Back on Track! (Week 20 May 11th to May 17th)

This has been the most unreal (and stereotypicallly May) week yet this year!

The week averaged 62 species over the 4 good days (one night was completely rained out) and walked a total of 25.87 km. The best day was by far Friday night with 80 species including 9 new for the year and my first 2 hummers of the year! It was a lot of fun seeing all of the birds returned to the area and the calling of them was just as special as ever. The warblers and vireo were buzzing and a lot of flycatchers were flitting about in the trees. It was what some people call peak birding and this is definitely something I would love to have again and again.

Tonnes of migrants this week as well with 24 new species for the year in 1 week (180 as of Saturday) including 7 species of Warbler and this means lots of photo attempts (and some good ones too). this is the dream of any birder and I wouldn't think the week could get any better than the 80 species I seen on Friday, until my Big Day on Saturday apparently.

Saturday, my Big Day, and a big day it was!
Starting out on the property and it was a crazy morning with 84 species! The same area close to where the owls were nesting was just buzzing with the same Swainson Thrush and Ovenbird and it was amazing to see. The Ovenbird I seen was just hopping along the floor of the forest and what a treat to see a pair of Swainson Thrush along with it. From there I moved on down to find just a burst of Yellow Warbler and a pair of Yellowthroat calling from within the bushes. Around the one pond there were 3 Willow Flycatcher and a Eastern Kingbird in the mix as well. These were all fantastic finds but what hit hard was when I got to the willow trees. I counted about 6 species of Warbler within them and seen my first Chestnut-sided of the year! A few Blackburnian were in the mix as well, it was phenomenal to see the amount of Warbler in such a small area.
From there I moved onto the Sewage Lagoons in Townsend and found a quite a few shorebirds, including my very first Whimbrel and a pair of Short-billed Dowitcher. Along with a lot of Least Sandpiper and about 11 Semipalmated Plover. Such a treat to finally see my first Whimbrel!
From there I moved on to Rock Point PP. That was a lot of fun, warblers were buzzing and I found my first Black-and-white Warbler for the day, which is my favourite bird. Lots of Yellow-rumps and the Yellows were definitely the highest counts of the day!

Weekly Totals: 
Species: 121
Individuals: 3,264

Dunlin - Haldimand ON

Lesser Yellowlegs - Haldimand ON

Short-billed Dowitcher

Semipalmated Plover - Haldimand ON

Whimbrel - Haldimand ON

Least Sandpiper - Haldimand ON

Cape May Warbler - Haldimand ON

Yellow Warbler - Haldimand ON

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Haldimand ON

Blackburnian Warbler - Haldimand ON

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Haldimand ON

Great Horned Owl - Haldimand ON

Ovenbird - Haldimand ON

Black-throated Blue Warbler - Haldimand ON

Warbling Vireo - Haldimand ON

Snow... in May... C'mon 2020! (Week 19 May 4th to May 10th)

First things first, COVID-19 updates:

1. Haldimand and Norfolk County Parks opening last weekend. This did not mean the opening of banding again but it does look good for the people without property like my family. This we still need to social distance of course but this is definitely still awesome news for the whole county! 
2. Hamilton parks and conservation areas reopened late on Friday. This is good for a few of my friends and fellow banders at Ruthven to bolster their year lists again! I will not be heading that direction anytime soon it seems but it is still good to see the birding lists flowing back through my reports. 
3. ALL Provincial Parks are opening up for hikers by the end of the week this next week (May 11th to  May 15th), this is good for us all! Selkirk will be opening (giving me access to the Lake again) and Long Point as well. 

Thanks to Social Distancing all of us are now allowed to go back out since the curve has started to flatten and here in Haldimand it has been a while since we've had a new case. Phase 1 of Doug Ford's plan is in full swing as of the 11th and we are going to have lots of birds coming back after this disaster of a weekend, which, lets dive into the horrifying last week.. 

The weekday was averaging 40 species a day and the highest was only 45 species. Horrible numbers for this time of year and only 3 warblers, ugh. But, on a positive note, a lifer is definitely worth a mention! Worm-eating Warbler, an infrequent southern Migrant and the first eBird record of the bird in the county. I did not have my camera even though I tried to get a shot through my binoculars I was unfortunately not able to! That was legitimately the only bird I can say was a good find for the week with all of the bad weather and lack of sun at night. 

On to the weekend.

Saturday was eBird's Global Big Day and it was also bad! The morning was -1°C and it snowed at about 11am. The day did start very early (I was awake at 5am). This is the first time I have ever went out in May with thermals on (and hopefully my last). The day started with the typical White-crowned Sparrows singing down the lane way towards the property and just a single Chipping Sparrow calling from not too far away. Farther into the wetland I figured it would be a slow day. There were almost no calling birds but luckily I was able to catch a look at a flyover Wilson Snipe (Lifer for me!). I moved on and still no birds, even the wetland did not give anything except for a First of the Year (FOY) Marsh Wren. I ended the day with a pair of Baltimore Oriole feeding off the hummingbird feeder. The final species count ended at 45 and 216 individual birds which is down drastically from last year's 96 species and 760 individuals. 

Sunday, much much better! 19 more species than the day before (64), and including highlights like Palm Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and Wood Thrush! The Yellow Warbler were definitely buzzing with the 22 individuals seen and the 33 Song Sparrow definitely pulled their weight. The Lake was fairly good on a little look seen a pair of Caspian Tern and had 5 Common Tern right above my head! This definitely felt more like the typical birding for this time of year!

Still awaiting more birds this week, hopefully we will see the Chestnut-sided Warbler and Red-eyed Vireo return soon and who knows maybe I'll be graced with a Canada Warbler! This week is supposed to be above 10°C all week (a little rain here and there except for Thursday which looks like we will be getting 10-15mm, oof) but hopefully 50+ species all this week, fingers crossed!!!

Good birding everyone, and stay safe! 

Week's Totals: 

Species: 83

Individuals: 1,787

Wood Thrush - Haldimand ON

Palm Warbler - Haldimand ON

Chipping Sparrow - Haldimand ON

Baltimore Oriole in the snow - Haldimand ON

Female Red-winged Blackbird - Haldimand ON

White-crowned Sparrow - Haldimand ON

Baltimore Oriole - Haldimand ON

April Showers Brings May Birds? (Week 18 April 27th to May 3rd)

The last week of April was definitely a little disappointing, much like the rest of the month. With quarantine still on the birds have been going to other places than where I've been birding. With the cold month and the end of it being all rain I didn't get to see much. 

But, with the beginning of May comes the opening up the sky and the sun came pouring in and so did the birds! 

Starting with Saturday. It was a great day for Sparrows (10 species and 89 individuals). Got up at about 04:30 to a needy cat and a chilly morning (5°C). Got out to the property at about 06:00 and started the morning with an amazing look at 19 Common Loon migrating north (definitely have never seen so many at once). Moving into the bush farther I checkup on the local Great Horned Owl nest. The little one is getting to be massive, it's almost the size of mom and is finally growing some adult plumage but for the most part it's still a big puff ball. Just a little ways up from the owls I heard the resident Ring-necked Pheasant calling from the corn field, that's the second time I've heard him back there and it is looking really good that they may be breeding back in there. Moving towards the west side of the wetlands I got a look at a nice Merlin perched over the bushes and seeking out a meal from the White-throated Sparrow singing around it. A little ways back into the bush from the field I stirred up something I was not expecting. A possum came walking towards me. It stopped in its tracks, I think it was just as shocked as I was when it looked directly at me! After he walked away I continued up the path and seen a new warbler for the year, Palm Warbler. We get the "western" subspecies of this bird and it is definitely a gorgeous little guy that I heard singing among the 3 or 4 House Wren and Rose-breasted Grosbeak singing at the top of a nearby tree. The day ended with 65 species the most I've ever seen this year! 

Sunday was the best day I have had in a long time, and the hottest I may add (18°C)! Got out a little later but got a nice surprise on my way in, an Eastern Meadowlark on a fence post on the side of the road so it was a great start to an even better day. Nothing was too exciting getting to the west side. Right adjacent to my Wood Duck box there were 7 species of Warbler around including Nashville and Black-and-white which were both new for the year! Lots of pictures if birds and lots of calling all around my head. Moving down the trail there was a female Eastern Towhee and a late Fox Sparrow. Moving towards the pines there was an Ovenbird kicking around along the ground with 4 Hermit Thrush and a few Ruby-crowned Kinglet kicking around the canopy. Coming back into the deciduous forest heard a ton of Warblers. Yellow, Palm, and a great looking male Blackburnian calling from the canopy! Farther down there is a little stream that had a pair Northern Waterthrush hanging around it. Not long after I heard a Sandhill Crane calling above me, which is a first for my 5MR. In the wetlands I seen my first 2 Green Heron of the year and a surprise Sora! I ended the day with 75 species and a new yearly record! 

All in all the weekend was fantastic! 91 species in 3 days is always a wonderful sight to see! 

Hope everyone is staying safe and good birding all! 

Week's Totals: 

Species: 92

Individuals: 1,970

Common Yellowthroat - Haldimand ON

Belted Kingfisher - Haldimand ON

Merlin - Haldimand ON

Palm Warbler - Haldimand ON

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Haldimand ON

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Haldimand ON

Black-and-white Warbler - Haldimand ON

Blackburnian Warbler - Haldimand ON

Black-throated Green Warbler - Haldimand ON

Fox Sparrow - Haldimand ON

Purple Martin - Haldimand ON

Sora - Haldimand ON

White-throated Sparrow - Haldimand ON

Yellow Warbler - Haldimand ON

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Haldimand ON

White-crowned Sparrow - Haldimand ON

Yellow Warbler - Haldimand ON