Hello keen birders. And I do mean keen. You might think that one would have
to be a bit crazy to venture into the James Bay region at this point in the
year and that's where I come in. I had always planned on going to James Bay
this fall but given the number of great birds that were continually showing up
in late October I decided to stick it out down here in the south which was a
fabulous idea as I was rewarded with Tufted Duck, Glossy Ibis, Purple
Sandpiper, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Cave Swallows and a Pacific Loon among
others. When November came around it didn't seem like much was happening and
it sure didn't seem like those Red Phalaropes were making much of an appearance
in Ontario this year so I threw in the towel and arranged a trip to Netitishi
Point, Southern James Bay, Ontario.
Many of you should be aware of this place because it has been posted about
several times during the last few Fall seasons and this year was no exception
with J. Vandermuelen and A. Wormington having gone earlier in the season. Well
it was a whole different ball game when I went up there. Three weeks of
migration had gone by in that time and both the birds and numbers had changed,
most dramatically so in the numbers.
I will post below the eBird checklists I have generated on a daily basis from
my trip. The lists are extremely accurate and reflect most of the birds to be
seen there this time of year, with some interesting finds from both southerly
and northerly winds. I spent a great many hours in the field (approximately
7hrs. per day for 10 days) and counted every bird even the ones that I wasn't
sure of. It should be noted here that there were a great deal of birds that I
was unable to identify. This simply reflects the great distances and extreme
weather events that can and did occur such as high north winds, snow squalls,
high waves and low tides. Combined, these factors can make birding very
difficult up there. You will understand more fully I think when you read the
eBird checklists. Very little of this was due to observer error, though
admittedly there were a few that I think if given another second or two view I
should have been able to confirm.
***I would not suggest that you do a trip like this unless you have A) a lot of
patience, B) are willing to devote a bit of money and understand that you may
very well see little of note even with good weather conditions, and C) are a
very good birder. Less experienced birders would see less, identify even less
of that, and grow very frustrated with their sightings, I would think. Many
hours need to be spent simply sitting in a chair or standing looking through
your scope at the bay, crossing your fingers that at least a day or two in your
two week (recommended 10 days - 3 weeks) trip produces some strong north winds.
Because I have a lot of time on my hands I was able to check the weather before
hand including both ice, temperature and wind conditions before I made the last
minute (and I mean LAST MINUTE!) decision to venture forth. And as it turns
out it was a good one because little of significance was seen in southern
Ontario while I was away. What is with November this year??? Rarity month for
the year was clearly October even without some of the hurricane birds.
Highlights of my trip were a single Dovekie flying east on the open bay (scared
up off the bay as a few Long-tailed Ducks flew by), a single juv. white-morph
Gyrfalcon which provided some nice photos, and a singe light-morph Northern
Fulmar on strong north winds appearing out of a snow squall. Other highlights
were more significant from a time of year and location point of view. eBird
checklists are at the bottom of this email. OBRC reports for the Dovekie and
Fulmar will be submitted. Dovekie was new for the year for 'our' Ontario bird
checklist on eBird of course. Think we can get 365 species this year? Please
feel free to respond privately. The complete list (of 40 some odd species) is
as follows: Canada GooseWhite-winged ScoterBlack ScoterLong-tailed DuckEider
sp.Common MerganserRed-breasted MerganserSpruce GrouseLoon sp.Red-necked
GrebeNorthern FulmarBald EagleRough-legged HawkPurple
SandpiperDunlinRing-billed GullHerring GullThayer's GullIceland GullGlaucous
GullGreat Black-backed GullDovekieSnowy OwlHairy WoodpeckerAmerican Three-toed
WoodpeckerGyrfalconNorthern ShrikeGray JayCommon RavenBlack-capped
ChickadeeBoreal ChickadeeLapland LongspurSnow BuntingDark-eyed JuncoRed-winged
BlackbirdPine GrosbeakPurple FinchRed CrossbillWhite-winged CrossbillCommon
Redpoll
eBird checklists:
Nov. 16 - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12190120Nov. 17 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12190169Nov. 18 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12190593Nov. 19 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12188258Nov. 20 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12188185Nov. 21 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12188153Nov. 22 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12187837Nov. 23 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12187762Nov. 24 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12187308Nov. 25 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12184998Nov. 26 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12184926 Directions:
51.2908015,-80.1157379 (plug into Google Earth)
_______________________________________________
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/
