Middlesex Biggish Year: February Update

Another month has come and gone! I find February to typically be the most boring month birding wise, but this past one had been fairly good. The cold snap this month brought in plenty of ducks, but certainly halted the arrival of several typical late February migrants.  After month #2 of my "Middlesex Biggish Year" my year list stands at a respectable 93 species after accumulating 11 new species, roughly 75% of the species reported in the county so far in 2021. My biggest misses this past month were White-winged Scoter (which I probably would have gotten if I hadn't missed the call by 20 minutes) and Western Meadowlark (which I did end up seeing, but it was a couple hundred meters on the wrong side of the county line!).

The breakdown: 

Code 1: 64 species (4 new)

Code 2: 17 species (3 new)

Code 3: 7 species (3 new)

Code 4: 3 species

Code 5: 2 species (1 new)

Up until this weekend (Feb. 27/28), the only code 1 I had added to my list was American Coot. Several have been reported on the Thames this year, and I finally caught up with a couple on the 24th. On the 27th, I had the first Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds of the year, and then on the 28th I got my first Common Grackles. 

The freezing of the great lakes brought in three new code 2 birds. Redhead, Greater Scaup, and Ruddy Duck all appeared in decent numbers throughout the month along the Thames.

Ruddy Duck

It was nice to get three code 3 birds out of the way, even though I will probably see some more of at least two of them later this year. The first was a Trumpeter Swan, which is not always a lock for a Middlesex year list. The others were a Long-tailed Duck and a few Canvasback.

Long-tailed Duck

I didn't get any new code 4s, but I did see a code 5; the second Middlesex record of Spotted Towhee! I first saw this bird on Valentine's Day, and have since then been back a few times to enjoy this rarity. I imagine that it will be around for awhile yet. I already "ticked" it last month, but the Harlequin Duck had still been around as well, and I have seen it on a couple different occasions. 

I think I am off to a pretty good start. I'm excited to see what else will show up! 

Blackbird Bonanza!

This morning started like any other school day. I got up, went and ate breakfast, then walked to my bus stop. On the walk, I couldn't help but notice just how mild it was. I made a mental note to go look for blackbirds after school, because I just knew that today would be the day they started their advance into my neighborhood.

I waited at the bus stop for five minutes, completely alone. I waited a bit longer before getting a text from my mom saying that the buses had a two hour fog delay. I guess I would get to go look for blackbirds sooner than I thought!

Not 10 minutes into my search I heard it. Off in the distance I could hear one of my favourite sounds of early spring...the distinctive "Conk-a-REE!" of a Red-winged Blackbird! I tried locating the bird, however I had to abandon the search because it started to rain quite heavily. I figured I could go back after school and try to get a visual and maybe some photos.

As soon as I got home, I was told that buses hadn't been delayed...they were cancelled! I have no idea why, as it was completely clear out where I was, but I wasn't complaining...now I could spend the whole day looking for blackbirds!

The rain didn't give up until about twenty after ten, but as soon as it stopped I was out the door (without a camera...whoops!). Almost immediately four Red-winged Blackbirds flew over, followed by two more. I found a seventh male loudly singing at the top of a tree. Awesome!

I returned about an hour later with a camera, and although I was only able to find two Red-wingeds, I was happy to watch them singing and interacting with each other.

Long story short, I spent the next few hours riding my bike around, finding Red-winged Blackbirds everywhere I went.

Late in the afternoon, as I was heading home I happened across a group of six flyover Red-winged Blackbirds. Cool, I thought, and decided to stop and see if anymore flew over. Shortly after, I saw about 12 fly over. I realized that they had come from the direction of a marsh which serves as a congregation spot of sorts for blackbirds in spring and fall, so I went to check it out.

I came across a single male Red-winged on a wire.

As I was watching him I noticed a flock of Common Grackles had just taken off from a nearby tree! I looked over and realized that there were more of them! All in all, I counted a total of 41 Common Grackles and 43 Red-winged Blackbirds, exceptional numbers given the date and location.

Common Grackles and European Starings

Although I was thoroughly soaked, it was a great day of birding! I'm sure the Killdeer aren't far behind!

Spring Migration is a Go!

With the recent warm weather we've been having, it's no surprise that there has been a recent influx of migrants returning and resident species starting their mating rituals.

American Robins have started their "cheery-up" song

My first Red-winged Blackbird of the year was seen on the 18th down at the local park. I didn't see any for a of couple days, but then on the 21st, there was a group of 10 that flew by. In the following days, I found about 8 or so singing males.

While this species isn't unexpected at this time of year, the numbers in which they are being reported is quite unusual. Here is the eBird map for the month of February (red is within the last 30 days).

Grackles are also starting to come back, and on the 24th I saw at least 19 at Virginia Park.

They usually aren't around in large numbers until mid-March. Again, here's the eBird map for February.

Killdeer are also starting to appear.

There are numerous records of Killdeer in February, but as with the Red-winged Blackbirds, the numbers in which they are being found are exceptional.

American Woodcocks are also returning. In fact, they've already started displaying.

Turkey Vultures are migrating in small numbers, and I'm sure we'll start seeing them regularly in the next couple of weeks.

Perhaps one of the best early records so far this year was a Greater Yellowlegs near Long Point in Norfolk county.

www.njaudubon.org

In fact, it's a PROVINCIAL record early by about a week.

So far, 2017 looks like it's going to be one hectic year!