This is Jean Iron's second report by satellite phone for the period 21 - 25 July 2013 from East Point on Hannah Bay, Ontario, on the south coast of James Bay. Hannah Bay is a new site to survey the shorebirds using southwestern James Bay. The Hannah Bay crew comprises Christian Friis, shorebird biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and volunteers Jean Iron and Antonio Coral. Two other crews are at Longridge Point and Little Piskwamish Point. A separate summary for Longridge marked with a *star is included below. See map link below for survey locations.
The Hannah Bay camp is on a pristine wilderness coast with no human debris or flotsam that is frequent on most sea coasts and the Great Lakes. The surveyors have not seen any people since arriving on 14 July. SHOREBIRDS: 22 species to date. The high count and date for each species are given for the count period. All migrant shorebirds so far have been adults. The absence of juveniles for some species such as Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpiper, and reports from farther north suggest a late breeding season in 2013. Black-bellied Plover: 17 on 25 July. Semipalmated Plover: 25 on 25 July. Killdeer: 8 on 24 July. Spotted Sandpiper: 1 on 24 July. Greater Yellowlegs: 437 on 22 July. Lesser Yellowlegs: 999 on 22 July. Whimbrel: 45 on 22 July. Hudsonian Godwit: 463 on 22 July. Marbled Godwit: 55 on 24 July. Ruddy Turnstone: 34 on 25 July. RED KNOT: None during this period indicates that Hannah Bay is not a staging area for knots. See numbers at Longridge below. Sanderling: 12 on 25 July. Semipalmated Sandpiper: 12,650 on 21 July. Least Sandpiper: 181 migrant adults on 20 July. White-rumped Sandpiper: 125 on 21 July. Pectoral Sandpiper: 489 on 22 July. Dunlin: 4 on 21 July. Stilt Sandpiper: 5 on 21 July. Short-billed Dowitcher: 11 on 21 July. Most were the subspecies hendersoni. Wilson's Snipe: 7 on the 21 July. Wilson's Phalarope: 2 on 22 July. *LONGRIDGE SUMMARY (high counts only) fide Stuart Mackenzie: Black-bellied Plover, 7 on 22 July. Semipalmated Plover, 31 on 22 July. Greater Yellowlegs, 307 on 23 July. Lesser Yellowlegs, 138 on 21 July. Whimbrel, 130 on 17 July. Hudsonian Godwit, 400 on 25 July. Marbled Godwit, 3 on 17 July. Ruddy Turnstone, 209 on 22 July. Sanderling, 9 on 25 July. RED KNOT, >1000 birds present since 18 July, high of 1500 on 25th, slowly building with >200 tags read. Semipalmated Sandpiper, 1100 on 21 July. Least Sandpiper, 85 on 18 July, <30 since. White-rumped Sandpiper, 450 on 21 and 22 July. Pectoral Sandpiper, 270 on 21 July. Short-billed Dowitcher, 4 on 17 July. Red-necked Phalarope, 1. Singles of Arctic Tern, more Common Terns. Bonaparte's Gull, adult numbers building, juvenile on 19 July. Parasitic Jaegers, 2 adults hunting shorebirds. Yellow Rails, 6 around camp. 12 Nelson's and 2 Le Conte's Sparrows around camp. Clay-colored Sparrow, 1 on 22 July. OTHER HANNAH BAY BIRDS in no particular order: GRAY CATBIRD on 25 July. No Yellow Rails. A Sora on 24 and 25 July in cattails. 16 species of waterfowl including 8 Redheads on 21 July, Northern Shoveler and Blue-winged Teal. American White Pelican, 4 on 24 July. Pair of Northern Harriers on territory. Peregrine Falcon, adult on 21 July. Merlin chasing shorebirds on 24 July. Common Nighthawk flying southeast on 25 July. Blue-headed Vireo. Philadelphia Vireo. Red-eyed Vireo. Gray Jay, 2 adults on 25 July. Boreal Chickadee on 26 July. Brown Creeper on 25 July. Winter Wren. Golden-crowned Kinglet. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Nashville Warbler. Magnolia Warbler. Yellow-rumped Warbler. Le Conte's Sparrow, 1 singing on 24 July. Nelson's Sparrow, 14 singing on 24 July. Common Grackle on 24 July. White-winged Crossbill, 13 on 22 July. Pine Siskin, 3 on 24 July. MAMMALS: Black Bear, 2 on 25 July. Hannah Bay is south of the normal range of Polar Bears which are rare south of Akimiski Island. See map link. Deer Mouse and a vole sp. in cabin. BUTTERFLIES: Old World Swallowtails on host plant, Scotch Lovage. Pink-edged Sulphur. Bronze Cooper. Northern Spring Azure. Atlantis Fritillary. Northern Crescent. White Admiral. Viceroy. Common Ringlet (abundant). Long Dash. WILDFLOWERS (some): Balsam Ragwort. Labrador Indian Paintbrush. Northern Grass-of-Parnassus. Labrador Tea. Large-flowered Wintergreen. Twinflower. Bunchberry. Map of survey sites on southern James Bay. http://www.jeaniron.ca/2013/JamesBay/map.htm Snow/Ice Cover Map http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The Western James Bay Shorebird Survey is a cooperative effort spearheaded by the Canadian Wildlife Service, Royal Ontario Museum , Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), Bird Studies Canada and Moose Cree First Nation. Additional support for the 2013 expedition was provided by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. The OMNR also provides helicopter transport to and from field camps and accommodations in the staff house while crews are in Moosonee. Thanks to Ken Abraham, Rod Brook, Sarah Hagey and Kim Bennett of OMNR for logistical support. Jean thanks an anonymous donor for financial assistance allowing her to make satellite phone calls to me so timely reports are available on the Ontbirds and Shorebirds listservs. Lastly, without the many hours of dedicated volunteer support, this project would not be possible. Jean's third report will be in 7 - 10 days. Ron Pittaway Toronto, Ontario _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
