Cerulean Sky

2011 Year List

2012-01-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

I really want to start making more consistent year lists and I'm finally tallying an official list even if it's not that great (considering I should be able to get 200 species in May fairly easily but only get 2 weeks off during the month!). eBird is making things easier by keeping track of all my lists I submit automatically and keeping a May List in Pelee helped but I hope I remembered every bird from the year. I'm low on shorebirds last year.

Here's my 2011 List, 185 of which were seen in Pelee in a 2-week period. Birds w/ a * beside them were lifers.
Total: 231

Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
King Eider*
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson's Phalarope
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Claucous Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Tern
Razorbill
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Snowy Owl
Barred Owl
Great Gray Owl
Short-eared Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Bell's Vireo*
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Gray Jay*
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee*
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northen Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
White-winged Crossbill*
Common Redpoll
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

First 10 Birds of 2012

2012-01-02T21:37:00.000-05:00

It's always fun to get a list of the first 10 birds you see in a new year. Usually I can get to 10 in one day but due to inclement weather on the 1rst, I only got 2 species! Ring-billed Gull and Red-tailed Hawk. On my train ride back to Toronto, however, I had much more success (other than knowing I was speeding right on by a Mountain Bluebird). Here's my first 10 species of 2012:

1) Ring-billed Gull
2) Red-tailed Hawk
3) House Sparrow
4) Rock Pigeon
5) European Starling
6) Horned Lark
7) American Kestrel
8) American Crow
9) Tundra Swan
10) Wild Turkey

Point Pelee’s Tenth Record of the Bell’s Vireo

2012-01-02T00:42:00.001-05:00

For those of you in Pelee during the Festival of Birds,
On Friday the 13th of May,
Something occurred in which no words
Describe the events what took place that day
That gave way to the act of twitching,
Sending folks to the Tip in herds,
And demonstrated how this “peaceful hobby” might be betrayed,
By the, shall we say,
The less than calm side of the birding world…?
The obsession with rare birds.

Herein lies the account of me, Jeremy Hatt,
As a witness to the insidious incidences that
Have changed the face of birding as I once knew it,
Join me, brace yourselves, and I’ll walk you through it.

To twitch is an addiction,
One I wish I never knew.
You’d think it only fiction,
But unfortunately it’s true.

See, there’re curious occurrences in a birder’s state of mind
When a rarity worth chasing is within reach,
And we do whatever it takes to find
The twitch; whether it be a trip to the beach,
Or perhaps crowding into a stranger’s backyard,
Or riding a bus into a nuclear plant,
Speeding to a farm for a black-bellied canard
‘Cause to not get there in time is enough to disenchant.

Still we journey to the north, to the south, to the moon,
And we’ll slog our way through a sewage lagoon.
We’ll stand in a blizzard till our fingertips are numb,
When hypothermia sets in we finally succumb.

But it’s all worthwhile once you get a good look
At the bird that was once just a plate in a book.

There’s really no feeling like it.

Purple Gallinule, Ivory Gull, Black-throated Sparrow,
Black-tailed Gull, Hermit Warbler, Anhinga, Willow Ptarmigan

Yes…I’ve missed them all.

But disappointments are quickly replaced,
When a new rarity is being chased,
Until you arrive to find no trace
Of the species of which you were braced
To see, but you’re told it just flew
And you stomp like a child who’s through
With trying. You leave, debased,
Your hopes, for now, erased.

But anyway, I have my own way of easing the pain.

You see,
When I miss a rare bird I begin again,
To imagine making clothing of them.
For like Emperor Claudius,
I’m no fan of the misses,
But would adore a ptarmigan cardigan.

‘O tell me Audubon, will birding ever be the same?
Now that its dark soul hath been revealed?
By chasing, Audubon; how do birders play this game?
Please exorcise these demons once concealed.
I once drew such pleasure
In Yellow Warblers and House Wrens,
Their beauty unsurpassed in sight and sound.
But lists now consume me!
No longer care of common birds, unless they bring me closer - to the crown.
The best list, the rarest, the birds we all must see to be
Allowed into the TOC,
To hold on to our dignity,
Worthy of repute, respect, renown.

Let’s get back to our subject, without further ado,
Bell’s Vireo described in a simple haiku.

faint chalk spectacles / one white wing-bar, yellow flanks / robin egg blue legs

It’s late morning when news of the Bell’s Vireo arrives.

Let me tell you, news travels fast in these hi-tech times
And the network in Pelee is truly sublime.
Some are notified by a munificent twitcher,
Who are anti-suppression, making others’ lists richer.
One learns of the bird from the big Book-O-Lies,
While another from the VC parking lot cries.
But o’er radios, iPhones, and similar toys,
Bell’s Vireo can be heard amidst the white noise,
And in whatever way one hears of the bird,
Reactions range from frantic to absurd.

Men drop their tillies,
Women willy nilly,
Their Philadelphia Vireo’s forgot!
All havoc breaks loose!
Chase the wild goose!
For now Bell’s Vireo ought to be sought.

I praise God I’m not leading any afternoon hikes,
‘Cause like the Jeans and the Bobs, and the Barbs, and the Mikes,
I’m stretching my legs and tightening my Nikes
For an event that beginners and experts alike
Will jog for or run for or sprint for or bike,
The chase for the species that’ll no doubt like-
Ly be the best bird of the spring,
A beautiful gem of a thing
That cannot be missed
Or else I’ll be miffed,
And nothing will lift
Me out of that rift,
Since this,
This is a gift,
And I’m NOT
Gettin’ stiffed!
This is MY park, and I’m gettin’ Bell’s Vireo on my list!

So like, I’m running along Tilden, refusing to fail,
But ahead stand a family group blocking the trail.
T’would be on another day quite ordinary
To inquire whether they’ve the Prothonotary,
But at present the Bell’s Vireo’s the dignitary,
A bird to make May’s list honorary.

I ponder polite words to shriek at these folks,
To get them off-trail and into the oaks,
A clear path made for us brutal blokes:
Chasers! Targets (sometimes rightful) of scorn and jokes.
For those who’ve not met one,
Conceivably a hoax.

But exist twitchers do, exist in the tens,
Poring over field notes in dim dusty dens,
Ticking their lists with hurried pens,
Bragging of records to imaginary friends.

They scroll through listservs as if it a race,
Edgy with impatience for the next rousing chase,
Extra bins in the glove box - just in case.
They’ll take off from their spouses without any trace.

Back to Tilden where a fellow chaser beside me with less of a heart
Unfastens his lunch bag and thinking he’s smart,
Withdraws the provisions not required to cart,
Sustentative weapons to make the crowd part.

“Get out of my way, you half-witted oafs!”
He booms as he hurls a half-eaten loaf.
The state of affairs now quite the pickle,
An all out war over pumpernickel…

I wedge my way through the writhing mass,
Onto the side with the greener grass,
Tilden’s exit close at last!
Forward freedom, ho! Fast!

I sprint through the parking lot and witness the crowd,
The birders are massing, ruthless and loud!
They jump over vehicles, trailers and curbs,
The lack of order downright disturbs.
Within the stampede I see a wild-eyed pair,
Eyebrows so high they’ve entered the hair.
They run with the crowd toward the tram loop,
Mouths frothing as they push to advance in the group.

Park staff adorns Kevlar so as to be bullet-proof.

They endeavor to bring order as the next tram arrives,
Doubtless they thought they could save a few lives.
Recalling the Painted Bunting twitch it’s no surprise,
That in this case they were forced to surmise,
That a Bell’s Vireo sighting could result in demise
As rules of conduct no longer apply.

O’ a licentious ride on the South-bound coach.
Survival of the fittest as we all encroach
On one another’s space, now everyone’s a-cram.
God gave the Devil surfeit strength o’er man.
In with the lion and out with the lamb.
Standing room only, in a sardine can.
O’ a licentious ride on the Tip-bound tram.

Clutching our scopes and our cameras and bins,
Our guides and our radios and provincial park pins,
The tram speeding faster than its wheels can spin,
The locomotive of human freight begins
To careen ’round corners as we pray for our sins.

Then the Driver SLAMMED on the brakes for there on the road,
Stood not a turtle, not a skink, not a frog, nor a toad,
But a trio of birders whose pointed fingers showed
The last known location of the Bell’s Vireo.

The Pelee trams lack doors so the heck with rules,
Each birder grabbed hold of their spotting tools,
And dashed out like they would from a shark in a pool.
One innocent beginner on that busload o’ fools,
Stared in horror as if his hobby was one for ghouls,
And he gaped as folks floundered and flew from the train,
And trampled strangers without any shame.
“Where is it?!” one cried, raising her white-knuckled fist,
“I need this bird for my Ontario list!”

Yes, folks. This is the story of a rather tragic show,
Point Pelee’s 10th record of the Bell’s Vireo.

And just when things could not have got worse,
The following words were spoken, putting an end to this verse.

“I’ve got it.”

It's 2012...and I'm blogging again...?

2012-01-01T22:49:00.000-05:00

With my head hanging in shame, I am pointlessly dredging up Cerulean Sky once again from the depths. I can't promise many posts but since my last post appears to be May of 2011, surely I can do better than that...?

Anyway, the reason I'm putting up a post is because I really want to add 10 species to my Ontario List in the upcoming year. It's a resolution in fact. My only fun one. The others involve saving money and running more. Yeah right.

I'm not going to air all my dirty birdy laundry here (there are some birds I'm missing that nobody has to know about...) but I do want to list some of the species I either a) predict I will see, or b) I really want to see.

I was fortunate in 2011 to add a number of species to my Ontario list including Great Gray Owl in the last few days of the year in Essex County, Black-legged Kittiwake, Bell's Vireo, and a # of species at Algonquin (thank you, Matt!) including White-winged Crossbill, Boreal Chickadee, and Gray Jay.

One of these years it would be fun to try a big Ontario year but I can get pretty obsessed w/ listing for those that know me so I would have to be careful that it wouldn't take up too much time. One of these years it will happen...?

So here are some Ontario birds I predict I'll add:

- Red-throated Loon (I know what you're thinking, and yes, I am shocked, appalled, and ashamed as well)
- The northern species I suck at: Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak
- Long-tailed Jaegar
- Ross's Goose
- Barrow's Goldeneye
- California Gull
- CAVE SWALLOW

And some I'd like to add, but probably won't:

Sabine's Gull
Franklin's Gull
Common Eider
Gyrfalcon
Swainson's Hawk
Curlew Sandpiper
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Northern Hawk-Owl
Western Tanager
Blue Grosbeak
Hoary Redpoll

And don't like, hold me accountable to any of these 'cause who knows what a year might bring, right?

May misses cont.

2011-05-22T01:07:00.000-04:00

You didn't think my May misses would end the day I returned to Toronto did ya? Certainly I have missed quite a few additional birds since leaving the area...and here they are!

Mystery Gull: A gull with yellow legs showed up at the Tip shortly after my return to the city. Although possibly a Herring Gull, the identification of the bird is still under dispute as people try to figure out the species. Possibilities include Yellow-legged Gull or Caspian Gull.

Laughing Gull - another Tip bird that didn't show up the week I was home or I would have made an effort for it.

Little Gull / Black-headed Gull - two more species that have both showed up at the Hillman Marsh Shorebird Cell after I have got back to the city. I love reading the Friends of Point Pelee birding reports but they are painful at the same time, seeing as they list a number of birds I have no chance to see!

Red-necked Phalarope - seems the Shorebird Cell is the place for misses for me...another phalarope species I'll struggle to get on my 2011 year list. Tomorrow I hope to get Whimbrel in Toronto however!

Western Tanager - the park experienced a 3-species Tanager day! I was not there...of course. The Western Tanager flyby off the tip would have been a lifer for me.

May List 2011 - Point Pelee

2011-05-18T14:04:00.002-04:00

My full May List for the Point Pelee Birding Circle from May 7-15th. This included Point Pelee National Park, Wheatley Harbour, the Onion Fields, Hillman Marsh and the Hillman Marsh Shorebird Cell, and Kopegaron Woods. On Sunday, May 15th, I only had 3 hours on a rainy morning to bird but I still added 3 to my May list bringing me to a total of 180 birds for the week.

Day 1, Saturday, May 7th - Point Pelee National Park

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
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: 69

Day 2, Sunday, May 8th - Point Pelee National Park, Onion Fields, Pelee Wings Nature Shop

Wood Duck
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Black Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Dunlin
Long-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Mourning Dove
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Chipping 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
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 81

Day 3, Monday, May 9th - Point Pelee National Park, Hillman Marsh

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Black Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Sora
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Wilson's Phalarope
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Golden-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping 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

Total Species: 88

Day 4, Tuesday, May 10th - Point Pelee National Park

Canada Goose
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Black Tern
Common Tern
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
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
Yellow-throated Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch

Total Species: 89

Day 5, Wednesday, May 11th - Point Pelee National Park, Pelee Wings Nature Shop

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Merlin
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Great Horned Owl
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned 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
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 92

Day 6, Thursday, May 12th - Point Pelee National Park, Kopegaron Woods

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Merlin
Killdeer
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Chimney Swift
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
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned 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
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 103

Day 7, Friday, May 13 - Hillman Marsh, Point Pelee National Park

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson's Phalarope
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Bell's Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned 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
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch

Total Species: 111

Day 8, Saturday, May 14th (half day) - Point Pelee National Park, Hillman Marsh, Wheatley

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
Wood Duck
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Common Moorhen
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Dunlin
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 83

Day 9, final day, Sunday, May 15th (3 hours) - Point Pelee National Park

Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Chimney Swift
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
American Robin
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole

Total Species: 51

Complete May List 2011

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Bufflhead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Least Bitten
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Sora
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson's Phalarope
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Bell's 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
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
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
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned 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
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 180

May Misses 2011

2011-05-18T10:39:00.001-04:00

I had an amazing year in Point Pelee this year. Between leading hikes for the Friends of Point Pelee and getting in 12-14 hours of birding a day, I had a chance to bird with close friends, see a lot of amazing species, and even see a lifer, which will likely be my best bird of the year: Bell’s Vireo. By the end of my 9 days home (May 7-15), I had tallied up 180 species, not bad for a week’s worth of birding. However, as always, there were some major misses, some painful pass-bys, some chases leaving me chagrined.

Here, with descriptions for those that especially hurt, are my May misses for 2011. They are birds that were reported that I didn’t see or birds that were likely around during the week I was home and didn’t get.

American Wigeon (!) – a sad miss, really, as this species was present in the Shorebird Cell @ Hillman. The perfect case of “oh, I’ll see them later in the week so I don’t have to look at them tonight…” Well, the next nights I looked they sure weren’t there. Or the night after that…

American Black Duck

Long-tailed Duck – this bird should be on my list as it was hanging out w/ the raft of Scoters/Scaups on the West beach for many days I was home and there were isolated sightings of flybys by the point but I still missed this species. In searching for it one day, I did happen upon a group of birders looking at Acadian Flycatcher, however, so that made up for it.

Common Goldeneye – a painful miss. I left the tip area on my last day (Sunday morning, 3 hours in the rain) and 2 minutes (2 minutes!!!) later, a female flew by.

Common Merganser – a much earlier migrant but some linger into May. I didn’t hear about any reports during my stay though.

Red-throated Loon – this bird continues to elude me. It seems that every time I’m NOT at the tip, there’s like 50 flybys. I’m sick of it, man! Like, come on…I’m down there every morning spending at least a good 15-20 minutes watching. Common Loons all over the place! Rant complete.

Horned Grebe – Another painful miss. Another hike had the bird a few minutes earlier off the tip but do you think I could find this little bird in the waves off the tip for my group? No!

American Bittern – So, there was apparently a reliable bird on Concession E that I kept trying for but failed. I also should have walked around late in the evening at Delaurier to the marsh side to listen for one but never had the chance.

Broad-winged Hawk

Swainson’s Hawk – This was my worst May miss. I actually think I may have had the bird on one of my hikes as I had a hawk I couldn’t immediately identify flying over and went through various field marks in my head and couldn’t come to a conclusion! Our hike moved on…and later I found out a Swainson’s juvenile was flying over. This would have been a lifer so I really wish I would have taken a closer look at this hawk to see if it was the Swainson’s.

Virginia Rail – never heard one during the week home unfortunately. Did hear the Sora whinny though on Shuster trail.

American Golden-Plover – Ugh. So many Black-bellied but no American Golden. I certainly looked whenever there was a flock of plovers but never got on one. They were definitely reported from the Cell in small numbers while I was home.

Solitary Sandpiper

Willet – A Willet was reported the first night I birded from the Shorebird Cell but I was only able to get around to there twice to try for shorebirds so I missed quite a few.

Upland Sandpiper – a Visitor Centre parking lot flyover happened when I was not there.

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper – another Cell sighting that I wasn’t present for.

Stilt Sandpiper

Wilson’s Snipe

Iceland Gull – I had so little luck with gulls this year it was embarrassing. Between Iceland, Glaucous, and Great Black-backed Gulls, which were all seen at the Tip on various mornings, I missed the chance of getting to 185 species.

Thayer’s Gull

Glaucous Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Parasitic Jaeger – I tried. I ended up running with Ron Tozer and Mike Tate for this bird to the end of Shuster Trail after it was reported flying north off the east side. We searched for quite some time but to no avail. Another bird was spotted in a feeding frenzy of gulls/mergansers far off the Tip one morning as well.

Eastern Screech-Owl – I cannot believe I didn’t get this species, a usually easy annual bird! There was one report of a visible bird from Kopegaron Woods that I tried for with Dave Milsom’s group but we couldn’t find it and ran out of light in the day to keep searching.

Whip-poor-will – neither heard nor seen.

Hairy Woodpecker – A few reports came from the Tip this year but I didn’t get on any. I also wasn’t able to make it to Wheatley Park to try. I looked in Kopegaron Woods but no luck there either.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Alder Flycatcher – although I had a few “Traill’s” flycatchers, w/o singing, I wasn’t about to call one an Alder just to get it for my list!

Fish Crow – The day after I leave and HERE COME THE FISH CROWS!!!

Tufted Titmouse – Why I cannot seem to ever get this bird is beyond me. Reports seemed to come in from all over the park during my stay but I was never fortunate.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Winter Wren – early migrant along with Golden-crowned Kinglet, both of which I didn’t end up getting. I did stop paying attention to kinglets after my first day though so that likely didn’t help.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Eastern Bluebird – truly pathetic that I didn’t get this bird as they were seen daily during my week home. Greg Stuart even had one a half hour before I reached the same spot and various birds were flying around the Tip that I never seemed to get either.

Prairie Warbler – After Swainson’s Hawk, my worst miss. If I added up the hours I spent searching for Kirtland’s Warbler (which I eventually saw) and Prairie Warbler, I would have spent 4 full hours on these 2 species. A strange part of me loves these kind of long searches though for the challenge.

Worm-eating Warbler – one seen at the Tip around the same time as the Bell’s Vireo was missed by me.

Louisiana Waterthrush – I have to hear this bird to mark it on my May list as I don’t always trust my own judgment ID’ing it from Northern. I also think it’s one of the most over-reported birds in spring.

Connecticut Warbler – missed a couple birds by a few minutes and then ran out of time on Sunday to look for a reliable bird on the road near White Pine.

Vesper Sparrow – I drove around the Onion Fields and around Hillman Marsh slowly listening for the Vesper Sparrow song or seeing their tell-tale white outer-tail feathers but didn’t get a single one. During the search I did see Eastern Meadowlark though.

Grasshopper Sparrow – Missed because of searching for the Kirtland’s Warbler, even though the 2 birds were in the same vicinity.

Purple Finch

Pine Siskin – another spattering of sightings around the Tip that I didn’t get.

Evening Grosbeak – like the Fish Crows, a species that decided to show up just after I left the park. There will be more of these to be sure!!

OFO Trip to Long Point / Norfolk County hotspots

2011-03-14T23:05:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was an incredible day. I was on call for only two canvassers through work, I knew my day was going to end at a birthday party for a dear friend, and I had the entire day to spend birdwatching with two great guys, as well as an enormous group of birders that were part of the OFO trip to Norfolk County.

eBird has made me far more aware of species abundance during particular seasons. Day lists are no longer presence/absences but now take a Christmas Bird Count-like approach of recording the number of each species in a particular area. This also ends up splitting day lists into regional/park lists. All of this is good. It makes you pay closer attention to common species, it increases your memory of parks and birding regions, and it also gives you a better idea of what can be seen in a specific area at a certain time of year in how many numbers.

Anyway, enough about the benefits of eBird. I could say other good things but I'll move on to my actual day.

We started on the road. It's pretty darn incredible how many Red-tailed Hawks you can get while driving if you just look. A while back, I was calling them out to a group of non-birders in the car and they couldn't believe how many hawks were around. It's actually pretty fun to keep a driving list...though counts quickly become an 'x' for the trip list. Do you really want to count every Canada Goose if it's not a CBC?!

Our first stop was Brantford Airport to try for Gray Partridge. This would be a lifer for me but we didn't have much time to look so we missed our first target. Oh, I was with Greg Stuart and Mark Field by the way (permission to use names granted). We then went on to the actual trip where the group met at St. Williams Nursery in Norfolk. The group was HUGE and the convoy of cars was HUGE but it still made for some good birding. I would go into detail about every stop we made but naahhhhh, I'll just give some highlights.

We had a really sweet-looking Canada Goose (hybrid? partial leucistic?). Its entire body was that of a regular CAGO but above the neck and head, usually all black on the neck and partially black on the head, the bird had a patchwork of white painted on. Boy did it stand out.

Got my first Killdeer for the year here. Also got my first Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles on the trip down. Wherever we were, there were always large flocks of Tundra Swans, one of the key target species for the trip and a sight to behold in Norfolk each early spring. Sandhill Cranes were in good numbers and we also got the third target species, Bald Eagle; two birds. The first was a 3rd? year bird with a transmitter on its back, a very interesting sighting.

Most of the areas where we expected ducks were frozen solid so the open fields were the place to look, especially where there was any standing water present. Good numbers of Redhead, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Northern Pintail, and Mallard along with Gadwall, American Wigeon, Canvasback, and (one of my favourite sightings for the day) a pair of Ring-necked Ducks.

Along the way we got Merlin and Great Blue Heron, a few Wild Turkeys, and later in the night (just before utter darkness), a single Short-eared Owl on the trip back. We were able to get it in the scope for a better look but the lighting made it fairly difficult to view. We had to be pretty patient for that guy, I tell ya. Waited for about an hour and a half in the cold and rain...only when we got back in the car did we drive by it and see it.

Passerines (including various feeder-birds) included Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatch, Song Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Horned Lark in good numbers along the road, Pine Siskin, and American Robin, among others.

All in all a great trip. Wish I could have made the post more interesting but I'm going to try to update here more often this year so I wrote this quickly before going to zzzzzzzzzzzz...........

Scotland Birding Poem for the Stephen Lewis Foundation

2011-03-05T12:13:00.001-05:00

Last year, for the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Dare to Remember Campaign, I took on the challenge of doing a poetry reading in front of the Toronto Ornithological Club to raise funds for turning the tide of AIDS in Africa. Though nerve-wracking, it was a fantastic experience. Below is my poem for my trip to Scotland that I performed.
______

Thomas Cook touchdown! We reconnect w/ terra firma in Glasgow on August 20…something or other; European Herring Gull on the tarmac. Lifer 1 of a 2-week vaca, I pray to Jupiter, Saturn’s son, for sun, for 1), and 2), for safety, and of course, 3), for a ton of lifers as well, ’cause…well, I’m a birder. And every bird that I see here is new to me and it is great to be free from my now-distant domicile. Parents in tow, they know it’s important I at least see a few birds but it’s so much more than that. It’s a chance to explore, and to learn, and to do, and to see, and people to meet, and believe me, I adored the UK, a short flight away, chances are 10/10 I’ll visit again.

Adjusting to the southpaw drive, we wheeled, saucer-eyed, past immense expanse of Heaven’s hills, heather’s purple hue reflected on our Hertz® Rent-a-Car’s sides, and a vast green country dotted w/ Tide®-whitened sheep next to stone-fences in rows below the sky-blue flag flying high in bona fide Scottish pride next to quaint homes. Look up! Buzzard swiftly soaring, swallows’ beaks goring insects midair, and there(!): a Kestrel hovers, some sort of ground-prey tantalizingly calling, feathers suddenly falling but no time for stalling, which I found appalling but apparently (I’m told) a car crawling on a four-lane that’s sprawling is not exactly safe.

Eventually feeling the coastal air and arriving in Ayr, Ayshire, I escape the machine-prison; a free man now w/ a city to explore and I implore my parents to let me score some more birds. Bins in hand and a breaky of blood pudding in bowels, I’m in my element. After seeing Shag on the Firth of Clyde, I decide to glide through inland suburbia; softly applied whisper-strides through flower gardens and postcard-image yards until my eyes lay upon a T.V. antenna where perched is a prim Greenfinch: a concoction of pea-soup olive, grit-gray, and jaundiced makeup.

Despite copious, if not infinite, dire warnings against the next stage of our expedition, we mutually agreed on a lil’ road trip of 376 miles (give or take), the trip feeling more like a horizontally-shifted 8-distanced country-wide breadth, plunging us into the nation’s depths. You see, like ordering haggis, if you’re visiting the UK, U see London along the way, K?

Well, hop, skip, and a jump from Ayr to London, England, our longest tricky-traffic trip, and a trio, including yours truly, tried a sublevel track-ride trek, eventually traipsing into the sunlight-treated tramping grounds of Trafalgar Square. But so, we were like the definition of tired but sun-induced pinpoint-pupils adjusted, and an overpriced city map enticing a slice of city-life exploration, we fought the lethargy and marveled at the sights.

From the spinning Eye, a high spy in the sky, I sigh at the beautiful city that lies beneath: the bustle, Buckingham and boastful boy Big Ben, balustrades and bellcasts. Beside the ride, two gulls flies by: Lesser Black-backed and the abundant Black-headed trailing behind; no surprise, not a Bonaparte’s in sight.

Cue the Cockney! Now creamed and in a right old two and eight, we pulled up our almond rocks, tidied our barnet, fixed our dickie dirts, and passed the bird after a queue w/ a few Britney Spears @ a rub a dub dub. Goodbye, London!

We drive - now - north to Edinburgh by motorway, the central artery; highways, veins; claustrophobic streets, a network of capillaries, alive w/ traffic. Our GPS screams as, around and around like Celtic knots, roundabouts abound, but my Dad, by now, drives sound-ly, and as soon our apartment on the Royal Mile is found, we, within steps from the grounds of Edinburgh Castle, shill out the pound-priced fee and look out from the citadel’s crown onto Old and New Town. Jackdaws and Carrion Crows crow, night-quilled wraiths, phantoms, a stone-throw below.

Next: Holyrood Park, past parliament, prime parts for picking up possible passerines despite a plethora of prickly plants. Pals, pack pants, please. The passerines? Meadow Pipit, Wren, Blackcap, and Chaffinch, Whitethroat, Song Thrush, Skylark, and Dunnock…all a synch.

Dad / a fit dude / in due time / does the World Du / does us proud / does the drive-thru / to Dundee. Add Eurasian Curlew, and European Goldfinch, cherry-lipstick-faced jolly fellow, form feathered w/ a pinch of salt & pepper, chip-chirping in glory: 2+ more to the inventory.

Before 4:00, for more, we rest-stop @ a forlorn forest: get to check out Grey Wagtail, Great Spotted Woodpecker, and Goldcrest. Leave that green for Aberdeen, a.k.a. Granite City. Cloud-tears descend on stone, sinuous snake-trails of silver sparkle on Silver City’s bones. A Pied/White Wagtail alights, its chalk-whites and ash-grays mimic the city’s cold tones; Mother Nature’s impressionist art.

We depart on an overnight voyage on the North Sea. Alone from the ferry stern, I discern a subhorizon swelling sea below a black void. Our small ship amiss smashes the surf, sprays mist amidst the abyss. My mother, un-merry seasick supine sailor, yearns for turf. Swears, ‘NEVER AGAIN!’ - to Shetland.

We ante-meridiem-land in Lerwick. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Wind. Well, whatever the weather, whether windy or wetter, we willfully work our way west (what w/ the wish of a wealth of oiseaux) to a wonderland of rocky cliffs @ Sumburgh Head, instead of giving in to Poseidon’s warning-whip. Northern Fulmars, feathered scythes, perform treacherous cliff-dives toward the icy waters, slicing through gale-force winds.

Next stop is a search of a beach and a church. Within minutes, we see Twite, Little Stint, and Lapwing: feathered jewels w/ a tint of ethereal ephemeral emerald bling bling. European Golden and Common Ringed Plovers - flying over in pairs like lovers are ancestral Rock Dovers. Oh, brother…sorry for my smidgeon of sin in the birding religion. I know, I know, the correct name is pigeon.

On the side of the road, we stop and share a stare w/ a birding pair @ a Willow Warbler and a Fieldfare. They’re Americans from New York; corporate cats, who, canceling the cruise and casino craps, chose to chase Common Cuckoo. Their countenance a clue? Sharing a quip, they coyly catch me in their ruse as there near the cruck of a construct, cool as a cucumber, squats said cuckoo. To them, I cry, ‘Cheers’!

On Spiggy’s Sandbank / is a washed up plank / And abutting that plank / is a stately Redshank / W/ fire-orange legs / a diffusely mottled flank / and hind-wings blank / this abundant shorebird / in numbers outrank / and was enough to crank / me to 43 lifers / and a full fuel tank / of energy to burn / to the opposite of dawn / where, stifling a yawn / I laid eyes upon a swan / in a semi-oval pond / a Whooper that I fawned.

The next day, our itinerary took us north, which meant 2 more boat rides. My mom, after a terrific sigh, cried, “Gravol, stat!” The pharmacist replied, “Ah, a dash of diphenhydramine and a dollop of 8-chlorotheophylline to make dimenhydrinate. Aye.”

Two ferries later, we land on the island of Unst. Past towns Belmont and Baltasound, bypassing Balliasta on the B9086, w/ Bonxies over Burrafirth, we arrive @ the remote reaches of the Northern-most braes of Scotland (where apparently the residents’ ancestors were quite fond of alliteration). Away from the main, the foreboding sky points to rain but before our descent on the longitudinal ladder, my eyes are trained upon plain Jane: my first Garden Warbler on this here island chain.

Again on boat; row, row over H2O. Near the hull: Arctic Skua and Common Gull. Reverse now from U-N-S-T to the island of Yell, a bit pell-mell on the winding roads to ferry two via the blue dotted map-line between the 2 tiny towns Ulsta and Toft. A braw day no more, soft rain turns to water-pour galore, but not before adding Rock Pipit to the score. Back to the B&B / away from the shore / wet to the core / birding quit cold turkey / too damp / no more!

Lo! Long live the Leslies! As luck would have it, in an unlikely visit to the local Historical Society, we land ourselves a long-shot at locating relatives in Exnaboe, a lovely locale lying low as Shetland geography goes. Discovery made, we meet Alice Walker (quite the talker), a fine lass w/ a scissor-sharp memory. Fascinated by our ancestral past, we pass the afternoon @ Alice’s pastoral pad. Aprés tea and cake intake, we discover a gap of only a few generations separation. Preparation of climbing the family tree and filling in the gaps, perhaps, bring us closer than we thought to this prior perfect stranger from across the pond. Dad, a newborn family history junkie, was elated w/ our new-fangled friend from the same Scottish monkey.

Gannets, Guillemots, Eiders, & Oystercatchers in droves @ the harbour, we depart from Shetland but now we be landlubbers unprepared for sea swells even greater (!) than before; my mother muttering something about The Perfect Storm. The journey equates the time it takes for a half rotation around Earth’s axis. Green-faced, Mom fell from the poop-deck and stumbled on sea-legs, shaking to the core, hair scraggly as she tore it from its roots, cursing the Atlantic and threatening the poor old chap w/ fisticuffs. Her gift to the ocean? A deluge of foodstuffs.

Driving cross country counterclockwise 133.3 ̅ km., cue the hour-hand clockwise 90˚, and we reach our next destination, Inverness.

Now, in Inverness, I confess, a mess I was. Less than distress, but that anxious feeling you get when your opponent is two moves from checkmate in chess, but…I digress. You see, the trip close to close, I was a bit morose having not got close to my goal of 75 oiseaux. My spirits rose though, provoked by my scope, pulled by fate-rope, helping eyeball a Little Egret on the Beauly Firth. Not a Great, too small a girth, and golden slippers gave birth to the ID of this bird, like me, quite far from its home turf. I guess the phrase ‘save the best for last’ is an apt way to end this section of pseudo-rap.

From Inverness and past Loch Ness, we drive, not as the Rook flies, but a circuitous wind through scenery so astonishingly grand, it makes one ponder a creator’s hand in designing such beauty in the Scottish highlands.

Thus forth, for the purpose of time, I’ll speed up this rhyme by listing leftover lifers I managed to find.

Grey Heron: mantle elephant epidermis, forehead ivory white.

Greylag Goose: well-known Canadian domestic, here an untamed wanderer; ashen leading edge the hue of a storm cloud.

Tufted Duck: chlorophyll sheen, green feathered fedora.

Wood Pigeon: 43 cm. of C4 explosives, winged machete crashing through the forest making Stock Doves look like hummingbirds.

House Martin: conspicuous enamel rump preceding a fine fork-tail, Concord grape nape and sickle-shaped wings contrasted w/ Elmer’s Glue®-white central ventral feathers proudly pushed forward on telephone tethers.

Robin: dun-backed diminutive extrovert, a wee but pugnacious poster-boy of the Old World.

Blackbird: body that of a moonless night, solar flare bill, and electric-yellow eye ring.

Magpie: AK47 assault rifle chatter, Glasgow’s gregarious gang bird.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish –
Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit.

Treecreeper: coffee-/cocoa-/cream-/caramel candy-coloured coniferous crawler.

Hooded Crow: the unmistakable Corvus cornix, Carrion’s close cousin; tweed-vested, black V neck-breasted.

& Bullfinch: Britain’s Pepto-Bismol®-bellied buffaloes, a bird so mindblowingly beautiful it burned my intra-skull spaghetti, melting it down to obliterated jelly-mush.

Despite all these successes / I had one epic fail / Extensive searches to no avail / The quintessential Holy Grail / I did not see a Capercaill.

Arriving in Glasgow, waiting for the plane, I (jokingly) complain that, in vain, along w/ Nessie, my aim of 75 lifers was missed. But I admit that 65 is still a fair list and the memories of the trip certainly top a twist to the wrist or a fist to a cyst. Our airship took flight and I sat there with like, an insuppressible lopsided smile. Looking over @ Daddio reading up on the Leslie clan I said, ‘I could get used to traveling’. Reading glasses removed, he replied, ‘well, haven’t you always wanted to go to Japan?’ And just like that, the sperm meets the egg in the first stages of a plan.

Arrowhead Provincial, GBBG vs. LTDU

2011-03-05T11:42:00.000-05:00

2011 has been a year of little birding so far. One might think that unemployment would allow for days upon days of birding...but, unfortunately, when all your mind is doing is broken-record-ing on 'I need a job' skip 'I need a job' skip and so forth, there is an annoying guilty, nagging feeling when you're enjoying yourself. Maybe that's just me. Oh, but I'm employed now so I've been able to get out birding again. In fact, I wanted to get out this morning, but for any of you Toronto folks, you know we are currently under a blanket of dreariness and rain.

Anyway, there have been some highlights in my well-kept-secret birding life of late. One, which wasn't really a birding trip, but an outdoor-loving trip nonetheless, involved a group of my friends heading up to near-Huntsville, Ontario, to stay a night in a cabin and do some snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. We visited Arrowhead Provincial Park, quite a nice area from what I observed between panting for air and crashing on every hill we skied on (personally I think 'mountain' a more apt name than 'hill' but a slope one degree below a level plane could hardly be called a mountain I guess). When we first arrived, we were heading to a warming station to take a break from the walk between the car and the station (which we parked next to). As I was walking by the window of the station, from within, unknown to me, my best friend from back home-Leamington saw someone that looked familiar, cocked her head to the side and got up to investigate. Opening the door, she caused a noise that caused me to turn around and cock my head to the side. MARIANNE??!?!!?!!??!! What a great surprise. Warm hugs and frozen tears followed by boiling-over-the-pot excitement for the approaching spring migration.

Next highlight came last weekend at Humber Bay East in Toronto. Our group of birders was counting the waterfowl off the bay (Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Mallard, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Ruddy Duck, Trumpeter and Mute Swans, White-winged Scoter, Common and Red-breasted Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup, Canvasback, and American Wigeon), when one of us spotted a Great Black-backed Gull showing some odd behaviour a ways off. The bird was skimming the surface of the water, looking down into the water when it was landed, wings raised, and bursting up into shorts bouts of flight a meter or so before landing again. Curious, we watched and waited. To our surprise, after a minute or so, a Long-tailed Duck came to the surface for air, only to be stabbed at by a massive beak before diving to the depths again for escape. We were watching a hunt. This lasted for about 20 minutes before the Long-tailed Duck dove for one last time, exhausted, and ended up on the surface, immobile. The gull, not wasting the opportunity, bent its prey's wings to bone-breaking angles, and wrenched the duck's head under the surface of the water, inducing eventual death. The Long-tailed Duck gave a few final kicks, its life-force draining, a last struggle; succumbed, accepted its fate, its last thoughts clouded by fear and pain.

Eventually, the gull broke skin with its bill, a sword-stab, and we watched as strands of red material were pulled from the belly of the duck, the gull finally able to relish the coppery taste of blood and the feast it fought hard for. A few Herring Gulls circled, perhaps thinking of stealing some of the meal but the Great Black-backed Gull came out the victor.

Alarming Trend

2010-07-18T13:08:00.000-04:00

As many of our bird species decline from year to year, so do the number of blog posts on Cerulean Sky. In looking at the stats on how many posts I've made per year, there has been a steady decrease.

I'm sure part of the reason for this is that when you first start a blog, there is the initial excitement of making it interesting, of getting as many posts out there as possible, to try hard to promote readership. I would like to think my writing has improved over the course of Cerulean Sky but to improve one's writing, one should write more, la?

So, when I see that in 2007, I had 68 posts, then 48 in 2008, then a lowly 29 in 2009, and a measly 13 so far in 2010, I feel rotten.

And what's up with the lack of features on blogger.com anyway? I mean, it's been alright...but a friend tells me that with Wordpress you can get stats of how many people visited, what posts were most popular, what country the reader was from, etc. Man, that's enticing. Like, I know a personal blog on birding is going to have limited readership and I'm perfectly ok with that but who knows. If I scaled up a bit and put more effort into it, maybe I could make Cerulean Sky something more.

and.....well, the fire alarm in the building I'm in is going off so I guess I better sign off?!

A poorly written update on my life with birds

2010-07-18T12:43:00.000-04:00

It's been so long since I posted anything on Cerulean Sky that I'm not even going to bother with an explanation/excuse for where I've been, or try to write about how much birding I've been doing in the last couple of months. It's been amazing and that's that.

After a conversation on Twitter through direct messages with limits of 140 characters, I ended up scoring a great contract to do species at risk research at the Six Nations Community of the Grand River. It's hard to believe really as it all happened so quickly. I'm also doing reptile studies on the side through another contract with the Long Point Basin Land Trust.

Living near Turkey Point in Norfolk County and birdwatching at Six Nations has simply been a pleasure. In a short period (I started this work in June), I feel I have improved my birding skills fairly significantly, my passion is flared up more than it's been in some time, and I've seen a number of species in juvenile form that I had no previous experience with. Norfolk County is VERY different from Essex County. Whereas Essex County is farmland, farmland, farmland, Norfolk has a significant percentage of Carolinian Forest still remaining. It's amazing what a difference it makes in the bird life.

There's so much to write about really. So many great experiences, so much I've learned and still will learn. Life just has a way of putting my blog on the backburner while I'm out experiencing it all.

My trip to Scotland at the end of August will mark the ending to the research at Six Nations and it will be a sad farewell but what a trip to look forward to. I went ahead and bought a couple more guides to study beforehand: Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe (fairly beginner but it's great for carrying in the field) and Collins Scottish Birds, the first field guide I've found for the specific birds of Scotland.

It's been an amazing year for me when it comes to birding. From leading hikes at Pelee in the spring to doing field work for species at risk to a trip to a new country where many lifers await me, it's all been fantastic.

Lack of Updates

2010-05-16T22:18:00.000-04:00

Rrrrrr Cerulean Sky is lackin' any updates of late! I'm now 3-4 trips behind on reporting my lists and where I've been birding.

However, I will update soon. I figure if I post that I'll update soon, I actually will update soon. So...updates soon.

Upcoming posts (hopefully):

- Oshawa Second Marsh TOC hike with Tyler Hoar as leader
- Leslie Street Spit with Mark
- Home to Pelee with Marianne and my Friends of Point Pelee hikes!
- Ravine birding with Lee Eric

Pelee Days in T-minus 2 Days

2010-05-09T11:49:00.001-04:00

This will not be a long post. This will not be a humorous post, or a well-thought out post, or even a very entertaining post. It is simply a post to say that I will be in Point Pelee National Park this Tuesday. I can't wait to see the people, the birds, to feel the energy.

Last year at this time I had hit the halfway point of my trip to Pelee. Two wonderful weeks. This year, I only get 3 days off to experience the Festival of Birds. I'll be leading my first-ever hikes for the Friends of Point Pelee, which I'm elated about. It will be a whirlwind, a brief stopover before I head back to the city. Of course, there are great places to bird here...Thommy Thompson (had a great day of birding there yesterday), High Park, Colonel Sam Smith's, Humber Bay, Thickson's Wood, Second Marsh...the list is staggering really) but none of these places will ever have the same effect on me as Pelee. My home away from home.

And of course, Happy Mother's Day.

The Bird Detective - The Inspiring Stutchbury

2010-04-29T23:53:00.001-04:00

Just got back from Bridget Stutchbury's book launch for her second book on birds, this one titled The Bird Detective: Investigating the Secret Life of Birds. Of course, a highlight was getting my copy signed along with Silence of the Songbirds but aside from her celebrity in the birding community, Bridget is a wonderful, passionate woman who is making great contributions to the study of birds, and to bird conservation.

She has once again opened my eyes to bird-friendly coffee, which I need to start making happen in my life. I've quickly fallen into the trend of a coffee a day and I've gotta start being more aware of my choices and how they affect our North American migrants.

After watching her presentation, I hope beyond hope that she soon writes a third book on bird migration. It is unbelievably fascinating how far birds fly in such short time spans, filling the forests and skies as they travel between the north and the south. Bridget has a way of choosing a few perfect examples of how birds seem to defy what is possible for these animals to accomplish and I think it would make for a great read (after further research of course...her research in migration still seems to be in its infancy).

I highly recommend picking up a copy of her book. She's an inspiration. Really. Not only is she passionate about her work but she walks the talk. I can guarantee her ecological footprint is pint-sized. An inspiring night.

eBird - a few observations

2010-04-21T23:10:00.002-04:00

As I increase my use of eBird, I am starting to appreciate what the site has to offer and its importance (I do think there is a bright future for this method of recording bird sightings). Of course, there's nothing like having regional coordinators and Alan Wormington of the Pelee Birding Circle and Roy Smith of the GTA are amazing at keeping records and helping with data collection. This is obviously the best way to submit sightings as it's more personal and you can get a dialogue going around your personal records, often with great feedback like whether the bird you saw was reported around the same time, whether your sighting is record early or of significant note for the number of birds you saw, etc. And, every once in a while, they'll tell you you were probably wrong. That's often a good lesson, too.

However, eBird is a great tool. It can feel pretty impersonal but at the same time, there's just so much potential when more people use the site. Instant graphs, trends, sharing your sightings with members of your group, a place to keep your lists while also contributing to a larger database, and a much faster way of getting your list saved without having to type out every species in a word document (which I've been doing for years). I feel I need to spend a bit more time really experimenting with some of the features to get a better grasp on what the site is capable of.

Another incredible benefit of eBird is that it gets you to pay more attention when you're out there. I'm a bit of a lister at heart so I love the feeling of having not only a list for the day, but a number of lists for each location you've visited in that given day. I notice that I pay more attention to every bird I see now, and make a mental note of which species I've seen where, sometimes how many. Maybe a bit obsessive but it sure keeps me more focused (and often makes me stay out longer).

Eventually, I plan to input every list I have stored away in my records. I have lists from countless trips home in the spring, trips to Florida, to the east coast, Long Point, and countless others. Lists that all exist in hard copy as ticks on a regional checklist booklet. It'll be a long undertaking but I plan to get all of my lists I've ever kept onto the site.

Unfortunately, there are many additional features I wish eBird had. However, the site likely will have them given time and donations. One such feature for example...can I see the total number of species I reported on a given day? If I can, I don't know how to do it easily.

For now, I realized you can download your lists in an excel file, easy for copying and pasting right into Cerulean Sky. Great for posting day lists.

My lists for Sunday, April 18, 2010.

Ashbridges Bay

Species Number reported

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 4
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Ring-necked Duck 2
Lesser Scaup X
Greater/Lesser Scaup X
Long-tailed Duck X
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser 8
Double-crested CormorantX
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Iceland Gull 4
Common Tern X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 2
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Brown Creeper 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch X

Total: 38

Lakeshore Blvd E & Leslie Street

Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 1
Ring-billed Gull x
Rock Pigeon x

Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park)

Canada Goose X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Greater/Lesser Scaup X
Long-tailed Duck X
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Double-crested CormorantX
Killdeer X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin X
European Starling X
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Sparrow X

Total: 28

Colonel Sam Smith Park

Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 1
Green-winged Teal (American) 1
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Red-necked Grebe 9
Western Grebe 1
Double-crested CormorantX
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Tree Swallow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X

Total: 21

While Driving

Canada Goose X
Ring-billed Gull X
Rock Pigeon X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Common Grackle X
House Sparrow X

Total: 7

Lifer! Western Grebe

2010-04-19T00:11:00.002-04:00

With its sinister red eyes, horn-like protrusions on either side of its head, emotionless expression, and razor sharp bill, the Western Grebe is the devil incarnate; an evil creation dredged up from the fiery wastelands of Hell, spreading its malice eastward out of its natural western North American range.

For three years, this malevolent foe has managed to avoid my many searches, each more desperate than the last. Three times in one year I took the hour-long commute to Ash Bridges Bay and the Leslie Street Spit to locate my nemesis, and each time I came back more miserable. Then this year, another bird showed up at Saddington Park, a stone's throw outside of the GTA, too far for transit, too expensive to travel the distance by cab. Every birdwatcher in Toronto had seen this species a billion times by now so asking for a ride was useless. "Immaterial!" they scoffed, "I've seen that species 473 times this year. No better than a Starling. I couldn't stand to look at it again."

My desire to see the Western Grebe sent me into a spiral of demented decision-making. Every Ontbirds post reported that the bird was impossible to see without a scope. So what did I do? I went to every location without a scope, once in a heavy downpour to Ash Bridges Bay for what felt like the 26th time. As I stood in the pounding deluge, tears streaming down my pathetic facade, I could sense the bird-demon's presence, sneering at me from the exact distance I couldn't identify it, bobbing behind the waves, its head thrown back in a wild cackle, knowingly driving me to the edge of reason.

I contemplated a solemn walk into the crashing waves, never to be seen again but a single thought kept me going that day. I dreamed a glorious dream of smashing my binoculars into the grebe's head, hearing its skull crush on the pavement, white fragments of chipped bone flying, the blunt object splattering its brains open on the rough ground, the rest of its body writhing and twitching in agony, its lobate-webbed feet scrabbling across the stones as I pick it up and sink my teeth into its flesh, steaming hot blood spurting wildly from my mouth, down my chin, and across my tongue, reveling in the coppery taste as I rip out its feathers and throw them over my head, a grisly confetti falling down on my nihilistic celebration.

Well, I have likely lost a few readers at this point. For those who were brave enough to continue on, I will simply end anti-climatically. I saw my first Western Grebe today at 1p.m. at Colonel Samuel Smith Park, ending a three year battle. I truly believe it was the same bird every time, tormenting my every waking hour.

And as much as I'd like to leave this post with a sappy ending describing the excited drive with Mark across the city after seeing the posting on Ontbirds, a description of how beautiful the bird was, and how it was only 50 metres away and actively feeding amongst Red-necked Grebes, and that the sun beamed down and birds sang and dropped rose petals in front of our steps as we left the park, I just don't have the energy. All that matters is that it's over. Three years of agonizing pain I put up with searching for my nemesis. Now I can put a tick next to this awful bird in my field guide and move on.

I won. End of story. Who's next?

When a House Finch Sings

2010-03-20T14:31:00.010-04:00

On my walk to work, I pass a stand of large evergreens abutting an abandoned lot, a former Kodak factory my colleague tells me. The lot is surrounded by a chain-link fence wearing a barbed-wire crown, a jail of twisted metal. He says that there are poisonous chemicals in the land now that will take years to clean up properly, toxic leftovers from manufacturing film. There is little sign of any cleaning being done. Mountains of steel, cement, and rubble on brown dirt; on a rainy day, tears falling on mud. All of it a lonely wasteland, somehow beautiful, an empty lot left orphaned by the digital age.

However, inside are signs of returning life. Green grasses press through gray cement, saplings tremble skyward, shaking like a newborn lamb, a squirrel finds shelter in a broken, rusty pipe. And birds sing.

In the evergreen stand, a male House Finch, deep red splashed over dull brown, alights onto an open branch, testosterone boiling, a single-minded purpose of a mate and offspring. He opens his conical bill, head back, throat vibrating, and emits a stunning series of warbles and whistles, steady tempo descending. His drab counterpart appears, male and female together, a promise of new life.

On this empty street, the song releases a cascade of childhood memories, a soundtrack to my reminiscence. Other avian music has a similar effect. The song of the Horned Lark takes me back to my farm, heat bathing fields of wheat and hay, desperate roots sucking dry dirt, dust twisters, shimmering haze on the horizon. The hoot of the Great Horned Owl moves me back into my childhood bedroom, lights out, crickets chirping, moonlight through the screened window reflected on a Jurassic Park poster, stacks of books, a baseball glove, and muted noise from the television down the hall.

The House Finch takes me to another place. A private gasp, I stop, my eyes closed, and let the nostalgia wash over me, my mind now back in Wheatley in the early 90's, my grandpa's backyard in a small suburb, mid-July, big hot sun beaming in a large blue sky, parents at the picnic table drinking coffee, discussing town gossip, church sermons, hard times; us kids running through a sprinkler, wet grass between our toes, lemonade on our laughing tongues, carefree.

The memory of my grandpa is so vivid. For a brief moment I forget his passing, the three years of his body failing, the dementia and the pain. Instead I remember Saturday mornings, feeling tiny in his big navy GM Pontiac as he drove us past the four corners where Talbot and Erie Street intersect, Chimney Swifts twittering overhead, electrical wires black with starlings, a right turn to the Car Barn for breakfast. Him and I would sit at the same table every week, he smiling at the waitress and conversing with his friends from the Odd Follows Lodge or the Wheatley Legion, me a child clasping a perspiring glass of cold orange juice surrounded by old age, getting lost in the deep voices of proud men and the smell of coffee, eggs and bacon, boisterous talks of unions and pensions, taxes, crop sales, sports, doctors appointments, wives and grandchildren, politics, and changing times.

After a drive down the old #3 highway along Lake Erie, we'd head back to Leroy Street and I'd spend the afternoon with my grandma, cleaning the house and watching the melodrama unfold in afternoon soap operas or television judges presiding over small-claims court, a breeze steadily breathing into the living room window past billowing white curtains, the distant sound of a lawnmower. I was always mesmerized by my grandparents' bird feeder outside their back door, a palette of primary colour: Blue Jays, cardinals, and goldfinches. Sometimes an Indigo Bunting or a Ruby-throated Hummingbird would fly in and I'd yell excitedly for my grandma to come look; she never once missed the bird.

In the backyard, away from the little shed I always found mysterious where my grandpa kept his tools, avoided for fear of a hornet sting, I watched the martin house he cleaned every year to stop the House Sparrows from moving in. Above, Purple Martins, true aerial acrobats, streaks of violet zipping here and there over the lawn, catching insects and darting back into their nest box; below, an American Robin hopping through the grass, a sudden lunge, a tug-of-war with an earthworm, a juicy morsel, the bird's brick-red breast feathers concealing the muscle, straining; and in the evergreen stand abutting the yard, a male House Finch singing and singing.

Then, a truck drives by and just like that, I'm torn from my memories, now fading; a pile of discarded McDonald's cups at my feet. I continue my walk to work and I'm happy for my childhood and simpler times. In the distance, I see skyscrapers, the CN Tower, a labyrinth of streets and highways, corporations, small business, diverse communities, and those crucial little pieces of protected natural land. Dizzying opportunities in a great city, I can't help but appreciate it all, this vastness that surrounds us, our constant struggle to leave a lasting impression, to better ourselves and our city, and the experiences that make us who we are, that connect us. I smile.

A day of blunders

2010-03-14T17:59:00.002-04:00

No force in heaven or on earth could have brought anyone out into the monstrous weather of Saturday, March 13th in Toronto. A sensible (sane) human being would have taken one look at the weather forecast and hid in fear under warm covers, sanctuary, subsequent comfort and a content smile under a mountain of warm sheets, hours passing dreaming of a summer afternoon, green meadows, rainbow flowers, wet footprints evaporating on poolside flagstones, birdsong and cicadas.

Instead, ~~Mark Field~~ and I (for his sake, I will conceal his identity and call him Jeb from now on to protect him from mockery, and perhaps shame, from his family and friends) stumbled out into the morning grayness, two dopes with high hopes, the thought of new spring migrants tugging at the centre of their bodies, moving them forward against reason's will. Environment Canada predicted 30% chance of showers until 10a.m., then onto 90% by 10:01a.m., and then the y axis of the graph just wasn't high enough, percentages only going to 100, you see. We tried other weather stations to see if perhaps the dependable EC could be wrong, but all other reports just told readers to not be stupid and stay inside.

Our morning began with a missed bus. Heavy with gear, we ran toward the bus screaming out to the driver who, in seeing a fumbling pile of binoculars and galoshes approaching, looked back from his rear-view, eyes wide with horror, foot to the pedal, tires of the bus squealing sending exhaust and sharp stones into our faces as it peeled out of High Park station. Perhaps I exaggerate slightly but that's certainly how it felt. We trudged around High Park, waiting for the next bus that would eventually take us to our destination...or past our destination rather, as we missed our stop. We had arrived, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Lambton Woods.

From a large bridge overlooking the park, we could see a trail next to the Humber River, which on any other day innocently winds through the park with calm, clear water where folks take peaceful canoe rides and Mallards rest on its surface, raising cups of tea to their beaks and discussing poetry. Today, the river looked like something out of a disaster film, brown raging waters filled with dead things and debris. I looked for destroyed homes floating by. Daring to overthrow science's studies of human intelligence, we decided, since we could see no other trails, to descend down a muddy rock-slide that seemed to connect to the river-abutting trail at its base. Our boots now weighed down by mud clumps and slashed by razor-sharp rocks, we finally were able to start birdwatching. Not even a starling was present.

Dedicated, we persisted. Eventually we found signs of life: a robin, a few chickadees and juncos, and 2 White-breasted Nuthatches. Our spirits rose infinitesimally. We saw Mallards and pigeons. We got colder. The sky grew more ominous. We grumbled. I felt something moving around in my rubber boot and figured one of my toes must have fallen off. I started to look in my pockets for paper and a pen to scribble down my will. Jeb searched his bag for a flare gun and rescue.

And then, we arrived at a spot that made the day at least somewhat worth the battle. A little oasis out of the wind where I immediately saw my first grackle of the year (second actually, but Jeb missed the first one I saw so I'll just pretend this was our shared first). House Sparrows and Mourning Doves abounded, both Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers popped out, giving a great size comparison, a Red-tailed Hawk flew over, my first Red-winged Blackbirds made an appearance, some Blue Jays flew through, and a Song Sparrow, bringing light to an otherwise dark day, lived up to its name and sang its heart out. The despondent dirge of the morning lifted for a time. A short time.

The weather decided to test us even more. After picking up a couple of American Black Ducks for our day list at a small pond at the park's north entrance (small pleasures), we took a break to have a coffee, a bite to eat, and to count our day list. The day list tally taking perhaps 3 seconds to complete, we took off for Humber Bay Park, a bizarre decision that only a deranged lunatic could possibly make. Rain falling in horizontal sheets, we dashed to the subway to catch another bus. The driver muttered something at us as we slopped off the bus, two wet rats on a death march toward the unforgiving swells and waves crashing against the lakeshore. Not a bird could be seen except a few mangled gulls struggling against fierce winds, sending bloody feathers in all directions.

Freezing rain like shards of broken glass pierced our faces and punctured our eyes, the salt of our tears burning raw skin. Rushing water raged at our ankles, a car was lifted off its tires and sucked into the maelstrom. I expected a cow to fly past in the wind but didn't see any. I may have heard a distant, terrified moo though. Still we fought onward. It may be that with these strong east winds, the ducks are taking shelter in the western bay, I suggested. I looked over my shoulder to see if the grim reaper was looming behind me. Then we reached the breaking point. That time where you finally realize what you're doing and where you are. Reality sets in and even the birds can't keep you going. You think to yourself, alright even I think this is crazy.

Standing between us and the next section of the park was a wide expanse of brown muck. Already sopping wet, we decided to try to cross it rather than swing back all the way around the trail we had just came from. Always the gentleman, I let Jeb cross first. Then, thinking my brain had finally snapped, Jeb started shrinking before my very eyes! Wait, not shrinking...sinking. I looked down and saw wet mud oozing over his boots. I pushed forward to try to lend a hand and found myself now sinking into the mud as well, a mad image entering my mind of a dog-walker sauntering through the park in the spring, tripping over the rib of one of our half-buried corpses, decaying faces still stuck in grotesque sneers, the dog beginning to chew at the fleshy remains of my skull. I took out my cell with plans of calling my mom to tell her I loved her before the mud went over my head, my hand still grasping the phone above the ground, its signal lost in the storm. By some miracle, we finally trudged through nature's death trap and dragged our bodies inch by inch back to the park's entrance.

Somehow, beyond belief, we managed to continue birding. Every atom in the universe was telling us to stop but my right hand was twitching for more year birds...and by golly we actually saw some. Our hands frozen to our binoculars, we found Trumpeter Swans, Long-tailed Ducks, Gadwall, Mallards and American Black Ducks, American Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. Finally giving up, we made our way to the streetcar and called it a day, looking forward to the next chance to birdwatch, no situation too awful to ever stop the insanity.

Our day's list (in no discernible order):

Ring-billed Gull
Mallard
Canada Goose
Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-capped Chickadee
European Starling
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Black Duck
Killdeer
House Sparrow
Common Grackle (FOY)
Red-winged Blackbird (FOY)
Song Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Goldeneye
Gadwall
Trumpeter Swan
Mute Swan
Long-tailed Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
American Widgeon (FOY)

Total Species: 26

Running Year Total: 61 (pretty measly but I missed the month of January...didn't even birdwatch once during that month!)

SPAM

2010-03-13T07:09:00.000-05:00

I've finally changed the settings for leaving comments on Cerulean Sky. I pray this eliminates the high frequency of SPAM that appears on here and makes me want to smash anonymous users' faces (which don't actually exist because they're spammers) into the pavement.

I promise a more exciting post than just this waste-of-your-time soon but for now...I'm leaving for a full day of birding! Rain, rain go away...

2010-02-17T01:43:00.000-05:00

It is Tuesday night and there is not a single post on Ontbirds regarding the Ivory Gull seen on Monday. If it had flown onto the ice even a few minutes later, or descended to land mere yards away, it may have gone unobserved by its original finders, who had identified all they could see and whose departure was imminent. But a small white bird caught the attention of these two birdwatchers, hearts soon pounding as they realized the significance of their find. Photos are taken for the record books and within minutes, a report goes out across a listserv at the touch of a few buttons, an obscenely convenient network connecting hundreds; hundreds immediately aware of a rarity minutes ago a distant thought. The thrill of the hunt ensues as a few dedicated enthusiasts and listers dash to the lakeshore, hoping for a glimpse of this special visitor. It is not to be. This will be a brief encounter, witnessed by two individuals favored by fortune. The gull departs. This visitor, unaware of its celebrity, is searched for in vain by each subsequent arrival, unaware of the interest they themselves create as they scan with scopes and binoculars in the bitter wind and waning light. As the sky darkens, so do the spirits of the watchers. Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls will have to suffice this night. The Ivory Gull continues westward, snow-white feathers veiled by the night, a phantom flying unseen.

Empty Ice Patch - An Ivory Gull Lament

2010-02-15T21:41:00.013-05:00

Mark and I scan for the Ivory Gull at Cherry Beach, Toronto

Photo courtesy of Lynne Freeman

failing light - no miracle tonight – this rare visitor avoids my gaze like she has once before – this heavenly form – this delicate winter-white angel – an ephemeral rest on the lakeshore – a brief appointment yielding disappointment – the shelves of ice carry a congregation – black backed, great and lesser, ring billed iceland glaucous herring – but despite my silent prayer – she is no longer here – yet still my eyes rise skyward - for I cannot bear to miss her once more

____________________________________________________________

Yes. At 3:58pm today, while birding Colonel Sam Smith Park with Mark Field, a report of an Ivory Gull was posted for Cherry Beach, Toronto (an ADULT Ivory Gull no less). Bless the iPhone. I really wish I owned this device for birding. Up-to-date birding reports and directions right at your fingers (not to mention if you ever need a refresher with a bird call, there are helpful apps to do just that). Needless to say, it didn't take us long to decide to ditch Colonel Sam and head across the city (bless having a van) to give the gull a go. Through bitter cold, we made a valiant effort with Jean Iron, the original finder alongside Paul Prior, to spot the gull but she informed us that it had flown directly west away from Cherry Beach and was not spotted again. Check out Jean's site and see the bird by clicking here. I don't know about Mark but I felt slightly defeated as the light faded and the last of the gulls on the patches of ice flew away for the night. This isn't the first time I've missed this rarity. January 2006 was a tough time when I couldn't get home to see the Ivory Gull that showed up at Hillman Marsh and provided great views.

There's still hope this bird will stay. There will certainly be a lot of eyes looking out for it throughout the week and I can assure you I'll be checking out the postings on Ontbirds frequently. I'll add here that although the end of the weekend held the slight disappointment of missing the Ivory, I still had two great days of birding on Sunday and today. I'll be posting full day lists/counts for the days within the week.

2009 Pelee May List

2010-01-12T16:05:00.004-05:00

After shamefully cramming a package of petrified marshmallows left over from the holidays into my pleading-for-mercy stomach, I decided it would be a good time to actually put together my full spring list from 2009. I was very happy with my May last year until things spun out of control and my body decided I wasn't treating it well enough and I ended up bed-ridden for the final few days (perhaps after reading the first sentence of this post, you won't be surprised by this). However, I did achieve my goal of seeing more species than the year preceding at 178 (in 2008 I ended up with 175). I definitely would have made it to well over 180 had I not got sick but that's ok. I still ended up with a lifer (Western Meadowlark) and some amazing memories to take away from Pelee during spring migration.

I'm throwing on Ave Maria as I type this list and it's quite relaxing [i.e. making me not worry about some obvious misses (how did I not get Ring-necked Duck, Winter Wren or Solitary Sandpiper?! And some are just unforgivable...no Willow Flycatcher, Blackpoll Warbler, Clay-coloured Sparrow, or Hairy Woodpecker!!)].

Here it is, compiled into one list, my May list from May 3-May 14, 2009 in the Pelee Birding Circle:

Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern (heard)
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Little Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
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
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark*
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total: 178
New species: 1

High Park - January 12, 2010

2010-01-12T14:38:00.011-05:00

My camera is on the fritz. Considering its price, however, and being my last purchase from Wal-Mart before I boycotted that chain 3 years ago, I have to admit, it's been a faithful little piece of technology. It now lays useless and collecting dust somewhere behind my computer but it served its purpose.

My cellphone camera can hardly be considered a camera at all, its pictures reminding us of the year 1814 when Joseph Nicephore Niepce took the first ever photographic image, requiring 8 hours of light exposure. The photo later faded.

Therefore, I do not have a picture from today's journey through High Park, a shame since the ducks along the creek north of Grenadier Pond were close enough to get decent shots, regardless of zoom lenses. So instead, here are a few silly photos of a Tasneem and I enjoying lunch in the park in a much more comfortable time of year...a time of year I am currently yearning for what with the lack of suitable winter attire. If you have seen me in the last few months, you'll also notice a shocking absence of long hair in these photos!

Today was simply a beautiful day for a walk. The wind lowered the temperature a few too many degrees but once in the comfort of the trees-as-wind-barriers, I was able to enjoy the quiet, lonely moments when a chickadee feeds a few feet away from your head, a cardinal makes its aggressive-sounding call notes from a nearby bush, a distant drum of a tree trunk indicates a Downy Woodpecker, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch descends a branch high above. The highlight was the aforementioned creek full of marsh ducks, though.

Being one of the few areas of open water in the park, the creek attracts a number of Mallards, both wild-types and freak-shows, strangely bred birds doubled in size, with off-colours, and deep bellies. There are 3 birds, in fact, that I recognized from last year in the park, all year residents that have become familiar enough to me that I search them out whenever I visit.

However, my target bird was a single Northern Pintail drake, which I eventually found after a thorough search from various vantage points. For most of my visit, he had his head tucked into his mantle but on the occasion that a leash-restrained dog barked or a pair of gorgeous horses clomped by carrying mounted police, he would become alert and provide great views. The Pintail was joined by a Wood Duck drake, the only two species apart from Mallard.

I'm now in the warmth of my apartment dealing with canceled credit card matters and furrowing my brows over overcharged internet access but on my next day off, I'm hoping to get down to the waterfront. I unfortunately had to miss the Waterfowl Inventory this year so I want to make up for it with a nice, long walk along Lake Ontario (probably in the Humber Bay East/West area).

In other news, my ordered book arrived in the mail last week! Where to Birdwatch in Scotland by Mike Madders. It looks great so far, with detailed descriptions of specific areas to bird as well as a calendar of dates marking the best times to see specific species. I have some time before my trip, which isn't until the end of August, but I want to be prepared once I'm there. Princeton Guides is supposed to be coming out with a new edition of their guide to the birds of Europe so I plan to buy that one as well once it comes out.

Another post without a day list...I'm not liking this trend.

2009-12-28T22:48:00.009-05:00

An hour ago, as I sat in front of my parents' computer listening to George Michael, reactivating my Twitter account, and greedily jamming handfuls of Slowpokes down my gullet, I decided that maybe it was a good time to actually take advantage of the rare occurrence of a working rural Ontario internet connection and post something on Cerulean Sky.

It's December 28th and we're nearing the end of the year, so I'm going to provide you with some goals I have for the new year. These are by no means concrete and I might still add a few (there are still 3 days left in 2009 remember).

Goal # 1: Be prepared for my Scotland trip. Yessss I'm going to Scotland in September!! My dad's doing a duathlon there so we're taking a 2-week trip to Scotland followed by a few days in England. As much as I hated Russel Brand's biography, My Booky Wook, he did teach me something very important he learned while he was in therapy for drug addiction. If you add "To my shame" before any admission or embarrassing statement, you can get away with it sans judgment. Let's try it, la? To my shame, I am 24 years old and have never left North America. There, it doesn't sound as bad when you've already shamed yourself, does it?
How will I achieve Goal #1? Well, I just ordered Where to Watch Birds in Scotland, a guide that was published in 2002 that includes details of where specific species can be found, the abundance/reliability of each species, and very importantly, a calendar that shows when each species is present by season. Let's hope September is a decent month for variety (if I have another Florida Panhandle-during-the-off-season experience in Scotland, I will not be a happy traveler). I'll give this book a good perusal, plan an itinerary that fits with my parents' idea of the trip, and also buy the Princeton Guide to Birds of Europe when the next edition comes out in February.

Goal # 2: Add 10 species to my life list (in Ontario). At first I thought, let's make it 5 lifers within this province and make it easy...but hell, it might as well be a bit more challenging. Mind you, 10 likely won't even be that difficult for me since I am missing a good chunk of uncommon to common birds of Ontario. A trip to Algonquin during the right time of year, for example, could add at least 5 species to my life list! Throw in a few rarities and a trip to Van Wagner's Beach for Jaegars and 10 lifers will (should) be a breeze.

Goal # 3: Continue to be an active member of the Toronto Ornithological Club and volunteer for or join another natural history group in the GTA. I volunteered for FLAP in Toronto 2 years back, but very briefly and I have heard about a number of other clubs in the area but have never made a larger effort to find out more about these opportunities. I'm keeping this goal wide open.

Goal # 4: BUY CLOTHING THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR BIRDING! Current status: no winter boots, no gloves, no scarf...I sometimes wonder how I survive through Canadian winters.

Hmm, let's just stop there. Various bigger goals are firing through the synapses of my brain at an alarming rate and most of them aren't realistic. Marianne's thinking big...a big year in the Pelee Birding Circle to be exact (I will help you all I can!) Last year, I made a new years resolution to post to Cerulean Sky at least once a month and you can see where that got me. One very good thing I have going for myself in the new year is that I'm no longer a loner-birder in the Toronto area. I have developed a good network of folks that are as excited as I am to get out birding when time permits that will no doubt keep my lists rising, my knowledge expanding, and my horizons broadening (how's THAT for a terrible last sentence!).

Top 20 Most-wanted North American Birds

2009-12-18T11:51:00.000-05:00

A while back, Marianne sent me a list of her top 20 most-wanted North American birds and asked me what my list would be. As per usual, it has taken me light years to respond but I decided it'd be fun to include my list here on Cerulean Sky so that the masses can see how far I've got to go with my N. American list and what some of my favourite birds that I haven't yet seen. I am pretty determined when it comes to certain lists so I have no doubt over my lifetime that I will eventually check off each of these species (unless some go extinct, which is an unfortunate possibility). I might make it a new years resolution for 2010 to take a trip within North America to a location where I can get a laundry list of new species and strengthen my experience (somewhere cheap and possibly Florida for a fourth time but actually at the right time of year). As of now, I have only substantially birded Ontario, the east coast of Canada, and Florida. There's a large expanse of land out there with a great number of birds waiting to be seen.

It was quite fun coming up with the list. I threw on Queen's best album, A Night at the Opera, sat down with my lover, The Sibley Guide to Birds, and reminded myself how lucky we North Americans are with our diversity of bird life. In evolutionary order:

1. Clark's Grebe (I would put down Western Grebe but I still resent that species after last year's epic fail trying to find it near the Leslie Street Spit. I think these two species together make up our best-looking grebe).

2. Blue-footed Booby (I don't know what it is but this species represents a symbol of evolution for me. It must be one of the most familiar of the world's birds and when I think of Darwin, I think of boobies).

3. "Wurdemann's" Heron (I haven't gone far enough south in Florida for this hybrid of morphs but the white splash over the head actually makes it a more attractive version of the Great Blue Heron in my opinion).

4. Roseate Spoonbill (This has always been my number one most-wanted N. American species since I started birding and picked up a cheap Waders of N. America book with the Roseate Spoonbill on the cover. It's such a bizarre bird; a mixture of beauty and homeliness. As you will see with the next on the list, I also think I included it 'cause I just like pink birds!).

5. Greater Flamingo (The flamingo is one of my favourite birds in the entire world. They're beautiful but almost look cartoonish in appearance, their stilt legs and S-curved neck make them seem agonizingly fragile, and I have a thing for tall birds).

6. Steller's Eider (It was hard not including Spectacled Eider in this list for its remoteness and odd look but I do think the Stellar's Eider is just a more beautiful duck).

7. California Condor (It's enormous, majestic, and it's hella rare. 'Nuff said).

8. Ferruginous Hawk Light Morph (Our most attractive bird of prey. The more white a bird has, the more I like them and this is our whitest hawk, discounting albinos, which I would love to see. I'm always jealous when folks see an albino red-tail at the hawk counts).

9. Greater Sage Grouse (Of the game birds, this one is the most fascinating to me and I would love to witness their courtship display).

10. Whooping Crane (Such a tall, attractive bird. Another symbol-bird for me, this time a symbol of conservation).

11. South Polar Skua (I honestly have some kind of obsession with cold grayish birds. American Black Duck and Dark-eyed Junco are other examples. I also think Skuas are just really cool, impressive birds).

12. Rhinoceros Auklet (am I the only one that thinks this bird looks like an elderly wizard?)

13. White-tipped Dove (I think this is N. America's most elegant dove after Eurasian Collared-Dove, my favourite of Family Columbidae

14. Greater Roadrunner (I don't even think this needs explanation).

15. Barn Owl (By far our most beautiful owl. Ghostly, heart-shaped facial disk...I can't wait to finally see this species).

16. White-headed Woodpecker (I am obsessed with this bird for some reason).

17. Florida Scrub-Jay (Unbelievably I didn't pick up this bird on any of my trips to Florida but in my own defense, I was not in the right area).

18. Varied Bunting (I've always seen the Varied Bunting as a Painted Bunting that was splashed with too much paint. The colour pattern of this bird looks completely random to me, a mix of too many colours until you almost get brown).

19. "Cape Sable" Seaside Sparrow (This is our rarest sparrow, la? Next trip to Florida, I'm getting it).

20. Yellow-eyed Junco (My favourite species in the whole wide world, the Dark-eyed Junco, my winter friend, has a counterpart and it's the only other Junco in N. America so I must see it).

Next up, I'll throw down some of my most-wanted WORLD birds!

Interview Transcripts

2009-12-02T23:54:00.003-05:00

Christian B. Christiansen, author of the lowest selling novel in history, The Life and Limes of Jeremy Hatt, sat down recently with journalist Larry “Bubblegum” Jenkins to discuss his latest and probably last novel, his biggest regrets, critics’ reactions to one of the most disliked protagonists in literature, and his fall from fame. Below is a portion of the transcript from the interview.

LBJ: So, Christian B. Christiansen, welcome! How are you today?

CBC: Under the weather and miserable, Bubblegum.

LBJ: I’m feeling good, too. Thanks for asking. Now, let’s just start right off with the elephant in the room. The burning question. The one that’s on everyone’s mind…

CBC: Yesss?

LBJ: …the question to end all questions.

CBC: [mumbling] Oh good, a short interview.

LBJ: What made you decide to publish TLALOJH as a series of 30 separate short stories instead of one full-length novel? And why not come up with more creative titles for each short story than “Chapter 7” or “Chapter 23” for example?

CBC: Well, Bubblegum, first off, that was two questions. Secondly, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just say the title of my series, “The Life and Limes of Jeremy Hatt”, as I think it might actually take less time than saying the first letter of each of the seven words in the title...

LBJ: [coughs]

CBC: Thirdly, to answer both questions, it is published as a novel; a novel with 30 chapters. “Chapter 7” is, in fact, quite sufficient since that chapter is indeed the 7th chapter of the novel.

LBJ: Fascinating. Does that apply to Chapter 23 as well?

CBC: Yes, Bubblegum.

LBJ: Fascinating. Speaking of titles, why “the Life and Limes”? Why not “Times”?

CBC: Well, Bubblegum, as I have already explained in numerous, better interviews, it was simply a typo that somehow made it to final print.

LBJ: How would you describe your relationship to the character you have created?

CBC: I loathe him, quite frankly, and I’m sorry that I didn’t kill him off. Perhaps then readers would have enjoyed the story more. I think most people were angry that I didn’t end the novel with his painful death. I realize now that I also should have had him birdwatch more. A story about a birdwatcher that hardly birdwatches is not that compelling.

LBJ: Where did you come up with the idea of Jeremy being a birdwatcher?

CBC: Well, Bubblegum, one day when I was walking through a woodlot with my reasonably attractive wife, this peculiar fellow ahead of us on the path was thrusting a shaky finger toward a tree, eyes like saucers, and jabbering incoherently. Something about a rare bird or some such. My frightened wife and I hurried away from him and I thought to myself, what a perfectly sad hobby for my next protagonist to have.

LBJ: It must have taken a lot of research to make it seem like Jeremy knew so much about birds.

CBC: Research?

LBJ: You seemed to take great pleasure in making Jeremy miss certain birds and trips that he’s really looking forward to. Why is that?

CBC: Well, Bubblegum, I never intended to make him happy. When I decided to give him the flu during his first weekend back in Guelph in years, I realized it might be fun to add some more irony to the story. Why not give him flu symptoms again, but this time the day before a trip that he had been looking forward to for weeks. That’s why he spent the night in the hospital waiting room instead of looking for gulls at Niagara Falls only to find out they didn’t know what was wrong. I really do love writing irony.

LBJ: In the novel, your character writes a blog called “Cerulean Sky”. Some critics have complained about your inclusion of Jeremy’s blog posts within the story, calling them, “painfully embarrassing”, “a waste of time and trees,” and “complete [censored]”. How do you respond?

[long silence followed by rustling papers and throat clearing]

LBJ: Right. Well. Now seems to be a good time wrap things up and ask a final, more personal question about your own life. Let’s end the interview on a light note.

CBC: Thank goodness.

LBJ: What does it feel like going from being a wealthy, award-winning novelist to being a bankrupt loser with no chance at ever finding a publisher stupid enough to give you another chance?

CBC: I guess that’s the ultimate irony isn’t it, Bubblegum? About time I experienced it for myself.

Phainopepla (from two perspectives)

2009-11-27T11:55:00.006-05:00

November 14.

I woke up Saturday morning, the soft square of my bedroom window's light already drifted up to my waist, ensconced in the warm cocoon of my duvet, emitting a pleas-ed purr (having not been jolted out of an ocean-deep sleep by that dreaded nerve-shattering alarm of my nemesis bedside radio). I can hear my husband grinding coffee in the kitchen, the distant, alluring sound muffled by the pine wood door, I lay with my eyes closed until the pressure to pee can no longer be ignored. A relieved sigh as I relax the muscles of my bladder and release the flow, while simultaneously, a steaming cup of coffee is being poured downstairs next to toast spread thinly with marmalade. Slippers on, floating slowly through the hallway in a day-off daze, I enter to see my husband turn, his graying hair still tussled from the night before, and a silly-proud smile as he looks down at the breakfast he has prepared, picking up my large mug and stepping toward me. Our eyes meet as I take the coffee from his hands, our fingers lingering for a moment as they interlock on the handle of the cup. I smile, turn away to pick up my plate, receive a playful slap to my behind, and saunter over to the living room's bay window. I pull back the curtains, my lips tighten, my brows furrow, and I shout back to my husband, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE ALL THOSE PEOPLE DOING ON OUR FRONT LAWN??"

November 14.

I woke up Saturday morning to the thundering electric blast of my alarm clock, reaching over and ripping the plug from its socket as my eyes open to a blinding strip of light that has managed to slice through my curtains, my pupils shrinking to pin-points like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park, hissing like a vampire that's just been exposed to the sun (I'm talking Bram Stoker vampires, not the wimpy glitter-in-the-sun Twilight ones). I roll myself off my lumpy mattress and sift through floor-laundry to find (semi)clean clothes for the day. That's when the excitement starts to sink in. The blood-racing, heart-pumping, adrenaline of chasing a black-feathered, red-eyed, so-out-of-its-range-it-seems-impossible south-westerner that has arrived in a suburb of Brampton, of all places. I swiftly shower, shove a handful of dry cereal into my face, and rush to the subway, already a couple minutes late for my ride (side note: Thanks again, Greg!). As we neared our suburban destination, we concentrated on getting the side-streets right, passing by quintessential, gardened houses in a quiet, gardened neighbourhood, eventually turning onto the quaint, gardened Addington Crescent. Needless to say, it was somewhat obvious that this was the spot. Vehicles stacked in leaning towers 5-cars high, parked back-to-back on every inch of pavement, binoculars, scopes, and cameras on every neck and in every trembling hand, stampedes of folks frothing at the mouth and clawing at elderly ladies who were between themselves and the crowd of people frantically pointing upward, a truck with a cow-catcher attached to the front pushing through the crowd to get the best look. I calmly exited my friend's car and sped-walked to the excited group of deranged lunatics gathered all over some couple's front lawn...and got my first-ever look at a Phainopepla.

Read at Your Own Risk

2009-10-20T12:26:00.004-04:00

Inspired by the latest talk of the TOC, I have decided it is time, after 110 days, to try to restore Cerulean Sky to its former glory (remember those good ol' days when you would set your alarm early so you could eagerly run to your computer to see if Cerulean Sky had any updates before heading off to the grind? Those late nights spent ignoring mouse-clicking ergonomics and pressing the refresh button every half second, inducing carpal tunnel while staring with bloodshot eyes and sipping a double double with trembling hands, desperate to see if Sky's author would perhaps post another biting commentary on the cormorant cull, or describe, in Pulitzer prize-worthy prose, his amazing adventures across acres of forests, wetlands, beach, and brush in search of waders, game, raptors, LBJ's, and everything in between?). You don't remember?

The inspiring talk was by Hamilton birder Brandon Holden, the smarter, more talented and charismatic, better-looking, younger version of myself (jealous?). I have enough difficulty stumbling to the front of the room to utter, in monotonous monotone, a mere guest list (usually in front of an audience who cannot contain at least a grin, chortle, or chuckle at my expense), let alone speak, seemingly with no nerves, for an hour about an incredible road trip across Florida with the aplomb of a seasoned expert while displaying brilliant photos from the journey.

All of this led me to look back on my now-14 years of birding to pinpoint where exactly things took a turn...not that things took a serious nosedive, there was just some point along the way where my learning curve reached a peak, leveled, and perhaps dropped an itsy bitsy teeny weeny bit (not a stock market crash thankfully. I won't need any bailout). Time is a factor, duh. I can't just go out birding whenever I want anymore and I certainly don't pore over my field guides like I used to (I do miss those days). But I did come to a realization that one of my greatest problems, probably since the beginning, is a (perhaps unfounded?) terror of a tarnished reputation; the scalding criticism of a hard-nosed veteran, having my name be synonymous with "novice" or "you can't trust his Ontbirds posts", an incorrect identification that ends up in the history books ("He mistook a Glaucous-winged X Herring Gull for a Thayer's Gull? Well I never...I'm not going to say hello the next time I see him." A non-birder might laugh, but it can be a tough world out there. Or at least in my mind it can be. Do I have issues?

With my current role as a no-talent hack, I struggle to sustain at least a minor role in the birding community. A couple of reports here, a few volunteer opportunities there, but there are those few rare (frequent) moments where I nearly despair at the knowledge of those around me. Even the mere mention of an obscure topographic detail that I have not heard of can send me into a tailspin of nerves (should I know this?...oh, I better not ask what they mean or I'll look like an idiot...I'll just nod and smile awkwardly, that should do the trick).

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm mostly teasing and I'm not a terrible birder. I consider my skills to surpass the average chimp. I know a good number of calls (but could certainly stand to dust off my bird song C.D.'s to be less rusty), I can confidently identify almost everything I see (sometimes it requires a bit of time to do a mental scan through my memory-bank of field marks but eventually I come to a knowledgeable guess), and I take pride in the fact that I know a lot about migration times, ranges, and general abundance/rarity of species. Of course, there are groups that cause more trouble than others. There are gulls that I couldn't identify if my life depended on it, a few sparrows throw me into a momentary confused, blank stare, and fall shorebirds can lead me to *gasp*, open a field guide. But hey, we're supposed to be having fun, right?

I worry too much. I worry that I worry too much. I worry that I worry that I worry too much. However, I think I'm beginning to understand it all now. Worrying is my comfort-zone, my safety blanket. Worrying a lot keeps me from actually calling out a bird's name. Worrying too much prevents me from admitting I just don't know what I'm looking at. Worrying even prevents me from going birding! It's not a good way to learn, worrying. Life gets in the way of birding all the time but I think one of the most helpful things for me to do is also the simplest. It's time to practice the parsimony principle. How do you become a better birdwatcher? You birdwatch! Side note: spell check apparently accepts 'birdwatcher' but 'birdwatch' is not a word? I have done fairly well this year dedicating a chunk of my time to birding (mostly thanks to some wonderful friends who invite me along on their trips), but one bit of basic birding that I'm missing right now is getting out there for a few hours on my own. From my experience, I learn the most when I'm by myself. If you don't know what you're looking at, there's no embarrassment, you just figure it out. You hear a call you don't know? You search out the bird, identify it by sight and by golly, you'll likely know that call the next time! Practice and parsimony. Less worrying.

In conclusion, I just reread this entire post, which comes across as the ramblings of a deranged lunatic, and I question the intent of the arrow that is hovering over "PUBLISH POST". So it has come to this: the first post in 110 days and it's an offbeat admission of my birding insecurities. I'm sorry, my dear fans and followers. I promise more normalcy in my next post 111 days from now. Happy birding!

The Currie Tract

2009-07-02T22:35:00.004-04:00

Last Friday, as a result of the considerable kindness of a fellow TOC member, Mark Field, I was able to visit a new birding destination in the GTA (Milton to be exact). As always, I get so swept up in the busyness of this city that when I finally get a day to go birding, it's always a great experience (relaxing, rewarding, refreshing...*insert other 'r' words that apply*).

The Currie Tract requires a vehicle to get to so I was at the mercy of my host who had visited the area a few times in the last couple months in hopes of finding the Prairie Warbler that has been reported there frequently this spring/summer. We didn't find it of course, but we did get some other goodies along the way.

Before I get to that though, I'll describe the park a bit first. From what I could gather, the area is connected to a conservation area and consists of a primarily deciduous forest next to a prairie-like, grassy habitat that stretches along for quite some distance underneath enormous hydro poles. The hydro poles constantly emit a humming energy that somewhat alarmed me at first but Mark assured me that you get used to it. Eventually I forgot the pressure in my ears but every once in a while I would think about it again or look up and feel like I was being microwaved.

It was all worth it though as we ended up getting some really good sightings in. The highlights included a singing Mourning Warbler, missed by me in spring, that was sickeningly cooperative. As we were listening to it sing, I suddenly remarked that there were two birds! To our disappointment, it ended up being a Tilly-hat toting dude with a tape player, relentlessly playing the song of the Mourning Warbler and getting it to close in on the trail.

Next up was a singing Blue-winged Warbler even though I was now wary of any songs as they could have just been a machine instead of the real thing. However, we eventually spotted the bird; another extremely cooperative fellow that showed off for quite some time.

I'm happy to have discovered the area and hope to get back there again sometime (next time, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, and food are musts).

Day List (counting the moment we started to drive to the moment I was dropped off):

Canada Goose
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo (seen and heard)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Wood Thrush
Veery
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 47

And I start to complain that there's no rain

2009-06-20T22:01:00.004-04:00

I started this Saturday evening desperately attempting to make plans, any plans, but eventually just gave up and decided to go for an evening walk through High Park. It was quite beautiful really; a light mist falling, the vegetation glistening with water droplets, and the leaves of trees drooping forlornly with the heaviness of moisture. Overhead, Chimney Swifts chattered away as silhouettes of small birds flew by (almost certainly Chickadees).

Later, as the evening turned to night, I started to hear Common Nighthawks 'meep'ing above me, out of sight from my umbrella. I was also lucky enough to see a passing skunk near the main road, ambling along and (thankfully) minding its own business. It's so darn peaceful in there on nights like this.

As I was walking, I started to think about missing the Carden Alvar trip through the TOC and how disappointing it is that I wasn't able to attend. Everyone who went gushed about how wonderful the area is and the reports coming from there are excellent (especially the latest post on Ontbirds by Bob Cumming, who looks to have had a spectacular day there despite the rain). It's a trip that I must, must, must, must take.

The other outing I'm hopefully going on, particularly now that I have Saturdays off, is the Toronto Butterfly Count. To this day, I have never been on a single butterfly count in any area and I really want to learn how the Toronto area differs both in species and abundance from the Pelee Circle.

Forgotten but not gone

2009-06-20T00:28:00.003-04:00

If one was to count how many excuses I've come up with on Cerulean Sky as to why I haven't posted for weeks on end, one would likely find that the number of posts including said excuses outnumbers the posts without them...did that sentence make sense? I think it does.

Anyway, here's a list of reasons for my absence for you to choose from (as a friend pointed out, my last entry was quite the cliffhanger. I'm sick, and then no more posts!).

a) Busy with work. Perhaps my best excuse since I got a new position at work where I now perform a variety of cool administrative tasks. More responsibility, lots of challenges, etc. I'm loving it, but it is a time burglar.

b) I'm back in Toronto. The city provides so many distractions that when my day off finally comes, sleeping in and then socializing is just so tantalizing. I have, fortunately, made it out birding since I've been back in the city after being at Pelee for two weeks but nothing substantial enough.

3...oh, I mean c) No Marianne. I miss you, Marianne!

So, you're asking, when is he going to get around to talking about birds? Welllll, one goal I have in the next little while is to actually do a complete May post detailing the entire month. I also have to get out my complete May list as well. And of course, my favourite, the May misses!!

I'm also going to get around to catching up on and commenting on others' blogs entries that I've been missing lately. Let's hope I can bring Cerulean Sky back to some regularity!

May 14, 2009 - Day 12 - FML

2009-05-14T18:18:00.002-04:00

Ok, ok...it's not as bad as 'fml' but seriously, nausea, go to heck in a handbasket! I woke up today feeling like a used diaper. Hearing wind howling in my window and rain pouring down in horizontal sheets, I groaned, turned back over and promptly fell back asleep. My on-the-brink-of-vomitting stomach told me that to go to the park for a full day would be a death sentence so I decided to continue fighting this stupid bug with lots of sleep while hoping that nothing would show up on my second day off. That's when things started to go wrong.

The rain cleared and it turned into a beautiful day. I was halfway through watching She's the Man for the zillionth time (Channing Tatum was just walking across the screen with only a towel on), when my phone rang. It was Marianne. I groggily answered the phone and heard only this: "Can you hear me?....breaking up....Townsend Warb...."

I knew it would happen. The day that I can't go to the park due to being sick, something was bound to show up. The fact that it was an uber-mega-rarity only made the whole thing that much worse. These things happen every year. Last year it was Mother's day and I was at a family reunion when the call came in for a Lark Bunting. I got that bird, thankfully, but had to come home to a grumbling, guilt-mongering family. Apparently it's not nice to walk out on the family for a bird. I still don't get their reasoning. It happened with Northern Wheatear, too. The bird shows up the day I have to catch my Greyhound back to Toronto. I got that bird, too, but I cannot and will not go into the details of what I had to do for that one. Let's just say it was the definition of poor judgement by moral/ethical standards...totally worth it though!

So, back to the story at hand. After flying into a fit of blind rage and smashing a window with my mom's antique rocking chair and shaking my fists in the air screaming "How dare you, irony!", I calmed down enough to call Marianne back and got one more piece of information this time amongst the static: Townsend's Warbler, Tilden Trail. The dark expression on my face and grinding teeth must have screamed murder as my Mom placed her hand on my shoulder and slowly and quietly told me she would drive me to see the bird if I wasn't feeling well enough to drive. I started a texting war with birders who were already there asking if the bird was reliable, any further details, etc.

I went through every bad scenario I could think of on the drive there:

- The visitor center parking lot is full and I have to hike from White Pine to get there, arrive shaking, moments away from death, and hearing the words: "You just missed it! Unfortunately, it was eaten by a Cooper's Hawk. There's the bloody mess right over there!"

- Getting out of the car and rushing to see the bird and getting trampled by a stampede of birders, leaving me twitching in the mud with a broken shin bone piercing through the skin and having to crawl the rest of the way using only my fingernails, and a kind old lady saying, "Oops! It was just a leaf. False alarm."

- And my personal favourite scenario: Arriving on the scene to a large group of happy people using an oversized novelty pen to blissfully check off Townsend's Warbler off their May lists and saying, "Oh, if you were here only 5 minutes ago, it came right out in the open and actually landed on each of our hands and sang us that nice tune from Cheers."

Ok, so none of these scenarios came to pass (I just wanted to be prepared!) and I was actually quite relieved to find out that arriving an hour after the bird was reported made little difference. Only 3 people, the original finders, actually got the bird. Now I hear that there are also disputes over the bird's identity, but I won't get into that here. And lo and behold, it actually worked out in the end. Besides exhausting my body further and having to come home and sleep for another 3 hours after looking for the bird, I actually heard the Kentucky Warbler that was being reported on the same trail. That takes me to 177.

Alright, enough of this...it's time for more sleep.

May 13, 2009 - Day 11 - The nausea bug

2009-05-14T17:52:00.002-04:00

Grrrr. It's so frustrating to get sick during May migration. Wednesday morning started off poorly and sort of just fell to pieces from there. I woke up well before my alarm to get ready to leave and noticed that it took an absurd amount of energy to drag myself out of bed. Uh oh. I poured some cereal and took a bite. Uh oh # 2. My stomach flip-flopped and I immediately stopped eating. Now, of course, being May, I ignored the signals telling me to go back to bed thinking it would go away as soon as I got out onto the trails but it wasn't meant to be. By 11:00am, after a slow morning at the tip, I broke out into the sweats. Uh oh # 3. I realized I needed sleep...fast...and that if I kept pushing myself, I was going to leave something on the trails that no one but soil decomposers would appreciate. Also, it's not normal for someone my age to have to take bench-sitting breaks just to keep going. Final uh oh before deciding to leave.

Therefore, there's hardly a thing to post for the day...and since it's now Thursday as I post this and I still feel like sh@t, I think I'll leave it at that :D

May 12, 2009 - Day 10 - Gas is expensive!!

2009-05-12T18:57:00.003-04:00

What a great day. 10 full hours, 6 new species added to my May list, and the best company a birder could ask for. I joined a Toronto group made up of various members of the Toronto Ornithological Club and we had an awesome day together. Unfortunately, I'm too tired to actually write anything substantial today and I promise it will be a boring post...I just don't have the energy to put much thought into it!

The first good bird of the day was a beautiful Summer Tanager at the tip. It was actually one of the nicest I've seen, with bright red in the tail and a nice mix of orange-green throughout the rest of its body. I missed Clay-coloured Sparrow again but that's perfectly ok. There were other good birds to find. Bay-breasted Warbler was my first new bird on Woodland Trail. Then a Sharp-shinned Hawk flying over the same location. Later, the group had an Osprey over Tilden Trail. Following that, I got a Red-headed Woodpecker at a nesting hole across from Pelee Wings Nature Store. Finally, Hillman Marsh was excellent in the evening and I added Whimbrel and Black-billed Cuckoo to my May list from this location.

The one big blunder for me was walking 2 field lengths to see a Hooded Merganser that was reported in a canal in the Onion Fields. Our scopes couldn't see through the heat waves so I decided to put some extra effort in and made my way all the way down to where the bird was swimming. I trudged along the (private?) property, excitedly looked out into the water, and identified the bird as a Mallard. My shoulders have never slumped so low.

I also added a few more books to my Birding library today including The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (for taking into the field because the original Sibley's guide is just way too heavy for that!), A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of The Sparrows of the United States and Canada, which contains amazing plates illustrated by David Beadle, and finally, The Birdwatcher's Companion to North American Birdlife, a steal at $20. It's a good thing it was a steal, too...because gas for the truck is expensive. I thought I would save money on this trip but that ain't happening!

Day List:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed 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
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song 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: 105

May 11, 2009 - Day 9 - A day of misses, but new opportunities on the horizon

2009-05-11T19:15:00.004-04:00

Glossy Ibis, Mississippi Kite, Wilson's Phalarope, Yellow-breasted Chat, Leconte's Sparrow: this list of missed species just keeps on growing!! Perhaps it was the birding gods punishing me for sleeping in this morning. A very kind birder told me that sleeping in is allowed but it did two things to my day. First, eliminated hours of birding from my day where I could have checked off a few easy warbler species. Second, it totally threw off my day when I had to park at White Pine and walk to the Visitor Center from there completely out of the loop on what was being seen throughout the park. It's kind of amazing how quickly the park fills with birders as it is a Monday and the entire Visitors Center parking lot as well as all of West Beach were full. Looks like I'll be waking up even earlier the rest of the week!

Something good came out of the day, though, and that was shadowing a hike led by Marianne in the Woodland Trail. I've agreed to do hikes next year and if all goes well (and I'm able to book of time again!) I'll be a hike-leader for the park (fingers crossed). I was very nervous about it all at first but after I shadow a few more hikes I think I'll be quite confident to do them well. There is a certain joy that comes from showing beginner birders a species that I now take for granted and see them react as if it was the most beautiful bird they've ever seen. Leading hikes is a challenge I look forward to next year.

The two species I added to my list today were Least Sandpiper and Ruddy Turnstone, two of my favourite species of shorebirds that I knew I would see eventually. I have no doubt now that I'll reach 175. If I could get over 180 or even 185 I would be content. Hopefully I'll actually see some of these rarities that are starting to show up.

Day List

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspain Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed 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
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 91

May 10, 2009 - Day 8 - A suggestion to mom

2009-05-11T18:30:00.004-04:00

If there is any person in the world who deserves a day to recognize their importance, it is our mothers. The sacrifices made, the patience, the pain endured, the love and care, the commitments...we appreciate the work that goes into being a mom. So moms must have a lot of pull then, right? Well, I have a request for moms out there. Can you all, like, come together and work out an agreement to get the month that Mother's Day falls into changed? I mean, it's right in the middle of prime birding season! Do we have to honour mothers during May? I suggest we change the month to June and merge it with Father's Day. This would also eliminate the confusion a child in a same-sex relationship must feel on these days. We could just have a joint Parent/Caretaker Day and everyone is happy!

Mother's Day did screw up my day of birding but hopefully it's clear that I am being silly. I had a great Mother's Day celebration and I was still able to fit in a trip to Pelee in the morning, Kopegaron Woods in the afternoon, Hillman Marsh in the evening, and went back to Pelee at night to watch the American Woodcock displays again with my friend, Sara (and I sitll made it to over 100 species!). While on the subject of night birding, I obviously listened hard again for Whip-poor-wills but to no avail. I give up on this species. It's just too exhausting to stay so late in the park and then have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning and head straight back.

The only new addition to my May list for the day was a Summer Tanager, but it was a great experience as the bird landed within feet of where I was standing. It's SO nice sometimes to get lucky like this rather than embarking on a wild goose chase for an hour only to be disappointed when the bird doesn't stay in the same location. It was a decent morning (although there were a lot of people).

After a brunch with family, I went to Kopegaron with my brother and the highlight there was an Orange-crowned Warbler. Still no Hairy Woodpecker though. Then I missed Wilson's Phalarope at Hillman Marsh (missing birds seems to be a big trend for me in the last few days!). As much as I complain though, I love being out in the beautiful weather enjoying the birds and birders.

Finishing off the day with the Woodcock displays was a great decision. These birds are a spectacle. The male almost looks like an insect as it launches from the ground, twittering and whistling while ascending higher and higher until it's almost out of eyesight and then plunges to the ground in an awesome display, maneouvering back and forth and impressing the onlooking female. An earlier group was actually lucky enough to witness a pair copulating (hmm, I wonder if I should put lucky in quotation marks?).

Day List

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
American Woodcock
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspain Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Blue-winged Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 101 - Oddly enough, this is the third day this May that I've got 101 species!!

May 9, 2009 - Day 7 - Cliff Swallow...CHECK!

2009-05-09T20:57:00.002-04:00

That's right, I didn't see a Cliff Swallow until my 7th day in the park. Of course, like any common birds you have trouble finding for the first few days, after you see one, you see a ton. I had a couple at the Pelee marsh, then at Hillman, and lastly a single bird flying over Wheatley Park in the evening. I have a feeling I actually have seen Cliff Swallow already, I just wasn't paying close enough attention.

Another common bird that I finally got out of the way was Common Loon; a flyby at the tip. Today was just a slow day for me, though. A lot of people showed up and it was the first day they had to close the visitor center parking lot. This was nice as I was able to see a lot of birders from the Toronto Ornithological Club and others who only get to come on weekends. However, there just weren't many birds to chase/find. There were isolated pockets of passerines but between them, the trails were deadzones. I did, however, help Dave Milsom's group get on an Orange-crowned Warbler (my first for the spring).

A huge miss today was an adult California Gull that flew by the tip seen by Kevin McLuaghlin and co. This would have been a lifer and makes me wish I would have stayed longer to watch the reverse migration. You win some, you lose some.

At around 2pm, I gave up and went to visit my Grandma. A slight rain came through so I was pretty stoked with my decision to leave the park for a while. After supper and an hour nap, I headed to Hillman around 7pm and wasn't disappointed. It was probably the best night I've had so far for shorebirds. Somewhat surprising was a complete lack of Black-bellied Plover but there were Willet, Dunlin, Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers, and Lesser Yellowlegs. A Cooper's Hawk flying over was an added treat.

I expect quite a few similar days in the week to come as it starts to get harder and harder to add birds to my May list. It's coming along nicely though at 168 (I will definitely reach my target of 175). Hopefully a nice rarity will show up sometime this week and cause some real excitement.

Day List:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 97

May 8, 2009 - Day 6 - Add one to every day list!

2009-05-08T17:20:00.002-04:00

Before I get to how my day of birding was, I just realized while looking through my daily lists that I have failed to check off Ruddy Duck every single day of the week! This means that I can add one more species to each of my day lists. Looks like I've got some editing to do. This happened last year as well. I went through my list not once, twice, but thrice before realizing I was missing a species on my May list. This error brought me to 175 species instead of 174 and I was a happy man. As of today, I am at 161 and have little doubt that I will meet last year's tally.

Now on to today. The park was much busier with birds today, probably due to the south winds bringing in more species. One of the highlights was a reverse migration at the tip that is always a welcome challenge. I love picking out species in the sky as it proves to be a test of skills but there's also a good chance that a rarity will pop up amongst the common birds flying off the tip. Reverse migrants from today included blackbirds, orioles, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, American Goldfinch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, various warblers, Eastern Bluebird, an Eastern Meadowlark, and a lot of Blue Jays.

Woodland and Tilden trail continue to be the most-birded areas of the park and today was not a let-down. I finally heard the Louisiana Waterthrush on Tilden Trail (a species I was starting to worry I would miss). Then on Woodland Trail, I had great looks at one of my favourite warblers, the Cerulean Warbler (the bird that inspired the name of my blog). A female Summer Tanager at the tip went unseen by me. I looked hard for a Chat reported on the Redbud trail but to no avail. I also missed a Mississippi Kite flying over the visitor center parking lot (an annual occurrence). However, an afternoon trip to Kopegaron Woods was surprisingly helpful as I got Tennessee Warbler and White-breasted Nuthatch there. The small conservation area was actually quite busy with warblers. I went there on a mission to see Hairy Woodpecker but that failed so I might have to go to Wheatley Park one afternoon to get this species.

I also went to the Shorebird Cell but it was pretty slow this afternoon. There was a White-tailed Deer that bound across the cell and through the water that scared all the birds up, which was interesting. That was then followed by 2 dogs chasing geese and their goslings through the water in the cell!! I'm looking forward to next week when more species of shorebirds arrive.

I'm feeling slightly brainless right now and I think I'm going to take a nap as I plan to do a much longer day tomorrow. I'm likely forgetting to write down other interesting experiences from today but I think I'll just stop here.

Day List:

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Dunlin
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 92

May 7, 2009 - Day 5 - The longest day

2009-05-08T16:22:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was epic. So epic, in fact, that by the time I got home, I was too tired to write my daily post. I left my house at 6:15am and didn't get home until 10:00pm. If it sounds like I'm bragging at all, well, I kind of am. I mean, that's like, a 14 hour day! And guess what? It was awesome.

The day started with Marianne and I making the great decision to bypass the tip area (which was rumoured to be completely dead) and heading to Sanctuary. It was quite birdy in the trail and we picked up three really good species: Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bobolink (my nemesis bird from last year...I never did get it!), and Sedge Wren.

Incredibly, I almost left for home at 3pm due to the rain that lasted for two hours but instead of quitting early, I decided to go for an early supper in Wheatley (3 pieces of greasy pizza) and then head back out to do some evening birding. It's a good thing I did, because I added a number of species to my May list that I may not get any other days during my trip home.

I got really lucky on County Road 21. On my way to Hillman after supper, I heard Vesper Sparrows in the fields adjacent to the road and I also picked up a Kestrel at this location. Oh, and that Snow Goose I was waiting for the other day? Got it at 6pm. At this point, I also almost got my dad's truck stuck in the ditch. Ron Tozer and Mike Tate met me at the location of the Snow Goose to tick it off their May lists. While they played things safe and turned their vehicles around in the closest laneway on the road, I had the brilliant idea of doing a 3-point turn (it sadly turned into a 4-point turn) to get my truck going the other way. Next thing I know, my back tires are squeeling in the grass off the road and I'm not moving. I had this horrible image of Ron and Mike having to push my truck while I stepped on the gas (red-faced with embarrassment) but fortunately, I was finally able to turn the front wheels enough to get myself out. They rightfully made fun of me for this adventure.

Next up was a late evening stop at the Pelee Marsh. It's a necessary part of a lister's trip to Pelee if you want to get those few extra ticks. It was beautiful to walk the boardwalk at this time of night with the sun setting in the west and flock of Sandhill Cranes flying past the moon in the east. Here, our large group picked up Black Tern and Marsh Wren. We then made a stop at Delaurier to get American Woodcock and American Bittern. A final trip in the moonlight to the Visitor Center parking lot was in vain. Not a single Whip-poor-will or Nighthawk was calling. Not even a Chuck-will's-widow.....what? I can be hopeful!

All in all, an exhausting, but fully satisfying day.

Day list:

Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Dunlin
American Woodcock
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspain Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Golden-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 110 - my highest for the trip so far

May 6, 2009 - Day 4 - Keep on birdin'

2009-05-06T18:51:00.007-04:00

Sometimes I feel like I lead two separate lives. There is the Toronto Jeremy who spends most of his time downtown, whether it be in coffee shops, bars, theatres, or friends' places, oftentimes chatting about world issues or complaining about the conservative party. Then there is the Pelee-during-May Jeremy, snacking on trail mix and sitting in his dad's Ford 150, pulled over at the side of county road 21, waiting patiently in the rain for a Snow Goose that has been returning every evening sometime after 5:30pm.

May alters my life so drastically for the 2 precious weeks I book off, it almost feels like an alternate universe. It has become an annual ritual to drop everything in my life during this wonderful time of the year and do what I love: birdwatch. Whereas a week ago, I was worried about finances, relationships, and work, now my only concerns are what birds I might miss, when the next big rarity will show up, and the best way to check off 175 species on my May list.

I can't stress it enough. I love Point Pelee, I love birdwatching, and I love the people I get to share my passion with during the best time of the year.

My 4rth day in the park was one of socializing. I had a great walk through Tilden Woods with Sarah Rupert, which was as much a birding walk as a time to catch up. The birds came first and we got some goodies, but we also let out our inner geeks with talk of Lost, Buffy, Indiana Jones, and of course, Star Wars. Unfortunately, I seem to have a slight Tilden Woods curse right now. I can't seem to get a lot of the birds being reported there including Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Sedge Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, and just today, a Golden-winged Warbler that flew away while we tried to look for it!

I did pick up quite a few new birds for my May list throughout the day though, including Willet, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, American Black Duck, Broad-winged Hawk, a female Merlin at Sparrow Field, Red-eyed Vireo, and a few others. I currently stand at 140 species, which feels pretty good but I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Around 3pm, I actually decided to leave for home but a seasoned veteran, Jerry Ball, chastised me for giving up so early. It struck me that, yes, I only have two weeks of this and then it's back to the city so I need to take full advantage while I'm here. So, Jerry and I went to Hillman Marsh, drove all through the Onion Fields, and ended up at Wheatley Harbour. Next thing I knew, Jerry helped me put in another 11 hour day, got me to 100 species, and added Black-crowned Night-Heron to my May list. I'll have to thank him tomorrow for keeping me going.

Day List:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Malladr
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk
Merlin
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Little Gull - another single adult breeding at the Shorebird Cell
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspain Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song 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: 101

May 5, 2009 - Day 3 - LIFER!!! Western Meadowlark

2009-05-05T17:52:00.004-04:00

I am so happy right now. Happy it's May, happy I got a new species on my life list this afternoon, and happy that I still have 11 days of heavy birding to go. I missed you today though, Marianne!

I put in 11 hours total and it felt great. The park was incredibly slow for birds as there has still been very little movement since yesterday or the day before. Hopefully with rain Wednesday night and Thursday, along with predicted south winds, there will be an influx of migrants into the park and surrounding area.

Even slow days produce good birds, though. I birded most of the morning with Hugh Currie. Shortly after we arrived at the tip together, I spotted an adult breeding Little Gull land on the beach. The bird didn't stay long as it was harassed by other gulls. Beyond that, there wasn't much happening in the tip area. We later did the Woodland trail together and picked up a male Prothonotary Warbler. It was actually fighting a House Wren over one of the nest boxes in the vicinity. When we arrived, the House Wren was dragging itself through the water to the closest tree. That was a sight to see. Also on Woodland, we had a Northern Mockingbird fly over along with a Northern Harrier (both firsts for my trip).

I tried Tilden Trail as well with limited success. My target birds were Kentucky Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Sandhill Crane. I only got one of the four: Worm-eating. I left the trail a wee bit frustrated but then I heard a report of a Western Meadowlark at the tip! Obviously I was on the next train to the tip.

The bird was found by Kevin McLaughlin and co. on the West Beach Birding Footpath near the transit loop at the tip. It was not a hard bird to find. Flushed as soon as I walked by the spot it was hiding, the bird flew to the top of a nearby tree and actually called out right in front of me, which was spectacular.

I ended the day at Hillman, struggling to reach 100 species (arghh what a struggle!) for the day and finally achieving that goal just as I was leaving for home: a Great Egret next to the entrance to the marsh. All in all, a good day that added quite a few species to my growing (but growing enough) May list. Oh, and how could I forget?! My first Chestnut-sided Warbler for May! It is and always will be my favourite warbler.

Day List:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover - a single bird among the hundreds of Black-bellied
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Dunlin
Little Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspain Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 101!

May 4, 2009 - Day 2 - Quality not quantity and the reasons for leaving early

2009-05-04T17:16:00.005-04:00

Rarely will I be posting the day's news this early but the park was slow today. Now, of course, any day during spring migration has its highlights and it's always great to be out in that fresh Pelee air (we actually commented today in Ander's Field on how great the clover and various grasses smelled in the plains of the central region of the park). A day like today is a good day for catching up with friends, searching out specific species for your May list, and, in all honesty, taking it easy. No sense burning yourself out when 12-13 hour days are right around the corner (I'm aiming for 100+ species days in the week to come).

For these reasons, we called it a day a bit early. The plus side to this? Relaxing in Marianne's house after lunch (a great spinach salad and squash soup) while looking through her pictures from her trip to Florida (there was no limit to my jealosy, particularly while gawking at a picture that shows Roseate Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, White Ibises, Wood Storks, Little Blue Herons, and Great Egrets all wading in the same area!).

The day did start off well, though. Some new migrants came in that we got to see like Hooded Warbler (gave great views!), a beautiful Yellow-throated Vireo, an incredibly dull first-year female Pine Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and a nice male Blue-winged Warbler as well. I missed the following: Scarlet Tanager, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, and Lesser Black-backed Gull, all of which would have been additions to my May list.

Later in the day, Marianne and I decided to check out the cemetery area and picked up a late Junco (might be my last one of the spring). We also got a Great-crested Flycatcher nearby, also new for my May list, which continues to grow slowly. Later, at the Delaurier house, we got our first Gray-cheeked Thrush and two sunning Five-lined Skinks, Ontario's only native lizard. One dissappointment was that we couldn't find the reported Great Horned Owl nest. I'm going to have to get better directions for this as I'd like to see the nest.

I'm sure I'm forgetting various highlights from the day but my brain is slightly fried while I type this. I'm also getting distracted by The Young and the Restless, which my mom is watching right behind me. Oh Phillis, what have you gotten yourself into now?!

The day's list (lacking due to no Hillman Marsh visit):

Canada Goose
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Black Scoter
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco yesssssss :D
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 79

May 3, 2009 - DAY ONE

2009-05-03T21:04:00.003-04:00

The alarm goes off at 4:45am. It's dark outside and there's a chill in the room as I get out from under the warmth of my comforter. It's day one and I'm more excited than any other day of the year. Two full weeks of extensive birding and days full of excitement, nervousness, exhaustion, and a great group of people sharing the same passion together.

Marianne and I arrived at Pelee just before the 6am train to the tip. Things weren't especially happening on my first day but since every migrant was new for me, I had a great time. The list has begun. I figure I'll go for 175 species to tie my record of last year...as always, I have my doubts but once I start to get close, I'll put in all the effort necessary to achieve the goal.

The weather was pretty gorgeous today but not many new migrants came through apparently. However, there were still some warbler pockets here and there, it was a 3-Scoter day, which was a nice touch, and of course, it provided a chance to visit with friends I haven't seen for a year in some cases.

Some highlights:

Last year, Marianne and I heard a Yellow Warbler who had an addition to its regular song. The standard bird will give a quick, high-pitched, bursting sweet, sweet, sweet, I'm so sweet!!!. This pompous male gave a sweet, sweet, sweet, I'm so sweet SWEET!!!. So this year, we're at the tip and I turn to Marianne and say, you know what I hope we hear this year? That extra-sweet Yellow Warbler. Within A SECOND (we're talking like right after I said it), we hear sweet, sweet, sweet, I'm so sweet SWEET!!!. We nearly died on the spot. The chances of this occurring are millions to one.

Some bird highlights include a female Prothonotary Warbler on the Woodland Trail, all three Scoter species, a large flock of Black-bellied Plovers in the Onion Fields and Shorebird Cell, a Philadelphia Warbler near the park entrance, and an unexpected surprise when Marianne dropped me off at home.

We pulled in and Marianne suddenly pointed and asked what happened to this House Sparrow. It was hanging by a string that it had wrapped around its leg and couldn't fly up to a branch or break free. Next thing we knew, a Common Grackle, an omnivorous species that is known to kill baby birds right in the nest, showed up and started to stab the sparrow with its beak!! I've never seen behaviour like this and it was so interesting to see a Grackle take on a dying sparrow like that. The Grackle eventually left when my Dad got sentimental and saved the sparrow, but nonetheless, it was really interesting behaviour.

Oh, and the other highlight? We got to over 100 species! Around 4:30, we were eating supper and realized we were at 85 birds for the day so we toughed it out and kept birding at Hillman Marsh to get to 100. Later that night, in Wheatley, I got a couple more birds for the day including Chimney Swift and a Red-tailed Hawk just outside of town.

The list:

Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-necked Pheasant
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Philadelphia Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Chimney Swift
Purple Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Wood Thrush
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Northern Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
Orchard Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 105

Gazing into the Crystal Ball - New Species for Pelee Will Be.....

2009-04-11T23:01:00.003-04:00

Each year, Marianne and I, along with our top-ten most wanted list (see earlier post), also make predictions on what species will show up during Spring Migration that will be a new bird for the Pelee birding circle. Last year, Mottled Duck, which I never would have predicted was new. Other relatively recent inclusions are Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Black-necked Stilt, and back in 2005, the infamous Neotropic Cormorant (please remind me of other recent additions post-2000 if you can think of any).

For years, I have always predicted a similar series of birds. Black-necked Stilt was forever my pick (until the year it was seen and then I didn't predict it). Black-headed Grosbeak has also almost always been a top pick (why hasn't one shown up yet?!). I have patiently awaited the arrival of our first Painted Redstart or MacGillivray's Warbler but they will not be my pick this year.

Instead I am going to go with a species that has been on my mind. Call it a hunch. My prediction for the new species of Spring 2009 is Band-tailed Pigeon. Of course, there would likely be concern over the wild status of the bird but that's the species I'm going with.

Jeremy vs. Western Grebe Round III

2009-03-30T23:24:00.004-04:00

No words can begin to describe the pure, utter stupidity of my decision to leave my house on Sunday to vainly go look for the Western Grebe at Ashbridges Bay. Waking up to rain pelting my window should have been the first deterrent. For any sane human being, no force in Heaven and Earth could have made one traipse and slosh through the mud, rain, and wind along the waterfront squinting into distant white-capped swells in the lake through fogged binoculars to look for a diving species that is consistently reported as "requiring a spotting scope to see."

And yet, there I was, standing on the rocks by the shore, my shoes soaked to the ankle, cold wind gnawing its way into every last warm nook and cranny my increasingly wet non-water-proof spring jacket had to offer, my jeans weighed down by so much moisture that I had to tighten my belt an extra notch, my umbrella slipping out of my water-logged gloves and getting caught on branches, and my backpack dropped into a large puddle and subsequently adding "character" to the novel I'm currently reading. To add insult to injury, there were hardly any birds on the lake besides a small spattering of Long-tailed Ducks. At some point I gave up and stopped avoiding puddles of water, splashing along, grinding my teeth and cursing Environment Canada for telling me the rain would stop by noon.

A first- or second-year Iceland Gull flew by. That was the highlight of day and the bird that kept my nerves from snapping beyond repair. Another moment that made me feel a bit better about my situation was when the only other human mentally unstable enough to be in the park with me let his dog off its leash and the little beast jumped right into the lake as the owner frantically tried to get it to swim back to the beach.

As I was leaving the park, the rain stopped and I got on the streetcar, defeated. As the puddle under my feet expanded on the floor and I air-dried my water-damaged novel, I became determined to get this bird. My nemesis bird. The bird I will go look for again next weekend. The Western Grebe.

Missed! Western Grebe

2009-03-27T10:35:00.003-04:00

My second attempt at getting the Western Grebe that has been hanging out in Lake Ontario off of the southeastern tip of Ashbridges Bay Park ended in what can only be described as an epic fail.

O.K., it wasn't that bad but still...I was disappointed. The bird has been hanging out for a couple of months now and I had went to look for it earlier when it was originally sighted but to no avail. It takes some planning to get to Ashbridges Bay, though. Sometimes (at all times?), it sucks birding without wheels. The park is in the east end of Toronto and takes a good hour and a half to get to by transit. It requires a subway ride followed by a transfer onto the longest Streetcar route in Toronto, the 501. Admittedly, it's a relaxing ride, but it's LONG. By the time you get out to Coxswell where you need to get off, you're feeling the pressure of time. Most of the parks I visit for birding require similar planning (besides High Park, which is basically my backyard!).

Ashbridges Bay is a nice walk. It's quite similar in size and shape to Humber Bay East but without the marshy areas (at Ashbridges, there is a marina for small boats instead). From the park, you get a beautiful view of downtown Toronto as well as a full view of the Leslie Street Spit, closed through the week due to construction. I made my second visit to Ashbridges on Monday, March 23 in hopes that by some chance, the Western Grebe would be close enough to shore to see with my binoculars. The bird was either gone or too far out for me to see. Most posts on Ontbirds suggest bringing a scope but my loaned scope (thanks, Marianne!) is still in my room back home in Leamington. It's not easy to transport it on the Greyhound! So, I went hoping there would be another birder there with a scope but no luck.

I'll try again, or at least visit the park again. Other birds seen on Monday included a good number of Long-tailed Ducks, Common Mergansers, Bufflehead, a sing White-winged Scoter, and Lesser Scaup. Red-winged Blackbirds are out along with many robins, and a few Killdeer in an open field just north of the park.

TOP TEN MOST-WANTED LIST - May 2009

2009-03-21T10:57:00.005-04:00

1.
Red-throated Loon
L 25" ws 36" wt 3.1 lb
Last seen wearing: a brick red scarf and dark-brown coat with a grey hood.
Wanted for: Its mocking up-turned bill as well as being an annual species that every Ontario bird has seen except one Jeremy Hatt.

2.
Blue Grosbeak
L 6.75" ws 11" wt 28g
Last seen wearing: Suspect was female, wearing a pale brown coat, accented with blue stitching and chestnut shoulder patches.
Wanted for: Not appearing in court, May, 2008, and for working with Indigo Buntings to consistently fool amateur birders who issue false reports.
- Anyone with information on the whereabouts of this species should contact Jeremy Hatt immediately. $10,000 reward.

3.
King Rail
L 15" ws 20" wt 360g
Last seen wearing: unknown. Witness reports are hazy and the suspect is rarely seen so as to get an accurate description.
Wanted for: Hiding in private property, noise complaints, and evading birdwatchers wanting another check on their life-lists.

4.
Black-necked Stilt
L 14" ws 29" wt 160g
Last seen wearing: Suspect was on stilts and wearing a black coat and white vest.
Wanted for: Being one of the newest additions to the Pelee Birding Circle list but not staying around long enough for one Jeremy Hatt to purchase a Greyhound ticket and see the bird.

5.
Franklin's Gull
L 14.5" ws 36" wt 280g
Last seen wearing: black hood to conceal identity, black gloves, and a grey and white shirt stained with a touch of pink; possibly blood from its latest victim.
Wanted for: The murder of Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin and stealing his identity.

6.
Hermit Warbler
L 5” ws 8” wt 9.2g
Last seen wearing: much duller colours than usual, attempting to blend in with the common Black-throated Green Warbler.
Wanted for: Various criminal activity and illegal border crossing (alleged video taken of suspect never surfaced. Please report to OBRC with any further documentation).

7.
Townsend’s Warbler
L 5” ws 8” wt 8.8g
Last seen wearing: Black and yellow bee costume.
Wanted for: Aiding and abetting in fraudulent reports in 2008 to confuse and anger birders.

8.
Swainson’s Warbler
L 5.5” ws 9” wt 19g
Last seen wearing: Non-descript brown jumpsuit with rufous ball-cap.
Wanted for: Tax evasion and fraud.

9.
Swallow-tailed Kite
L 22” ws 51” wt 420g
Last seen wearing:
Wanted for: Arriving hours after the Mississippi Kite in May of 2000, causing extreme disappointment among dedicated birders who had already waited 3 hours for the first bird and had to leave to avoid sun stroke.

10.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
L 10” ws 14” wt 29g
Last seen wearning: Black and white tuxedo with exceedingly long tails in the back.
Wanted for: Crimes relating to the death of a fellow family member and subsequent return to the crime-scene years later but still missed by one Jeremy Hatt.
- $1,000,000 Reward

The Important Message of Bridget Stutchbury

2009-02-24T00:53:00.003-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, I attended a lecture by Bridget Stutchbury, author of Silence of the Songbirds, an important environmental book you need to read if you have any interest in or concern for our North American songbirds. The lecture was part of a series put on at the University of Toronto covering a wide range of topics/issues. Next week is a talk on predicting natural disasters, which I also intend to attend.

Stutchbury's lecture was straightforward and relaxed but also eye-opening and profound. I got the sense that she was holding back her passion, ready to boil over but she had to stick to her PowerPoint presentation (a one-on-one would no doubt be fascinating). A lot of the talk was an overview of the main points of her novel and yet I still found myself surprised by the amazing journey our songbirds take every year during migration, disheartened by the statistics on dwindling bird populations, and at times (admittedly) ashamed of being a part of the problem: mainly bad consumer choices and not using my (modest) knowledge to better spread the word.

Much of the problem has to do with habitat destruction and indeed, this was the focus of her presentation. Forest fragments are far from the ideal nesting grounds for birds where they become an easy target for predators like Raccoons, Possums, Skunks, snakes, and even other birds. The nests are simply easier to access for predators since the fragments are often surrounded by open fields or, in the case of Toronto, cityscape. This disrupts territorial species and forces many to settle for sub-par nesting locations. The energy demands and stress on the parents (building the nest, feeding the young, and for the female, laying the eggs) prove to be even more difficult when faced with these poorer habitats. The protection of the Boreal Forest is imperative.

She also explained the problems in the south. Tropical forests, the overwintering habitats for most of our species, is being cut down alarmingly fast. The satellite imagery she showed us of the destruction of the forests in Brazil is pathetic. Another danger? Coffee plantations. Shade-grown is the best choice, where plants are grown under the canopy of natural rain forest, leaving pristine areas intact. On the other hand, sun-grown coffee (many of the cheaper brands we buy in bulk tin cans or many coffee shop chains) require clear-cutting of forests to make way for fields that are now uninhabitable to overwintering songbirds. Pesticides present another huge problem where regulations differ in N. America and S. America. Although there are pesticides banned for being too dangerous in N. America, there are less stringent regulations in S. America so many of the fruits we buy have been sprayed heavily with pesticides we have banned here! This is backwards. Images of piles of Swainson's Hawks killed by the toxins used in the pesticides are indicative of the extreme effect we can have on bird populations based on the chemicals we use.

I have already written much more than I intended in this post. Read Stutchbury's book and get the overall picture (she gets more into climate change, high-rise collisions, stray cats, and a laundry list of other issues). It's grim but hopeful. I certainly respect all the research she has done into North American songbirds and the message she sends out to the public.

I'll end with a couple of links to one of her newest research discoveries, a huge breakthrough that will change the way we view migration (who knew it could be more astonishing?!). She brought up some of her studies during the lecture and it's amazing how much more we can learn with the new technologies we have at our disposal. It's ongoing work like this that will bring better understanding of how we can stop the serious decline of our songbirds. For my part, I will continue to study and appreciate Class Aves and make changes in my life that will lessen my own impact on their decline.

Birder's World article featuring the new research

York University release of the study

Do try to give both a read, even if it's just a quick skim.

The Pileated Woodpecker - a collection of memories

2009-02-21T17:31:00.007-05:00

One of my favourite birds to see while birdwatching has got to be the Pileated Woodpecker, a species that stops me in my tracks and reminds me why I birdwatch in the first place. This is one attractive species. With a length of 16.5" and a wingspan of 29" (thanks, Sibley), this is one large woodpecker (the largest in North America if you categorize The Grail Bird as extinct). It is found across North America but is most widespread in the southeast corner of the continent.

What inspires this post is my 4rth experience with the Pileated Woodpecker, which happened just this afternoon at High Park (February 21). After meeting some friends for lunch in the High Park restaurant, I was walking back to my apartment when I noticed a large black bird flying high over my head. I immediately recognized it as a Pileated Woodpecker as the species is virtually unmistakable in flight. I had to stop and run back a few paces to follow its flight path through the woods. Like every other instance where I've seen this bird, I was mesmerized.

My first encounter of the species was, surprisingly, quite a disappointment. It happened at the tip area of Point Pelee (for the life of me, I cannot remember the year but Marianne can help me on this). A group of us were walking and I remember a stir as we heard through the grapevine that Sarah Rupert had seen a Pileated Woodpecker flying overhead near the vicinity of where we were birding. For whatever reason, Pileated Woodpeckers are hardly ever seen in the Pelee area (likely due to the fact that the species inhabits old-growth forests, which Pelee is definitely not. Rondeau Provincial Park is a fairly reliable, nearby area to see them I hear). So, when the species was seen flying over the tip, a search party was started, which I was a part of. We searched for a couple of hours, starting at the tip and working our way northward through Post Woods on the east side of the park. The most frustrating part of the expedition was that the bird was heard by the group but never relocated! This was a new Pelee bird for me (and a new species at the time) so the overall experience, though exciting, was a bit of a let down as well.

Fast forward to Jully 11, 2001, my first Pileated Woodpecker sighting. This time around, I saw the bird but it was a flyby only and I was in the backseat of a rental car!! We were driving along the highway in Nova Scotia on a trip to the East Coast. During these trips, I'm constantly watching out the window since you never know when you'll spot a good trip bird. It paid off when I saw a large, black bird flying overhead (at a distance) with the telltale undulating flight of the woodpecker...and that was it. Before I knew it, the bird was out of site, I was yelling at my dad to stop the car, and he gave me an incredulous look that reminded me we were in the middle of a highway (car accidents caused by birding may be more frequent than we know. If a police officer ever asked you why you slammed on the breaks on the road and caused a fender-bender, would you ever actually reply, "There's a very good reason, officer. Didn't you see that Pileated Woodpecker flying overhead?!). Anyway, it was my first sighting of this majestic species and I wouldn't see the bird again until 2007 in the Florida Panhandle.

My best looks of the Pileated Woodpecker were in Apalachicola National Forest. Although I was primarily searching for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, in the process, I picked up a group of three Pileated Woodpeckers during the search. Let me tell you, it was a wonderful experience. Every time I heard drumming on a tree, I crazily stalked the sound as if I was desperately looking for a lost pet dog. My parents started to get impatient after about the third knock where I would then race away from them towards the sound. I really needed to see Red-cockaded. But first, I was treated with this trio. It was the first time I saw the species up close (we're talking a few trees away) and actually on a tree rather than a brief flyby. I won't soon forget it. This is truly one of our most beautiful birds. With their red crest, white-and-black patterned face, jet-black body feathers, and mighty bill, they are one heck of a species.

Now comes my fourth sighting, another flyby. This species remains elusive for me in Ontario with sightings separated by years, but in reality, this makes the experience of seeing one all the better. In fact, I don't want to see it again for a long time so that one day I'll look up and gasp when that large, black shape flies overhead. That is, unless one just happens to show up soon at Pelee to add to my May list...but that's a whole other ballgame.

Best Birding Moments

2009-02-05T21:51:00.005-05:00

I've been playing around with the idea of getting more posts going on Cerulean Sky by starting a new feature titled Best Birding Moments. Every birder has fond memories of their experiences. It can be something as simple as finally seeing your nemesis bird of 7 years or something more profound like being moved by the beauty of your natural surroundings.

When I think of my best birding moments, a few immediately come to mind: my first Prothonotary Warbler on the Tilden Trail, finding the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers of Apalachicola National Forest in Florida, a rainy day in May when a fallout occurred in Kopegaron Woods and the warblers were so abundant I couldn't keep up with identifying each individual.

In other cases, my best birding moments are simply cherished memories. Something that immediately comes to mind is when I was younger and I could call Marianne to go for a walk to the bridge and we'd talk for hours on end about birds. Or the carefree days in spring when the two of us would lay side by side in a field, watching the sky as male Horned Larks performed their displays above our heads, and try to pick which one we thought the female would select as her mate.

There are other fond moments I look forward to sharing. With my current work schedule and the hustle and bustle of Toronto, it's often easy to forget how truly passionate I am about birding. I hope these posts will spark a reminder of just how important it is for me to get out there more often and appreciate it.

Waterfowl Inventory 2009

2009-01-11T17:29:00.004-05:00

Some members of the Toronto Ornithological Club who were kind enough to offer me a ride to the waterfront this morning picked me up at 8am to start our group's section of the waterfowl inventory. It's a count done each winter to get an estimate of waterfowl populations on Lake Ontario along the GTA waterfront from the east to west end.

We had a great section to cover from Humber Bay East all the way to the Keating Channel (east of Ontario Place) and including High Park (for Mallards that overwinter on Grenadier Pond where it doesn't freeze over in the north end). I used to live within walking distance of this section of the Toronto waterfront and it's a wonderful place to birdwatch. There are good numbers of duck rafts, many Mute Swans, and a chance for a some uncommon gull species (Glaucous, Iceland in particular). A breakwall along the shore creates shifting ice patches that almost always have good numbers of gulls to look at.

Weather: the temperature, though frigid, was not as bad as it could have been due to very low winds. Had there been winds, it would have been a miserable day. Fortunately, the sun shone bright, there was no fog and little haze, and visibility was high.

Our team consisted of Margaret Kelch, Doug Woods, Celia Harte, Mark Field, Harvey, Josh, and Zoe (I didn't get the last 3 members' last names). What we would often do when we encountered a large group of ducks (the Keating Channel proved the most difficult), would be to assign a species to each birder to count. It made the task much quicker and much easier. I was the official Redhead counter, which was fun but also a challenge...of all the waterfowl we tallied, Redhead had the highest numbers! There was also the issue of distant birds looking superficially similar to Scaups, which were also present in fair numbers. We had one scope in the group so Doug would often be our official distant-raft tallier and just count each species himself while we tallied the closer birds.

Obviously, as birders do, we also looked for other species as well. Some species of note include 3 Common Redpoll at Sunnyside Park, a single Iceland Gull at Keating Channel (LIFER), and an adult Bald Eagle that flew directly over our heads at Ontario Place. Yes, yes, I know...it took me this long to see an Iceland Gull?! Interesting, too, that I got Thayer's before Iceland. It was one of those species that always just seemed to be out of reach for me. I tried hard last year but was unsuccessful (got 2 Glaucous though) so it was a pleasure to get one so close and easily identifiable on this trip (it flew next to a Herring Gull for size comparison and Glaucous Gull was immediately eliminated).

Our numbers for the day were as follows:

Mallard .................. 229
American Black Duck ...... 2
Redhead .................. 1017
Gadwall .................. 16
American Widgeon ......... 8
Greater scaup ............ 576
Lesser scaup ............. 11
Ring-necked Duck ......... 1
Common Goldeneye ......... 128
Bufflehead ............... 49
LongTail ................. 932
Common Merganser ......... 40
Red-breasted Merganser ... 37
Hooded Merganser ......... 11
Mute Swan ................ 23
Tundra Swan .............. 4
Canada Goose ............. 115

The count for American Black Duck is an error. We had more than 2 birds at our first location so I don't know what happened to the final tally. We had closer to 10 birds for the day. Four species that were expected but missed include Trumpeter Swan, Harlequin Duck, Northern Shoveler, and American Coot (more likely in the interior of Humber Bay where we didn't cover).

Day list:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Bald Eagle
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull *lifer
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Redpoll - 3
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 33
Duration: 8:30am-12:30pm

Spotted Towhee pics

2009-01-04T13:58:00.007-05:00

As promised, here are the 3 pictures I got of the Spotted Towhee.

This is the spot where I first saw the bird amidst the tangles in the center of the photo.

The bird has been hanging out behind the 42nd Parallel sign and around the washrooms.

Apparently "updates soon" means "updates in 3 months"

2008-12-30T09:46:00.005-05:00

As I sit blowing warm air into my cold fingers before typing a few words on my horrendously slow home computer writing an update to the least-updated blog in the universe while watching a hunter's truck slow down in front of our house with a rifle pointing out the window (probably hunting the pheasants that we are so happy to have around our house) and hearing Josh Groban pelt out Silent Night in the dining room (my Mom's choice), there is a big ol' crooked smile on my facade at the improbability of me actually having spotted the Spotted Towhee that has now been hanging around Point Pelee since November (...October?!).

Although it was an astonishingly beautiful day on Saturday that would have been ideal for going to Point Pelee to see the bird, which is a great rarity for the area, I decided instead to go on Sunday, quite possibly the windiest day of the year. With trees falling down around me and ice pellets blowing into my face, I bravely ventured out into the park from the warmth of my car to visit the 42nd Parallel sign where the bird has been reported for weeks.

The first good sign was that there were birds around. With the slightest amount of pishing, a large group of Juncos immediately surfaced, followed by a pair of Northern Cardinals, a few American Tree Sparrows, and a Downy Woodpecker. I had been there for about 2 minutes at this point when suddenly another bird popped up from behind a fallen log. THE SPOTTED TOWHEE! Hands now shaking from excitement instead of the cold, I was able to watch the bird for about a minute in my bins before it was concealed again. I got on the phone and gave a self-congratulatory phone call to Marianne, which seemed like a good idea at the time but the long distance fees added to the roaming charges will have me sighing at my Koodo bill in another month's time.

I decided to walk to the tip area to check out if there were any rafts of ducks on the open water. Nothing extraordinary but there was a flock of about 15 Northern Pintail, which was quite interesting. The warm weather must have had them moving. I could only huddle next to the rocks at the tip for so long before I started to get cold so I headed back to the safety of the forest to take one more look at the Spotted Towhee. This time, the bird flew in front of me across the path, which allowed a great look at its wing-pattern (beautiful).

Other birds for the day included 2 Brown Creepers behind the Cattail Cafe along with both a Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglet, a few White-throated Sparrows, and of course, more juncos.

The next day, I went to the park again, this time meeting up with Marianne in the morning. Boy, did it ever help to have someone there with me to keep my mind off the fact that I was wearing thin boots with large holes in them, no other protection on my legs but jeans, and gloves that kept my fingers warm for most of the morning until I decided to try to get photos of the Spotted Towhee (which we relocated easily). Now "try" is definitely the key word of the last sentence. I will be posting these "photos" on my blog once I get back to Toronto (you might not see them until 4 months from now but I do plan to get them up!). Marianne had a good point that they are good enough for records (you can see the bird) but a couple of them look like those shots of Nessie that provide evidence for the Loch Ness monster.

We had some other interesting birds including quite a few finches flying over (Goldfinches and Purple Finches), a large flock of 29 American Robins flying over the tip, two Bald Eagles, a couple of other raptors (a nice Cooper's Hawk flew right over the Spotted Towhee location), and the regular wintering birds.

More to come!

MIA? No. BIA!

2008-09-24T09:18:00.000-04:00

Holy Moly! Updates soon!

Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of North America

2008-08-16T11:26:00.010-04:00

Another quick update while summer winds down and fall migration slowly begins (a post on Ontbirds has already listed some of the fall migrants that can be seen on the Toronto Islands...I plan to take a couple trips there mid-fall for the warblers).

So I went to Chapters to check out the new Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of North American and I can say, with a slight touch of disappointment, that I will not be purchasing the guide (though it is tempting after seeing the beautiful cover art). If I get it for my birthday, that's fine, but it's not worth the purchase for me after looking through the guide. That's not to say it's not a good guide. For anyone starting birdwatching, this is the guide to buy! Peterson's plates and layouts are simple, easy to comprehend, and the arrow system is pivotal to learning. Since my first Peterson Guide, improvements have been made in various publications including simple maps next the plates rather than only in the back of the guide (where larger, more detailed maps appear). Also, up-to-date lumps and splits have always been included. However, while looking through the new guide, which combines Eastern and Western regions (whereas older publications had these two regions split into separate guides), I quickly realized that everything looked very familiar. This is not to say I wanted them to change Peterson's wonderful plates. That would be blasphemy. For me, however, an owner of 3 different versions of the Eastern Guide and 1 Western Guide, there was nothing more to get from the book.

It is handy though. Having a North American Guide versus splitting it into two versions is much more convenient for trips, as well as comparing species between regions. Also, many western birds appear out of range in the east so it's beneficial to have them all in the same guide anyway. I did not have a lot of time to look through the maps, but if I was ever to decide to purchase the book, it would be to compare the maps from the new publication to my older copies. I have my doubts that much would be different though. I also quickly skimmed some of the recent splits/lumps and subspecies and was surprised to see very little text on the potential (and daunting) 9 species of Red Crossbill, as well as Cackling Goose (which does have a separate plate and species account but nothing we haven't read from other guide books).

All in all, the merger of Peterson's Eastern and Western Guides was a good idea and an update on species account was in need, but for me, the $25 can be spent elsewhere (or at least put away in my new RBC spotting scope/iPod account).

2008 OFO Convention

2008-08-05T16:27:00.003-04:00

I finally sent away my registration form for the 2008 Ontario Field Ornithologists Convention on October 4th and 5th. I was able to attend last year's convention at Point Pelee so I didn't want to miss this year's event in Hamilton. I'm pretty excited (although I have a lot of planning to do...where am I going to stay? How am I going to get to Hamilton?). There is a trip to Van Wagner's Beach on Saturday morning led by Brandon Holden so I want to check that out for potential Jaeger's (any of which would be lifers for me). Then on Sunday (I truly hope it's not overbooked), there is a workshop with Donald Kroodsma on recording birds and how to use the equipment he uses. I read a great book about Kroodsma last year that I highly recommend titled Birdsong that details his research and his somewhat -and I mean this in a good way- eccentric lifestyle. Being able to see him speak at the convention and possibly meeting him is something I truly look forward to.

For more details of the OFO convention, click here.

Marine Blues

2008-07-29T14:18:00.006-04:00

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

2008-07-29T13:34:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-22T13:59:00.012-04:00

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

2008-07-21T20:08:00.007-04:00

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

2008-07-19T10:01:00.005-04:00

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

2008-07-07T10:12:00.003-04:00

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!

2008-07-07T09:49:00.003-04:00

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)

2008-07-02T16:46:00.001-04:00

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

Day 6, May 15, '08 - Resurrection. My highest day-count for the trip and a lot of new species for the week.

2008-06-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

So I am ONCE AGAIN resurrecting my birding blog from the abyss after neglecting it for eons. And what a time to stop writing. Midway through my trip home during spring migration. I was hoping to get all of it finished the week after my trip. Then, a promotion at work occurred, I got right back into the Toronto life, and an array of other time-burglars arose, and next thing I knew, it was the end of June and I realized a month had passed since my trip. Well, it's going to be hard to write satisfying posts from the rest of the days I was home (my memory of specific events day to day has dwindled over the expanse of time) but I will include my lists. I also want to get to my "May Misses", which I was most looking forward to writing anyway.

Without further ado, here is my list for Thursday, May 15: (*Note: most times I would have described the weather or my route through Pelee for the day but once again, memory gaps and lapses will be evident with my next few posts!)

Canada Goose
Tundra Swan (same single bird on Concession E)
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Mottled Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Peregrine Falcon
Sora
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl (a second bird than the first on the main road provided decent views on the Woodland Nature Trail)
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher (the individual at the tip was identified through process of elimination by a large group including Ron Tozer. The consensus was Willow. Shortly after the group left, another smaller group that waited heard the bird singing. It was indeed a Willow).
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher (surprisingly my first sighting of the week)
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler (one of the spring highlights. Brandon Holden was the original finder when he heard the bird calling between the main road and west beach birding footpath south of the halfway bus stop. There was some confusion and groups of birders ended up on both sides but eventually everyone realized there were better chances at seeing the bird on the west beach. I believe it stayed for most of the morning/afternoon. I had to wait an hour with the bird constantly singing before it finally was spotted on a bush very close to the trail. Subsequently, I got great views).
Prairie Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow (my first and only Clay-coloured Sparrow was a single bird at the tip but I think more than one was in the vicinity in the morning)
Field Sparrow
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
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 120 (my best day of birding in terms of numbers. 120 was my highest count for the trip)
Total Warblers: 19

One thing I do remember about this day was that I had a number of new birds for the week that I hadn't seen previously. Many others shared the same experience.

Day 5, May 14, '08 - Marianne's Birthday, heavy rain, and a four hour nap

2008-06-03T00:45:00.000-04:00

Wednesday was a write off. The morning started off o.k. in the park but by about 11:00 in the morning, it started to pour rain. Marianne decided to go home and wait for the rain to pass then re-enter the park. I took the chance to get some visiting in with family and to take a nap in the afternoon before a large group of birders got together to celebrate Marianne's marriage (congratulations!). Well, I guess the 6 hours of sleep a night had caught up to me because I laid down at around 1 in the afternoon and by the time I woke up, it was already 5 and I had to leave right away to get to the meal! Long story short, not a good day of birding, but a good day nonetheless.

I did manage to get a new species for the week though. Since the meal was at Freddy's, a restaurant right on Pelee Drive, and lasted till 9 at night, I decided to take a late trip into the park to watch the American Woodcock displays at the Delaurier Trail. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I could hear the tell-tale 'meep' coming from the grasses adjacent to the lot and within a few minutes, those present witnessed the spectacular display of the male woodcock. The male flies directly into the air and then performs a series of amazing aerial maneuvers to impress the females who watches from the ground. This was the first time I had went to the park late enough to witness the displays (at dusk, just before nightfall) and it was well worth it. This is going to become an annual event for me.

In closing, no list for Wednesday, just a lot of rain, a lot of sleep, and a lot of visiting. And knowing that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were going to be long, long days of birding to make up for it!

Day 4 - May 13, '08 - Exclude Hillman and you don't get 100 for a day. That's what I learned this spring.

2008-06-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

Whereas Monday experienced a mini-fallout at the tip, Tuesday experienced quite a drop in diversity and abundance (at least in my observation). However, it was the first day Marianne and I were able to spend a day birding together so I didn't mind a slower day of birding. We had a lot of catching up to do! I also didn't get out to Hillman Marsh on Tuesday so my day list once again is fairly low for a mid-May day.

Here's the list:

Canada Goose
Mallard
Greater Scaup (a late pair off the west beach. These were my only Greater Scaup for the period)
Lesser Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Killdeer
Laughing Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren (surprisingly, my first for the week)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warblr
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping 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: 77
Total Warblers: 16

Day 3, May 12, '09 - Highlight: American White Pelican and a mini-fallout of new passerines

2008-05-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

Can't believe I'm only at Day 3! I have to speed these posts up! Day 3 was definitely a good day for numbers as you'll see from my day list. I caught the 6 o'clock train on this one and was out until after 7pm due to an Eastern Screech-Owl. I was planning on heading home after the shorebird cell but a report of an easy-to-find Screech-Owl made it to my ears to I went back to the park to see the bird in case I couldn't find one later in the week (turns out the same bird came back to the same spot another day and I saw yet another bird on the Nature Trail. But if you're working on a list, it's always better to be safe than sorry). Another highlight was a pair of American White Pelicans on the lake at West Beach. Being such a large species, the two enormous white birds stood out in a raft of Cormorants.

This day also marked a mini-fallout at the tip area, a great day for new warblers and passerines. I spent most of my morning searching out all the birds that were being reported in the vicinity.

Here's my day list:

Canada Goose
Tundra Swan - same bird on Concession E
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup - same bird at the shorebird cell
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck - a single bird at the shorebird cell
Common Loon
Ring-necked Pheasant
American White Pelican - 2 of West Beach
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Sandhill Crane
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper - my first of the week
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs - first of the week
Ruddy Turnstone - first of the week
Sanderling - first of the week - 4 birds on the east beach of Pelee near the tip
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo - first of the week - a single bird near the south train loop
Eastern Screech-Owl - this bird was so camouflaged on its perch in front of a Sycamore tree that I had to follow the exact directions from another birder to pinpoint it.
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker - first of the week
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo - amazingly, this was the only Blue-headed Vireo I saw during my entire visit home!
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo - first of the week; east side of tip
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 - same bird on Tilden Trail
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush - first of the week - 2 birds at the tip
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush - a late bird on Tilden Trail (and my only one for the entire week home)
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler - first of the week
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler - first of week
Bay-breasted Warbler - first of week
Blackpoll Warbler - first of week
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song 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: 120
Total Warblers: 19

Day 2, May 11, '08 - Lifer! Lark Bunting

2008-05-24T10:54:00.000-04:00

My second day in was quite an interesting one. Whoever set the date for Mother's Day wasn't a birder. The holiday falls right smack dab in the middle of birding season and my family gets together annually on the day. So, my day at the park was split up. Bird the morning for 4 hours, go to brunch at the Car Barn in Wheatley for Mother's Day Brunch, then back to the park in the afternoon (after a call from Marianne informing me of a Lark Bunting on the main road north of the train loop!).

I had actually just got home from brunch and was visiting with family when she called and I immediately informed my family what was happening. Seeing as it's May and they have come to understand over the years that I might drop everything and leave for Pelee any minute, they were understanding. Anyway, I got the bird so that's the main thing! And so did a lot of others.

When I arrived, there were already a lot of people on the main road searching/waiting for the bird to feed along the side of the road as it was reported doing earlier in the afternoon. After an hour or two, there finally came a yell from within Loop Woods on the east side of the main road, "I'VE GOT THE BIRD!!." After a mini stampede of birders rushed into the tiny seasonal trails of Loop Woods, the bird was eventually found by most who were willing to wait and provided great looks (and a few photos). Then, the icing on the cake was a call-out of the Black Vulture hanging out on east beach (about a 2 minute walk away). Missing the last train, a group of us walked over to see the Vulture then started our 2.5km walk back to the Visitor Center. Another highlight of my birding week by far as this species was on my most-wanted list for the spring.

Here's my list for the day (shorter because of the break in the afternoon and I didn't go to the Shorebird Cell):
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey - astonishingly, this was the only Wild Turkey I saw in the park for my entire week home! They must make themselves scarce when so many people are around.
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Vulture - this was my second bird for Pelee, but congratulations to Blake for finally seeing his nemesis bird!!
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk - this was a lucky find; a single bird flying over my Grandma's residence in Wheatley. Many struggled to find or simply missed this bird for their May lists.
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper - 4 birds on the east beach
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow - most days, good numbers of swallows were feeding off the tip and east/west beaches. On mornings where there was not much activity, I'd admire their aerial maneuvering as they dipped, dived, and turned for insects.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch - a single bird hanged around the east side of Tilden Trail for most of the week I was home
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Redstart
Kentucky Warbler - only heard, not seen on Tilden Trail
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Bunting - !!!!!
Savannah Sparrow
Song 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
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 77

Day 1 - May 10, '08 - Lifer! Mottled Duck

2008-05-24T10:36:00.000-04:00

When my alarm went off at 6:00am on my first day, I had one thought on my mind: Mottled Duck. Throwing together everything as quickly as humanly possible, I hopped into the silver bullet. That's what Marianne calls my family's Ford Windstar when it's used as a birding vehicle...mostly because it does a lot of speeding for rarities. Years ago, when a stunning 'orange' Ruff was present at Wheatley Harbour, I drove 140 without my license to see the bird. Well, I'm a bit smarter nowadays (back then I was in highschool, you see) and as surprising as it might sound, I do put more value on my life than a lifer.

Well, good news. I saw the bird!!! When I got to the shorebird cell, Kevin Maclaughlin was already there and we started to scan for the bird. Eventually we found a bird that looked good and after careful study of the appropriate field marks (thin neck, darker overall body tone than female Mallard, black pockmark at the gape, and warm, buffy throat), I added one more species to my life list. Fortunately, the bird stuck around for my entire week home to I got quit a few good looks with better lighting on later days. This bird is certainly out of its range (Florida and the Gulf Coast) and it's thought that it probably joined up with a flock of Black Ducks or Mallards and made its way north). Whether the bird will be accepted by the OBRC is the next question, but I doubt they won't accept this one. The bird had no leg bands, it's not tame, and it looked and acted like a wild bird to me). This was the first time this species has ever been seen in Canada so it was definitely one of the highlights of my week off at Pelee. Also nice was a trio of Cackling Geese that was swimming in the shorebird cell near the Mottled Duck. Not a bad start.

My first day was a mix of heavy birding and visiting. Seeing as I was out of Pelee last May, there were friends I hadn't seen for over a year, which meant a lot of catching up.

Here's the day's list:

Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan - a single bird in the shorebird cell
Tundra Swan - a bird has been hanging out on Concession E for quite some time apparently. Maybe it's an injured bird?
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mottled Duck - !!!!!!!!!!!
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead - a single bird in the shorebird cell at Hillman
Lesser Scaup - a lingering pair at the shorebird cell
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant - heard at Hillman
Common Loon - 2 birds flying over the shorebird cell towards the lake
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron - a single bird at the north dyke on Concession E
Turkey Vulture
*Northern Harrier - I saw this bird outside of the Pelee birding circle so couldn't count it on my day list
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk - flying over the Visitor Center parking lot in Pelee
Sandhill Crane - heard calling from the back of the Nature Trail
Black-bellied Plover - at least a thousand flying off the east side of the tip
American Golden-Plover - a single bird at the Shorebird Cell
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope - a male bird at the Cell
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo - I don't know if I just got lucky, but I saw so many Yellow-throated Vireo's this year. I felt spoiled!
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin - this was my 100th bird for the day
Tree Swallow
*Northern Rough-winged Swallow - seen outside the Pelee Circle
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler - 2 birds, male and female at the Woodland Nature Trail bridges. The Nature Trail was the place to be for passerines on Saturday. There was a great diversity and abundance of warblers at the water areas on the trail.
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager - it took me until midway through the week to see a male!
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
*Vesper Sparrow - 2 birds outside of the Pelee Birding Circle. I never did end up getting this species within the circle, which is always frustrating.
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
*Bobolink - this was one of my most frustrating species! For all the effort, I never saw or heard a single bird within the Pelee Circle during my week off.
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird - Woodland Trail is always reliable for this species
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 113
Total Warblers: 20 (I think this was my best warbler day in fact)

MAY AT PELEE '08 - a summary

2008-05-19T10:56:00.000-04:00

After seven intense days of waking up every morning at 5:00am, birding for 12 hours almost every one of those days, scarfing down whatever available food I could find (I actually bought out of all the Nature Nook's stock of Snickers bars), chasing rarities, chasing common species, tick checks, sun burn, back pain, neck pain, leg pain, stomach pain, headaches, day lists, May lists, life lists, Ontario lists, Pelee lists, socializing, and few (but heavenly) naps, I'm back in Toronto regrettably shutting the door on another amazing trip to Point Pelee during spring migration. Phew, as run-ons go, that one's a marathon.

The trip was far too short. My greyhound left Friday night from Toronto at 6:45pm and I didn't get home until after 11:00pm. After quickly unpacking and preparing for the next day, I set my alarm for 5 in the morning and tried to get a wink of sleep before my first exciting day of birding commenced. Each day brought new surprises, new birds, sometimes new disappointments, but in the end, I think I put in a good week of birding. Before May, I debated the best time to take a week off during the month. Do I take off the first week and catch the early migrants but risk missing a lot of the later arrivals and rarities? Do I go at the end of the month when there are fewer people but the opportunity for some late migrants and potential late migrant gems? I ended up deciding on May 10th to May 18th, relatively in the middle but still early enough to catch some of the earlier migrants. I think I made the right choice as I ended up with 2 lifers, 4 Pelee/Ontario birds, and a final count of 170 species, the exact goal I set out upon arrival to Pelee on Saturday (hilariously and stupidly, I original set an unreachable goal of 200 species and quickly altered that number. I hope next year to get the first 2 weeks of May off and then that number will be achievable). Now, the spring season in Pelee goes on without me.

Aside from the birds, Pelee in May is simply my favourite place to be for the people as well. Birders are a special breed. Encouraging, friendly, upbeat, witty, a tad bit strange...sometimes, but always passionate. It's always great to meet up with friends that I only see once a year during spring migration, or at the odd convention or special meeting. To hear of the trips people have taken, the birds they've seen, and the experiences they've had is a pleasure and inspires me each and every time. There is one group in particular that I love to birdwatch with at least a few days, unofficially led by Ron Tozer and Mike Tate. To them, May is a time to see as many species as physically possible during their short stay, over 200 species this year, and to rack up the numbers every day they bird. To a lesser degree, I try to do the same thing. There were a couple days that I could have gotten much higher counts but decisions to stay dry or catch up on some needed sleep made my numbers slip on a few occasions. It might sound like listing, but that's simply not the case. I still appreciate all the birds I see (except for maybe Yellow Warbler, which becomes just a check-mark after the first day of birding). If I already have 1 Prairie Warbler, I'm not going to walk by a second one if it's right in front of me just because I've already ticked it off. Unless of course there's a new bird for my May list down the trail. Hmmm, maybe I'm not sounding convincing here (please note the firm placement of tongue in cheek). For me, a May list sometimes makes a common species a spectacle. Harder to find birds during spring that I see year-round elsewhere become birds to chase after. White-breasted Nuthatch, Bobolink, American Kestrel, and Pine Siskin to name a few. Mind you, it can also have its downsides. I spent a ridiculously outlandish amount of time driving around trying to hear a Bobolink while I could have been searching the under-birded sections of the park, but that's all part of the fun (or frustration depending on how you look at it). I guess the point is I'm still there to study the birds and appreciate their beauty...but there's just a kind of silly excitement I get from keeping a May list. And you still find new birds, even if you are on the hunt for a specific species.

Getting back to the birders, it's always hard to say goodbye when the days are dwindling down, and birders have to go back to their other lives and routines. Each time another birder leaves, a little bit is lost as a large part of the thrill of birding for me is the sharing of sightings. It's exciting being part of the radio system at the park where someone will throw their sighting on the airwaves while anyone listening rushes to get the bird. When you have something good, you want others to share the experience.

In the next few days, I will provide readers with each of my day list statistics, a few posts dedicated to lifers, and a heaping helping of the experiences that go into making May what it is. It's certainly been my best week of birding yet this year hands down.

Mottled Duck....there's still hope

2008-05-05T21:38:00.000-04:00

A helpful Ontbirds post by Bob Curry and Glenda Slessor tells me that the Mottled Duck is still at Hillman Marsh as of May 5th. As Marianne tells me, this is probably the first record for not only the Pelee Birding Circle but for Ontario and Canada as well. That means it's the biggest sighting since the Neotropic Cormorant of 2005. I'm starting to develop a nervous twitch as I anxiously check my hotmail hoping that another sighting will appear telling me the duck is still around. Only 4 more days until I go home. The optimist in me wonders where a Mottled Duck would decide to go. It's not as if it's migrating. It's going to be hard-pressed to find a mate. Saturday, May 10 will be the deciding day. I see myself spending my first day of birding at Hillman Marsh desperately searching...just 4 more days, 4 more days, 4 more days.

As an added bonus to some of those searching for the Mottled Duck, a Mississippi Kite made an appearance. My last sighting for a Mississippi Kite is also my first...May 6, 2000. Another painful miss! And how nice would it be to be able to take a trip to try to see the adult male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher?! I love spring migration!!

Now for something a little lighter - IT'S MAY AND I'M HEADED SOUTH!!

2008-05-04T14:26:00.001-04:00

Spring migration has once again started without me. Fortunately, I've been able to get out birding in some of Toronto's prime locations to witness the first of billions of birds that will make their way across North America on their way towards their breeding grounds to the north. It's difficult to check my email daily and see the reports from my stomping grounds to the south, especially when there are great birds that I might have to miss. Of course, I'm talking about the Mottled Duck, a species that has never before been reported in the Pelee Birding Circle. Now, one is present at Hillman Marsh, being seen by hundreds while I eagerly await getting on the Greyhound to come home for the middle part of May. It's been seen at various locations and I hope hope hope hope hope it will stay for the next week. This is a species I don't want to miss.

For a quick sightings update (I'm doing this by memory so I'll probably miss some), at High Park this week I've noted the following:

- Good numbers of Cormorants are starting to make there way into the area.
- More Great Egrets are around now, displaying their magnificent plumes.
- The common, early migrants have been around for a while now and some of them are already collecting nesting materials including Red-winged Blackbirds, Robins, Grackles.
- Spring migrants include a good number of cheb-ecking Least Flycatchers, Tree and Barn Swallows, Blue-headed Vireo, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Veery, Gray Catbird, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, and Blackburnian Warblers, high numbers of White-throated, White-crowned, Song, and Chipping Sparrows, and quite a few striking American Goldfinches.

Not an hour goes by where I don't think about getting home to Pelee. My trip will last from May 9th to May 18th and my goal (perhaps a bit of a challenge with the time constraint) is to get 200 species for the week I'm home. That will not be nearly enough time and the week will go by way too fast but that's what I somehow hope to miraculously manage.

Bittersweet start to spring migration

2008-05-04T13:49:00.000-04:00

Windsor Star article covering the second day of the Cormant Cull on Middle Island.

What better way to kick-start my return to Cerulean Sky than with an issue I've been watching closely (and sometimes covering) for the last few months: The Middle Island Cormorant Cull.

A lot has developed since the last time I've posted and it ain't good news. A phone call from my mom on Thursday informed me that the shooting had started. The Windsor Star has done an excellent job covering the cull from day one from the initial proposal to the public consultations right up to cull itself. When it was reported that the shootings had started, I was extremely disappointed. As a member of the public who was sent the documents from Parks Canada including the Proposal as well as all of the public comments from each of the meetings (as well as numerous emails), I was not surprised by the decision to go ahead with the plan despite numerous negativity from many public members as well as animal rights groups, birding organizations, and others. I read all of the comments in that report and I would argue that an overwhelming majority was opposed to the cull. However, it seemed set from the beginning that, according to the park mandate on ecological integrity, this is the best way to 'save' Middle Island from the hyperabundance of the Double-crested Cormorant.

I have weighted arguments from both sides. Yes, it does appear that there has been a die-off of trees/vegetation since the colony first started on Middle Island. There are threatened species of flora and fauna that survive on the little piece of land in the center of Lake Erie. But it is also fact that in the last few years, there has been a leveling off of the colony on the island. The graphs put out by Parks Canada in the proposal show it. There seems to be a fairly unpredictable, static fluctuation in bird numbers over the years they have inhabited the island as a nesting ground. Is it enough for such drastic measures? An annual cull? Well, I won't get into those details anymore because the cull has already started. So we may as look at the present issues. As well, Parks Canada won in federal court so we just have to move on from there.

In the latest article (posted above), it is told that media is banned from the site. Police are also monitoring the area to make sure boaters cannot get close to the island for safety purposes. In the first two days of the cull, 72 birds have been shot but Parks Canada is now giving the colony a break from disturbance. Reports also say that large numbers of cormorants, herons, gulls, etc. were seen circling high in the sky over the island during the disturbances of gunshots. This is problematic as other species that do not pose any threats to the vegetation are most likely being harmed in the process. Will it make any difference? How many birds can they actually kill this season? At least it's a management plan that can change from year to year. Is there actually a reliable way to make sure only birds that are beginning to nest or whose eggs haven't hatched yet are being killed though?

From the beginning, I have always been opposed to this management plan. After attending a public meeting on the issue, I felt that this was the wrong way to go about conservation and management. At the heart of the matter, in my opinion, it is humanity's fault. We were the ones that destroyed most of the Carolinian Forest in the first place and are STILL doing so. We are the ones that altered the natural balance with DDT, which the cormorant population is now recovering from. We are the problem. Now the cormorants have become victims of what we think "should" be the way, when we really cannot fully understand the complexity of the issue.

I will write more on this issue and I will continue to keep an open mind. I go home to Pelee on the 9th of May and I'm anxious to see what others feelings are on the issue (hopefully people won't be too sick of talking about it by then). During peak tourism dates, groups are going to form picket lines in front of the park gates to demonstrate their opposition to the cull and hand out black bracelets to those who decide to enter the park. I fear that Parks Canada is getting themselves into a mess on this one. More to come.

Weekend Reflections

2008-03-28T18:21:00.000-04:00

Last week, I took a trip home to Leamington for the Easter Weekend and, without much effort, saw some good spring birds there. The highlight by far were the high numbers of Tundra Swans in the onion fields north of Pelee (Concession D) and also flying over at various locations. Also along Concession D were Northern Pintails, new for my year list, and a few of the usual suspects. I tried Wheatley Harbour for Canvasback and a pink-billed Greater Scaup Marianne told me about but all were MIA. I was also pleased to get out to the countryside to see good numbers of Grackles (not Boat-tailed as a poor Ontbirds poster accidentally reported!), Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins, Killdeer, Horned Lark, and a few others, all of which are virtually absent within Toronto. This weekend, I'm probably going to try to find some Bohemian Waxwings flocks that are being reported frequently from Leslie Street.

On a personal note, last Monday marked the anniversary of my grandpa's passing last year. Although he was suffering from dementia in his last few years, I could always count on him immediately asking if I had seen any good birds every time I visited him. When he was still at home and I had to call from Guelph, he would tell me what birds he had at his feeder, always with excitement in his voice. Above all though, his favourite bird was the Purple Martin and he maintained martin houses for years. He took me birding quite a few times when I was younger to Wheatley Harbour, Hillman Marsh, and Holiday Harbour. I could tell he enjoyed the trips as much as I did.

My Grandma, Mom, and I visited his resting place in the early afternoon on Monday. As we were getting out of the car, a large flock of Tundra Swans in 'V' formation flew over the graveyard singing their melancholy notes. It's the kind of moment we used to love sharing together. When you simply have to stop, forget everything around you, and admire the flock in silence.

Half-lifer! - Harlequin Duck male

2008-03-16T20:15:00.000-04:00

Someone told me this week that Sunday was supposed to go below 0 degrees but fortunately, the afternoon ended up being really nice (except for a chilly wind). Therefore, I decided to try again for the male Harlequin and after about 10 minutes of being at Humber Bay East, I found it along with the 2 females. I had seen a single female a while back on a TOC trip but I missed the male then. Thankfully it stuck around. There were quite a few people taking photos and watching the trio. They were right where the latest poster on Ontbirds said they had them Saturday. I was able to see the male within about 30 feet of the shoreline, diving and sometimes being chased by the other waterfowl present (Long-tailed Ducks and Greater Scaups).

What a beautiful bird. My best bird of 2008 so far. There will be more good birds though. The year has just started and May is just around the corner. I'm trying for a week to two weeks off during spring migration and I'll be making the most of it. I really can't wait. I also want to be around the area so I'm not out of the loop on news of the cull as I'm sure it will be a hot topic of debate at Pelee this spring.

Is Histrionicus Histrionicus History?

2008-03-15T15:56:00.000-04:00

Probably not. The more likely situation? I didn't check every possible place. The trio of Harlequin Ducks has been hanging out at Humber Bay East for weeks now; a male and two females which have been described as being "easy to find" by many. So unless they're actually gone, which I don't think is the case, I'll probably see them soon. I just have to do a more extensive search next time. I was on a schedule today and it was tough to leave the park on such a beautiful day. The snow was melting, I was actually sweating in a hoodie and winter jacket, and I was able to wear my sneakers without my toes freezing solid.

Other birds present were the usual suspects. All three Mergansers, Long-tailed Duck, a ton of Mallard and Canada Geese, the family of Trumpeter Swans, Gadwall, Scaup, Redhead, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and a few Horned Grebes. A singing Cardinal was a nice addition. Apparently the temperature is supposed to drop tonight but I hope it doesn't stay cold for long. It only takes one day like today to really bring on the winter weariness.

And as a last note, congratulations on getting married, Marianne!!!

Update: As I expected, the male Harlequin was reported today between 4:30-6:00pm. I'll be back out there looking for it tomorrow then! This time I'm checking every spot.

Windsor Star covers the cull

2008-03-13T22:23:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of articles from the Windsor Star on the Cormorant Cull to "possibly" take place this spring on Middle Island:

article 1

article 2

Unfortunately, the comments section on the first article doesn't appear with this link. I'll try to find a way to get some of the comments posted because many of them are excellent.

More to come soon. Tonight I'm feeling too tired to write anything intelligent or worthwhile.

Middle Island Cormorant Cull - My Thoughts

2008-03-12T23:17:00.000-04:00

Back in October of 2007, representatives from Point Pelee held a public meeting in Toronto regarding the proposal to reduce the breeding colony of Double-crested Cormorants on Middle Island (now owned by Point Pelee National Park) in order to protect the diversity of flora and fauna on the 18 hectare island. At the time, the meeting was supposed to be a way of involving the public in the planning process or, essentially, a consultation for visitors, stakeholders, and others. In retrospect, this meeting was probably just a mandatory application of the environmental management strategy. "Covering their butts" so to speak. As part of an environmental assessment, public comment will be allowed and the decision will be made once the assessment is complete. I think it's pretty clear how the public feels already.

Months have passed and although there was vigorous opposition to the proposal at this meeting, along with other meetings as I have heard, the plan certainly looks like it's going to take place this year. Tammie Dobbie, who is behind the proposal, along with Park Superintendent Marian Stranak presented the proposal bravely and seem to have already made up their minds that the cull is necessary to 'save' Middle Island's ecological integrity. The backlash against the management strategy, rumours of boycotting the park and picket lines, the many intelligent and professional birders outspoken against the call (including Ontario Field Ornithologists and Toronto Ornithological Club), articles giving bad press to Point Pelee...I hope something gets through to the decision-makers. The hard science isn't there, there are holes in the strategy (especially in regard to long-term management), and many of the arguments on the pro-cull side are weak or anecdotal.

Here are just some of the notes I jotted down when I got back from the meeting:

- Cormorant populations may have negative effects on some of the plants of Middle Island, but the extent of damage was not made clear. Much of the information was anecdotal and aerial photographs showing comparisons of the number of dead trees between years were taken at different months of the year (this is poor evidence as leaf cover can appear drastically different within a matter of weeks).

- There was heavy bias in the presented material towards diversity of plants on the island, as well as too much emphasis on the park mandate to preserve ecological integrity. Although I acknowledge the importance of the island as another piece of remaining Carolinian Forest, the scope, the cost, and the ethical implications behind the proposed strategy do not permit the killing of a native species.

- The long-term goals of the cull were not made clear. A long-term management plan seems to be lacking beyond the proposed 5 years it will take to bring the population down by 90%

- There were far too many assumptions in the models being used to find an appropriate number of birds to kill. Applying a model to a system that is undergoing rapid and unpredictable change is dangerous. For me, there was not enough proof presented about the success of past culls. It also brings into question our definition of ecological management. How far should people go to control natural habitats...is this actually natural?

- Historical range of the bird was not connected to the current Middle Island breeding population, fidelity was not proven to be accurate (rather information seems anecdotal at this time), and observations of the birds on the island should be presented to show that enough study has gone into the decision to cull. A lot of peer-reviewed literature was presented, but much of it was irrelevant to this particular location.

- If the presentation I attended was any indication, there is a large public outcry against this project and I got the impression that attendees of the meeting were not being listened to.

- I realize the park has a mandate that it must abide by, but when this significant amount of people are fully against the cull, should the park continue to do so anyway? If I remember correctly, the decision to close off seasonal birding trails received immediate and strong opposition last year and the plan was dropped. Why does this case have to be different? Yes, it's a larger land mass that is under threat currently, but there is little clue as to how successful this cull will be, how long it will take, the amount of effort needed, etc.

- At the present time, I do not believe that the cormorants of Lake Erie have been given enough study to warrant a decision this drastic. The subject of fidelity in Cormorant breeding sounds like anecdotal evidence and if the limiting factor of the Cormorant's population is breeding territory, I doubt this cull will be successful in the long-run, but rather an expenditure of money and effort to simply delay an inevitable change to Middle Island (a change that shows bias towards the plants on the island and little attention towards breeding birds).

- The first thing Parks Canada should consider is paying attention to the number of negative responses they have received from the community. A subject this controversial should not be taken lightly and public concern/comment is very important. I don't think a quick fix solution will work in this case, and I do not agree with an argument set out by a member of the Nature Conservancy of Canada that people will not donate money in the future to buy land. Although I can't speak on their behalf, my guess is that many of the donors who took part in the buying of Middle Island would also oppose a cull of this magnitude. It would be interesting to get their opinion.

- I value Middle Island's position in Lake Erie as a stopover for migrants on their across the body of water (I do not believe there was enough evidence presented during the public briefing to show that the Cormorant population would have a serious effect on this pattern, though). Birds land on anything available and many times at Point Pelee, birders have witnessed new migrants fly in and land on the beach to rest. Furthermore, there should still be places to perch on the island. This is a weak argument in support of the cull and little emphasis should be made on this point. I also value the island’s status as Canada’s furthest landmass but I do not think that warrants an expensive, poorly supported cull of a native bird species.

- Finally, I value the land as a breeding ground for gulls, terns, herons, and cormorants; something that could very well affected by the disturbances of the cull. Although I agree with most of the points made about humane ways to limit populations of cormorants as apposed to the cull, I think it's equally important to expose the costs behind the management strategy, the poor science, and the reliance on the park mandate to make a point against the project. I still have some research and thinking to do before I make a statement on whether culls are ever necessary or not. There are certainly grey areas.
_______
I'll include a statement I made in an open letter to the park along with a survey that was handed out after the meeting. Many of my above notes were part of the survey I submitted as well. Here is the statement:

I grew up a half hour drive away from Point Pelee. I have been visiting the park my entire life and it is without a doubt my favourite place to birdwatch. Within those years, I have seen a lot of management changes both in terms of public accessibility and ecosystem alterations. To this date, I have never been more concerned by a decision than this current project, which to me is hypocritical of the Park's mandate. Not enough evidence has been provided to support a cull of the Double-crested Cormorant in my opinion. Now, my words will probably not have the weight that many other concerned citizens will have. I am not the head of any organization, nor do I have a doctorate in biology. I am simply a visitor to the park that has enjoyed all the benefits it provides and sparked my love of natural things and a lifelong passion for birding. I understand the complexity of ecological management and that not all decisions will be supported. However, it saddens me to attend a meeting concerning an area of land that is now owned by Point Pelee and witness the majority of public concern being ignored and argued vehemently against. I was not at the other meetings, but if there was a similar reaction and an equal number of people were upset and opposed to the cull, please listen. I am worried that these public consultations are a matter of mandatory procedure, but please stay committed to listening to the comments at these meetings and paying attention to which parties are speaking out. I hear an overwhelming negative response to this project and I agree with most of the arguments against the cull.
_______

Please feel free to comment on this post or let me know if you agree/disagree with any of my above statements. With more reading, my mind may change slightly in some of the minor details of the proposal but overall, I am very much against the cull. If management must take place to protect areas of the island, there are at least other methods that should be given more consideration. More to come soon.