Marine Blues

In my previous post, I mentioned a morning of birding (but it mostly turned into a search for butterflies). A short while ago, the first record of Broad-winged Skipper for the Pelee Birding Area was seen along Concession E north of the park. No matter the time of year, whenever I am home, Marianne and I make it a point to go out birding at least once. This weekend was no exception and although we only had 3 hours, we still had a fun time (minus missing the aforementioned Broad-winged Skipper).

We decided to start our search for butterflies (and possibly shorebirds) at Hillman Marsh. After poisening ourselves with bug spray (I had already applied sunscreen earlier in the morning so I felt like I had just waded through toxic sludge at this point), we set off. It was a typical July day with no shorebirds found but some highlights in the birding department included a few Willow Flycatchers, both species of Cuckoo, 2 Belted Kingfishers, a ton of Common Yellowthroats and Yellow Warblers, as well as the usual summer suspects (a huge flock of swallows over the Pelee Marsh was a highlight for me). Note to self: even the strongest bug sprays do not deter Deerflies...ouch!

We ended up with 14 species of butterfly in total:

Black Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger-Swallowtail (black and yellow forms)
Summer Azure
Cabbage White
Orange Sulphur
Bronze Copper
Eyed Brown
Painted Lady
Eastern Comma
Pearl Crescent
Orange Crescent
Monarch
Viceroy
Least Skipper

I also learned this weekend of a butterfly listserv that I need to find and become a member of. If I had been on it, I may have heard about the Marine Blues that were featured in the Toronto Star!

I wish I had had more time to stay out today but only having 2 vehicles on a farm where 4 busy people live causes obvious scheduling conflicts. In other news, it's been made official! I am the membership secretary of the Toronto Ornithological Club! *Currently floating on a cloud*

Evelyn Hatt 1920-2008

On Wednesday of last week, I got a call from my parents to tell me that my Grandma Hatt had passed away. She had come down with pneumonia, which led to congestive heart failure, and although she had a fighting spirit, this time it was just too hard on her. On her last birthday (her 88th year), however, she told my aunt that she had, "reached her goal." She must have been prepared. She had lived a long, eventful life and her funeral was as much a celebration of that life as a time to mourn her passing.

Like my grandpa, who passed away last year, my grandma was always asking about the birds I had seen. In fact, just this May (during our last visit together), she asked me how my week of birding had gone and how many lifers I had seen. When she was still living next to us on the farm, I would come back from a long walk looking for birds or butterflies and she would invite me in for peach juice and a few home-made cookies (she was an incredible baker). There were times when she thought I was crazy for how much time I spent birding and wouldn't hesitate to tell me that, but I'll remember her for all the good times we had together on the farm.

This weekend was a good time for me to take a break from life in the city, breathe a deep breath of country air, and spend time with close friends and family (and of course, a morning of birding). But now I'm ready to get back to Toronto, rejuvinated and ready for the oncoming fall migration, the OFO convention, and working with the TOC. Finally, one of the first things I'm going to try to do when I get back is see the Red Crossbills that are being reported across the northern areas of Toronto.

Was that really 6 years ago?? Also, 2008 MAY LIST

Before I get down to business, I have a couple of things to get out of the way. Firstly, I think I need an updated picture for my blog. Although I love this photo and it appears on the back of Henrietta O'Neill's Birding At Point Pelee, it's way back from the year 2002...and besides, my hair looks really greasy (and don't get me started on that coat, which lasted for 8 long years).

It's hard to believe I was only 17 when this photo was taken. I remember the day quite vividly but not the bird I was looking at. The full photo (the one on my profile is cropped to only show me) is of a group of birders searching for the first Painted Bunting to ever be seen at Point Pelee (there are now two sightings that I know of, including a female from a couple years back). Marianne and I searched for 4 hours at Sleepy Hollow to see that bird and it was only once we left the large group and walked down a separate trail that we finally found it. I remember the day well enough, but my memory of the bird itself is quite unclear. I saw the bird. I saw a glimpse of its red underside and the blue head but don't remember seeing the green back. The sighting lasted for about 4-5 seconds before another birder yelled to a large group on another trail that we had. Next thing we knew, we were being trampled. I will never forget the old lady who tried to see the bird and had her glasses knocked off her face due to the pushy, aggravated crowd. For anyone who thinks birding is a relaxing hobby, think again. It can get pretty rough from time to time. So, a new picture is necessary. The problem is I rarely get my photo taken while birdwatching.

The other thing I am currently needing to update is my equipment. It's time to buy a spotting scope. Living in Toronto certainly creates a black hole in my bank account so it's been very difficult to save any money but if I can just become a bit more thrifty and actually start a separate savings account, I should be able to afford a new scope within a year or two.

O.K. let's get down to business: THE MAY LIST! (note: new species marked with '*'; new species for Pelee marked with '~')

Cackling Goose~
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Mottled Duck*~
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
King Rail*~ (note: heard not seen, therefore not on my life list)
Sora
Common Moorhen
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson's Phalarope
Laughing Gull~
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Lark Bunting*~
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 170
Total Warblers: 30
New Species: 2
New Species for Pelee: 5

Yet another great spring at Point Pelee National Park.

June 28, '08 - what this date meant to me

Since it has become a trend on Cerulean Sky to describe events of the distant past instead of describing events of today (part of the reason for this is my lack of birding this summer season due to a busy city schedule), I will include another post in the same vein. This time, I travel all the way back to June 28, 2008.

It was a simpler time. The Apple iPhone wasn't on Canadian shelves yet, gas prices were a mere average of 1.324, and no one had any idea that Steven Page was in possession of cocaine. It was also a bittersweet time in my life. I was still dealing with the fact that I had turned 23 just four days prior, thereby fearing the cruel effects of time and an ever-approaching quarter-life crisis. Pride week was reaching a close and I was able to spend a good amount of time celebrating on Church street, which was an amazing and gratifying experience. It was a week that saw the start of many new relationships and the end of others.

What does this all have to do with birding and why is Cerulean Sky becoming a journal of the author's mundane life, you demand??? Nothing. And that's why I'm going to finally get to the actual topic at hand. June 28, 2008 also marked a key development in my birding career. I was invited to the Toronto Ornithological Club's first retreat since the club's inception in 1934. The retreat (featuring a handful of councilors and honorary members) was held in Barrie and the goal was to lead the club in new directions (in conservation, membership, fundraising, guest speakers, etc.), as well as iron out the purpose/stance of the club and determine ways to improve it. Of course, I can't get into too much detail as the results of the meeting have not yet been published (and plus, you probably don't want to hear about the paddling ceremony they hold for new members anyway). Needless to say, I was honoured to be included in the retreat as the youngest member of the club and the newly appointed Acting Membership Leader (crossing my fingers that the council will vote me in as the official Membership Secretary in the fall).

I am thrilled to become a more active member of the club and I cannot wait for more duties to come my way. I am currently in charge of answering any email inquiries about membership, updating the membership list and contacting inactive members, and in the fall, I will be responsible for introducing guests at meetings and introducing new members to the club. I'm both nervous and excited (my public speaking skills certainly have plenty of room for improvement). However, I've already met some truly great individuals that I respect and look up to, I look forward to meeting more people in the Toronto birding community, and it is a pleasure to be part of the rich history of the club, especially due to its reputation.

The summer months are a slow time for the TOC (there are no meetings or outings) but once fall migration begins, I'll be a busy birding boy. My goal for this fall/winter/spring is to submit a lot more of my sightings from the GTA as the records committee in the city keeps detailed reports and lists. This is extremely important citizen science. Everyday people finding short-term and long-term trends in bird populations, migration patterns, and breeding evidence. The 2 Ontario Breeding Bird Atlases show just how far citizen science can lead us in conservation and the study of birds. If there is ever to be a 'Birds of Toronto' published, I want to feel like I really took part in it.

Things are genuinely exciting for me right now as a birder and I have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months. As for now, hopefully I'll finally get my May summary up soon (only 2 months late!).

Click here to see the Toronto Ornithological Club's website.

Day 9, May 18, 2008 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Birds

The final day. My Greyhound leaves at 6:15 at night from Chatham to arrive at Toronto at 10:30. My list stands at 169 species. My goal for the week: 170 species. I decide my 170th bird has to be Bobolink. I am convinced I will hear their maniacal warble if I just drive around the Onion Fields and concession roads north around Hillman Marsh. Gas prices are high. The sky shows rain. I still have to visit with various family members in the early afternoon. Panic sets in. I get desperate. I stop my van and look in vain. There are no Bobolinks. I give up.

I reflect. Why was it so important that I see 170? Is 169 insufficient? Does it say anything about my skills as a birder? No, probably not. But 170 is an even number and that annoyed me. Not to mention, I hadn't seen any Bobolinks within the Pelee Birding Circle, and yet, every night I got back home in the country, I could hear and see them taunting me from the back of our property where they nest annually. I'll let you in on a little secret, though. My final May list wasn't 169. It was 170. Here is how it happened.

As mentioned, I had given up. I arrived at home in the early afternoon, ready to drive with my parents back to town to visit my grandparents. They asked if I had hit 170. Oh if looks could kill. My glare must have instilled some kind of pity in my dad. As we were driving from Wheatley to Leamington, he suddenly slowed down on the highway and took an unexpected left. We were entering Kopegaron Woods. I groaned. He was reigniting that last ounce of hope I had left for one more species. I was bound to be disappointed, right? Wrong! Upon exiting the vehicle, we walked over to check out the patches of Trilliums that thrive in the small woodlot and I heard a drumming sound on a nearby tree. Assuming Downy, I let my eyes scan the trunk until they fell upon my 170th species for the week: Hairy Woodpecker.

Of course, all of this makes me seem like a raving lunatic but I'm really not. Keeping a May list is all in fun. I actually stop to enjoy the birds once in a while. I'm not going to trample a Prairie Warbler in pursuit of something common I haven't seen yet...say, an Eastern Screech-Owl that I could very well see any other time. Well, unless it's close by of course.

Perhaps it is a burden to keep a list. Probably not. Keeping a May list keeps me motivated. On an afternoon when I'm tired, dehydrated, sunburned, covered in bug bites, and hungry, it's the May list that keeps me going. What if something good shows up as soon as I leave? It's happened countless times. In fact, it happened this year: Lark Bunting!

Oh, and for the record, I never actually gave up looking for the Bobolink. Not until our van crossed the outer boundary of the Pelee Birding Circle. But once we got home, I spotted one; flying in its peculiar way, like a bird that has hit one too many windows. It perched on a fence post near our house. I smiled smugly and shouted to him, "Nyha nyah! I didn't even need you to make it to 170 so there." The bird cocked its head to one side and then flew from its perch. He could care less.

Lifer! White Admiral

On June 28, the day I went on a retreat with the Toronto Ornithological Club to Barrie (more on this soon), Hugh Currie and I decided to take a short birding trip after the retreat. We took a detour to a marshy area where there was rumoured to be a pair of Wilson's Phalaropes but didn't have much luck in the birding department. However, I did get to see a new butterfly for my list: White Admiral. It's one heck of a beautiful insect and reminded me that summer can be good for birds, but it's great for butterflies. I hope to get over to High Park a few more times to check out some of the areas that are good for butterflies there. Last summer, I found a couple new species and tallied a good list for the park.

Day 8, May 17, '08 - Time is dwindling and the day list shortens because I was only pursuing new species for my May list!

This Saturday ended up being a pretty relaxing day despite an attempt to look for new May birds. I spent most of the day birding with friends, the park was quite quiet, and I decided to just enjoy the weather and appreciate the few birds we could find. Looking for an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Summer Tanager (both on Woodland Trail) didn't pay off but I still had a fun last day for my week home.

Here is the day list, which is pretty dismal for the reasons I've mentioned as well as skipping Hillman Marsh for the day (it makes a HUGE difference for your numbers!):

Canada Goose
Mallard
Red-breasted Merganser (yes, that's IT for ducks!!!)
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Killdeer
Sanderling (yes, those are the ONLY shorebirds!!!)
Laughing Gull (the 2 birds at the tip stayed for quite some time)
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (new the for week! 1 bird at the tip)
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 75

Day 7, May 16, '08 - An attempt to restore Cerulean Sky to its former greatness (or at least reach that same level of mediocrity)

What a pain it is to exhume my May notes and try to figure out certain events from the 16th that made it stand out from the other days of birding on my week off. A post that should have been made a month and a half ago now emerges after everyone has stopped thinking about spring migration and are now looking forward to the summer breeders, the first fall shorebird migrants, and those (like me) who are really overzealous, are already itching to get out to a hawk tower to witness the first trickling in of raptors in 2008!

However, I'm determined to finish this series of posts if it takes me till May 2009. Here we are at day 7 when my week was dwindling down and I was running out of time to get new birds for the trip. Days became longer, friends and family lost track of my existence, Pelee became my home away from home, and the Bobolink became my new nemesis (refer to future post: "May Misses"). You can't waste a single minute, see.

The day list:

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
King Rail (the story: earlier in the week, the first reports came out of a King Rail calling at the northeast end of Hillman Marsh. Of course, this meant business. The first evening I had free, my mom and I took a trip to the location and sure enough, the rail was calling not far from the road and a group of onlookers listened attentively. Of course, the bird never came out of the reeds it was hidden in - that would be too easy - so I can't list it as a lifer, even it was my first time being int he presence of the species. A little frustrating, but neat to hear the bird's call anyway, and it does count as an addition to my Pelee, Ontario, and May lists, all of which have far less stringent guidelines than my Life List).
Common Moorhen - another tick for the week, 2 birds were hanging out near the location of the King Rail at Hillman
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 107 (Marianne and I had a discussion this spring recollecting years back when she and I went through great pains to try to get 100 species in 1 day. To think of this as a challenge now is almost laughable...it simply requires more time, more diligence, and a much better ear for sound identification).
Total Warblers: 19