Shorebirds of Algonquin

Been awhile, eh? 

Alright, I'll say it. Algonquin Park is notoriously bad for birding. Sure, there's some good things to be seen here and there, but you (usually) have to work very, very hard for it. I can't tell you the number of times I have walked around the Old Airfield over the past several weeks and the best bird be an American Pipit. 

However, despite how bad it is, many birders, myself included, absolutely adore birding in the park. Why? Well, when the work you put in pays off, it really pays off. 

Back in the summer I was joking about doing a little naturalist table on the "Shorebirds of Algonquin", which was quickly kyboshed when I realised that we only had like four (4) shorebird specimens. As you can imagine, Algonquin is not exactly the most "productive" place for shorebirds. Rocks? We got em. But we lack many of the sandy beaches and exposed marshes that are required for these migrants to touch down on.

There is however I very special place in the park that sometimes harbours shorebirds, you just have to maybe get rained on (after all, rain drives down the birds). That place is the magical East Side, specifically Radiant Lake and Lake Travers.

I only first set foot on the shores of Lake Travers this past summer, but have since made an effort to get back there as much as possible (which unfortunately, due to certain logistics, hasn't been super often). This is a very special lake in that is has a decent (for Algonquin) sized marsh with decent (for Algonquin) mudflats when the water is low. Many rarities have been found here over the years, and each time I go, I hope to add to that legacy (spoiler: no mind-bogglers yet).

Radiant Lake is another special lake in that it is very sandy, and very shallow. It is possible to wade pretty much right across the lake when the water is low enough. The sandy bottomed lake also translates into expansive sand bars that are sometimes exposed. 

30 species of shorebirds have been recorded in Algonquin Park, and I have seen 13 of them. Anyways, here's a few pictures of the ones I have encountered. 

On September 10, I went on a work trip to Lake Travers and Radiant Lake. Our best bird was a White-rumped Sandpiper (something like the 14th record for Algonquin). We also had Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, and a couple Greater Yellowlegs. 

White-rumped Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plovers

Least Sandpiper

A couple weeks later, I was on a camping trip to Lake Travers with Peter Simons, and we had a great time in the rain with a mini (emphasis on mini) shorebird fallout. We each got a few park shorebirds, such as a Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, and Dunlin. 

Our eBird checklist is a sight to behold. At least, I think so :-) 

Annnndddd...that's it. Yup. A couple exciting instances for shorebirds is all you get! No fallouts of Hudsonian Godwits were observed (sadly). Water levels rose very quickly after that late September trip, and when I returned in early October, there were no exposed flats anywhere! A flyover Greater Yellowlegs is all I got...

I suspect my shorebird season is over in the park, but I'll still holding out for a Northern Lapwing in the airfield...

eBird Global Big Day 2020

This past Saturday was the eBird Global Big Day. Before Covid-19 hit, the plan was to be down in Point Pelee for that day, but obviously that was not to be! I sure will miss going this year. It seems that provincial parks are opening up this week however, so maybe I can still make a short trip to Rondeau. Who knows.

 After staying put around home for about a month and a half, I was looking forward to getting out a bit further afield for the big day. I didn't really have any goals in mind, just a few places I wanted to check out around London. Normally, we should be seeing good numbers of migrants by now, but the weather has different plans. It was obvious while looking at the radar from the night prior there weren't going to be many (any) new arrivals!

No birds!

For reference, here is a night with lots of bird migration (from earlier this month, I forget when, maybe May 3rd?). Birds show up on radar as circles around radar stations.

I started off the day in my neighbourhood, as usual. I managed to wrack up just over 40 species before 7:30. Hardly any highlights, just the usual stuff! I then went to Gibbon's Park in London, in hopes of seeing the Summer Tanager which had been found the day prior. Turns out I had just missed it, as it was seen only a few minutes before I got there. Darn. Its turning into a bit of a county nemesis, as I have missed three in the last six months. At least I scored a few new birds for the day, including my first Least and Great Crested Flycatchers for the year.

After unsuccessfully searching the park, I went back to my neighbourhood for a couple hours. It seems that the screech-owl has gone AWOL! At least I saw a Green Heron...

I should mention that the weather was super weird. One moment it was nice, and the next it was snowing quite heavily! This morning I awoke to snow on the ground. I contemplated going out, but opted to go back to bed!

In the early afternoon, I went back out. I stopped into Gibbon's Park again briefly, before heading down to the Westminster Ponds. Here I hoped to see the Common Gallinule which has been reported. It took a bit, but I finally spotted it. A new bird for my Middlesex county list! I saw a Pileated Woodpecker as well.

Common Gallinule

In the south end of the city, I checked out the Dingman wetland. Lots of yellowlegs of both species, which was nice to see. I certainly have missed their vocalizations!

I drove through the town of Komoka, ticking five swallow species, a Chimney Swift, and a few Mute Swans. My last stop of the day was the Strathroy Sewage Lagoons. A nice variety of ducks and shorebirds were seen. Several Sora and Virginia Rails were heard.

Dunlin and Lesser Yellowlegs

I finished the day in my neighbourhood with an American Woodcock, my 94th species that day. Not too bad!

I'll tack on this sighting from yesterday, a Sora in my neighbourhood.

Looks like later this week may be a turning point for migration! Stay tuned.

Early Spring(ish) Birding

This past week has been quite something in Ontario!

Last Sunday I visited the Rondeau area to have a look around. I stopped into Ridgetown on the way, and was rewarded with some Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese.

Snow Geese

Greater White-fronted Geese

Rondeau itself was pretty quiet, but I was able to find a few things here and there, including my first of year (FOY) Eastern Phoebes and Rusty Blackbirds of the year.

Horned Grebe

Lesser Scaup

Red-winged Blackbird

Downy Woodpecker

There was a flooded field just north of Shrewsbury which was quite productive. I managed to find my FOY Dunlin and Lesser Yellowlegs.

Gadwall

Green-winged Teal and American Robin

Dunlin

Lesser Yellowlegs

Last stop was the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons.

Plenty of ducks and Bonaparte's Gulls!

Ruddy Duck

Bonaparte's Gull

Just before I left, this Eastern Meadowlark popped up.

Fast forward to yesterday. I managed to get out to the landfill before the ice storm hit to look for some of the reported gulls. Although I missed the Glaucous Gull, I did see my FOY Lesser Black-backed Gull. I managed some far off record photos.

I also came across my FOY Greater Yellowlegs, as well as a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Hopefully this weird weather clears out soon!

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!