Switching to Wix

 Hi everyone! 

Just less than 2 years ago I created this blog. For a little while now I've been thinking about switching to Wix and the last few weeks I've been working on getting the new blog up and running. Well, the time is here! You can all find my new blog (under the same name) @ https://bassindalebirding.wixsite.com/mysite. 

I hope to see you all there! 

Alcid Fever

 It was quite the day on Saturday! Friday (October 29) reports started rolling in of Alcids flying around Lake Ontario between Whitby and Niagara all day long! With a major case of FOMO, I decided to check Windy.com and low and behold the forecast had NE winds the next day too, yes! This could mean more migrating pelagic birds! 

So, me being as excited as I was decided to be at Lakeland for 10:00 AM, scope in hand and camera slung around my shoulder just in case. 

When I got there I am not joking there were probably 30-40 people lined up behind The Lakeview scopes/cameras at the ready. According to some reports I had missed out on 2 Black-legged Kittiwakes (DAMN) but the day was still young and I expected at least a little more movement through the day. Man, was I wrong... through the first 2-2.5 hours the best bird I managed to get on was a Common Loon flying strong just above the waves past the wave tower. This was going to be a long, cold day. 

Not long after noon a little bit of action starts to pick up, people yelling out at an Iceland Gull and some Great Black-backs on the horizon, a little more interesting... then all I hear from the large group is "ALCID!" Every person at that stakeout swivelled their scopes and low and behold my first Alcid! The striking difference between the jet black top and the white bottom of the bird was breathtaking even from the distance I was. I swore I got flashes of white from under the wings which suggested Razorbill but I didn't feel confident enough to call it for certain. Bobbing above and below the horizon line I eventually lost it and never saw the bird again. That got my heart pumping! 

Over and over people were calling alcids but I couldn't manage to get my scope on them, the screams were non-descript and muffled with the large group. A lot of others got on a bird that was confirmed as a Razorbill but unfortunately I and a group of others standing by me were lost in their description, "right of the four gulls" they said. But, here's the thing, this is Lake Ontario, WHAT FOUR GULLS? When we finally got on it, we decided the bird was a female Long-tailed Duck (which I know its hard to believe but in our defence, the waves were very high and we didn't get real good looks at the bird until someone snapped a photo). And by the time we had deduced the bird wasn't a Razorbill the actual Razorbill had flown off. 

I stayed for another hour and a half two hours past then but I never managed to get my eyes on another Alcid. Not only alcids but even Black-legged Kittiwakes were non-existent through the remainder of the day (after the 2 juveniles in the morning) and not a single Jaeger was reported that day to my knowledge. 

All in all, even though I was unable to get on any new life/year birds it was still nice to get out and actually lakewatch, it was only the 2nd time I was able to get out there this year. Hopefully, some of you got on the alcids! 

What's up with me? Recent findings and good birds

Ah, gotta love being in your mid-20s and moving a mile a minute! Haven't really had much going on bird-wise in the last little while, just out of my move and work has been busy! Not to mention the weather has been the next level of crap! 

Anyhow, I still got some good sightings September only added 8 species for me and so far October hasn't added a single species to my list. The latest include a Long-billed Dowitcher that I chased with Liam, and it counts as the first for my HSA birds! Was a little hectic of a find. Took a lot of scoping and some real muddy crappy conditions. I finally managed to locate the bird just before it flew, but Liam initially missed it. After another 15-20 mins of searching, he finally relocated the bird and got some decent photos considering the distance! This was a lifer for him and only my 4th individual!  

The others were a pair of Hudsonian Godwit and a White-rumped Sandpiper found along Haldibrook Road, unfortunately, they were not on the Haldimand side of the road! The White-rumped was long-awaited, I could not believe I hadn't seen it yet for the year! 

Now more recently I've started to get some banding done! This nabbed me my FOY Philadelphia Vireo and a Swainson's and Gray-cheeked Thrush in the same day so great comparison! 

Finally, we got ear of a Yellow-throated Warbler in Bronte Bluffs Park, not a big park but it would still be a bit of a search for it! After running into some familiar faces we got on the warbler and counts as my first for Ontario! 

Yellow-throated Warbler (thanks Liam for the picture), it was flitting up in the treetops but was still a great bird! ~Halton ON

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, this little guy was pretty easy to take out of the net, always forget how tiny they really are! ~ Haldimand ON

Lovely Hermit Thrush completed the migrant Catharus thrush trifecta for the fall ~ Haldimand ON

Really bright Philadelphia Vireo, the first one I've ever banded! ~ Haldimand ON

Yellow-rumped Warbler ~ Haldimand ON

Gray-cheeked Thrush ~ Haldimand ON

Blackpoll Warbler ~ Haldimand ON

Juv Male Indigo Bunting ~ Haldimand ON

Swainson's Thrush ~ Haldimand ON

Blackburnian Warbler ~ Haldimand ON