The following was rejected by Ontbirds software around 5 pm Friday November 19 because it was sent from an email address our software did not recognise. If I remember Webbwood is just west of Espanola (Hwy 17) heading towards Eliot Lake. Could be a good year for owl spotting.
Mark Cranford Ontbirds Coordinator Could not turn up the birds 11/19 AM , same general area .( but never been good at turning up owls ) Sitting in open Poplar trees , Distance 15/20 feet up and I was 15/20 feet from its base Huge bigger bird , grey ,yellow eyes , but huge wings brown on top when in flight smaller bird more charcoal in general . ( wings same ) viewing time over 1/2 hour ( I kept going back to the tree ,could not believe the size of it ) guess its not a rare bird , but if my range maps correct , not a common sight in Ont .( my area ) Sighting way off road back in a bush and old farm land area ( private ) --- Mark Cranford ONTBIRDS Coordinator Mississauga, Ontario [EMAIL PROTECTED] 905 279 9576 From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Nov 19 23:04:33 2004 Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Delivered-To: [email protected] Received: from tomts5-srv.bellnexxia.net (tomts5.bellnexxia.net [209.226.175.25]) by king.hwcn.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 426F64809E for <[email protected]>; Fri, 19 Nov 2004 23:04:33 -0500 (EST) Received: from jean-bapu1sw48i.sympatico.ca ([69.158.101.101]) by tomts5-srv.bellnexxia.netESMTP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for <[email protected]>; Fri, 19 Nov 2004 23:05:37 -0500 Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.2.1 Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 23:05:38 -0500 To: [email protected] From: Jean Iron <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Subject: [Ontbirds]Niagara Hummingbird X-BeenThere: [email protected] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 20 Nov 2004 04:04:33 -0000 Today we saw and photographed the Selasphorus hummingbird at the home of Janice Haines in Niagara Falls. See three photos of it http://www3.sympatico.ca/jeaniron/Selasphorus.htm This bird clearly has all its tail feathers. Janice told us that it arrived on 2 September. She showed us a photo of it taken in early September; it had a yellowish forehead (pollen?) and cast on the head so we think that it might be a first year female. Janice said that its plumage has changed since it arrived on 2 September. For the discussion below this is the code used: r = rectrix or tail feather; plural is rectrices. This hummingbird has 10 rectrices or 10 tail feathers. Tail feathers are numbered from the inner to the outer. So the two central tail feathers are r1s, the next two are r2s, etc. to the outer rectrices which are r5. Allen Chartier examined Jean's photo of the spread tail. He wrote, "From David Beadle's video grabs he sent me yesterday, it appeared that both r2's were missing, but clearly that is not the case. These r2's are not distinctly notched, only very subtly so, thus this bird could concievably be an Allen's Hummingbird. But I don't think so. The general impression I have of the widths of all the tail feathers is that they are too broad, and not tapered enough (especially r1 and r2, but to some extent r5 too), to be an Allen's. It is interesting that one of the r1's looks tapered while the other looks notched. I've not encountered a notched r1 on any Rufous I've handled before, but it would be even more unusual in an Allen's I think. Probably it has something to do with camera angle. The bird is almost certainly a female, based on the all-green upperparts and limited rufous on the base of r1, but the only way to confirm the age is to examine the bill corrugations in-hand. At this late date, the corrugations can sometimes be very faint, so the bill must be examined very carefully in good light. It is essential to correctly age and sex the bird before using Stiles to identify it. The very subtly notched r2 is similar to what I've seen in several juvenile female Rufous. Those birds required very careful measurements of wing chord, tail, culmen, and widths of r1, r2, and r5. The apparent lack of iridescent gorget feathers is more typical of juvenile males, but given the bird is probably a female, then it seems more likely to be a juvenile than an adult. A species ID will have to be made using a combination of all measurements. The "magic field mark" of a clearly notched r2 is not with us on this one! So, as a result, there is nothing on this bird that anyone could look for to "confirm" the bird for their life lists, if their personal criteria are that strict. So, in short, the measurements will be the whole story on this one." Directions: Take the QEW to the Thorold Stone Road exit in Niagara Falls. Now turn left (east) to Dorchester Road, then right (south) one block to Pettit Avenue. Take a left here and continue for about 1 km to Sherwood Road (directly across from First Baptist Church on the right hand side). Turn left and proceed one block to Peach Street to 4579, the second or third house on your right. The owner is very friendly and accomodating. Be sure to sign her guest book. Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway Jean Iron http://www3.sympatico.ca/jeaniron/ 9 Lichen Place Toronto ON M3A 1X3 416-445-9297
