is always something around!

In the last little while, I have been at the Campbell Line conservation area. I was hoping to see or hear Dickcissel, but didn't on this occasion. But there were lots of Bobolinks, a species that is designated as Threatened under both the Canadian and Ontario Endangered Species Acts.

family group

female Bobolink

A Solitary Sandpiper was hanging out at the edge of one of the ponds. It isn't a species that breeds in this part of Ontario, so presumably it is a failed nester and is gradually making its way southward.

A white-tailed deer took exception to me being in its territory, snorting a few times and charging off somewhere else. A closer look reveals a lot of things like deer flies settled on its back.

A stop at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons didn't turn up anything unexpected, but I managed to get a few photos of some things. Spotted Sandpipers are to be expected, but they don't often cooperate for a photographer.

There are lots of damselflies and dragonflies there. This Eastern Amberwing caught my eye, so I thought I would capture its photo. It isn't a really common species, but is certainly widespread.

A short visit to the Keith McLean Conservation Lands turned up a few shorebirds, and the highlight there was to come across 4 Short-billed Dowitchers. Shorebirds in general are starting to show up as they return from their breeding grounds hundreds of kilometres farther north.

The Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail is one of my favourite spots to visit along Lake St. Clair. It is a privately owned wetland, with a publicly accessible trail. There are lots of prairie type wildflowers established along the trail, although due to the aggressiveness of the non-native Phragmites, sometimes drastic measures have to be taken to eliminate, or at least reduce the Phrag, and let the other species have a chance to show their beauty. The trail is well-groomed.

As I was going out, I noticed this deer coming down to the water for a drink. It didn't see me at first....

...but then it did. And then it reacted like a typical fawn....

...crouching down and trying to stay hidden. An adult would have bounded away immediately, but this one was born this year, as you can see by some lingering white spots, and the initial crouching is fawn-type behaviour. As soon as I was a little farther away, it did take off and out of sight.

At the end of the trail, on this slightly elevated berm, is a picnic table. I typically sit and watch the sometimes numerous gulls and terns, the Mute Swans and other waterfowl and sometimes some shorebirds. I often see a pair of Sandhill Cranes hanging out, and this time it was no exception.

They flew in from somewhere inland, and proceeded to meander around this wetland habitat, and nicely within view of me at the picnic table with my telephoto lens. I am not sure if they are generally accustomed to people, but as long as I moved slowly and carefully, they didn't seem to be all that concerned.

There is a lot of Pickerelweed here, and I liked this photo with the Pickerelweed in fine flower providing a backdrop for the crane.

Certainly the bird highlight of the last few days was to catch up to a young male Blue Grosbeak. It was first reported by Paul Pratt, on the north side of Tilbury. It is not a species seen that often in Ontario, and given that it has been seen daily since about July 5, makes one wonder just how long it had been here. The location it is at is not one that is regularly covered by birders, so kudos to Paul for being out exploring and coming across this bird.

Fortunately it seems to be settled into this area, being up and visible frequently and calling for a mate. I first heard it not from the grassy field where it would be expected, but from a grove of trees on the other side of the road. I couldn't see it at first, but heard it call.

It then appeared on some wires over the grassy field. Unfortunately with all of the wires, it wasn't always easy to get a good photo, and the sun light wasn't at the best angle at the time of day I was there, so although this was one of the first photos I got of the bird, it was at best, a record shot.

And fortunately it kept moving around to different perches, singing as it went. At least this next one had better light and fewer wire obstructions.

It went back over to the grove of trees on a couple of occasions, and on one of them at least it was partially in view, and with a better angle of light.

I got a few more, and as I was thinking about moving on, the bird flew down onto some Phragmites in the ditch right along the side of the road, enabling me to get some fairly close, unobstructed photos, with better light.

It was certainly a great way to cap off this outing.

I doubt if this bird will find a mate, and who knows how long it will persist before moving on. I don't think there has ever been a successful nesting of this species in Ontario, but I am aware of an attempt by a pair of Blue Grosbeaks to nest in Chatham-Kent. It was back in early June, 1995 when a pair of them appeared along the Lake Erie shoreline a bit west of Blenheim. The semi-open shrubby/woodland habitat attracted them, and they proceeded to go through the normal courtship activities. There were several of us who kept a close watch on this pair, not quite daily, but several times a week. We observed them doing mate feeding, copulation and carrying nesting material. Unfortunately they were intent on an area that was private and inaccessible, so we could only watch from the road. Had they gotten to the point of likely incubating and even feeding young somewhat definitively, we likely would have tried to obtain permission to get access and a better look. We did eventually see both the male and female with food, but not always going to a specific spot. Perhaps the young were out of the nest and being fed in various spots? A bit later the female was not seen, and this was following a fairly severe storm that went through. There was some damage to the vegetation so perhaps the nest or young or even the female were harmed. Or perhaps a marauding racoon came along and did what racoons do. At any rate, the male was still seen in the area, occasionally singing, even into early September. And somewhat surprising, the male reappeared in 1996 and stayed for several weeks, but there was no evidence of a female this the second year. I got a few photos at the time, but with inferior equipment to what I have today. This is a scanned photo of one of them.

I was hoping that by keeping detailed notes of my numerous visits I would be able to write up a report to Ontario Birds, describing the first confirmed breeding record for Blue Grosbeak in Ontario, but it was not to be.

 

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