Hi Everyone, Those of you who follow eBird may have noticed that the townsend's warbler is still present in Bates subdivision just outside of Rondeau Park. I was able to find it this morning, as well as Monday morning. I just wanted to give some history, details and a few pointers for anyone still looking for this bird (I still get emails about it). The hatch-year male was first found on November 11 by Jim Burk at the corner of Second and Centre Streets. It was seen by hundreds over the next few weeks, never far from that location. Amazingly, it stayed for winter listers on December 1st and then remained and was found on the Blenheim Christmas Bird Count this past Sunday, a first record for any Ontario CBC. The next big milestone will be January 1, 2018 which is only eleven days away. Considering this is day 41 for this bird, it is not at all far-fetched that it will remain until the new year. We have had many below zero Celsius nights here, including two nights that dipped to minus 15. I have been lucky enough to see the warbler on more than 20 of the days that it has been present here, so I thought I would include some of my observations. During the warmer days, it was often found on its own but those days seem to be past us. When days are colder, it almost always travels with a mixed flock of kinglets, chickadees, creepers, nuthatches and a titmouse or two. On the Christmas Count, it was with the flock of house finches. It spends all of its time now in the cedars, flying from one tree to another. It almost always feeds in the upper half of the tree in which it is seen. It seems to be finding tiny, unseen insects and spiders from some of the thicker cedar/juniper boughs. I have never seen it eat a juniper berry, even though there are many trees that are loaded with them. It will spend anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes in each cedar. It calls (chips) fairly often, especially when it is ready to fly or has just landed. This is often the easiest way to find it among the flock. Sometimes we lose track of it when it moves with all of the other birds and patience is required to refind it. On Monday and today, I found the warbler a bit further north than the original location. It was on Fourth Street, just west of Centre Street on Monday morning and this morning I found it at the corner of Fifth Street and Centre. For those unfamiliar with the subdivision, this is only 300m away from where Jim had first found it. For anyone who hasn't seen the bird and would like to try, it might be best to walk Centre Street from Second Street to Fifth, listening for the flock. I'll be looking for the warbler sparingly over the next week, due to Christmas gatherings and 3 more CBCs. I expect to check this neighbourhood a couple of times however before January 1st and will post to eBird if I find it. If anyone sees it in the next few days, please inform me or report it to ontbirds or eBird. I'd really like to include Townsend's warbler on my 2018 Chatham-Kent list! Good birding, Steve Charbonneau
Directions: Get off the 401 at exit 101 and travel southeast on Kent Bridge Rd for 14 km. Turn right toward Rondeau Park on Wildwood Line. Bates subdivision is a few hundred metres on your left. There are small parking areas at the far end of each of Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Streets. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
