Rare, Regular Migrant Birds of the Rondeau Area

In my last post I featured quite a few rare types of birds that are known to breed, or have attempted to breed, within the Rondeau Provincial Park Checklist Area.

This post will feature some of the rare but regular migrants that have not yet demonstrated any evidence of breeding. While the previous post required some evidence of breeding to be included, I don't have as clear-cut a definition of rarity. Therefore this list is somewhat subjective.

Generally anything included here will be out of regular breeding range and always an extra highlight to see. Undoubtedly an observation would be posted on a rare bird alert of some type. However they are almost 'expected' rarities, in my opinion, as they occur most years, or at least likely once every 4-5 years. I didn't go into all the Rondeau records to see if a species fits that definition exactly, so take this definition with a grain of salt. If you don't see something on this list that you think should be included, it might be on the next list if I felt it was a bit rarer, or it may be because I don't have a good enough photo yet :-).

They will be featured more or less alphabetically rather than in any checklist order.

First up is American Avocet, a striking large shorebird that shows up briefly every year or so, typically at sewage lagoons, flooded fields, or sometimes along the shoreline.

Next is Cattle Egret, not a species that is considered native to North America, but arrived as a result of major storms bringing a few of them across the Atlantic in the middle of last century. They show up irregularly, and have bred in southwestern Ontario on occasion. The closest places are at Fish Point on Pelee Island back in 1976 where breeding was confirmed (I saw the nest), and another time at Walpole Island in the early 1980s where it was in breeding condition near some appropriate habitat, but never confirmed.

 Eared Grebe is a common nesting species in the innumerable wetlands of the prairie provinces, but only seen in the Rondeau area from time to time on migration.

 Eurasian Wigeon usually appears in the spring and/or fall when huge numbers of puddle and diving ducks show up on places like Rondeau Bay. It can be a challenge picking one out amongst the thousands of ducks at those times of year, especially if there are a lot of Redheads. They often are only well seen through a 'scope. This particular individual was at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands in 2019, on 'Lake McLean'.

 Franklin's Gull is pretty unusual, and I almost put it into the rarer category. However there are enough records over the years to indicate it fits here, at least during those years when masses of the smaller Bonaparte's type gulls are passing through.

 Along with large numbers of geese, one might find the occasional Greater White-fronted Goose. They are seen almost annually, but are sometimes harder to find when mixed in with large numbers of the larger Canada Goose.

 Henslow's Sparrow used to be more regular than it has been. It is an Endangered species in Ontario, and it is doubtful that any nest in the province now.

 Nelson's Sparrow is a regular breeding species in the far north, and when it migrates is very challenging to find. It is a very furtive sparrow and it probably passes through annually in small numbers. It occurs primarily in the fall and may linger, presumably when the urgency to reach their wintering ground isn't quite as strong as it is to head north in the spring.

 Purple Sandpiper is typically a very tolerant shorebird, enabling one to get some good photos. However it doesn't occur all that regularly, and can sometimes go undetected for several years in a row. Usually when it does appear, it may do so for only a very few days.

 Red Phalarope is another shorebird that nests in the far north, and is seen very irregularly in the Rondeau area. Both of these shorebirds definitely get a lot of attention when word gets out that they are around.

 Red-throated Loon was always considered a fairly rare migrant. However in the last few years, they have been documented much more regularly in the fall and early winter on western Lake Erie, and can be seen from good vantage points along the Rondeau shoreline. It was first recorded on a Rondeau Christmas Bird Count back in 1981, and not again until 4 years ago. On the 2018 count we had a huge number flying through conservatively estimated at 70 individuals.

 Ross's Goose was considered a real rarity in eastern North America not that long ago. But the numbers have recovered recently, in part due to the major increase of the similarly looking Snow Goose population in the northeast. It was first recorded on a Rondeau Christmas Bird Count in 2001 and we have had it on 5 other CBCs since then.

 Snowy Egret is a species much more common south of the border, and erratically seen in Ontario. Most often they appear in mid to late summer, when post breeding wanderers may show up and stick around for a few days, depending on the weather and the feeding opportunities.

Trumpeter Swans aren't really a migratory species in the sense that most of the rest of the birds on this post are. They have never nested in the Rondeau area that we know of, and it is only in the last couple of decades where they are seen somewhat erratically.

 Western Kingbird shows up periodically, which follows a general pattern that some members of the flycatcher family are known for. You will hear more about that in the next post or two. There are a few records for the Rondeau area, but several years can go by in between records, and they don't stay long.

 Worm-eating Warbler is one of those southern warblers that gets a lot of attention when one is reported. They appear most often in early May when the weather conditions are such that a strong warm front comes up from south of the border. In the last few years, however, it seems that one of the dominant wind directions in early to mid May is from the east or north east, which holds back good movements of the more southern specialties like this warbler.

That is it for this post......come on back for a future one which will feature what I consider to be much rarer migrant species, with another post featuring mega rarities at some point after that.

Warbler parade

The Wood Warbler group is the one that many birders consider as the highlight of the spring migration. Birders don't often tally up the number of flycatchers they get in a day, or the number of thrushes or shorebirds. But the number of warblers seen in a day by a single birder is considered a measure of the day's success.

It seems that the numbers and diversity of warblers seen on a daily basis is diminishing. There are currently 40 species of warbler on the Rondeau Provincial Park bird checklist. I recall back in the 1970s and 1980s (yes, I am aging myself) that getting at least 24 species of warbler in a day in mid-May was an average day, and it was sometimes possible to get 30 or more of those 40 species in a really good day. In the last few years, however, it seems difficult to get more than about 25 species in a day, and 20 is more the norm. Some days it is even hard to get 20. Of course the frequent east-northeast winds do not help to draw up the southern migrants or result in fallouts of warbler migrants like they used to.

Beyond the factors of wind speed and directions, I am sure there are other reasons for this apparent decline in warbler numbers and diversity, and that may be the subject of a future post.

The migration of 2016 so far has not been spectacular, but average, in my opinion. Nonetheless, it has been rewarding to spend time on the hunt for migrants, especially warblers. Here is a broad representation of what I've seen and in some cases, been able to photograph. Many of these images have been taken this year, but in some cases I have delved into my archives.

American Redstart

American Redstarts are quite abundant right now, and some will stay to nest in the hardwood forest.

Black-and-white Warbler

Black-and-white Warblers are one of the earliest to arrive, but do not nest in this area.

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warblers are fairly common, and on rare occasion one or more will linger into the breeding season. There has not yet been a confirmed breeding record of this species in the Rondeau area, although there are unconfirmed records.

Blackburnian Warbler

The bright orange throat of Blackburnian Warblers seems to glow,even in dull light. They do not breed in this area, unfortunately. The black, orange and white pattern is very distinctive even to a casual observer.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warblers are fairly common. The female shown in the image above is quite drab compared to her black-throated, blue and white coloured mate shown in the next photo.

Black-throated Blue male (October photo)

Blue-winged Warbler

Blue-winged Warblers are increasing, at the expense of the declining Golden-winged Warbler. Blue-wings have been recorded nesting at Rondeau on very rare occasion. This one is skulking in the ground vegetation, and did not consider the wishes of the photographer (me) while it was busily searching for food :-).

Cape May Warbler

One of the most abundant warblers in the boreal forest region, the Cape May Warbler is an attractive one as well. They are often fairly high up.

Common Yellowthroat

The Common Yellowthroat is in fact, common. It is widely scattered in various habitats at Rondeau.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

The Chestnut-sided Warbler is a common migrant. On occasion, a pair will be found nesting in the second growth forest sections of Rondeau.

Hooded Warbler

Hooded Warblers used to be extremely rare in Ontario. They are officially a Species At Risk. Fortunately their numbers are increasing a bit, and birders are more likely to find one at Rondeau now. They nest in shrubby forest openings over sandy soil. While the species has never been confirmed as breeding at Rondeau, there have been some possible nesting attempts in recent years.

Northern Parula

The Northern Parula used to be almost a rarity to see on migration here. In the past, one might see a handful over the course of the spring season, but hardly ever more than one or two in a single day. That has changed, at least temporarily. In 2016 one often had this species on the daily list, with sometimes at least 8 seen by a birder in a day. Reports went as high as 19 by a single observer on one day this spring.

Northern Waterthrush

Northern Waterthrush is a regular, but not abundant, migrant. There are no records of it nesting at Rondeau. A close relative, the Louisiana Waterthrush, is much rarer, with its breeding range being restricted to extreme southwestern Ontario. On occasion, the Louisiana Waterthrush has been confirmed nesting at Rondeau.

Palm Warbler

The Palm Warbler is one of the first warblers to arrive in the spring. It is easily told even from a distance and in poor light by its habit of pumping its tail. It does not nest at Rondeau.

Pine Warbler (photo taken in January, 2015, coming to a feeder!)

 The Pine Warbler is another species that arrives early. It has nested on occasion at Rondeau.

Wilson's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler is a later arriving species, and continues well to the north of Rondeau to breed.

Yellow Warbler

I often make the comment that in the 1970s, the National Audubon Society published a 'Blue List' of birds that were of concern due to being in a serious decline. Yellow Warbler was on that list. It is hard to believe, since for a few years now, it is by far the most abundant warbler to be seen in Rondeau and elsewhere. It is not uncommon to see 50 to 100 of these in a single day, and in all different habitats. It is a very common nesting species.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The Yellow-rumped Warbler, affectionately called "butterbutts" by some in reference to its bright yellow rump, is one of the earlier species to arrive, and at times can be very abundant. It does not nest at Rondeau.

Magnolia Warbler

 Maggies are often fairly abundant but do not nest at Rondeau.

Prothonotary Warbler

Prothonotaries are highly sought after to get on one's daily bird checklist. Rondeau has been known as the stronghold for this species ever since Jim Baillie of the Royal Ontario Museum first confirmed them breeding in Canada when he and his colleagues discovered them nesting here in the early 1930s. In the 1980s there could have been as many as 50 pairs in the park. A conservative estimate is that there may be as much as 50 kilometres of linear forest slough habitat in a year with average water levels. Unfortunately due to various factors, the current entire Canadian population of Prothonotaries is estimated to be only a dozen pairs, at the most. It is officially an endangered species, both provincially and nationally. Rondeau still attracts several pairs a year, but due to the difficulty of monitoring those ~50 km of habitat, no accurate survey has been done for a long time.

Male PROW after having a bath, showing his white tail flashes

Worm-eating Warbler

Worm-eating Warblers are really few and far between in Ontario. It is a southern warbler that is not recorded at Rondeau every year, and when word gets out that one has been seen, it quickly draws a crowd of birders. One was seen along the Spicebush Trail just yesterday, but few got to see it. This photo was taken from along the Spicebush Trail in 2013, when one was cooperatively foraging in some open ground level habitat and it popped up to about eye level on occasion.

Worm-eating Warbler

Surely there are more warblers to come in the next few days, and maybe even some rarities. You can bet that some avid birders will be scouring the forests to get some of the later and elusive ones such as Connecticut Warbler (one was seen and photographed on the Spicebush Trail yesterday). Even though the Victoria Day weekend will be a thing of the past in a couple of days, it does not spell the end of the spring migration, although it is surprising how few birders continue with any serious birding after this holiday. I will be out looking when I can, and maybe I will catch up to that elusive Golden-winged Warbler or Connecticut Warbler yet.....maybe even a Kentucky Warbler or Swainson's Warbler will show up! And I would happily settle for another Townsend's Warbler or Black-throated Gray Warbler or one not already on the park list!

Good birding!