[Ontbirds] "SUMMER" Sightings are now due
The SUMMER reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to their local compilers for the period of June 1 to July 31 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers in Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this summer. Be sure to include details as to who found a particular bird. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island: Graeme Gibson -- griogibson...@gmail.com Point Pelee Birding Area: Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Chatham-Kent Region and Lambton County: Blake Mann -- boatm...@kent.net Middlesex County: Pete Read -- psr...@xplornet.com Oxford County: James Holdsworth -- jmholdswo...@rogers.com Waterloo Region and Wellington County: Ken Burrell -- kenneth.gd.burr...@gmail.com Long Point Birding Area: Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.macken...@gmail.com Haldimand County: Ron Ridout -- rrid...@bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region: Marcie Jacklin -- mjack...@brocku.ca Hamilton Study Area: Bill Lamond -- bill-lam...@hotmail.com Brant County: Bill Lamond -- bill-lam...@hotmail.com Peel Region: Mark Cranford -- mark.cranf...@rogers.com Metropolitan Toronto: Roy Smith -- gtabir...@gmail.com York Region: Bruce Brydon -- rbbry...@hotmail.com Durham Region: Brandon McWalters -- mpmelectrical...@gmail.com Peterborough County: Martin Parker -- mparke...@cogeco.ca Northumberland County: Clive Goodwin -- clivegood...@sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Maureen Riggs -- mri...@sympatico.ca Prince Edward County: Terry Sprague -- tspra...@kos.net Kingston Birding Area: Mark D. Read -- markdr...@gmail.com Eastern Ontario (St. Lawrence River etc.): Brian Morin -- brianlmo...@gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area: Gregory Zbitnew -- k_zbitn...@bell.net Kawartha Lakes: Martha Miller -- martha.mil...@rogers.com Simcoe County: David Szmyr -- david.sz...@flemingcollege.ca Grey and Bruce counties: James Turland -- jaturl...@gmail.com Muskoka District: Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_bir...@hotmail.com Algonquin Provincial Park: Ron Tozer -- rto...@vianet.ca North Bay Area: Renee Levesque -- rlevesque1...@gmail.com Sudbury District: John Lemon -- hawk@hotmail.com Manitoulin District: Chris Bell -- cb...@amtelecom.net Sault Ste. Marie Area: Kirk Zufelt -- zufel...@shaw.ca Thunder Bay District: Brian Ratcliff -- bratcl...@tbaytel.net Thunder Cape Bird Observatory: Rinchen Boardman -- rinchenboard...@gmail.com Rainy River District: Dave Elder -- mdwi...@shaw.ca Dryden Area: Carolle Eady -- tce...@drytel.net Timiskaming District: Mark Milton -- wendigo...@hotmail.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee): Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay): Rod Brook -- rod.br...@ontario.ca Ontario E-Bird: Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell...@gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Renfrew County Haliburton County Huron County Parry Sound District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area and Hudson Bay Lowlands) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to Blake Mann, who will be compiling and writing the 2016 Summer Season Report for North American Birds: boatm...@kent.net Note that without compilers, sightings made in the above non-reporting areas might not get published. If you would like to be a compiler for one of these regions, please contact Margaret Bain -- mjcb...@sympatico.ca E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who actually found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- FOR CLARITY. North American Birds is a journal published four times per year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for every region in North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, presenting a summary of significant sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since
[Ontbirds] "SPRING" Sightings are now due
The SPRING reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to local compilers for the period of March 1 to May 31 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers in Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this spring. Be sure to include details as to who found a particular bird. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island: Graeme Gibson -- griogibson...@gmail.com Point Pelee Birding Area: Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Chatham-Kent and Lambton County: Blake Mann -- boatm...@kent.net Middlesex County: Pete Read -- psr...@xplornet.com Oxford County: James Holdsworth -- jmholdswo...@rogers.com Waterloo Region and Wellington County: Ken Burrell -- kenneth.gd.burr...@gmail.com Long Point Birding Area: Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.macken...@gmail.com Haldimand County: Ron Ridout -- rrid...@bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region: Marcie Jacklin -- mjack...@brocku.ca Hamilton Study Area: Bill Lamond -- bill-lam...@hotmail.com Brant County: Bill Lamond -- bill-lam...@hotmail.com Peel Region: Mark Cranford -- mark.cranf...@rogers.com Metropolitan Toronto: Roy Smith -- gtabir...@gmail.com York Region: Bruce Brydon -- rbbry...@hotmail.com Durham Region: Brandon McWalters -- mpmelectrical...@gmail.com Peterborough County: Martin Parker -- mparke...@cogeco.ca Northumberland County: Clive Goodwin -- clivegood...@sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Maureen Riggs -- mri...@sympatico.ca Prince Edward County: Terry Sprague -- tspra...@kos.net Kingston Birding Area: Mark D. Read -- markdr...@gmail.com Eastern Ontario (St. Lawrence River etc.): Brian Morin -- brianlmo...@gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area: Gregory Zbitnew -- k_zbitn...@bell.net Kawartha Lakes: Martha Miller -- martha.mil...@rogers.com Simcoe County: David Szmyr -- david.sz...@flemingcollege.ca Grey and Bruce counties: James Turland -- jaturl...@gmail.com Muskoka District: Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_bir...@hotmail.com Algonquin Provincial Park: Ron Tozer -- rto...@vianet.ca North Bay Area: Renee Levesque -- rlevesque1...@gmail.com Sudbury District: John Lemon -- hawk@hotmail.com Manitoulin District: Chris Bell -- cb...@amtelecom.net Sault Ste. Marie Area: Kirk Zufelt -- zufel...@shaw.ca Thunder Bay District: Brian Ratcliff -- bratcl...@tbaytel.net Thunder Cape Bird Observatory: Rinchen Boardman -- rinchenboard...@gmail.com Rainy River District: Dave Elder -- mdwi...@shaw.ca Dryden Area: Carolle Eady -- tce...@drytel.net Timiskaming District: Mark Milton -- wendigo...@hotmail.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee): Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay): Rod Brook -- rod.br...@ontario.ca Ontario E-Bird: Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell...@gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Renfrew County Haliburton County Huron County Parry Sound District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area and Hudson Bay Lowlands) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to Alan Wormington, who will be compiling and writing the 2016 Spring Season Report for North American Birds: worming...@juno.com Note that without compilers, sightings made in the above non-reporting areas might not get published. If you would like to be a compiler for one of these regions, please contact Margaret Bain -- mjcb...@sympatico.ca E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who actually found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- FOR CLARITY. North American Birds is a journal published four times per year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for every region in North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, presenting a summary of significant sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947
[Ontbirds] Fw: not a Mountain Plover at Hillman
Not sure if I would call this Golden Plover "aberrant." To me it looked like a very typical first-summer (one-year-old) Golden Plover, a plumage we don't normally see around here until a bit later in the season (i.e. around the middle of June). Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario -- Forwarded Message -- From: robertcermak9 <robertcerm...@hotmail.com> To: Ontbirds <birdalert@ontbirds.ca> Subject: [Ontbirds] not a Mountain Plover at Hillman Date: Fri, 20 May 2016 16:32:33 -0400 The bird reported as a possible Mountain Plover at the Hillman Marsh Shorebird cell north east of Point Pelee is likely an aberant Golden Plover. A number of expert birders have had very good scope views and all agree it is not a Mountain Plover. Sent from Samsung Mobile ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Fit Mom Daily "Remove" Your Eye Bags & Wrinkles In 1 Minute! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/573f791a246ae79196e9ast04duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Grace's Warbler: UPDATE
Here is some critical information pertaining to the Grace's Warbler found today (Wednesday) at Point Pelee The bird was originally found and photographed by Willie D'Anna at 6:56 a.m., just north of the Tip. The bird was apparently observed flying south off the Tip at 7:00 a.m. by others. Late tonight I received information from Joseph Minor, who saw and photographed the bird at Sparrow Field at 7:16 a.m. The date-stamp indicates photos were taken at 7:12 a.m., but I asked him to compare his camera directly to a real clock to verify the time. It so happens that his camera was in fact 4 minutes slow, thus 7:16 a.m. is the correct time the bird was photographed. The two photos provided are poor, but I am reasonably convinced that it is indeed the Grace's Warbler. The bird was feeding high up in tall trees at Sparrow Field, and the bird was still there when Joseph left the area. Thus the last time the bird was seen was at 7:16 a.m., which may imply that it was present all day. Even if the bird did fly south off the Tip, it obviously must have returned since it was seen later at Sparrow Field. So in summary, one can assume that the bird could well be still present on Thursday. Areas to check first would be Sparrow Field, then Post Woods, Loop Woods, and west beaches west of these sites. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario The Conservative Investor Leaked Wall Street Software Turns $1,500 Savings Into $2.7 Million Fortune http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/572ad712e30065712136cst01duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] "WINTER" SIGHTINGS are now due
The WINTER reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to local compilers for the period of December 1 to February 29 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers in Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this winter. Be sure to include details as to who found a particular bird. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island: Graeme Gibson -- graeme.gib...@pibo.ca Point Pelee Birding Area: Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Chatham-Kent and Lambton County: Blake Mann -- boatm...@kent.net Middlesex County: Pete Read -- psr...@xplornet.com Oxford County: James Holdsworth -- jmholdswo...@rogers.com Waterloo Region and Wellington County: Ken Burrell -- kenneth.gd.burr...@gmail.com Long Point Checklist Area: Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.macken...@gmail.com Haldimand County: Ron Ridout -- rrid...@bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region: Marcie Jacklin -- mjack...@brocku.ca Hamilton Study Area: Bill Lamond -- bill-lam...@hotmail.com Peel Region: Mark Cranford -- mark.cranf...@rogers.com Metropolitan Toronto: David Worthington -- worth...@rogers.com York Region: Bruce Brydon -- rbbry...@hotmail.com Durham Region: Brandon McWalters -- mpmelectrical...@gmail.com Northumberland County: Clive Goodwin -- clivegood...@sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Maureen Riggs -- mri...@sympatico.ca Prince Edward County: Terry Sprague -- tspra...@kos.net Kingston Birding Area: Mark D. Read -- markdr...@gmail.com Eastern Ontario (St. Lawrence River etc.): Brian Morin -- brianlmo...@gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area: Gregory Zbitnew -- k_zbitn...@bell.net Kawartha Lakes: Martha Miller -- martha.mil...@rogers.com Grey and Bruce counties: James Turland -- jaturl...@gmail.com Muskoka District: Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_bir...@hotmail.com Algonquin Provincial Park: Ron Tozer -- rto...@vianet.ca North Bay Area: Renee Levesque -- rlevesque1...@gmail.com Sudbury District: John Lemon -- hawk@hotmail.com Manitoulin District: Chris Bell -- cb...@amtelecom.net Sault Ste. Marie Area: Kirk Zufelt -- zufel...@shaw.ca Thunder Bay District: Brian Ratcliff -- bratcl...@tbaytel.net Thunder Cape Bird Observatory: Rinchen Boardman -- rinchenboard...@gmail.com Rainy River District: Dave Elder -- mdwi...@shaw.ca Dryden Area: Carolle Eady -- tce...@drytel.net Southern James Bay (including Moosonee): Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay): Rod Brook -- rod.br...@ontario.ca Ontario E-Bird: Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell...@gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Renfrew County Haliburton County Peterborough County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area and Hudson Bay Lowlands) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to Josh Vandermeulen, who will be compiling and writing the Winter Season Report for North American Birds: joshvandermeu...@live.ca Note that without compilers, sightings made in the above non-reporting areas might not get published. If you would like to be a compiler for one of these regions, please contact Margaret Bain -- mjcb...@sympatico.ca E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who actually found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- FOR CLARITY. North American Birds is a journal published four times per year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, presenting a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. Information about North American Birds, and how to subscribe, can be found here: http
[Ontbirds] Photos -- Cedar Creek Empidonax Flycatcher
4 photos of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher have been posted to the OFO website: http://www.ofo.ca/gallery/current/year/2015/month/12 Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Update -- Cedar Creek Empidonax Flycatcher
Everyone A lot of people have been asking me about this bird, so thought I should provide an update even though the "review process" is far from finished. At the time of observation no one considered either Yellow-bellied or Acadian as candidates for this bird, thus our thought processes were 100% flawed right from the start. In the field I was trying to ID the bird in reverse not Gray, not Dusky, not Western, not Least, thus the bird must be Hammond's. Flawed logic, obviously. Once at home where I could view my photos in detail, and do some research, it was clear that the bird was obviously not a Hammond's Flycatcher. My attention was then directed to other species, especially Acadian. I then sent numerous photographs to several people across North America with extensive knowledge on empidonax identification. I thought this was going to be a simple exercise. Not true! Several were strongly in favour of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, others strongly in favour of Acadian (including myself). One person provided an extremely detailed analysis as to why the bird was most certainly a Western Flycatcher. But quickly thereafter at least two participants said the bird was most definitely NOT a Western Flycatcher! Not so easy, is it? Late today Peter Pyle came through with a very thorough and convincing tome stating why the bird is most certainly a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Included are details that definitely (apparently) eliminate Western Flycatcher. But I should stress that most other participants have yet to comment on Peter's analysis, thus there is always the possibility that the likely ID as Yellow-bellied Flycatcher could change. But until further notice the bird should be considered a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. As for seeing the bird, I heard second-hand that an individual today was unable to relocate the bird after a 1.5 hour search. Thus the bird has either died (unlikely) or simply moved to a different section within the massive forest in which it was found. Please do not ask to see my photos, although I might post a couple to the OFO website in a few days. I have already spent too much time of this. Along with the finder of the bird, I expect to publish an article on this record for Ontario Birds. Thus photos will be published in due time. Rather amazing that for a bird with plenty of superb photos that it would be so hard to identify. Certainly a lesson learned -- winter empidonax are a royal pain! Anyone finding an empidonax in winter (or late fall) in Ontario should be prepared to take dozens of good photos and/or record the bird if it is calling. Otherwise you might be up the creek without an ID. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
Re: [Ontbirds] Likely **Hammond's Flycatcher** at Cedar Creek/Kingsville, Essex Count y
After taking a look at all of my photos, and doing some preliminary research, I've concluded that the bird is NOT a Hammond's Flycatcher. However, I am now fairly positive as to what the bird is, but I would prefer to do more research and send off my photos to some experts for their opinion. Possibly I will have answers later tonight, otherwise it will be late tomorrow night. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario -- Forwarded Message -- From: "Alan Wormington" <worming...@juno.com> To: birdalert@ontbirds.ca Subject: [Ontbirds] Likely **Hammond's Flycatcher** at Cedar Creek/Kingsville, Essex Count y Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2015 19:39:52 GMT This morning Jim Burk (with Keith Burk) found an empidonax flycatcher on the Cedar Creek CBC. Keith stayed with the bird, while Jim met me and took me back to the bird. I am fairly certain that the bird is a Hammond's Flycatcher, keeping in mind that winter empidonax are extremely difficult to ID. The bird is very petite, short-tailed, it has a more-or-less roundish eye-ring, and a very short stubby bill. Others have seen photos and have suggested "Western" Flycatcher (Pacific Slope/Cordillean), but there are a few things that do not seem to match that species. Most importantly, the bird seems to have an extremely long primary projection. And it seems to lack the "tear-drop" at the rear of the eye-ring. I have yet to really look at my photos closely, or much reference material. The bird is fairly "green" but I've noticed that winter empidonax often look like this -- presumably due to winter lighting and/or being immature. The bird seemed to be 100% oblivious to our presence, thus we were able to get extremely close to it and thus were able to get dozens of full-frame photos. I will be sending these out to experts later today. The location is PRIVATE PROPERTY. Before reading the directions below, might be best to pull up Google Maps. I took the following numbers off Google Maps showing the exact spot, but I have no clue what these numbers mean: 42.021034, -82.833098 We do not know what the situation is at this time, re access. But there are two options: OPTION 1: West of Kingsville, on Road 20 (formerly 18?) at the intersection with Arner Town Line (Arner), turn left onto Arner Town Line (Road 23). After crossing the water and going some distance south there will be a reddish house on the left (actually the first house on the left). On the other side of the road (west side), there is a sandy laneway that says "Keep Out" or something similar. This laneway is adjacent to the tiny woodlot and (I think) an old building in the woodlot (I forgot to take notes). Park somewhere along the road (limited space). Then walk due west down the laneway for about 1/2 of a km or so until you reach the massive oak/hickory forest. When you get to the forest, the bird was feeding along the edge of the forest in the thickets to the south for about 100+ metres or so. Later it was feeding INSIDE the forest, maybe 50 metres in max from the edge. Note that OPTION 1 might be shut down quickly if the owner is not friendly. In contrast, if the owner is friendly it might even be possible to drive down this laneway. Anyone looking for the bird MUST talk to anyone they encounter here who is not a birder, to determine what the situation is (or could be). OPTION 2: The woodlot is owned by the Scout Camp. Again driving south on Arner Townline, after crossing the water take an immediate right into the Scout Camp proper. The house of the left I believe is the manager's house, and someone will need to confirm that it is ok to go into the woods. In past years we used to do mothing here, and they were very accommodating. Once in the camp, you will need to bush-wack through the woods to the location of the bird. *IF* Option 1 is shut down, you will need to stay INSIDE the woodlot at all times, to ensure that you do not trespass onto the adjacent farmland. All week I have been telling friends that someone in southern Ontario was going to find an empidonax flycatcher this weekend. WOW what a prediction! Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Po
[Ontbirds] SUMMER SIGHTINGS are now due
The SUMMER reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to local compilers for the period of June 1 to July 31 (2015) inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers in Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this summer. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island: Graeme Gibson -- graeme.gib...@pibo.ca Chatham-Kent and Lambton County: Blake Mann -- boatm...@kent.net Middlesex County: Pete Read -- psr...@xplornet.com Long Point Checklist Area: Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.macken...@gmail.com Haldimand County: Ron Ridout -- rrid...@bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region: Marcie Jacklin -- mjack...@brocku.ca Oxford County: James Holdsworth -- jmholdswo...@rogers.com Waterloo Region and Wellington County: Ken Burrell -- kenar...@hotmail.com Greater Toronto Area: Roy Smith -- r...@sympatico.ca Durham Region: Janice Melendez -- janicecmelen...@gmail.com Northumberland County: Clive Goodwin -- clivegood...@sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Maureen Riggs -- mri...@sympatico.ca Prince Edward County: Terry Sprague -- tspra...@kos.net Kingston Birding Area: Mark D. Read -- markdr...@gmail.com Eastern Ontario: Brian Morin -- brianlmo...@gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area: Gregory Zbitnew -- k_zbitn...@bell.net Peterborough County: Martin Parker -- mparke...@cogeco.ca Kawartha Lakes: Martha Miller -- martha.mil...@rogers.com Grey and Bruce counties: James Turland -- jaturl...@gmail.com Muskoka District: Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_bir...@hotmail.com Algonquin Provincial Park: Ron Tozer -- rto...@vianet.ca Manitoulin District: Chris Bell -- cb...@amtelecom.net Sudbury District: John Lemon -- hawk@hotmail.com Sault Ste. Marie Area: Kirk Zufelt -- zufel...@shaw.ca Rainy River District: Dave Elder -- mdel...@shaw.ca Dryden Area: Carolle Eady -- tce...@drytel.net Thunder Bay District: Brian Ratcliff -- bratcl...@tbaytel.net Thunder Cape Bird Observatory: Rinchen Boardman -- rinchenboard...@gmail.com Point Pelee Birding Area: Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee): Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Ontario E-Bird: Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell...@gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Hamilton Study Area Elgin County Renfrew County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to Blake Mann, who will be compiling and writing the Summer Season Report for North American Birds: boatm...@kent.net Note that without compilers, sightings made in the above non-reporting areas might not get published. E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who actually found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- FOR CLARITY. North American Birds is a journal published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. Information about North American Birds, and how to subscribe, can be found here: http://www.aba.org/nab/ Many thanks to those who consistently contribute their sightings. Alan Wormington, NAB Ontario Regional Editor (Spring Season) ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting
[Ontbirds] Mystery Kingbird in Ottawa
I have just made a post to ID Frontiers, to solicit opinions/comments on the silent Tropical/Couch's type kingbird that was in Ottawa on June 27. I included a link to photographs that originally was put together by Mark Cranford and subsequently posted to OntBirds. If you already subscribe to ID Frontiers, you will automatically receive messages that pertain to this Ontario kingbird. For those who are not subscribers to ID Frontiers and wish to follow the conversation/discussion that may develop, simply go the following link: http://birding.aba.org/mobile_main.php ... then scroll down to the WORLD category and hit ID Frontiers (which is the 10th listing). Sometimes messages are numerous and quite informative, other times no one posts any comments at all. But hopefully some helpful commentary will be made on this bird. Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Little Egret -- additional info
I first saw the bird this morning at 5:10 a.m., as it flew west past the Britannia Yacht Club heading for Andrew Headon Park. At the bottom of Britannia Road (north end), turn left on Cassel and park at the dead end. Here there is a cement dock on the west side of the yacht club that you can watch from. I started here because yesterday morning (Sunday) at also exactly 5:10 a.m., Glenn Coady saw the bird flying west (upriver) at this same location. Both mornings the bird would have been leaving from the roosting island, which is just around the corner to the northeast on the Quebec side of the river. This morning a Great Egret flew by at 5:05 a.m., then the Little Egret at 5:10 a.m. I did not see the Little Egret until it got behind me, and I actually passed it off as a Great Egret even though I thought I saw yellow feet. But about 5 minutes later I could see both birds feeding over at Andrew Haydon Park, even though the distance might have been up to 3 km or so. Even though both birds appeared to be big and white, while watching the two birds I noticed that one was feeding in an erratic fashion (running and jumping), so it didn't take long to figure out that I better get over there ASAP! I then raced over to Andrew Heydon and the bird was feeding at its usual spot. Thus the Little Egret today at Andrew Heydon was present from 5:15 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., when it flew off southwards to parts unknown. Anyone searching for the bird should look VERY early in the morning, and perhaps employ the same method as described above. Even if not seen flying past first thing, you are nonetheless very close to the filtration plant (east end of Cassel Road) which can be easily checked thereafter (this would be the mouth of Pinecrest Creek area where the bird has been seen on some days). Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Little Egret -- Directions
Here are good directions, provided by Gordon Payne. Exit off of 417 (Trans-Canada) at March Rd. (CR 49) and go north-east. Take the 3rd left onto Carp Rd. (CR 5). First right (after crossing the bridge) is Rivington. Proceed to end of Rivington. And Michael Olsen stated that the bird might be hanging out with gulls in the field to the right, just before you cross the bridge. Alan Wormington,Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Fw: Little Egret at Carp Ontario
these directions are not clear! I can not find any Rivington Street. Starting at the Trans Canada Highway -- what does one do next? thanks -- Forwarded Message -- From: Michael michaelt...@rogers.com To: birdalert@ontbirds.ca birdalert@ontbirds.ca Subject: [Ontbirds] Little Egret at Carp Ontario Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2015 17:19:46 -0400 The directions to this location are turn onto Rivington St off Carp road near the bridge. Go to the end turning circle and stay on the grass edge. Please do NOT walk down to the river. Bird has blue gray lores and yellow feet. Also two long head plumes and a long thin blue gray bill Michael Michael Tate 1-613-863-8455 michaelt...@rogers.com Sent from my iPhone ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] SPRING SIGHTINGS are now due
This posting has been approved by the Ontbirds coordinator. The SPRING reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to local compilers for the period of March 1 to May 31 2015 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers in Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this spring. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island: Graeme Gibson -- graeme.gib...@pibo.ca Chatham-Kent and Lambton County: Blake Mann -- boatm...@kent.net Middlesex County: Pete Read -- psr...@xplornet.com Long Point Checklist Area: Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.macken...@gmail.com Haldimand County: Ron Ridout -- rrid...@bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region: Marcie Jacklin -- mjack...@brocku.ca Oxford County: James Holdsworth -- jmholdswo...@rogers.com Waterloo Region and Wellington County: Ken Burrell -- kenar...@hotmail.com Greater Toronto Area: Roy Smith -- r...@sympatico.ca Durham Region: Janice Melendez -- janicemelen...@gmail.com Northumberland County: Clive Goodwin -- clivegood...@sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Maureen Riggs -- mri...@sympatico.ca Prince Edward County: Terry Sprague -- tspra...@kos.net Kingston Birding Area: Mark D. Read -- markdr...@gmail.com Eastern Ontario: Brian Morin -- brianlmo...@gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area: Gregory Zbitnew -- k_zbitn...@bell.net Peterborough County: Martin Parker -- mparke...@cogeco.ca Kawartha Lakes: Martha Miller -- martha.mil...@rogers.com Grey and Bruce counties: James Turland -- jaturl...@gmail.com Muskoka District: Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_bir...@hotmail.com Algonquin Provincial Park: Ron Tozer -- rto...@vianet.ca Manitoulin District: Chris Bell -- cb...@amtelecom.net Sudbury District: John Lemon -- hawk@hotmail.com Sault Ste. Marie Area: Kirk Zufelt -- zufel...@shaw.ca Rainy River District: Dave Elder -- mdel...@shaw.ca Dryden Area: Carolle Eady -- tce...@drytel.net Thunder Bay District: Brian Ratcliff -- bratcl...@tbaytel.net Thunder Cape Bird Observatory: Rinchen Boardman -- rinchenboard...@gmail.com Point Pelee Birding Area: Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee): Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Ontario E-Bird: Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell...@gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Hamilton Study Area Elgin County Renfrew County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to Alan Wormington, who will be compiling and writing the Spring Season Report for North American Birds: worming...@juno.com Note that without compilers, sightings made in the above non-reporting areas might not get published. E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who actually found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- FOR CLARITY. North American Birds is a journal published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. Information about North American Birds, and how to subscribe, can be found here: http://www.aba.org/nab/ Many thanks to those who consistently contribute their sightings. Alan Wormington, NAB Ontario Regional Editor (Spring Season) ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http
[Ontbirds] POINT PELEE Annual Bird Report 2014 --- Now Available
This message has been approved by the OntBirds coordinator. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The POINT PELEE BIRD REPORT --- for 2014 --- is now available for viewing. The report is 14 pages long, and includes 26 photographs of various rarities seen during the year. Take note that most of the photographs are high resolution, thus they can be zoomed in for closer inspection. The report is hosted by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), and can be seen here: http://www.ofo.ca/ofo-docs/PointPeleeBirds2014.pdf * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Home Page for OFO can be found here: www.ofo.ca If anyone has corrections, updates or additions for the 2014 Annual Report, please send these to me in a private message. Previous Annual Reports for Point Pelee can be found here: 2013:http://tinyurl.com/pwxe3mm 2012:http://tinyurl.com/mtsrqhy 2011:http://tinyurl.com/l8ekbcw Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Say's Phoebe at Pays Plat
At around Noon today (September 22) I found a Say's Phoebe at Pays Plat, Thunder Bay District. Pays Plat is on the Trans Canada (Highway 17), a few miles west of Rossport. In this very small community, the bird was on the east side of the creek, on the north side of the highway, in the north end of the residential area. I found it at house #20, and the bird mostly stayed in this area for the 45 minutes that I watched it. The bird spent a lot of time on various house roofs and decks, and by its behaviour I would guess that it could hang around for a while. Plenty of photos were taken! Alan Wormington (currently in Red Rock) ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] SPRING SIGHTINGS are now due
This posting has been approved by the Ontbirds coordinator. The SPRING reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to local compilers for the period of March 1 to May 31 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers in Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this spring. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island: Graeme Gibson -- graeme.gib...@pibo.ca Chatham-Kent and Lambton County: Blake Mann -- boatm...@kent.net Middlesex County: Pete Read -- psr...@xplornet.com Long Point Checklist Area: Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.macken...@gmail.com Haldimand County: Ron Ridout -- rrid...@bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region: Marcie Jacklin -- mjack...@brocku.ca Stratford Area: Marilyn Ohler -- mohl...@sympatico.ca Oxford County: James Holdsworth -- jmholdswo...@rogers.com Waterloo Region and Wellington County: Ken Burrell -- kenar...@hotmail.com Hamilton Study Area: Rob Dobos -- rdo...@cogeco.ca Greater Toronto Area: Roy Smith -- r...@sympatico.ca Northumberland County: Clive Goodwin -- clivegood...@sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Maureen Riggs -- mri...@sympatico.ca Prince Edward County: Terry Sprague -- tspra...@kos.net Kingston Birding Area: Mark D. Read -- markdr...@gmail.com Eastern Ontario: Brian Morin -- brianlmo...@gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area: Christina Lewis -- hagen...@primus.ca Kawartha Lakes: Martha Miller -- martha.mil...@rogers.com Grey and Bruce counties: James Turland -- jaturl...@gmail.com Muskoka District: Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_bir...@hotmail.com Algonquin Provincial Park: Ron Tozer -- rto...@vianet.ca North Bay Area: Parry Sound District (Highway #11 corridor only): Martin Parker -- mparke...@cogeco.ca Manitoulin District: Chris Bell -- cb...@amtelecom.net Sudbury District: John Lemon -- hawk@hotmail.com Sault Ste. Marie Area: Kirk Zufelt -- zufel...@shaw.ca Rainy River District: Dave Elder -- mdel...@shaw.ca Dryden Area: Carolle Eady -- tce...@drytel.net Thunder Bay District: Brian Ratcliff -- bratcl...@tbaytel.net Thunder Cape Bird Observatory: Rinchen Boardman -- rinchenboard...@gmail.com Point Pelee Birding Area: Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee): Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Ontario E-Bird: Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell...@gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Durham Region Renfrew County Peterborough County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District (excluding Highway # 11 corridor) Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to myself (Alan Wormington), since I will be compiling and writing the Spring Season Report for North American Birds: worming...@juno.com E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who actually found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- FOR CLARITY. North American Birds is published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. More information about North American Birds, and how to subscribe, can be found here: http://www.aba.org/nab/ Many thanks to those who consistently contribute their sightings. Alan Wormington, NAB Ontario Regional Editor (Spring Season) ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view
[Ontbirds] Bicknell's Thrush at Point Pelee
I found this bird at the Tip at about 7:45 a.m. Kevin McLaughlin was at the extreme Tip, so I fetched him and took him back to the bird where we watched it at point-blank range for over an hour, sometimes at 10 feet or less. The bird often spent time hopping around in the open on the gravel trail. Dozens of photographs were obtained, and I just heard that Jeremy Hatt and Jeremy Bensette have collected some of its poop (!), which I presume can be analyzed for DNA (or whatever it is). I have approached the identification of this bird with extreme caution, knowing well the potential problems with this subtle species (also I have no previous experience with the species). However, after looking at illustrations and online photos, I am totally confident that the bird is indeed a Bicknell's Thrush. There are precious few illustrations that portray the species accurately, but the one that is the best that I have seen so far is in Sibley. The Point Pelee bird even has reddish colouration extending onto the primaries (as shown in the Sibley app), and my photos show very short primary extensions. Other interesting features include the face which is not as darkish gray as on Gray-cheeked Thrush. The tail is distinctly dark reddish, contrasting with the rest of the underparts. No the bird is not a Hermit Thrush! The bird has been faithful all morning to the same location, so it likely will remain all day. No other thrushes were seen. As described by Todd Pepper in an earlier post, the bird is hanging out both north and south of the bench almost at the Tip, the one that is west-facing and about 200 metres north of the actual Tip. The bird is feeding both on the path, and also in the shrubs / rocks on the west side of the path. Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Bicknell's Thrush at Point Pelee -- update
The bird went missing for most of the afternoon (probably too many park visitors walking by the spot), but just before sunset Glenn Coady and several others watched the bird for an extended period exactly where it was seen all morning. Alan ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Eurasian Tree-Sparrows (and more) at Terrace Bay
This morning I found two **Eurasian Tree-Sparrows** at Terrace Bay, Thunder Bay District. On the east side of town (at Shell Gas Station), take Ridgewood Drive south towards Lake Superior. This paved road then turns to gravel, then makes a sharp left. Here there are backyards on the left, and a panoramic view of Lake Superior on the right. The first two houses have feeders, and this is where the birds were. Be mindful that the birds are quite skiddish. Many photos were taken! There are no House Sparrows here. If the birds are a male and female, could they nest? One nested in Manitoba decades ago, mated to a House Sparrow. In any event, I suspect these birds could hang around for some time. Before finding the sparrows, I also found a **Say's Phoebe** at the same location. It also has an alternative feeding area to the north in the residential area. Go back and turn east onto Terrace Heights, then an immediate right onto Southridge Crescent. It loops around to a large grassy area with a children's playground. The bird spent a considerably amount of time here. The Harris's Sparrow here was nice as well! Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Fw: Glossy Ibises near Goderich
The two photos via the link below show a White-faced Ibis, which looks like a one-year-old bird. Are the two photos of the same bird, or one photo of each bird? Alan Wormington, Leamington -- Forwarded Message -- From: Kim Toews via ONTBIRDS birdalert@ontbirds.ca To: birdalert@ontbirds.ca birdalert@ontbirds.ca Subject: [Ontbirds] Glossy Ibises near Goderich Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 21:26:37 -0400 Dear Ontbirds, I'm reporting two (2) Glossy Ibises on behalf of Bonnie Fera from Goderich, ON. The ibises were discovered and photographed late this afternoon (April 28). Early this evening, the birds were relocated and photographed by another local birder. Directions: Highway 21, north of Goderich approximately 6 km in the creek/pond across from the Lakeside Flea Market - http://www.lakesidefleamarket.com/ Bonnie's Glossy Ibis photos can be viewed on Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/foto_bon_photos/with/14057102704 Good Birding, Kim Toews ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
[Ontbirds] Eurasian Wigeon @ Point Pelee
Late this afternoon I found a Eurasian Wigeon at the corner of Pelee Drive and Concession Road E. The bird is in a flooded field with a massive concentration of other puddle ducks. The bird is a drab male with a dull rusty head (not bright red) so I suspect it is a one-year-old. Estimates of other birds in the same field include: Mallard -- 1900 Northern Pintail -- 600 American Wigeon -- 450 Gadwall -- 450 Eastern Meadowlark -- 4 Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] Red-necked Grebes at Hillman Marsh
This afternoon, along with Marianne Reid, Rosemary Reid and Rick Mayos, I counted a total of **36** Red-necked Grebes on Lake Erie off NE Hillman Marsh. Here there are a few leads in the otherwise frozen lake, and it is also the location where 2 Red-necked Grebes were seen on March 5 (Jeremy Hatt, Jeremy Bensette) and 6 on March 6 (Jeremy Hatt, Kory Renaud). There has been considerable debate lately as to if all these widespread Red-necked Grebe sightings pertain to spring migrants, or wintering birds that have been frozen out of the Great Lakes. Even before this week's observations at Hillman Marsh, I concluded that these birds are wintering birds that have been frozen out of their normal wintering areas elsewhere on the Great Lakes. The reasons are many: 1--Red-necked Grebe is very rare at Point Pelee, and the previous 19 spring records span the period of March 22 to May 18 inclusive; thus the current birds are outside of this date range. 2--Previous record-high count for Point Pelee was of only 3 birds (1 date in spring / 2 dates in fall). 3--Red-necked Grebes, along with other rare species such as Long-tailed Duck and White-winged Scoter, have been showing up lately at southerly locations such as Kentucky, where Red-necked Grebe is a real rarity. If the grebes were truly spring migrants, there is no rationale as to why they would be currently appearing at these southern locations. 4--If the Red-necked Grebes off Hillman Marsh were truly spring migrants, then I would expect to also see some Horned Grebes and Pied-billed Grebes --- but there are none. 5--In regard to early Horned Grebes, some time ago I thoroughly researched all record-early arrivals for Point Pelee (February 9, 10, 15, 26) and without exception they ALL correlated to surges of warm air at the time, up to the +10 C. temperature range (based on Windsor Historical Weather Data); in other words, there has never been an early arrival of Horned Grebe at Point Pelee that was associated with COLD conditions. 6--When I formerly lived in Hamilton, I do recall some late February arrivals of Red-necked Grebes, but they arrived during WARM spells and at least some of the birds were in summer plumage; ALL of today's birds were 100% winter plumage. The pattern of spring occurrences are well-described in Bob Curry's Birds of Hamilton (2006); he likewise states that spring arrivals are associated with arriving warm weather. 7--The source of these birds has been debated, and some have mentioned that Red-necked Grebes do not winter on Lake Superior. That is true, but there are certainly other sources for these birds most notably Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Another source is likely Lake Michigan --- especially considering that the species is essentially a NW/SE migrant through the overall Great Lakes system. All of these water bodies are currently more-or-less frozen solid. Also at the Hillman location there was a tremendous collection of various ducks, including the following: Common Goldeneye --- 3000 Redhead --- 1400 Canvasback --- 80 Long-tailed Duck --- 45 White-winged Scoter --- 8 Hillman Marsh is north of Point Pelee, and south of Wheatley. Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] WINTER SIGHTINGS are now due
This posting has been approved by the Ontbirds coordinator. The WINTER reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to local compilers for the period of December 1 to February 28 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers in Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this winter. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island: Graeme Gibson -- graeme.gib...@pibo.ca Chatham-Kent and Lambton County: Blake Mann -- boatm...@kent.net Middlesex County: Pete Read -- psr...@xplornet.com Long Point Checklist Area: Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.macken...@gmail.com Haldimand County: Ron Ridout -- rrid...@bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region: Marcie Jacklin -- mjack...@brocku.ca Stratford Area: Marilyn Ohler -- mohl...@sympatico.ca Oxford County: James Holdsworth -- jmholdswo...@rogers.com Waterloo Region and Wellington County: Ken Burrell -- kenar...@hotmail.com Hamilton Study Area: Rob Dobos -- rdo...@cogeco.ca Greater Toronto Area: Roy Smith -- r...@sympatico.ca Northumberland County: Clive Goodwin -- clivegood...@sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Maureen Riggs -- mri...@sympatico.ca Prince Edward County: Terry Sprague -- tspra...@kos.net Kingston Birding Area: Mark D. Read -- markdr...@gmail.com Eastern Ontario: Brian Morin -- brianlmo...@gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area: Christina Lewis -- hagen...@primus.ca Kawartha Lakes: Dan Bone -- dan.b...@xplornet.com Grey and Bruce counties: James Turland -- jaturl...@gmail.com Muskoka District: Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_bir...@hotmail.com Algonquin Provincial Park: Ron Tozer -- rto...@vianet.ca North Bay Area: Parry Sound District (Highway #11 corridor only): Martin Parker -- mparke...@cogeco.ca Manitoulin District: Chris Bell -- cb...@amtelecom.net Sudbury District: John Lemon -- hawk@hotmail.com Sault Ste. Marie Area: Kirk Zufelt -- zufel...@shaw.ca Rainy River District: Dave Elder -- mdel...@shaw.ca Dryden Area: Carolle Eady -- tce...@drytel.net Thunder Bay District: Brian Ratcliff -- bratcl...@tbaytel.net Thunder Cape Bird Observatory: John Woodcock -- johnwoodc...@hotmail.com Point Pelee Birding Area: Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee): Alan Wormington -- worming...@juno.com Ontario E-Bird: Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell...@gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Durham Region Renfrew County Peterborough County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District (excluding Highway # 11 corridor) Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to Joshua D. Vandermeulen, who will be compiling and writing the Winter Season Report for North American Birds: joshvandermeu...@live.ca E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who actually found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- FOR CLARITY. North American Birds is published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. More information about North American Birds, and how to subscribe, can be found here: http://www.aba.org/nab/ Many thanks to those who consistently contribute their sightings. Alan Wormington, NAB Ontario Regional Editor (Spring Season) ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view
[Ontbirds] Elegant Tern
Ontario birders would be wise to go over to the New York side to get stunning views of the Elegant Tern. Not only that, but you are then in a better position to judge if the bird enters Ontario airspace. This morning (with others) I was at the Squaw Island pier from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. During this period we believe the bird entered Ontario only ONCE, and that was around mid-morning or so. Best to look at Google Maps to see where the boundary actually is, and also look at the length of the pier which is a good yardstick to use when you are actually standing there. Getting to Squaw Island is a bit complicated, but this is the route I took: -- after crossing the Peace Bridge, follow the signs for the Niagara Parkway (190) going NORTH -- soon take the Scajaquada Expressway (merge right) -- on the Scajaquada Expressway take the first exit (Grant Street); after exiting then turn left at the light -- get back on the Scajaquada Expressway (enter right) and backtrack towards the Niagara Parkway -- take the first exit (exit right); follow the sign for Niagara Street -- after about a block you need to cross left OVER Niagara Street to enter the Squaw Island Park entrance (stay alert on this one!) -- cross the railway bridge and proceed as far north as possible in the park to the last parking area, then proceed out onto the pier. Very little bridge traffic at 7:30 a.m., but VERY busy entering New York when I left at 11:30 a.m. Don`t forget your passport! Alan Wormington Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] ** LEAST TERN ** at Point Pelee
An immature **LEAST TERN** flew west to east past the Tip of Point Pelee this morning at 8:40 a.m. It came down the west side before veering off to the SE when reaching the Tip (a typical flight path for terns and Bonaparte's Gulls at Point Pelee in fall). The bird was flying at full tilt, in tandem with a single adult Bonaparte's Gull. Also seen by Mike Tate, but poorly, since he could not get on the bird right away. Probably zero chance that this bird will ever be seen at Point Pelee again, but maybe it will appear at some beach to the east -- Port Stanley? Port Burwell? Fort Erie? This is only the second record ever for Point Pelee. The first was at Wheatley Harbour on June 9, 1993. Alan WormingtonLeamington, Ontario ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] Brown Pelican -- gone home!
The Brown Pelican has NOT been seen today (August 24) at Wheatley Harbour. I just got an e-mail from Chuck Slusarczyk in Ohio, stating that the bird has RETURNED to Cleveland as of 11:00 a.m. this morning (the bird was first discovered at Cleveland on June 24th). The bird was seen yesterday (August 23) at Wheatley until at least 12:00 Noon. If anyone saw it later than this, please send me an e-mail. The recent movements of this bird are very similar to the strange antics that I described in detail for previous Brown Pelicans in Ontario and the Great Lakes, and is worth reading again: #65279;Wormington, A. 2002. Brown Pelicans on the Great Lakes: The Invasion of 2002. Birders Journal 11: 228-240. Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] Brown Pelican -- more details
The bird was still present at Wheatley Harbour yesterday until at least 1:00 p.m. Shorly thereafter, a local fisherman stated (to Allen Woodliffe) that two kids swam out to the breakwall, where all birds spooked and scattered, including the Brown Pelican. And at Cleveland, the bird actually returned yesterday afternoon (Friday) when seen arriving (from Lake Erie) at 4:30 p.m. In a direct line the distance from Wheatley Harbour to Cleveland --- as the pelican flies --- is about 88 km (55 miles). It is quite possible that the Brown Pelican may return to Wheatley Harbour in the days or weeks ahead. Alan Wormington, Leamington -- Forwarded Message -- From: Alan Wormington worming...@juno.com To: birdalert@ontbirds.ca Subject: [Ontbirds] Brown Pelican -- gone home! Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 15:34:25 GMT The Brown Pelican has NOT been seen today (August 24) at Wheatley Harbour. I just got an e-mail from Chuck Slusarczyk in Ohio, stating that the bird has RETURNED to Cleveland as of 11:00 a.m. this morning (the bird was first discovered at Cleveland on June 24th). The bird was seen yesterday (August 23) at Wheatley until at least 12:00 Noon. If anyone saw it later than this, please send me an e-mail. The recent movements of this bird are very similar to the strange antics that I described in detail for previous Brown Pelicans in Ontario and the Great Lakes, and is worth reading again: #65279;Wormington, A. 2002. Brown Pelicans on the Great Lakes: The Invasion of 2002. Birders Journal 11: 228-240. Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] ***Brown Pelican*** at Wheatley Harbour
At 7:45 a.m. this morning (August 20) I was standing at the end of the east-side pier at Wheatley Harbour, where a BROWN PELICAN flew in and landed on the offshore rock breakwall. I then blurted out some words that can not be repeated here! For the next hour or so the bird preened, and then went to sleep. I took lots of photos. At about 9:00 a.m., I went back to the parking lot where both Jeremy Bensette and Ken Burrell had just arrived (they had been alerted earlier), and I walked back out onto the pier to show them the bird. But remarkably, the bird was GONE and despite considerable searching, we could not re-find it. However, just now at 10:35 a.m., Jeremy phoned to say that the bird was now back on the rock pile! The bird appears to be a two-year-old immature, and there is no doubt that it is the same bird that has been summering at Cleveland, Ohio. After a week's absence the bird returned there on August 16, but I have not seen any reports for there since. Also, the same Brown Pelican made an appearance at Leamington Marina on July 7, when seen and reported in detail by Bill Kerr (via Allen Woodliffe). I suspect the bird will remain at Wheatley Harbour for a while. No LLBs! Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] Probable **Neotropic Cormorant** at Point Pelee
Just after 10:00 a.m. this morning, myself and Henrietta T. O'Neill spotted a small cormorant flying with other cormorants just as we approached the Tip. Unfortunately the flock was flying away from us (to the west) so details were hard to see. I quickly snapped numerous photos, and these do show a distinctly smaller cormorant flying with the others, but not much additional detail. Roving cormorant flocks regularly fly past the Tip, so this probable Neotropic Cormorant may do so again. Anyone on Pelee Island should likewise watch for this bird. Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] Apparent **ROYAL TERN** at Point Pelee
Yesterday (Sunday) at 8:00 a.m., an adult Royal Tern in breeding plumage was reported at the Tip of Point Pelee. It was standing beside three Caspian Terns, when its smaller size was noted. The bird was reported by some visiting Quebec birders, who apparently are experienced. Documentation is being solicitated. Alan Wormington, Leamington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
[Ontbirds] RUFF at Hillman Marsh
At 7:00 p.m. tonight I found a RUFF at the north bridge of Hillman Marsh, the one which is about a mile east of Hillman Church. At about 7:40 p.m. the bird was then seen from the south side of the marsh, as one walks east from the gated road. Both times the bird was with a single Greater Yellowlegs, and both times the birds were very flightly, suggesting that they had just arrived. The bird is mostly in winter plumage with some black blotches on the belly, and the legs are reddish-orange. Plumage and large size (about the same size as the Greater Yellowlegs) indicates a male. Hillman Marsh has mudflats all over, so it it likely to re-appear anywhere on the marsh. Lots of other shorebirds too: Pectoral Sandpiper -- 300 Dunlin -- 40 Lesser Yellowlegs -- 12 Greater Yellowlegs -- 18 American Golden-Plover -- 3 snipe, killdeer etc. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario How to Sleep Like a Rock Obey this one natural trick to fall asleep and stay asleep all night. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/51620caa4bb8fcaa47e0st02duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] WINTER SIGHTINGS are now due
This posting has been approved by the Ontbirds coordinator. The WINTER reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting / significant sightings to local compilers for the period of December 1 to February 28 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers for Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this past winter. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters and/or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island -- Graeme Gibson graeme.gibson at pibo.ca Chatham-Kent Region; Blake Mann -- boatmann at kent.net and Lambton County Middlesex County --- Pete Read --- psread at xplornet.com Long Point Area - Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.mackenzie at gmail.com Haldimand County -- Ron Ridout --- rridout at bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region -- Marcie Jacklin --- mjacklin at brocku.ca Stratford Area Marilyn Ohler mohler3 at sympatico.ca Oxford County --- James Holdsworth - jmholdsworth at rogers.com Waterloo Region; --- Ken Burrell --- kenard89 at hotmail.com and Wellington County Hamilton Study Area --- Rob Dobos --- rdobos at cogeco.ca Greater Toronto Area -- Roy Smith rbhs at sympatico.ca Northumberland Co. --- Clive Goodwin --- clivegoodwin at sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Park -- Maureen Riggs - mriggs at sympatico.ca Kingston Birding Area -- Mark Conboy --- mark.conboy at queensu.ca Eastern Ontario - Brian Morin -- BrianLMorin at gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area --- Christina Lewis - hagenius at primus.ca Kawartha Lakes - Dan Bone --- dan.bone at xplornet.com Grey / Bruce counties - James Turland -- jaturland at gmail.com Muskoka District Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_birder at hotmail.com Algonquin Park -- Ron Tozer --- rtozer at vianet.ca North Bay Area; and --- Martin Parker mparker19 at cogeco.ca Parry Sound District (Highway #11 corridor only) Manitoulin District; -- Chris Bell cbell at amtelecom.net and Sudbury District Sault Ste. Marie -- Kirk Zufelt --- zufelt_k at shaw.ca Rainy River District - Dave Elder -- mdelder at shaw.ca Dryden Area -- Carolle Eady tceady at drytel.net Thunder Bay District --- Brian Ratcliff bratcliff at tbaytel.net Thunder Cape B.O. John Woodcock johnwoodcock at hotmail.com Point Pelee; and Alan Wormington --- wormington at juno.com Southern James Bay (includes Moosonee Area) Ontario E-Bird --- Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell.on at gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Durham Region Prince Edward County (excluding Prince Edward Point) Renfrew County Peterborough County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District (excluding Highway # 11 corridor) Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Hudson Bay Lowlands (excluding Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden Area) For any Non-Reporting Area, significant sightings can be sent directly to Josh Vandermeulen, who will be writing the Winter Season Report for North American Birds: joshvandermeu...@live.ca E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reasons. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- for clarity. North American Birds is published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. More information about North American Birds, and how to subscribe, can be found here: http://www.aba.org/nab/ Many thanks to those
[Ontbirds] Tufted Duck at Hillman Marsh
At about 1:15 p.m. today (January 10) I found an immature male Tufted Duck just north of Hillman Marsh, along the Lake Erie shoreline. After having lunch in Wheatley with Richard Carr --- Richard where did you go?! --- I drove the lakeshore going south from Wheatley Harbour. Just north of Hillman Marsh I noticed a flock of scaup feeding close to shore, just where the road passes through a wooded section. The location is opposite green house sign #287. Viewing through the trees might be difficult, and if you get out of your car the whole flock might flush (I was looking from my car with window-mounted telescope). Better viewing could be had at green house sign #298, if you want to ask the owner's permission to stand on their property. If the flock drifts a bit further south they will be see-able from the small parking lot at NE Hillman Beach, or by walking just a bit east to the end of the road here (Mersea Road 2). The bird might be extremely difficult to re-locate since it is a first-winter male. It has the following features: -- very short tuft (more like a big bump on top of its head) -- blackish to black back (lacking obvious vermiculations) -- white flanks (although there is still a lot of duskiness) -- the wavy S separation between black back and white sides (more straight in scaup) Be aware that the flock also contains several Lesser Scaup. Remarkably I was able to obtain several diagnostic photographs, and these with documentation will be sent to the Ontario Bird Records Committee. This is the third record of Tufted Duck for the Point Pelee Birding Area, the previous two were: March 28, 1993: west side of Tip March 10, 2002: Lake Erie at NE Hillman Marsh (basically the same area as today's sighting). Alan Wormington, Leamington NetZero now offers 4G mobile broadband. Sign up now. http://www.netzero.net/?refcd=NZINTISP0512T4GOUT1 ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Tufted Duck X scaup hybrid?
Doing some more research on my duck, I'm thinking that the bird might in fact be a Tufted Duck X scaup hybrid. Still working on it. Alan Wormington, Leamington -- Forwarded Message -- From: Alan Wormington worming...@juno.com To: birdalert@ontbirds.ca Subject: [Ontbirds] Tufted Duck at Hillman Marsh Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:10:31 GMT At about 1:15 p.m. today (January 10) I found an immature male Tufted Duck just north of Hillman Marsh, along the Lake Erie shoreline. After having lunch in Wheatley with Richard Carr --- Richard where did you go?! --- I drove the lakeshore going south from Wheatley Harbour. Just north of Hillman Marsh I noticed a flock of scaup feeding close to shore, just where the road passes through a wooded section. The location is opposite green house sign #287. Viewing through the trees might be difficult, and if you get out of your car the whole flock might flush (I was looking from my car with window-mounted telescope). Better viewing could be had at green house sign #298, if you want to ask the owner's permission to stand on their property. If the flock drifts a bit further south they will be see-able from the small parking lot at NE Hillman Beach, or by walking just a bit east to the end of the road here (Mersea Road 2). The bird might be extremely difficult to re-locate since it is a first-winter male. It has the following features: -- very short tuft (more like a big bump on top of its head) -- blackish to black back (lacking obvious vermiculations) -- white flanks (although there is still a lot of duskiness) -- the wavy S separation between black back and white sides (more straight in scaup) Be aware that the flock also contains several Lesser Scaup. Remarkably I was able to obtain several diagnostic photographs, and these with documentation will be sent to the Ontario Bird Records Committee. This is the third record of Tufted Duck for the Point Pelee Birding Area, the previous two were: March 28, 1993: west side of Tip March 10, 2002: Lake Erie at NE Hillman Marsh (basically the same area as today's sighting). Alan Wormington, Leamington NetZero now offers 4G mobile broadband. Sign up now. http://www.netzero.net/?refcd=NZINTISP0512T4GOUT1 ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ Woman is 53 But Looks 25 Mom reveals 1 simple wrinkle trick that has angered doctors... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50ef1f8b97de91f8b4561st01duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Hillman Marsh Tufted Duck update
Everyone, Photos have been seen by several experts, and although it has not been exactly straightforward the concensus seems to be that the bird is not be a pure Tufted Duck. If it is a hybrid, Bruce Mactavish and myself are leaning towards Tufted Duck X Lesser Scaup, a combo which would probably look a lot closer to an actual Tufted Duck than, say, a Tufted Duck X Greater Scaup hybrid. All this being said, more recently Bruce stated (I hope he doesn't mind) that It is possible your bird could be an adult male [Tufted] that hasn't completely moulted out of eclipse plumage. The well-developed strudy tuft sort of suggests that. So we are currently in limbo-land on the identification of this bird. Maybe yes, maybe no (probably no) for Tufted Duck. Likely the scaup flock will hang around for a while. Sometimes they wander as far south as the parking lot at SE Hillman Marsh. Alan Wormington, Leamington 30-second trick for a flat belly This daily 30-second trick BOOSTS your body#39;s #1 fat-burning hormone http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50ef621013e8862107694st02duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] FALL SIGHTINGS are now due
This posting has been approved by the Ontbirds coordinator. The fall reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting sightings to local compilers for the period of August 1 to November 30 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers for Ontario. Please take the time to send these compilers a short list of your significant sightings, for each area you may have visited this past fall. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be archived for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, many sightings are published in local newsletters or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island -- Graeme Gibson graeme.gibson at pibo.ca Chatham-Kent Region; Blake Mann -- boatmann at kent.net and Lambton County Middlesex County --- Pete Read --- psread at xplornet.com Long Point Area - Stu Mackenzie -- stu.a.mackenzie at gmail.com Haldimand County -- Ron Ridout --- rridout at bsc-eoc.org Niagara Region -- Marcie Jacklin --- mjacklin at brocku.ca Stratford Area Marilyn Ohler mohler3 at sympatico.ca Oxford County --- James Holdsworth - jmholdsworth at rogers.com Waterloo Region; --- Ken Burrell --- kenard89 at hotmail.com and Wellington County Hamilton Study Area --- Rob Dobos --- rdobos at cogeco.ca Greater Toronto Area -- Roy Smith rbhs at sympatico.ca Northumberland Co. --- Clive Goodwin --- clivegoodwin at sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Park -- Maureen Riggs - mriggs at sympatico.ca Kingston Birding Area -- Mark Conboy --- mark.conboy at queensu.ca Eastern Ontario - Brian Morin -- BrianLMorin at gmail.com Ottawa Birding Area --- Christina Lewis - hagenius at primus.ca Kawartha Lakes Dan Bone dan.bone at xplornet.com Grey / Bruce counties - James Turland -- jaturland at gmail.com Muskoka District Barbara Taylor -- muskoka_birder at hotmail.com Algonquin Park -- Ron Tozer --- rtozer at vianet.ca North Bay Area; and --- Martin Parker mparker19 at cogeco.ca Parry Sound District (Highway #11 corridor only) Manitoulin District; -- Chris Bell cbell at amtelecom.net and Sudbury District Sault Ste. Marie - Kirk Zufelt zufelt_k at shaw.ca Rainy River District - Dave Elder -- mdelder at shaw.ca Dryden Area -- Carolle Eady tceady at drytel.net Thunder Bay District --- Brian Ratcliff bratcliff at tbaytel.net Thunder Cape B.O. John Woodcock johnwoodcock at hotmail.com Hudson Bay Lowlands - Don Sutherland donald.sutherland at ontario.ca (excluding Moosonee Area) Point Pelee; and Alan Wormington --- wormington at juno.com Southern James Bay (includes Moosonee Area) Ontario E-Bird --- Mike Burrell -- mike.burrell.on at gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Durham Region Prince Edward County (excluding Prince Edward Point) Renfrew County Peterborough County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District (excluding Highway # 11 corridor) Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Moosonee Area and Southern James Bay) Kenora District (excluding Dryden and Hudson Bay Lowlands) For any Non-Reporting Area, significant sightings can be sent directly to Margaret Bain, who will be writing the Fall Season Report for North American Birds: mjcb...@sympatico.ca E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reason. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers need your direct input --- for clarity. North American Birds is published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings/summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published continuously since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. More information about North American Birds, and how to subscribe, can be found here: http
[Ontbirds] Expedition to Netitishi Point, southern James Bay
by this place, HURRICANE SANDY SUPER-TIDE: Super-tides on southern James Bay are extremely dangerous, since they can flood areas that are normally dry. We once experienced such an event at White Top (adjacent to Ship Sands Island) in early October 1972, and it was not a pleasant experience. Late yesterday our low tide was higher than most high tides, then the relentless NW wind intensified. The incoming high tide was massive, re-arranging the whole waterfront at Netitishi Point. Luckily Netitishi Point itself is high and dry with a spruce forest, so we were never in any danger. However, both the gyrfalcon pole and wind shelter, constructed mostly by Brandon Holden two years ago, is now history. Thanks a lot Hurricane Sandy! In total we had 11 sightings that pertain to OBRC rarities, and full documentation of all will be submitted in due time,. For more details and upcoming photos, be sure to check out Josh's blog: www.joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com Netitishi Point is located 21 miles due east of Moosonee. At this time of year it is accessible only by helicopter. Alan Wormington Josh Vandermeulen Woman is 53 But Looks 25 Mom reveals 1 simple wrinkle trick that has angered doctors... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50958661cba316610ba8st03duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Vega Gull at Point Pelee -- today yes
This morning at about 8:30 a.m. (October 11), we saw the adult Vega Gull at the Tip of Point Pelee. It arrived from the north along the east shore, landed briefly in the water at the Tip, then flew over onto the island that is just slightly offshore from the Tip. As usual it landed on the left centre of the island, where it immediately was out-of-view due to a sand ridge. We never saw it again, but did not bother to walk out to the extreme Tip to get a different angle. The fact that it came in from the north might suggest that it is still visiting Wheatley Harbour, the location where it was originally discovered on September 29. Alan Wormington, Leamington Woman is 53 But Looks 25 Mom reveals 1 simple wrinkle trick that has angered doctors... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50772180c9ae22180662bst03duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Rare Birds at Moosonee
Everyone Myself, Josh Vandermeulen and Mark Jennings are at Moosonee and have seen a few rarities of note: HARLAN'S RED-TAILED HAWK: Seen yesterday (September 29) at the north end of town, during a light hawk migration (total 35 Rough-legged Hawk etc.). The bird was a light-morph adult, which is apparently the rarest morph in the grand scheme of things. This is the first record for northern Ontario. Formerly a full species, it is now classified as a subspecies. However, some think that it warrants full species status again, and a proposal for this may be submitted to the A.O.U. in the near future. Full documentation (including photos) of the Moosonee bird will be sent to the OBRC. CAROLINA WREN: Found this morning (September 30) right in town at the west end of Store Creek. The bird was very noisy --- singing, calling and scolding etc. This is the first record for the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and we were wondering if it might be the most northerly record on Planet Earth for the species? Full documentation (including photos) will be sent to the OBRC. At some point photos of both birds will appear on Josh's blog: www.joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com Alan Wormington Mark W. Jennings Joshua D. Vandermeulen Woman is 57 But Looks 27 Mom publishes simple facelift trick that angered doctors... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50687aa7a366e7aa74038st04duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Photos of apparent Kelp Gull at Wheatley Harbour -- September 9, 2012
Everyone, Thanks to Doug Woods, a series of my photos of the apparent Kelp Gull at Wheatley Harbour has now been posted to the OFO website: http://www.ofo.ca/webapp/site/page/view/obrc.kelp Use your computer zoom feature to enlarge the photos, if need be. Alan Wormington, Leamington Serve#174; from AMEX A digital prepaid account you can manage on your Verizon Smartphone. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/504e0ed863489ed844b1st01duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Apparent ** KELP GULL ** at Wheatley Harbour
Everyone, On Friday, at about 5:00 p.m., an adult black-backed gull sitting on the rocks at Wheatley Harbour caught my attention. It essentially looked like a Great Black-backed Gull except (1) it was smallish (the size of an average Herring Gull); and (2) the legs were a dull yellowish-green. Kelp Gull crossed my mind, but for some reason I thought leg colour normally had a more bluish cast. However, this is not the case per various books and online photos, etc. I took numerous photos and sent them to Kevin McLaughlin for comment. I jokingly suggested Kelp Gull, but he said there was nothing inconsistent for that species. However, he said photos of the spread wing were desperately needed. I went back to Wheatley Harbour twice on Saturday, but could not find the bird (it was quite windy). Today (Sunday) I went again around 4:30 p.m. or so, and immediately found the bird sitting on the same rocks as Friday. I spent a good time with the bird, taking tons of photos including those showing the spread wings both above and below. The bird sits on the outer breakwall at Wheatley Harbour, at the left end close to the water line. Walk out onto the pier for proper viewing. Be aware that there are various black-backed gulls also present, including Great Black-backed Gull and a nice adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. The bird appears to be the widespread subspecies occurring in South America (nominate dominicanus), rather than the one in the Antarctic (austrinus). The Wheatley bird has only a small white mirror in P10 (larger and oval or elongated in austrinus), and mantle colour is very black (dark gray mantle with darkening wingtips in austrinus). With this message I will let Kevin post a technical analysis of the bird, if he so wishes. Tonight he spent some time analyzing all of my photos. I only find rare gulls, I don't like describing them! I have many good photos of the bird and I would like to post a few to the OFO website, but there seems to be a policy where no more than a single photo can be posted by one person for one particular bird. However, I do not want to post just a single photo, as it would not tell the whole story. Frank?? Sandra?? Alan Wormington, Leamington Woman is 53 But Looks 25 Mom reveals 1 simple wrinkle trick that has angered doctors... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/504d554499cde55447e55st01duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Summer Sightings are now due
This posting has been approved by the Ontbirds coordinator. The summer reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting sightings to local compilers for the period of June 1 to June 30 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers for Ontario. Please take the time to submit a summary of your significant sightings to these local compilers, for each area you may have visited this past summer. This exercise will place your observations into the permanent local archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB. Longer-term they will be used for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, sightings are often published in local newsletters or Annual Reports. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island -- Graeme Gibson - graeme.gibson at peleeisland.org Chatham-Kent Region; Blake Mann -- boatmann at kent.net and Lambton County Middlesex County --- Pete Read --- psread at xplornet.com Long Point Area - Stu Mackenzie -- s_a_mackenzie at yahoo.ca Niagara Region -- Marcie Jacklin -- mjacklin at brocku.ca Stratford Area Marilyn Ohler mohler3 at sympatico.ca Oxford County --- James Holdsworth -- jmholdsworth at rogers.com Waterloo Region; --- Ken Burrell --- kenard89 at hotmail.com and Wellington County Hamilton Study Area --- Rob Dobos --- rdobos at cogeco.ca Greater Toronto Area -- Roy Smith rsmith at mrs.com Northumberland Co. Clive Goodwin -- clivegoodwin at sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Park --- Maureen Riggs - mriggs at sympatico.ca Kingston Birding Area -- Ron Weir - weir-r at rmc.ca Eastern Ontario -- Brian Morin -- Brian.Morin at pc.gc.ca Ottawa Birding Area Christina Lewis - hagenius at primus.ca Kawartha Lakes - Dan Bone dan.bone at xplornet.com Grey / Bruce counties -- James Turland - jaturland at gmail.com Muskoka District - Barbara Taylor - muskoka_birder at hotmail.com Algonquin Park --- Ron Tozer --- rtozer at vianet.on.ca North Bay Area; and Martin Parker --- mparker19 at cogeco.ca Parry Sound District (Highway #11 corridor only) Manitoulin District; --- Chris Bell cbell at amtelecom.net and Sudbury District Sault Ste. Marie -- Kirk Zufelt zufelt_k at shaw.ca Rainy River District -- Dave Elder -- mdelder at shaw.ca Dryden Area --- Carolle Eady tceady at drytel.net Thunder Bay District Brian Ratcliff bratcliff at tbaytel.net Thunder Cape B.O. - John Woodcock johntbaywoodcock at hotmail.com Hudson Bay Lowlands - Don Sutherland - donald.sutherland at ontario.ca (excluding Moosonee) Point Pelee; and - Alan Wormington --- wormington at juno.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee) Ontario E-Bird - Mike Burrell - mike.burrell.on at gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Haldimand County Durham Region Prince Edward County (excluding Prince Edward Point) Renfrew County Peterborough County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District (excluding Highway # 11 corridor) Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Southern James Bay; Moosonee) Kenora District (excluding Dryden and Hudson Bay Lowlands) For any Non-Reporting Area, significant sightings can be sent directly to Bill Crins, who will be writing the Summer Season Report for North American Birds: bcrins at cogeco.ca E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reason. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers would like to receive a SUMMARY of your significant spring sightings --- for clarity. North American Birds is published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings / summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. More information about North American Birds can be found here: http://www.aba.org/nab/ Many thanks to those who
[Ontbirds] Fw: Summer Sightings are now due
Everyone, Summer reporting season covers the period of June 1 to July 31 inclusive, not June 30 as incorrectly stated. Alan Wormington Woman is 57 But Looks 27 Mom publishes simple facelift trick that angered doctors... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50240f37789cdf37523fst02duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Juvenile Bonaparte's Gull at Point Pelee
Hoping for an early juvenile Bonaparte's Gull, I have been checking Seacliff Beach almost daily since this site always has lots of gulls. After a nice rainstorm this morning, there were many hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls on the beach, the majority being recently-arrived adults. Among them I finally found a single juvenile after much searching. This is record-early for Point Pelee of this age class (juvenile) by a single day (July 20 in both 1998 and 2006). I saw the first adult birds here on July 9 (a bit early), and there was a report of some at Pelee Island on July 5. Even more interesting, Bruce and Ben Di Labio found a juvenile Bonaparte's Gull on July 16 at Ottawa (Shirleys Bay). I am assuming that this must be record-early for all of southern Ontario, although I do recall some early sightings over the years (Port Perry? Presqu'ile?). Bruce posted a photograph of his bird here: http://brucedilabio.blogspot.ca/ These are the type of sightings that would indicate an early nesting season in the Far North. If so, juvenile shorebirds should also be seen on early dates this year too. By this date there are usually some fall-migrant (adult) Little Gulls at Point Pelee, but so far I have seen none. Seacliff Beach is just west of the Leamington Dock at Lake Erie. Alan Wormington, Leamington Refinance Now at 2.38% $150,000 DYNAMICREGION mortgage $583mo. Fast Easy Quotes! (3.23%APR) http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50082b3c96b432b3c457bst51duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
Re: [Ontbirds] Frigatebird species
Please note that excellent flight photos taken yesterday at Clear Creek are diagnostic for Magnificent Frigatebird, a first-stage juvenile per Seabirds by Peter Harrison (1983: page 312). Presumably the Ontario Bird Records Committee will concur with this initial assessment, provided that all relevent documentation is submitted for review. Alan Wormington OBRC Assistant to the Secretary 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4ff32022c0f612022166bst54duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Frigatebird daily activity
I do not know what time the bird left Clear Creek, but I had a hunch that it likely was heading west into the light SW wind. At 1:05 p.m. I found the bird soaring low over the north end of Rondeau Park and Rondeau townsite, slowly heading east. I saw the bird from the Shrewsbury dock, via scoping the area. I had just come from the Rondeau entrance area and had not seen it, but immediately (obviously) I went there again after seeing the bird, but still could not relocate it. However, the bird must have turned around since it was at about 2:00 p.m. that the bird was found sitting in a tree at Rondeau South Beach. Thus the bird has been sitting in the same poplar at South Beach from 2:00 to at least 6:30 p.m. If the bird roosts in the area, then it should be seeable sometime tomorrow morning when it takes its first flight. Also note that the bird was seen by birders at Clear Creek last night, but for some strange reason the word was not put out. Alan Wormington, Leamington 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4ff234fa2fefb34fa3f1est53duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Spring Sightings are now due
This posting has been approved by the Ontbirds coordinator. The spring reporting season for the journal North American Birds (NAB) is now over. This is a plea / request for observers to submit their interesting sightings to local compilers for the period of March 1 to May 31 inclusive. Below is a list of all current, local compilers for Ontario. Please take the time to submit a summary of your significant sightings to these local compilers, for each area you may have visited this past spring. Likely this will take less than 15 minutes of your time, and this exercise will then place your observations into the local permanent archives. Short-term your sightings will be compiled for NAB, longer-term they will be used for additional purposes such as regional checklists or regional publications (examples of such include those recently published for Niagara and Hamilton). Also, sightings are often published in local newsletters. LOCAL ONTARIO COMPILERS: Pelee Island -- Graeme Gibson - graeme.gibson at peleeisland.org Chatham-Kent Region; Blake Mann -- boatmann at kent.net and Lambton County Middlesex County --- Pete Read --- psread at xplornet.com Long Point Area - Stu Mackenzie -- s_a_mackenzie at yahoo.ca Niagara Region -- Marcie Jacklin -- mjacklin at brocku.ca Stratford Area Marilyn Ohler mohler3 at sympatico.ca Oxford County --- James Holdsworth -- jmholdsworth at rogers.com Waterloo Region; --- Ken Burrell --- kenard89 at hotmail.com and Wellington County Hamilton Study Area --- Rob Dobos --- rdobos at cogeco.ca Greater Toronto Area -- Roy Smith rsmith at mrs.com Northumberland Co. Clive Goodwin -- clivegoodwin at sympatico.ca Presqu'ile Park --- Maureen Riggs - mriggs at sympatico.ca Kingston Birding Area -- Ron Weir - weir-r at rmc.ca Eastern Ontario -- Brian Morin -- Brian.Morin at pc.gc.ca Ottawa Birding Area Christina Lewis - hagenius at primus.ca Kawartha Lakes - Dan Bone dan.bone at xplornet.com Grey / Bruce counties -- James Turland - jaturland at gmail.com Bruce Peninsula B.O. -- Stephane Menu stefmenu at gmail.com Muskoka District - Barbara Taylor - muskoka_birder at hotmail.com Algonquin Park --- Ron Tozer --- rtozer at vianet.on.ca North Bay Area; and Martin Parker --- mparker19 at cogeco.ca Parry Sound District (Highway #11 corridor only) Manitoulin District; --- Chris Bell cbell at amtelecom.net and Sudbury District Sault Ste. Marie -- Kirk Zufelt zufelt_k at shaw.ca Rainy River District -- Dave Elder -- mdelder at shaw.ca Dryden Area --- Carolle Eady tceady at drytel.net Thunder Bay District Brian Ratcliff bratcliff at tbaytel.net Thunder Cape B.O. - John Woodcock johntbaywoodcock at hotmail.com Hilliardton B.O. --- Bruce Murphy --- bruce.murphy at dsbl.edu.on.ca Hudson Bay Lowlands - Don Sutherland - donald.sutherland at ontario.ca (excluding Moosonee) Point Pelee; and - Alan Wormington --- wormington at juno.com Southern James Bay (including Moosonee) Ontario E-Bird - Mike Burrell - mike.burrell.on at gmail.com NON-REPORTING AREAS: Essex County (excluding Point Pelee and Pelee Island) Elgin County Durham Region Prince Edward County (excluding Prince Edward Point) Renfrew County Peterborough County Haliburton County Simcoe County Huron County Parry Sound District (excluding Highway # 11 corridor) Timiskaming District Cochrane District (excluding Southern James Bay; Moosonee) Kenora District (excluding Dryden and Hudson Bay Lowlands) For Non-Reporting Areas, significant sightings can be sent directly to myself at: wormington at juno.com E-Bird Data: Please note that many local compilers do NOT glean data from E-Bird for a number of reason. First, it is extremely time-consuming. Also, entries often lack required information such as first and last observation dates, who found the bird, plumage details, and correct locations. This is precisely why local compilers would like to receive a SUMMARY of your significant spring sightings --- for clarity. North American Birds is published four times a year by the American Birding Association and contains seasonal sightings / summaries for all regions of North America. The Ontario section consists of a very detailed account, which presents a summary of sightings from across the entire province. Numerous photos of various rarities are also included. Ontario seasonal reports have been published since 1947, and these contain a wealth of historical information on the birdlife of our great province. More
[Ontbirds] Two White-faced Ibis at NW Hillman Marsh
At 7:00 p.m.+ I was looking at two WHITE-FACED IBIS feeding on the mudflats of the shorebird cell at NW Hillman Marsh. One was an immaculate adult, the other was a one-year-old. Anyone looking for these birds should NOT walk on the mudflats at this time. Shorebirds are tame and will tolerate your presence, but if you walk on the flats these two ibis will DEFINITELY flush and likely not return. Don't even think about it! Alan Wormington, Leamington 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4fcbfddc34d451a1ec4st04duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Fw: Smew on the Great Lakes
Subject: [Ontbirds] Smew on the Great Lakes Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:00:20 -0400 Ross (and all), To keep this discussion in proper perspective, I would like to question the following statement that you just made: I am always surprised that so many waterfowl are accepted as genuine vagrants so readily. ( Barnacle Geese, Garganey, Baikal Teal etc.) Are you referring to Ontario, or even nearby areas with this statement? And when you say accepted who are you referring to? As for Ontario, here is the status of the mentioned species per the Ontario Bird Records Committee: BARNACLE GOOSE -- the only bird the OBRC has EVER accepted as wild is one that was shot #65279;circa November 20, 2005, at Baie Des Atocas, Prescott and Russell Counties, that had a band indicating that it had been banded as a juvenile in Scotland. Many other submissions to the OBRC over the years have ALL been rejected on the basis of questionable origin. GARGANEY -- 4 records have been accepted by the OBRC, as pertaining to wild birds; this is probably the most migratory duck in the world (very long-distance migrant), and all four occurred in Ontario when wild (migrating) birds would be expected (date range: April 18 to May 15). BAIKAL TEAL -- the OBRC has never accepted any occurrence as pertaining to a wild bird; in fact, the OBRC has only reviewed one report ever, and it was not accepted since wild status was deemed questionable: March 31, 1979 at Carlsbad Spring, Ottawa R.M. ETC. -- I would be interested to know what other species you are referring to. Thus the OBRC does not routinely accept all waterfowl reports as implied. Birders, on the other hand, are at liberty to accept whatever they want for their personal lists. But for a healthy discussion to take place on this subject, we should first lay out the facts. I will not comment on Smew at this time, since records are pending. thanks for your input, Alan Wormington, Assistant to OBRC Secretary Hi all, Not wanting to be a buzz kill on the two Smew seen this winter as far as a list bird, I think they should be considered a bird of questionable origin. As a thought it may be quite possible that they are the same bird, or not. The one picture I saw of the Whitby? bird, flying away, as I recall , I think was an adult bird. Smew now are in full colour and would have been for a number of weeks. Same bird? Who knows. I am always surprised that so many waterfowl are accepted as genuine vagrants so readily. ( Barnacle Geese, Garganey, Baikal Teal etc.) Many are fairly common in captive waterfowl collections and birds do escape. Smew is one of them. This is not generally due to neglect or mismanagement but ususally adverse weather conditions like ice storms, wet snow etc. which collapse waterfowl enclosures etc. Right now Smew are worth 5 to $ 600 a pair so no one wants to see them flying away. I know of 2 male Smew escaping last March in S.W. Ontario. Around the Great Lakes we have Ontario, Quebec, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania etc., all with people who keep Smew in captivity. Is there a trend of birds showing up on east coast or west coast of the continent? No. Wouldn't they show up there first? So, we are all in control of our bird lists and these could be genuine wild birds so you will all have to judge on your own. (check for a band or in U.S. birds a band or a clipped off hind toe on the right foot) Good luck. Anyone wishing to discuss this further I would be happy too, so just email me privately. ( I think we would all be amazed at how many people in Toronto keep Hummingbirds) Ross Snider Ingersoll, Ont. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f5ec980ddb541e18a9st02duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Point Pelee Annual Bird Report for 2011 --- Now Available
This message has been approved by the OntBirds coordinator. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Annual Point Pelee Bird Report --- for 2011 --- has just been published. The report is 9 pages long and includes 13 colour photographs of various rarities. This popular report is hosted by the Essex County Field Naturalists' Club, and has been posted on the website of the Ojibway Nature Centre (Windsor). It can be viewed here: http://www.ojibway.ca/pointpeleebirds2011.pdf If anyone would like a portable copy or a copy to print (in PDF format), just send me an e-mail. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario . 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f5b95c21ecd82495653st06duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Point Pelee Annual Bird Report -- Just Published
This message has been approved by the OntBirds coordinator. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Annual Point Pelee Bird Report -- for 2010 -- has just been published. It appears in THE EGRET, official publication of the Essex County Field Naturalists' Club. The report is 8 pages long and includes 9 colour photographs of various rarities. A free copy of this popular report (in PDF format) is available by simply sending me an e-mail. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario . Groupon#8482 Official Site 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city#39;s best! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d7908cddc1b7ab10cst05duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Scarlet Tanager at Point Pelee
This afternoon I found a first-year male SCARLET TANAGER in Tilden's Woods at Point Pelee National Park. The bird was in the middle of the woods at the Onik Arian memorial bench. I had just finished reading the poem on the plaque when the bird literally appeared beside the bench -- thank you Onik! I watched the bird for quite some time as it mostly fed on the ground, where it was actually obtaining a few items to eat. It was also poking at some berries. It eventually worked its way east along the side trail, and then flew further east into the swampy area that is currently not swampy but very dry, where I lost it. An intense snow squall them blew in, making it impossible to re-find. The bird was loosely associating with a couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets, and in the immediate area there were more kinglets and several Hermit Thrushes, Eastern Bluebirds and Yellow-rumped Warblers. I have no doubt that the bird will hang around for a while, its just a question as to if it can be re-located. I believe this is the latest Scarlet Tanager ever recorded in Ontario. The previous late date is listed as December 5 in the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Ontario (James et al. 1976), and this record might pertain to the two birds reported in the first week of December at Navy Island in Niagara by Sheppard (1960, 1970), but the year of observation is not provided. This reported observation is not detailed nor mentioned in either Birds of the Niagara Frontier Region (Beardslee Mitchell 1965) nor the new Niagara Birds (Black Roy 2010), so one is left wondering if the record is even valid. The previous late date for Point Pelee is November 25, 1962, when Wilfred Botham saw one at Loop Woods -- associating with an Ash-throated Flycatcher! A photo of today's bird has been sent to the OFO Web Site. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario Mortgage Rates Hit 2.99% If you owe under $729k you probably qualify for Gov't Refi Programs http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d000572d209061e94m07duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Swallows at Point Pelee
I was able to get out today (October 28) for only 2 hours or so, and it was quite productive: CAVE SWALLOW: flying S at Hillman Beach (S end) at 9:29 a.m. -- 11 birds flying S at Hillman Beach (S end) at 9:30 a.m. -- 2 birds Sanctuary Pond from 5:00 p.m. to sunset -- 25 birds (none here at 10:00 a.m.) Marsh Tower at 5:45 p.m. -- 10 birds DeLaurier Trail at Pelee Marsh (wood platform) at 6:20 p.m. -- 12 birds -- a total of (60) birds. CLIFF SWALLOW: North Dike in a.m. -- 1 bird Sanctuary Pond at 5:00 p.m. -- 1 bird BARN SWALLOW: Sanctuary Pond at 5:00 p.m. -- 1 bird TREE SWALLOW: Sanctuary Pond from 10:00 a.m. to sunset -- 35 birds Interesting feeding behaviour. The Cave Swallows were feeding along the marsh / forest edge, grabbing flying tiny midges amongst the thick cattails and tall willows. In contrast, the Tree Swallows were picking items off the water's surface and also off lilypads in the water. Yesterday (October 27) Marianne Reid and myself saw a single Cave Swallow. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario Hate Carrying Pet Food? Join the PetFlow auto-delivery service and save 25% It's free to join! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4cca0235efdfa5a0c6m07duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] White-faced Ibis at Big Creek Marsh -- April / May
The OBRC would like to establish the correct dates for the two White-faced Ibis at Big Creek Marsh (Amherstburg) this past spring, which will be treated as two separate records. The information below is probably correct, the only real question is: Was the immature (one-year-old) bird seen after May 9? BIRD #1 (apparently a first-year immature): April 27 to May 9 -- found by R. James Frith, Jenny Brown BIRD #2 (alternate adult): May 8 to May 13 -- found by Lev A. Frid, Kyle E. Holloway Thus there were only two days (May 8-9) when two birds were present. If anyone saw two birds after May 9, please e-mail me privately with the information. (Reports of ibis much closer to Windsor are not considered related to these sightings.) thanks, Alan Wormington Assistant to OBRC Secretary Mortgage Rates Hit 3.25% If you owe under $729k you probably qualify for Obama's Refi Program http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4cb716223fa012e506m07duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] Black-bellied Whistling Duck Chuck-will's-widow
--- Black-bellied Whistling Duck --- Chuck-will's-widow Just wanted to remind everyone that both of these rare species are on the Review List of the Ontario Bird Records Committee. To date I'm not sure if any documentation to support these occurrences has been submitted to the OBRC. Both birds have been mentioned many times on OntBirds, but not a single post has stated if documentation has been forwarded to the OBRC. Please take the time to document these (and other) rare Ontario occurrences by forwarding photos or written documentation to the OBRC Secretary, Mark Cranford: mark.cranf...@rogers.com All documentation received by the OBRC is eventually archived at the Royal Ontario Musuem, where it is available to future researchers. thanks, Alan Wormington, Assistant to the OBRC Secretary Penny Stock Jumping 2000% Sign up to the #1 voted penny stock newsletter for free today! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4c4a491be930c5da55m07duc ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds] ROSEATE SPOONBILL
Terry and all, There is no reason to consider this ROSEATE SPOONBILL as anything but a WILD vagrant. RIGHT NOW there is currently a Roseate Spoonbill in Indiana, and also this week there was another in the mountainous area of the western part of Virginia. A few years ago there was a small flock in Ohio. There are also older records for Illinois and even Wisconsin. This would of course represent a new species for Ontario. Would you please contact the observer(s) involved and have them thoroughly document their sighting and have it forwarded to the OBRC? Thanks, Alan Wormington Assistant to the OBRC Secretary On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:37:23 -0400 Terry Sprague tspra...@kos.net writes: WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, June 18, 2009 It became evident with this week's e-mails how much pleasure is being missed by those who choose not to continue feeding birds through the summer months. A nectar feeder south of Picton along County Road 10 that has enjoyed up to 20 BALTIMORE ORIOLES this spring, has had a family of INDIGO BUNTINGS become guests this past week. A hummingbird feeder at 2800 County Road 1 has a HAIRY WOODPECKER as a regular, and a Prinyer's Cove resident was pleasantly surprised this week to see a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER at his oriole feeder, one of the featured photos in the online edition of this week's report. A Picton resident had two ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS at he feeder, and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS are regulars at a feeder on County Road 1 where a juvenile was being fed by the adult birds. With its eye on the feeders at a sundeck in the Madoc area, but veering away inexplicably to a nearby apple tree was a male SCARLET TANAGER. Based on these experiences, and those of this writer, just about anything is possible when feeding is continued through the spring and summer months, with a little attention, of course, to the selection of foods offered to dissuade grackles and starlings. A pair of COMMON MERGANSERS continue to hang out in the harbour most mornings at Baycrest Marina along North Big Island Road. A HOODED MERGANSER with young were observed on the Salmon River north of Napanee this week. A GREEN HERON is a regular at a small marsh off George's Road east of Northport, and GREEN HERONS are also regulars along with PIED-BILLED GREBES in Fish Lake. SCARLET TANAGERS and VEERIES were in fine fettle Wednesday evening at the Sidney Conservation Area, south of Stirling, and two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS and a WOOD THRUSH can be depended on along the hiking trail at Quinte Conservation's Area's north end near the deciduous woods, about 2 km north of the parking lot. A SEDGE WREN was singing enthusiastically from a hay field bordering the Robinson Cove Marsh at Big Island on June 12th. While Prince Edward Point gets all the news during the spring migration, it is Sandbanks Provincial Park that is unquestionably the key area to find nesting birds in the summer. Park Naturalists there report that in addition to the now legendary nesting pair of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, others that have been found nesting, or show indications of holding down territory this week, have included NASHVILLE WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, ORCHARD ORIOLE, BROWN CREEPER and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. New this year have been CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS in an area of the Park where the dump is located. Another observer there during the week noted BANK SWALLOWS feeding young in their tunnels, BELTED KINGFISHER carrying food, a pair of CASPIAN TERNS and dozens of BONAPARTE'S GULLS. On Elmbrook Road, south of Picton, one resident was delighted to have a pair of NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS nest on her property, two of the young appearing in her backyard. For Kaiser Crossroad enthusiasts, the north pond is now completely drained and it is only a matter of days before the phenomenal bird activity that this flooded cornfield has known since April, will be but a memory. Next spring, another crop of birds. At a nest platform along County Road 9 at Hay Bay's north shore, an OSPREY there has appeared for the second year in a row, wearing a jess. We can only assume that this bird has probably belonged to a falconer at some point in time although this species is not usually popular in falconry. A Prince Edward County couple did not receive a warm welcome from feathered Ottawaonians when they visited that city last week. While they were walking past some thick bushes above the Rideau Canal, a male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD emerged and voiced his displeasure from a lamp post. Then the bird dove at both of them and pecked the man on the back of his hatless head. Now they know why I always wear a Tilley hat! And if you think MAP TURTLES are common in the Outlet River at Sandbanks, a Belleville resident, while conducting his herpetological survey, counted
[Ontbirds] Point Pelee Birds Annual Summary fo r 2008
This message has been approved by the OntBirds Coordinator: The POINT PELEE Annual Bird Report (covering significant sightings during 2008) is now available. It has been published in THE EGRET by the Essex County Field Naturalists Club, along with several excellent photos of rare birds. If you would like an e-copy (PDF) of this report, please send me a private e-mail. Good Birding. Alan Wormington Leamington, Ontario Digital Photography - Click Now. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/BLSrjpTDvmQuTVHrEuPr17XhtkAY9TsoB3jotS8gCYJGEgjiu7T2loFPUCc/ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
[Ontbirds]Fork-tailed Flycatcher -- finder
Everyone, The Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Point Pelee today was found (and photographed) by Brad M. Ouellette, who lives close to NW Hillman Marsh. Not sure why the finder's name was not included in earlier postings. Alan Wormington, Leamington Click here to find the perfect picture with our powerful photo search features. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3mDcGq0CfN42j9wstfWhILWaBBcHs8eC0ema9HKChpOM8Z8I/ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds]Point Pelee Sightings
Everyone, As the compiler of Point Pelee bird records, I would very much appreciate it if anyone who saw something of interest on the weekend could forward their sightings to me. Despite the fact that there were lots of good birds seen on the weekend, virtually nothing was written into the Sightings Book at the Visitor Centre and I have received details on only a few sightings to date. I maintain a database on Point Pelee observations and such records are used for a number of purposes including reports to North American Birds, and for a planned publication on The Birds of Point Pelee. Many thanks, Alan On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:24:39 -0400 Ron Tozer [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Over 270 registrants (a record high) enjoyed a superlative 25th anniversary OFO Annual Convention at Leamington this past weekend. Field trips to Point Pelee National Park, Holiday Beach Conservation Area, St. Clair National Wildlife Area, Rondeau Provincial Park, Blenheim Sewage Lagoons, and nearby areas were undertaken on Saturday and Sunday, in great weather for birding. An all-time high tally for OFO conventions of 168 species was achieved over the weekend. Highlights particularly appreciated by participants included: Snow Goose, Cackling Goose, Red-throated Loon, Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Long-billed Dowitcher, Little Gull, Sabine's Gull, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Wheatear, Cerulean Warbler, Grasshopper Sparrow, Le Conte's Sparrow, and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. As always, we wish to thank all the trip leaders and birders for their enthusiastic participation on the field trips. Already, we are looking forward to next year's great convention at Hamilton, tentatively set for 4 and 5 October 2008. Hope to see you there! Good birding. Ron Tozer OFO Convention Bird List Compiler ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdshow.htm ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm The Early Worm Gets The Bird! --- Alan Wormington ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdshow.htm ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm
[Ontbirds]Lesser (?) Frigatebird in Ontario?
Everyone, Today at the Detroit Metropark hawk watch (just south of Detroit) they saw and photographed a frigatebird that certainly looks like an adult male Lesser Frigatebird. Three photos can be seen here: http://www.smrr.net/gallery/nonraptors.shtml The only other North American record of this species was in Maine (1960). When last seen the bird was flying north, which basically means it was approaching Amhersburg, Ontario, and / or entering the Detroit River. Today's bird is NOT the same frigatebird seen this past Tuesday on Lake Erie just east of Cleveland, which was an immature presumably Magnificent Frigatebird. The single photo of that bird can be seen here: http://aves.net/birdnews/ (scroll down on this page). So now we have TWO frigatebirds on Lake Erie, and probably TWO species! Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Lots of Swainson's Thrushes
Since I have gotten dozen of replies about Swainson's Thrushes, let it be known that starting on May 9 (but not before) the species was reported from many areas across Ontario. Therefore, no need to send me any more reports of the species. Many thanks to those that provided details of their recent sightings. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Swainson's Thrush?
Has anyone seen a Swainson's Thrush *anywhere* in Ontario this spring? I don't believe there has been a report at Point Pelee, nor have I noticed an observation for anywhere else in Ontario. None reported anywhere in Ontario up to May 9 is certainly extraordinary, since by now they should be all over the place. If you know of any confirmed observations, please e-mail me privately. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Piping Plover at Wheatley Harbour
Everyone, After getting bored looking at the Neotropic Cormorant at Wheatley Harbour, Kevin McLaughlin walked over to the beach and found a Piping Plover. I know it was suggested that Piping Plover locations not be broadcast, but this beach often has ATVs, dogs, and walkers, so there is no reason not to tell birders about this bird. He can easily be seen from a distance. Due to the heat shimmer I could not tell if the bird had bands, but presumably somebody else got better views. From Wheatley drive due south until you hit Lake Erie. Check the beach. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds]Black-throated Gray Warbler -- Update
I found the Black-throated Gray Warbler this morning at about 9:45 a.m. Returned with my camera just 35 minutes later, but remarkably we and others could not relocate it -- even though it wasn't moving around much during the 5+ minutes that I watched it. The bird is a female. About 6-8 people then did an intensive search with no luck after four solid hours, even though other passerines didn't appear to be going anywhere. However, I just got a call from Steve Pike (2:00 p.m.) who has re-found the bird. It is now just marginally north of the paved Tip train loop, on the west side of the road feeding in the tall trees. This is between the main park road and the West Beach trail (mixed Hackberry, Red Cedars, etc.). This is the third record for Point Pelee (first-ever in spring), the previous two records are . . . 1955 -- September 11 (Willard Schaefer, Horace Dahmer) 1992 -- September 7 (Carolyn Pomarius, Calvin W. Pomarius, Willie C. D'Anna) Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds]Re: Long Point and Radar
Everyone, Just a follow-up to Ron Ridout's post re lots of migrants at Long Point on Wednesday (April 6). By coincidence I happened to have looked at radar images the night before at about Midnight, when I noted a massive migration of birds moving in the direction of SW to NE. Both Cleveland and Detroit radar sites showed the same thing. This directional movement I thought was a bit odd, but it might have been the reason why Long Point got so many birds that day -- the radar showed massive numbers of birds flying off Cleveland going to the NE (towards Long Point). It also probably explains the Dickcissel record at Point Pelee. In contrast, last night at about midnight there was only a light movement of migrants, but this time flying from SE to NW -- also a peculiar direction. I suspect these images perhaps pertained to ducks and or grebes. A good link to observe NEXRAD radar is the following: http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/radar/ Then select the site that is closest to you. The first image to come up is base reflectivity which shows volume of migration. Click on the map and it will then switch to velocity which will show you the direction of migrants. It is tricky to explain how to interpret direction, but the red/yellow colour indicates objects moving *away* from the core, whereas blue colour indicates objects moving *towards* the core. Best time to check is of course at night, preferably after midnight. Be careful not to confuse birds movements with precipitation such as rain. Rain shows up as solid areas on radar, whereas birds (and insects) show up in a *speckled* pattern. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Rare Birds at Point Pelee
Today was generally poor at Point Pelee (low numbers), but I did find two signficant species: DICKCISSEL -- one flying around (and calling) in the Tip area. This is extremely early for this species, but remarkably there are two previous records in March. EARED GREBE -- one still in 100% winter plumage in the middle of Hillman Marsh with scaup, Ruddy Ducks, etc. I saw it from the south side of the marsh. This is only the second record ever for Hillman Marsh -- the first was October 17, 1993. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Eurasian Wigeons (2) at Hillman Marsh
Yesterday (March 17) I was fairly certain that there were two Eurasian Wigeons at the NW Hillman Marsh shorebird cell, but because there are so many ducks there I couldn't be sure. However, today (March 18) Marianne Reid confirmed that there were indeed two male Eurasian Wigeons present at this site. One for sure appears to be a one-year-old, and Marianne described both birds as appearing essentially identical (so perhaps both are one-year-olds). I decided not to post my observation yesterday since the cell is very packed with ducks and they are extremely nervous. So if you look for the wigeon, it is best to approach the cell with caution, and not to move around too much or too quickly -- otherwise a huge cloud of ducks and geese will explode into the air and many may not return. For added excitement there is also an unbanded Egyptian Goose in the cell -- origin highly questionable! Hillman Marsh can be reached by taking Oak Street east from Leamington, or County Rd 37 south from County Rd 34 between Leamington and Wheatley. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Greater White-fronted Goose at Hillman Marsh
Greater White-fronted Goose: Late this afternoon (Wednesday) I found a Greater White-fronted Goose in the corn field immediately south of SE Hillman Marsh (best seen from the lakeshore road). The bird is an adult of the prairie-migrating *frontalis* subspecies (pink bill). Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].White Gyrfalcon at Point Pelee
OntBirders . . . Late this afternoon I enjoyed a juvenile, white-morph Gyrfalcon in the concession block adjacent to the south side of Hillman Marsh. I first saw it from Concession B, when it flew over a massive flock of waterfowl. The ducks went berserk (escaping in every direction), but the geese held their ground and just stood there. (In this same field there was also a Cackling Goose.) I then went to the south side of Hillman Marsh where I found the bird sitting on some corn stubble. Here it was amongst some feeding geese, with some birds approaching the Gyrfalcon to within 20 feet (!) and apparently unconcerned. After about 15 minutes the Gyr flew to a nearby puddle with dozens of ducks -- pandemonium once more -- where it gave chase to a male Redhead at lightning speed. Both disappeared over the dike into Hillman Marsh itself, and I was pretty sure the Redhead was toast (toasted Redhead?) But the best part was when I drove over to the SE Hillman Marsh parking lot, where the bird was sitting on the ice right beside the road, on top of the (now dead) Redhead. This was adjacent to the last cottage along the beach, the Savino cottage -- Fork-tailed Flycatcher fame -- and indeed they were looking out their window at the bird! Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds]Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
Re the Gray-crowned Rosy Finch at Chelmsford: When we were there on January 27, we noted that the house immediately to the west of the Somerset house was also feeding birds. The laneway for this house is right at the corner when you turn onto Sequin. Unfortunately this other house is set back from the road and the driveway is a bit long. So it is probably difficult to see their feeders. However, if the Rosy Finch fails to show at the Somerset feeders -- and panic starts to set in -- perhaps arrangements could be made to visit the other feeders (where the bird undoubtedly spends time, perhaps a lot of time). Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].King Eider S of Hillman Marsh
While looking for spring migrants today I came across a KING EIDER along the Lake Erie shore south of Hillman Marsh. Location is 1.8 km S of the south Hillman Beach parking lot, or exactly 0.5 km S of Concession Road B. It was with about 50 Common Goldeneye. The bird is a male, and I think it is a second-winter bird (born in 2003) -- quite black body plumage, pure white chest area, and bright orange knob developing on the bill. For Point Pelee this is significant record, since it is the first-ever true winter occurrence for our area (prior records in December are, of course, fall migrants). Also, overall the species has not been recorded at Point Pelee since 2002. Also saw a compact flock of (6) male REDHEAD, all of which were sleeping -- compared to all other ducks which were very active. Plus a pair nearby. These are probably spring migrants, right in line with the average spring arrival date of February 15 (n = 20) for our area -- see Point Pelee Natural History News 1: 9 (2001) for additional details. During the next 2-3 days I'm expecting a flood of spring migrants here. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Rough-legged Hawk Migration
A late migration (movement?) of Rough-legged Hawks is currently taking place after yesterday's blizzard. Yesterday after the blizzard subsided, I observed (9) birds flying west over my house at Sturgeon Creek, during the last hour of daylight. I suspect others passed by before I realized what was going on. As of today (January 23) I have already seen another (9) birds flying west past my house, so the day's tally could be interesting. There has also been a couple of Red-tailed Hawks. In the past I have seen similar late flights of Rough-legged Hawks here, but usually a bit earlier -- late December (rare), early January (more normal), or mid January (rare). Most late movements in the past have also been associated with a deterioration of the conditions (ie, bad weather). When I see such movements of diurnal birds, I assume that owls are probably also on the move. Thus it would not be too surprising if some of the northern owls are found further south and west in southern Ontario in the days ahead. Sturgeon Creek is between Leamington and Point Pelee National Park. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Brewer's Blackbirds at Erieau
This morning (December 2) I found a flock of (3) male Brewer's Blackbirds at Erieau. When leaving Erieau and travelling north, you will want to turn right (east) onto the first road you come to, which is called Internal Road. The birds were at the first two farm buildings on the south side of the road, both of which are very close to the road intersection. The birds were perched on overhead wires, but they were probably also feeding on the ground since there were lots of House Sparrows doing just that and there was lots of scattered harvested carrots etc. around the buildings. Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Red-eyed Vireo at Point Pelee
Last Friday (November 26) I found a Red-eyed Vireo at the Sparrow Field within Point Pelee. Despite the gale-force winds today (December 1), I was very surprised to relocate this bird -- this time it was along the main paved road west of the Sparrow Field and slightly north. Don Perks came along just in time to see it as well. On Friday I saw the bird eat a dogwood berry. Today it ate a grape and was also looking at some other fruit which I think was catbrier / greenbrier. However, most of the time it was obviously hunting for insect life. In typical fashion it would sit still on a branch and carefully scan / examine all adjacent leaves and stems for potential food. After 30-45 seconds or so it would then fly and land a few feet away and repeat the procedure. Its seems remarkable that a neotropical migrant such as this is able to find enough food at this late date. I am aware of only one other December record of Red-eyed Vireo for Ontario -- and the entire Great Lakes Region? -- that being one at Toronto on December 13-17, 1998 (which I did not see). Alan Wormington, Leamington
[Ontbirds].Cave Swallow at Point Pelee
Just like clockwork! This morning at about 10:00 a.m. Rob Waldhuber, Kevin McLaughlin and myself had a Cave Swallow at the Tip of Point Pelee. On the east side the bird flew in from the north, was briefly overhead, then it flew back north up the beach. Later we saw two distant swallows that looked like Tree Swallows. Based on behaviour in past years, this or other individuals could appear again at the Tip, or might appear at such places as Sanctuary Pond (which we have been watching regularly). At the Tip yesterday (November 4) there was a Purple Sandpiper, and three days ago (November 2) also a Purple Sandpiper that was presumably a different bird. Alan Wormington, Leamington Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Nov 5 16:55:56 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from fep2.cogeco.net (smtp.cogeco.net [216.221.81.25]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 485524878D for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 5 Nov 2004 16:55:54 -0500 (EST) Received: from mainoffice (d141-159-105.home.cgocable.net [24.141.159.105]) by fep2.cogeco.net (Postfix) with SMTP id B732D31D7 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 5 Nov 2004 17:06:24 -0500 (EST) From: Cheryl Edgecombe [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 17:06:32 -0500 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.6604 (9.0.2911.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Importance: Normal Subject: [Ontbirds] HNC Rare Bird Report - Western Grebe/Pacific Loon - Fifty Point C.A., Grimsby Ontario, November 5, 2004 X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2004 21:55:56 - Fifty Point continues to produce great birds today as a Western Grebe was spotted fairly close to shore along with the Pacific Loon. Lois Evans phoned to report that she, Don Graham, and another birder had this bird and the Pacific Loon in the scope at the same time this afternoon. No sign of the alcid reported. Directions to Fifty Point C.A.: Take QEW Niagara to Fifty Road. Head toward the lake and take the North Service Road around to the first road which branches off left (sorry forgot the name). There is a sign here pointing to the Conservation Area. Enter the Fifty Point C.A. (there is a $5.00 charge) and follow signs to the marina or go to viewing points out on the east side of the park. You may also park at the end of Kelson Road and walk down to the beach. The bird has been seen between the marina and the DND property about 150 m out. Be patient, sometimes it disappears. Regards Cheryl Edgecombe [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[Ontbirds]..Pacific Loon at Point Pelee
With the strong west winds, there was a lot of action today on the east side of the Tip of Point Pelee. The most interesting bird was a Pacific Look that flew by from north to south, at relatively close range. It was extremely obvious due to the fact that it appeared to be in essentially full breeding plumage. Other observers were Randy Horvath, Robert Horvath and Adam Pinch (Marianne Reid had left 15 minutes earlier). This is only Point Pelee's 5th record, and 2nd in fall. Alan Wormington, Leamington Speed up your surfing with Juno SpeedBand. Now includes pop-up blocker! Only $14.95/ month - visit http://www.juno.com/surf to sign up today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Oct 31 15:45:19 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts20.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.74]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9C86A47F1C for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:45:19 -0500 (EST) Received: from dianaoffice ([64.231.173.86]) by tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.06.10 201-253-122-130-110-20040306) with SMTP id [EMAIL PROTECTED] for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:55:02 -0500 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Mike Williamson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds ontbirds@hwcn.org Subject: Revised: [Ontbirds]Iroquois Shoreline Raptor Watch Oct.31/04 Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:54:51 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:45:20 - October count for Bald Eagle`s revised . Iroquois Shoreline Raptor Watch Whitby, Ont. , Canada. Hello; This report includes our October totals our year to date totals . October Season Turkey Vulture =1,046 = 1,296 Osprey = 3 = 6 Bald Eagle = 0 = 8 Northern Harrier=5 = 13 Sharp Shin = 140 = 204 Coopers Hawk =18= 27 N Goshawk = 2 = 2 Red Shoulder = 44= 52 Broad Wing = 0 = 457 Red Tail = 318 = 355 Rough Legged = 6 = 6 Golden Eagle = 23= 23 A Kestrel= 3 =15 Merlin = 3 = 6 Peragrine=0 = 2 Total Birds = 1,611 Hrs. =37 Total Birds = 2,472 Hrs. 62.5 2 month Avg. per hr. = 39.6 Report submitted by Mike Williamson ISRW info can be found on the T.O.C. web site. Click on Greater Toronto Raptor Watch !
[Ontbirds]Seacliff Migration Watch -- October 21
I'm posting this only because I recorded more raptors at Seacliff yesterday (October 21) than both Detroit Metropark and Holiday Beach. Not sure how or why this happened, but it is interesting nonetheless. Clearing began at 10:30 a.m. when there were so many birds in the air that it was nearly impossible to keep track of everything. After about two hours it became heavy overcast with fewer birds, but everything was flying much lower making for excellent viewing conditions. Total time 6 hours -- 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some highlights: Turkey Vulture -- 3470 American Crow -- 13,490 Red-tailed Hawk -- 358 (including a dark-morph Western Red-tail) Red-shouldered Hawk -- 36 Cooper's Hawk -- 20 Blue Jay -- 1270 (late for so many) Rough-legged Hawk -- 10 Red-headed Woodpecker -- 2 Seacliff is located at the SW corner of Leamington. Directions to the best observation site have been published a few times in OFO News. Alan Wormington, Leamington Speed up your surfing with Juno SpeedBand. Now includes pop-up blocker! Only $14.95/ month - visit http://www.juno.com/surf to sign up today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Oct 22 09:49:30 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from web88212.mail.re2.yahoo.com (web88212.mail.re2.yahoo.com [206.190.37.235]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id AEEDD488AC for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 22 Oct 2004 09:49:30 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Received: from [69.197.100.77] by web88212.mail.re2.yahoo.com via HTTP; Fri, 22 Oct 2004 09:57:46 EDT Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 09:57:46 -0400 (EDT) From: GARTH BAKER [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Ontbirds ontbirds@hwcn.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Northern Shrike -Innisfil X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 13:49:31 - Hi All; This morning at 8:45 I watched as the many Juncos,White-crowned,White-throat and Fox Sparrows at my backyard Station made a hasty retreat to the Bush.I anticipated seeing a Sharpie or Coopers Hawk,but was surprised and delighted to see a Hatch Year Northern Shrike.It was almost completely Tan in colour and had only a Shadow of a Mask.It was within view for about 1- 2 minutes at about 25 feet.There were no leg bands and the bill appeared fairly long to rule out a Loggerhead(in my dreams). It soon flew off towards a Neighbors Feeders and has not since returned although the other Birds have been making dashes into the Bushes again now and than. This is rather early for me to see this Species and a first time to have one visit my Backyard. Town of Innisfil ,East of 20th Sideroad on 5th Line to Arnold Street.Right on Arnold toward Lake (1158 Arnold Street) Also saw a Juvenil Light Phased Rough-legged Hawk while at work yesterday evening.!2th Line of New Tecumseth,west of Tottenham Road. Cheer's Garth N. Baker/Innisfil From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Oct 22 17:05:36 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mugwump.taiga.com [68.165.54.133]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1E66848993 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 22 Oct 2004 17:05:36 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 22581 invoked by uid 525); 22 Oct 2004 21:15:13 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 22 Oct 2004 05:10:13 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Cranberry Marsh (22 Oct 2004) 14 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 21:05:36 - Cranberry Marsh Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 22, 2004 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 9702 1086 Osprey 0 8116 Bald Eagle 0 3 37 Northern Harrier 0 22 93 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0259880 Cooper's Hawk0 21 79 Northern Goshawk 0 6 6 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 14 17 Broad-winged Hawk0 5895 Red-tailed Hawk 4244454 Rough-legged Hawk0 10 10 Golden Eagle 0 7 7 American Kestrel 0 63445 Merlin 0 8 39 Peregrine Falcon
[Ontbirds]... Hurricane Ivan Birds -- Not Ontario
I know a lot of birders were monitoring the track of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan for the possibility of some pelagic birds appearing in Ontario, but so far nothing. It appears that neither storm has produced anything of interest in the Great Lakes Region, since the eye of the storms never really arrived here and / or the storms fell apart too early. However, south of Ontario there has been widepsread inland sightings of pelagic birds associated with both Frances and Ivan. The most northerly sighting I located for anything associate with Frances was a dead Sooty Tern found on a mountain road in eastmost Kentucky. For some interesting (recent) reports associated with Hurricane Ivan, here as some direct links: North-central Alabama: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/ALBD.html#1095392176 Alabama / Georgia border: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/ALBD.html#1095456456 If nothing else it demonstrates the potential when the remnents of a Hurricane arrives in your area -- something to think about when the next one arrives in Ontario (maybe later this fall?). Alan Wormington, Leamington Get your name as your email address. Includes spam protection, 1GB storage, no ads and more Only $1.99/ month - visit http://www.mysite.com/name today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Sep 17 19:31:00 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mugwump.taiga.com [68.165.54.133]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E19B348245 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 17 Sep 2004 19:30:59 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 14027 invoked by uid 525); 17 Sep 2004 23:25:10 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 17 Sep 2004 07:09:10 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark (17 Sep 2004) 4019 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 23:31:00 - SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 17, 2004 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 3425425 Osprey 7150150 Bald Eagle 3 52 52 Northern Harrier23145145 Sharp-shinned Hawk 170 1711 1711 Cooper's Hawk5 49 49 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 3715 12651 12651 Red-tailed Hawk 6 56 56 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel84298298 Merlin 2 24 24 Peregrine Falcon 0 3 3 Unknown 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 1 1 1 Total:4019 15565 15565 -- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers:Dave Mendus, Jeff Schultz, John Elliot, Lathe Claflin Weather: Today saw mostly overcast conditions from a low-pressure system sitting to the southeast of the state, a remnant of Hurricane Ivan. Winds were strong out of the north-northeast. Observations: The flight was substantial although much of it was to the south of the count area early in the day. By mid morning the first large Broad-wing kettles began to form and continued for much of the remainder of the day. These groups were coming straight out of the east and then turning south over the watch. Although many of the birds were high, I think most of the visitors were able to get impressive looks of kettles swirling overhead, perhaps a harbinger of even larger movements in the days ahead. Flying amid the Broad-wing groups was an adult light morph Swainsons Hawk, the first recorded this season. Report submitted by Calvin Brennan ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.smrr.net/
[Ontbirds]Hurricane Watch
Everyone, If anyone has been paying attention, you will have noticed that the remnants of Hurricane Fran are supposedly passing just to the south and east of Lake Erie. Despite this track, I think some interesting hurricane birds could still appear on Lake Erie and / or Lake Ontario. To date there has been widespread sightings of Sooty Terns on inland lakes everywhere from northern Florida into northern Georgia, and today a Sooty Tern was seen in Tennessee! There has also been two different reports of Brown Noddy (both in Georgia?), including one in a backyard standing beside a swimming pool! This bird eventually died. So far no reports of inland Magnificent Frigatebirds, but this could be a potential species since Hurricane Fran briefly crossed the northeast corner of the Gulf of Mexico. (Note that frigatebirds, for whatever reasons, are often first reported long after the storm is gone.) Upcoming weather reports for southern Ontario are consistently calling for N winds in the days ahead, with SW winds predicted for Saturday only. This might be a good day for either the Tip of Point Pelee (the best wind for this location) or Waverley Beach near Fort Erie. Good birding, Alan Wormington, Leamington Get your name as your email address. Includes spam protection, 1GB storage, no ads and more Only $1.99/ month - visit http://www.mysite.com/name today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Sep 8 21:34:11 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mugwump.taiga.com [68.165.54.133]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id F2FE448017 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Wed, 8 Sep 2004 21:34:10 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 12207 invoked by uid 525); 9 Sep 2004 01:27:19 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 08 Sep 2004 09:09:19 -0400 X-Mailman-Approved-At: Wed, 08 Sep 2004 23:02:22 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: Cranberry Marsh (08 Sep 2004) 23 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 01:34:11 - Cranberry Marsh Ontario, Canada Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2004 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4 9 10 Osprey 2 35 65 Bald Eagle 0 11 11 Northern Harrier 0 5 11 Sharp-shinned Hawk 11 49 63 Cooper's Hawk1 6 6 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk0 67111 Red-tailed Hawk 2 22 34 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 3 27 43 Merlin 0 11 14 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown 0 6 16 Total: 23248385 -- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 12:00:00 Total observation time: 4 hours Official Counter: Jerry Walsh Observers:Dan Kaczynski, Doug Lockrey, John Brett, King Baker Visitors: 10 visitors along with 9 observers-- great day Weather: overcast day with northeastern winds; TUV=2 Observations: 2 Osprey; 4 TV; 11 Sharp-shinned; 1 Cooper's; 2 Red-taileds; 3 Am.Kestrel Wilson's Warbler, great Egret Report submitted by John Douglas Lockrey ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Cranberry Marsh information may be found at: http://www.gtrw.ca
[Ontbirds]Hurricane Birds?
Everyone, I've been watching Hurricane Frances for over a week now, thinking that it might track towards the Great Lakes. Forecasters commented that the path is quite similar to last year's Hurricane Isabel, but has been tracking a bit south and west of last years storm. As everyone will no doubt remember, last year the remnents of Hurricane Isabel hit Lake Erie and gave us a bonanza of interesting birds. The most up-to-date prediction for the path of Hurricane Frances is found at the following site (you may have to piece this link together if it separates into two lines). Note also that you can enlarge the map by hitting the icon on the bottom right-hand corner. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ftp/graphics/AT06/refresh/AL0604W5+GIF/031543W5.g if The remnants of Hurricane Frances is projected to track into the western basin of Lake Erie. If it does track to Lake Erie, it should arrive early on Thursday morning. Here are some things to consider when looking for hurricane birds: -- the most productive period is often 2-5 days after the storm has passed -- good birds can continue to be found 2 weeks after the storm -- the most productive areas tend to be to the east of the storm's centre -- onshore winds are a good bet -- regularly walking various beaches can often produce some amazing specimens (be sure to collect these via freezing, and arrange for their delivery to a museum such as the ROM) One never knows what such storms can bring -- sometimes there's a lot, but other times there's nothing at all. Perhaps nothing will come of this storm, but its worth getting ready! Alan Wormington, Leamington Get your name as your email address. Includes spam protection, 1GB storage, no ads and more Only $1.99/ month - visit http://www.mysite.com/name today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Sep 3 18:10:36 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from taiga.com (mugwump.taiga.com [68.165.54.133]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 10E9D4827E for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 3 Sep 2004 18:10:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 4905 invoked by uid 525); 3 Sep 2004 22:03:07 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: 03 Sep 2004 06:09:07 -0400 Subject: [Ontbirds]HSR: SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark (03 Sep 2004) 21 Raptors X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2004 22:10:36 - SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 03, 2004 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 52 52 Osprey 4 28 28 Bald Eagle 0 7 7 Northern Harrier 1 25 25 Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 43 43 Cooper's Hawk0 6 6 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk0135135 Red-tailed Hawk 0 11 11 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 2 19 19 Merlin 1 3 3 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown 0 0 0 Total: 21329329 -- Observation start time: 07:00:00 Observation end time: 14:15:00 Total observation time: 7.25 hours Official Counter: Calvin Brennan Observers:Fred Kirn, Raburn Howland Weather: Today was hot and humid with little wind early in the day. By late morning a moderate breeze from the southeast kicked up. Clouds continued to build from the south in the afternoon in advance of the thundershowers predicted for this evening. Visibility throughout the day was poor. Observations: The hawk flight as might be expected under such conditions was minimal with only 21 birds of 5 species recorded. Highlighting the day was the arrival of an Olive-sided Flycatcher at midday, which hung out around a large snag west of the count area for the remainder of the afternoon. Report submitted by Calvin Brennan ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) SMRR- Lake Erie Metropark information may be found at: http://www.smrr.net/
[Ontbirds]Kingbird Roost at Hillman Marsh
Just prior to sunset today (from about 7:30-8:00) Eastern Kingbirds roosting in the trees at SW Hillman Marsh were estimated at 400+ birds. Such sunset concentrations appear to be annual at Hillman Marsh, but most years I forget to check. Some past counts here include the following: 500 -- August 27-29, 1984 800 -- August 21, 1986 400 -- August 16, 1998 I hope to check this roost regularly to see if any other kingbird species appears, even though its not easy to check the birds since they are very active and are sometimes difficult to see in the thick willows. Although Eastern Kingbirds form huge flocks on their wintering grounds in South America, I think its much less normal at our latitude. If anyone has recorded similar roosts anywhere in southern Ontario, I would be very interested to hear about it. Please e-mail me privately. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Aug 27 08:44:00 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from moe.cs.uoguelph.ca (moe.cs.uoguelph.ca [131.104.96.55]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 71D9247F08 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 27 Aug 2004 08:44:00 -0400 (EDT) Received: from uoguelph.ca ([131.104.71.30]) by moe.cs.uoguelph.ca (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id i7RChQ8S008327 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 27 Aug 2004 08:43:26 -0400 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 08:47:05 -0400 From: Chris Earley [EMAIL PROTECTED] User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win 9x 4.90; en-US; rv:1.4) Gecko/20030624 Netscape/7.1 (ax) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Spam-Scanner: SpamAssassin 2.63 (http://www.spamassassin.org/) on moe.cs.uoguelph.ca X-Spam-Score: hits=1.1 X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Tests: HTML_30_40,HTML_MESSAGE,HTML_TAG_BALANCE_BODY X-Spam-Status: Suspected X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.39 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds] Workshops on Fall Warblers, Winter Birds and Owls - Arboretum Uof Guelph X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 12:44:00 - Hi, everyone, This post was approved by Mark. The Arboretum, University of Guelph, has space in the following interactive bird workshops. For more details, please go to our website at www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum or e-mail me privately. Many Ontbirds members have benefitted from these workshops - you can, too! Note: You must register for all workshops - call 519-824-4120 ext. 52358. Fall Warbler Workshop Friday, September 17, 2004, 9 am - 4 pm, $45 Learn how to identify the confusing fall warblers. Register soon! Winter Birds Workshop Friday, October 22, 2004, 9 am - 4 pm, $45 We cover behaviour watching as well as identification. Owl Workshop Friday, January 14, 2005, 9 am to 5 pm, 6:30 pm - 9 pm, $65 This workshop includes an evening owl prowl to look for species in the Guelph area. Other nature workshops this fall/winter include late summer bloom, rowing native plants from seed, look-see-paint, shrub i.d., tree i.d., family owl prowl, starting your perennials garden from seed, story telling, eco veggie gardening, pruning and pond gardening. Cheers, Chris -- Chris Earley Interpretive Biologist / Education Coordinator The Arboretum, University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1 Canada phone: (519)824-4120 ext. 52201 fax: (519)763-9598 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum The chief aim of interpretation is not instruction, but provocation. - Freeman Tilden
Re: [Ontbirds]Few Juvenile Shorebirds - Failed Arctic Breeders
Everyone, Overlooked in Ron Pittaway's excellent summary of failed Arctic nestings is a report that appeared on OntBirds pertaining to a sighting on July 9 at the Blenheim sewage ponds (south of Chatham). On this date a flock of about 150 adult Black-bellied Plovers were observed in flight as they flew south very fast over the ponds without stopping (Irene Woods and Dorothy Smith). This observation is unprecedented for southern Ontario both for the time of year and number of birds involved. It certainly fits into the overall picture, and it suggests that these birds vacated their northern breeding grounds due to unfavourable conditions there for nesting. In addition to the expected lack of juvenile shorebirds, there is another species worth monitoring this fall -- Sabine's Gull. Since virtually all birds seen in southern Ontario are juveniles, numbers reported this fall will also provide additional evidence. My guess is that very few will be found. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Aug 10 17:14:50 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from tomts5-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts5.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.25]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E313547EC0 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:14:49 -0400 (EDT) Received: from sympatico.ca ([209.226.140.86]) by tomts5-srv.bellnexxia.net (InterMail vM.5.01.06.10 201-253-122-130-110-20040306) with ESMTP id [EMAIL PROTECTED] for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:28:22 -0400 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:21:41 -0400 From: Gordon Bellerby [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.73 [en]C-SYMPA (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en,fr-CA MIME-Version: 1.0 To: ontbirds ontbirds@hwcn.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Subject: [Ontbirds]AVOCETS/Hamilton Tollgate Ponds X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 21:14:52 - As of 1550 hours Tuesday both birds were feeding hard at north end of southern pond-? could be moving out to-night. G.B.
[Ontbirds]Re: Point Pelee White-winged Crossbill
Just a follow-up to the report by Tom Hince of a White-winged Crossbill today at Point Pelee. I don't think Tom is aware of this, but on May 27 a pair of White-winged Crossbills (male + female) was observed feeding on the lawn beside the train stop at the Visitor Centre (Kenneth A. Clarke). There were no Point Pelee winter reports, and this was our only so-called spring sighting. Also, since I have not heard of any other sightings from anywhere in southern Ontario this season (south of Algonquin Park), I strongly suspect that these birds could be nesting at Point Pelee. When nesting the species can be extremely inconspicuous, so its not unexpected that there have been no other sightings. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Aug 8 17:41:51 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com (smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com [206.190.36.79])by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 0024148370 for ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org; Sun, 8 Aug 2004 17:41:51 -0400 (EDT) Received: from unknown (HELO Gibson) ([EMAIL PROTECTED]@69.199.227.136 with login) by smtp101.rog.mail.re2.yahoo.com with SMTP; 8 Aug 2004 21:55:05 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Ray Frieda [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 17:55:03 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1437 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1441 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.1 Subject: [Ontbirds]Green heron X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:41:51 - South on Thickson Road a green heron and lesser yellowlegs were there = again today by the old Beaver Dam. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Aug 8 18:33:13 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts20.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.74]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 998404827D for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 8 Aug 2004 18:33:13 -0400 (EDT) Received: from emachine.sympatico.ca ([69.158.110.22]) by tomts20-srv.bellnexxia.netESMTP [EMAIL PROTECTED] for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sun, 8 Aug 2004 18:46:28 -0400 Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 6.1.2.0 Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2004 18:46:38 -0400 To: Ontbirds ontbirds@hwcn.org From: Carol Horner [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Subject: [Ontbirds]Painted Bunting Normandale Yes, Cattle Egret No X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2004 22:33:14 - Hi Everyone I don't see a post regarding the PAINTED BUNTING as yet today. Mary Schuster, Rob Miller and I arrived around 915 and the bird was on the feeder. It remained for a couple of minutes then flew off. We waited another 90 minutes but it didn't return in that time. I heard later that it came back around noon. We went on to Townsend Sewage Lagoons, where we easily found the RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. It did move around the first lagoon quite a bit. We didn't bird the whole of the lagoons, but other shorebirds we saw there included GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER AND KILLDEER. We were told there were also STILT SANDPIPIERS and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER, but we didn't stay long enough to locate them. We tried for the CATTLE EGRET next, with no luck. Directions: Painted Bunting courtesy Ron Ridout: Directions to the Hidden Valley campground are: Highway 24 south through Simcoe, bearing west around the curve at Young's Creek. Travel west on 24 to Regional Rd. 10. Turn south (left from the east, right from the west) towards Turkey Pt. Travel south past 2 concessions and the entrance to Turkey Pt Provincial Park (on the left). Just south of the entrance to the provincial park, turn east (left) on the Front Rd. (I don't think it is signed but I believe there is a sign pointing left to Normandale). Travel 2.2 kms. east as the Front Rd winds through the forest and then down the hill into Normandale. Near the bottom of the hill you will come to Moles Road on the north (left) side that bears diagonally back to the northwest. Turn left on this road and travel to the second driveway on the right (200 metres). This is the well signed entrance to the Hidden Valley campground. Drive
[Ontbirds] Re: White-faced Ibis ???
Thanks to Denis Lepage who found a Lightner Road in Ohio at Port Clinton, which is on Sandusky Bay. Also, the birds were originally reported to us by Ohio people, AND a check of the Ohio Rare Bird Alerts show that White-faced Ibis are being reported there. So for the time being Ontario birders can relax but still keep in mind that White-faced Ibis could appear again in the province this spring. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri May 14 22:45:06 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from mail.interlinks.net (incoming.interlinks.net [209.5.77.1]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4EAC547EA1 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 14 May 2004 22:45:05 -0400 (EDT) Received: from WordWiz (209-5-79-133.interlinks.net [209.5.79.133]) by mail.interlinks.net (8.12.9/8.12.8) with SMTP id i4F2ihhh073329 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Fri, 14 May 2004 22:44:51 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Dennis Barry [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 22:42:33 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2720.3000 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2739.300 Subject: [Ontbirds] Great Egrets Common Nighthawk at Thickson's Woods Whitby, Friday Evening X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 02:45:06 - Hi, Three Great Egrets flew eastward along Corbett Creek Marsh at 7:15 p.m. About 20 minutes later, a Common Nighthawk flew westward over the meadow calling as it went. To reach Thickson's Woods exit from 401 to Thickson Road South in Whitby. Proceed south past Wentworth Street to the Waterfront Trail. Turn left, turn around and park on the north side of the road. Enter the woods on a path from the south side, about 200 metres east of Thickson Road. Follow the trails through the woods, some of which access the Lake Ontario shore. To view the beaver pond and Corbett Creek Marsh continue east about 100 metres past the entrance to the woods. The meadow is across the Waterfront Trail immediately north of the woods. The entrance is directly across the waterfront trail from the entrance to the woods. To view a map, visit the Thickson's Woods website at http://www.thicksonswoods.com Dennis Barry Margaret Carney Thickson's Point, R.R. 2 Whitby, ON L1N 5R5 (905) 725-2116 [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[Ontbirds] Black-headed Gull at Hillman Marsh
Black-headed Gull at Hillman Marsh: Late this afternoon I found an adult Black-headed Gull feeding in a field with hundreds of other gulls at Coterie Park. Coterie Park refers to the lakeshore just north of NE Hillman Marsh (as one drives towards Wheatley Harbour). The birds can viewed by looking between the houses on the west side of the road; the same field can also be accessed from other concession roads. The bird was easy to pick out since it had a full hood, compared to the Bonaparte's Gulls that are still 95% in winter plumage. There was also an adult Little Gull in the same field, which has been around since March 24. A few shorebirds recently: March 21 -- Greater Yellowlegs (1) S of Kopegaron Woods March 26 -- Lesser Yellowlegs (1) along North Dike Road March 27 -- Dunlin (1) at NW Hillman Marsh Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Mar 27 19:45:02 2004 Return-Path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Received: from fep1.cogeco.net (smtp.cogeco.net [216.221.81.25]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id EAA8B47E5F for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:45:01 -0500 (EST) Received: from mainoffice (d141-159-105.home.cgocable.net [24.141.159.105]) by fep1.cogeco.net (Postfix) with SMTP id A29506754 for ontbirds@hwcn.org; Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:51:45 -0500 (EST) From: Cheryl Edgecombe [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ontbirds@hwcn.org Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:52:39 -0500 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.6604 (9.0.2911.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 Importance: Normal Subject: [Ontbirds] Algonquin Park - March 27th X-BeenThere: ontbirds@hwcn.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 00:45:02 - Today a group of 9 birders from the Hamilton/Burlington area descended on Algonquin Park and had a very successful day. Here are the highlights: Barred Owl - at side of the road at the west entrance to the park Ruffed Grouse - side of Hwy 60 Visitors Centre Spruce Grouse - Spruce Bog Trail - 1 male 25 ft away Boreal Chickadee - Spruce Bog Trail - several Northern Shrike - KM 23 Snow Bunting - Visitors Centre Hoary Redpoll - Visitors Centre Gray Jay - several places Bald Eagle - 1 juvenile Sunday Creek (carcass) American Robin - probably a migrant Missed - Black-backed Woodpecker - seen at km 8 Pine Grosbeaks - 6 still coming in to West Entrance feeders Mammals Seen Wolf - Back of Nature Centre walking on ice Beaver - 2 Opeongo Road Otter - Arowhon Road Snowshoe Hare - Opeongo Road Red Fox - Hwy 60 White-tailed Deer - Hwy 60 Thanks to Ron Tozer for suggesting some spots. We did fulfill our promise to him and found a grackle at the nature centre feeders. Cheers Cheryl Edgecombe
NEW ISSUE -- Point Pelee Natural History News
Point Pelee Natural History News Volume 3, Number 4 (Winter 2003) This new issue (16 pages) is currently at the printer and will be available next week. This issue contains the following: ARTICLES: POINT PELEE: ITS EVOLUTION and STRUCTURE Alan S. Trenhaile [Ever wondered how Point Pelee was formed? The author, a geomorphologist at the University of Windsor, explains this and much more.] NOTEWORTHY BIRD RECORDS: SEPTEMBER to NOVEMBER 2003 Alan Wormington [An exceptional fall migration with a total of 6 pages detailing such rarities as Eared Grebe, American White Pelican, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Greater White-fronted Goose, Rosss Goose, Brant, Harlequin Duck, Harlans Red-tailed Hawk, Piping Plover, Marbled Godwit, Red Phalarope, Sabines Gull, Rosss Gull, Sooty Tern, Black-backed Woodpecker, Cave Swallow, Townsends Solitaire and Dickcissel). MORE CAVE SWALLOWS: THE FALL OF 2003 Alan Wormington [Another incursion into northeastern North America resulted in 14 sightings and 21 birds in Ontario; of this total, eight birds were found within the Point Pelee Birding Area. All sightings are detailed and discussed.] POINT PELEE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT: DECEMBER 15, 2003 Sarah E. Rupert [42 observers found 94 species and counted 55,522 birds; highlights included Franklins Gull, 247 American Pipit, Red-throated Loon, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Dunlin.] FOX SQUIRRELS AT POINT PELEE: 1977, 1990 and 1997 Alan Wormington [As the title states individual Fox Squirrels were recorded at Point Pelee in 1977, 1990 and 1997, but their origin remains unknown; the history of the species in Ontario is also presented.] IN THE FIELD: Rosss Gull: Second Record for Point Pelee Harlans Red-tailed Hawk: New to Point Pelee ILLUSTRATIONS: Included in this issue is a total of 13 photographs and two illustrations. xx IMPORTANT NOTICE: This is the last issue of Point Pelee Natural History News that will be published (Volume 3 is now complete). Your Editor has requested the termination of the newsletter since there is always a chronic lack of material somewhat surprising considering Point Pelee is probably visited by more nature-oriented individuals than any other single location in Ontario. Although there has always been a regular source of articles such as Noteworthy Bird Records, various bird and butterfly count reports, and annual butterfly and dragonfly compilations, etc., this is not enough material to fill each issue. A word of Thanks to the Friends of Point Pelee for both initiating and supporting the newsletter throughout. Alan Wormington, EDITOR Point Pelee Natural History News E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] There is an ample supply of all issues if anyone is interested in obtaining a complete set or getting missing issues. All issues will be available this spring, for example, at the book store inside the Point Pelee Visitor Centre. Please address all orders directly to the Friends of Point Pelee. In Person: By Mail (Can) By Mail (International): Any single issue: $4 $5 $5 (US funds only) Any four issues:$15 $18 $18 (US funds only) Complete set (12 issues): $40 $45 $45 (US funds only) The Friends of Point Pelee 1118 Point Pelee Drive Leamington, Ontario Canada N8H 3V4 Friends of Point Pelee E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WEB PAGE: http://www.wincom.net/~fopp/Natural_History_News.htm [includes an index for past issues] The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Re: Prairie Falcon , New Toronto 01,11,04
Does any reader have any contact with those that might be using falcons at the Toronto Airport? Few may remember, but about 25 (?) years ago a Prairie Falcon was seen on the Long Point CBC. The only problem was, one had escaped just prior to that from the Toronto Airport. Alan Wormington, Leamington On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 12:19:01 -0500 Barry Kent MacKay [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Do look for jesses (small leather straps attached to tarsi) or radio (the antenna may appear as a long, thin wire extending back from the tail) as these birds are popular with falconers, and escapees do occur. Craig, you don't say if the feet were well enough seen by Don to eliminate the possibility of this bird having jesses or not, but I think it essential to do so if this bird is to be considered a wild one, and not an escapee. Barry Barry Kent MacKay Markham, Ontario, Canada The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
More on Gray Flycatcher
The photos recently posted on OntBirds show a couple of interesting features: 1) short primary extension 2) a pale band across the forehead Both of these features are consistent with Gray Flycatcher. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Re: Gray Flycatcher
Comments on Gray Flycatcher: Lou and all: The identification of this bird as Gray Flycather was exceptionally straightforward, as not only were all expected fieldmarks well seen, but the bird could regularly be viewed at distances closer than 20 feet. In addition to the bird doing its typical phoebe-like downward pumping of the tail, I heard the bird once (twice?) give a double note call that I would describe as tsee-up There is absolutely no doubt that the bird is a Gray Flycatcher. There's the old adage . . . photos are good, but seeing the bird in life is a whole lot better. On the long drive home today I contemplated if any other CBC observation was as outlandish as this bird found by the Skevingtons. The only one I could think of was Phainopepla, but I couldn't decide which of these two CBC birds is more remarkable. Alan Wormington, Leamington P.S. I can't find the photo Lou Marsh refers to -- can anyone direct me to it? The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Cave Swallow Compilation - Fall 2003
ONTARIO CAVE SWALLOWS -- FALL 2003 I will presume that there will be no more observations this fall, so here is the complete list of reported sightings. Information is still needed on who discovered the birds at Long Point. Any new information on this or additional observations, etc., please e-mail me privately. Known sightings total 21 birds, assuming that there were no repeat observations. This compares to nine (9) birds reported in Ontario last fall (2002), and the 110-120 birds reported during the fall of 1999. FIRST WAVE: November 1: (1) at Niagara Falls, NIAGARA (Troy Shively) November 4: (3) at Tobermory, BRUCE (Ethan J. Meleg) November 6-7: (1) at Cranberry Marsh, DURHAM (Karl Jennewein, Dan Kaczynski et al.) November 7: (3) at Tip of Point Pelee, ESSEX (Kevin A. McLaughlin, Robert L. Waldhuber) (2) at Tip of Long Point, NORFOLK (discoverer?) November 8: (2) at Erieau, CATHAM-KENT (Steve Charbonneau et al.) (1) at Erieau, CHATHAM-KENT (Blake A. Mann) -- different bird from above (2) at Onion Fields north of PPNP, ESSEX (Alan Wormington et al.) (1) at Sturgeon Creek, ESSEX (Stephen T. Pike, Adam Pinch et al.) November 8-10: (1) at Point Petre, PRINCE EDWARD (Wynne Thomas) -- found dead (still warm) on the 10th November 9: (1) at lakeshore S of Hillman Marsh, ESSEX (Marianne B. Reid) (1) at Tip of Point Pelee, ESSEX (Randy P. Horvath, Robert A. Horvath et al.) November 10: (1) at Cedar Springs, CHATHAM-KENT (Keith J. Burk) SECOND WAVE: A clear, second wave of birds entered the Great Lakes (on or about November 23) as a result of a new period of warm air and southwest winds associated with a strong front (on the 23rd it reached 65 F at Detroit). On November 23 an orange-rumped swallow (likely a Cave Swallow) was seen briefly near Cleveland, Ohio. The following day, November 24, five (5) Cave Swallows were seen at Hamlin Beach State Park, New York (west of Rochester). There were also new observations in the Northeast -- two on November 26 in Connecticut, and four on November 26 in New Hampshire (a new state record). In Ontario during this second wave, only the following was reported: November 26: (1) at Cranberry Marsh, DURHAM (Dan Kaczynski, Doug Lockrey et al.) -- caught by a Sharp-shinned Hawk Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
more Cave Swallows?
It wouldn't surprise me if additional Cave Swallows were to appear during the next few days in southern Ontario, due to the recent blast of warm air originating from Texas, etc. As I write this at 6:30 p.m., it is warmer here (63 F) than it is in Austin, Texas (55 F) -- a perfect set-up for something to happen! Cave Swallow is unrecorded in Ohio, yet this morning an unidentified orange-rumped swallow was observed along the Lake Erie shoreline in that state, flying east. The fact that it was flying east may have provided a significant clue. So again it might be worth checking areas that harbour late swallows. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Rufous Hummingbird?
Re the hummingbird currently in Kingston, is there a conclusive reason for calling this bird a Rufous Hummingbird? Just this week an Allen's Hummingbird was confirmed in New Jersey (caught, measured and released). Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Harlan's Hawk and Cliff Swallow at Point Pelee
This morning myself, Steve Pike and Henrietta O'Neill had some interesting birds at the Tip of Point Pelee: -- Red-tailed Harlan's Hawk -- a typical dark-morph (perhaps intermediate morph) adult bird at the Tip, along with two or more Northern Goshawks and a Golden Eagle. This is a first Point Pelee record for this subspecies. -- a little swallow flock at the Tip feeding back-and-forth along the beach on the east side out of the wind -- 1 Tree, 1 Rough-winged, and 1 unexpected Cliff Swallow (providing good reason to carefully check those Cave Swallows!). Yesterday Steve saw two Barn Swallows at the Visitor Centre. Cattle Egret still in my driveway at Sturgeon Creek as of yesterday, but I haven't seen it yet today. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Cave Swallow Compilation - Fall 2003
For the benefit of the OBRC, etc., I have compiled a list of the reported Cave Swallows this fall. If anyone can add anything to this compilation, please e-mail me privately. If there is another wave of birds, I will provide an update. CAVE SWALLOWS -- Fall 2003: November 1: (1) at Niagara Falls (Troy Shively) November 4: (3) at Tobermory (Ethan J. Meleg) November 6-7: (1) at Cranberry Marsh (discoverer?) November 7: (3) at Tip of Point Pelee (Kevin A. McLaughlin, Robert L. Waldhuber) (2) at Tip of Long Point (discoverer?) November 8: (2) at Erieau (Steve Charbonneau et al.) (1) at Erieau (Blake A. Mann) - different bird from above (2) at Onion Fields north of PPNP (Alan Wormington et al.) (1) at Sturgeon Creek (Stephen T. Pike, Adam Pinch) November 9: (1) at lakeshore S of Hillman Marsh (Marianne B. Reid) (1) at Tip of Point Pelee (Randy P. Horvath, brother, et al.) Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
More Cave Swallows at Point Pelee
On the way back from Erieau this morning I stopped at several spots along the lake, but saw nothing of note. However, I did find two CAVE SWALLOWS feeding over a corn field in the Onion Fields north of Point Pelee. They were in the lee of a north-south row of tall willow trees (northeast wind), between Concessions D and C. While watching the birds two birding groups came along, who said that they could not find the three Cave Swallows reported yesterday inside PPNP. At Erieau the two birds were feeding over the beach dunes at the base of the channel pier. At times they landed on the sand and weeds, and I was able to photograph both birds. This morning my pet Cattle Egret was again in my driveway at Sturgeon Creek. Alan Wormington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Easy Cattle Egret at Sturgeon Creek
If anyone is interested, a Cattle Egret has been feeding in my driveway for over a week now. It is the first and only laneway north of Pelee Days Inn, which is south of Leamington as one drives towards Point Pelee National Park. Please stay in your car when you view this bird, as it may flush if you start walking around. Other recent Cattle Egret sightings at Wheatley Harbour and Sanctuary Pond may or may not have been the same bird. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Don't open Red-bellied Woodpecker file
Virus Alert: I have been unable to determine the source of this, but a file I received labelled Fw: Red-bellied Woodpecker has an attachment with an embedded virus. If you see this file, delete it immediately. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Look for Cave Swallows!
Cave Swallows: During the past week, Cave Swallows have been reported in New Jersey, New Brunswick (apparently a first provincial record), Ontario (two reports at Niagara Falls and Tobermory), and an uncertain observation in Michigan (concensus is that the bird was actually a Cliff Swallow). Lately there has been some unusually warm airflows into Ontario originating from the southwest, the undoubted origin of all or most Cave Swallows. When the weather turns cold during the coming week, I suspect it might be a great time to investigate those areas known to harbour late swallows. Here at Point Pelee, for well over a week now I have seen but a single Tree Swallow, but I'm sure more swallows will appear when this warm weather comes to an abrupt end. Alan Wormington, Leamington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
Townsend's Solitaire at Point Pelee
This morning Steve Pike and myself found a Townsend's Solitaire south of DeLaurier Trail. You can access the area at the DeLaurier House (or main road) by walking south down the seasonal trail which is actually the former (old) road bed. When approaching the opening of the former Maintenance Complex, you will see several very large Red Cedars on the left. One of these is covered in berries, and this is where the bird was. Based on the behaviour of other solitaires in Ontario over the years, it would not be surprising if this bird continued to feed on this tree for days if not weeks. This morning the number of birds in the park was spectacular -- passerines were virtually everywhere. Alan Wormington The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
