Started out pretty chilly so we wore windbreakers to keep us a little sheltered. Now, the key to kayaking is start against the current and go back with to make so your muscles aren't killing you by the end! We started in Cayuga and headed up stream towards Ruthven. This was going to be great for me, it's been almost 2 months.
To start the day was an amazing flyover of an Osprey, and then all of a sudden 1 turned into 2, more than likely the same pair I seen last weekend, still amazing to see them! The very next bridge after the one crossing into Cayuga was just teeming with Cliff Swallow, an awesome bird that breeds off that bridge! After almost getting stuck (twice) and a little bit of shoulder strain, I heard a pair of Spotted Sandpiper and Tree Swallow flying low over the water. By the time we got to Ruthven it was sunny and the birds had piled up including a Red-eyed Vireo singing and 2 Warbling Vireo not far afterwards, and the Cedar Waxwing were just everywhere!
Kayaking past Ruthven brought back some fond memories of banding and a little disappointment that I missed out on the season (especially the Cerulean Warbler). Then I heard something, kind of like a croaky trill.. Yellow-billed Cuckoo! A bird I thought I was going to miss this year because of Covid-19, but man was it amazing to hear that bird again! And, to top off our trip by Ruthven, nothing other than another pair of Osprey flying high above the mansion and more than likely scanning for fish in the river. Just a few amazing birds to find!
The remainder of the trip consisted of a lot of drifting and relaxing! Nice to get back out on the water!
The afternoon saw me taking my first trip out of the county in months! Hamilton, Van Wagner's Beach by Hutches. This is where a Yellow-headed Blackbird has been calling home for last couple of days, and I was determined to find it! It was a lot of searching.. I'm walking about hours of walking. I search and searched without any luck! But, I was determined, I wanted that bird! That stubbornness eventually paid off! Yellow-headed blackbird!
Once the day was all said and done I got a pair of new species:
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo (195)
- Yellow-headed Blackbird (196)
Bird of the day - Yellow-headed Blackbird - This western vagrant has showed up twice this year that I know of and I missed the first one. This is not a life bird for me though, I seen one in Drumheller, Alberta when I was younger, just amazing.
44 Species - 313 Individuals
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| This is a 1st year male Yellow-headed Blackbird and that striking yellow head is the key ID factor, these western birds are just a little larger than our Red-winged Blackbird and are definitely a treat! - Hamilton ON |
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