Ontario's Next 25 Birds: Part 2

A few days ago, I wrote part 1 of what I thought the next 25 birds for the Ontario checklists were to be. I will now detail my top 10 picks, and a few honourable mentions!

10. Sooty Shearwater

Common off the Atlantic coast, with records all the way up to the far reaches of Nunavut, this is a record just waiting to happen...for those willing to venture far to get it. There is actually a Short-tailed/Sooty Shearwater from Ontario up in James Bay, which makes me think, once again, that may be your place to see one. Short-tailed and Sooty are hard to separate though, so good photos would be a must.

When: October or November, maybe following a weather event?
Where: Southern James Bay, though possibly Hamilton (Van Wagners)

9. Allen's Hummingbird

Sort of an overdue hummingbird! There are numerous records all over eastern North America. Ohio has had a record, and Pennsylvania just had it's fourth this year.  This species is hard to separate from Rufous Hummingbird, and a high quality photo of the spread tail would be needed to ID it. The species will likely show up when a supposed "Rufous" is banded and the measurements turn out to be a Allen's.

When: October
Where: Somewhere with a hummingbird feeder

8. Hammond's Flycatcher

Several records from New England, Wisconsin just got one. We have Dusky Flycatcher, we have Gray Flycatcher. This just makes sense. It would require a good look and photos to ID. Just be sure to check out all late empids!

When: October or November (December?)
Where: Somewhere is southern Ontario, but maybe banded somewhere in the north...

7. Northern Lapwing

Also a tad surprising. Somewhat annual or bi-annual on the Atlantic coast. Probably some sort of weather system will push it into Ontario. Not much to say about this than make sure to check out fields with some Killdeer running around.

When: April/May and December/January
Where: Random field in southern Ontario, probably near a birding hub if a spring bird. Not sure about James Bay potential, but hey, that is always there

6. Red-necked Stint

Annual on the Atlantic coast, the closest record to Ontario is one in Indiana. This species is very likely just overlooked, although once you know what to look for, they should (maybe) stand out a bit. They have likely been up on the James Bay coastline, but coming from someone who was lucky enough to go up there, it would be very difficult to pick out a rarity due to the conditions and sheer amount of little peeps running around. This species was once on the Ontario list, but was later removed.

When: May or July/August/September
Where: Sewage lagoon in southern Ontario or James Bay

5. White-tailed Kite

We have Mississippi Kite, we have Swallow-tailed Kite, so where is our White-tailed Kite? This species is prone to some vagrancy, with records from Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin, and New York to name a few. Will likely be found by some hawkwatchers, or as a surprise bird flying over the heads of unsuspecting birders at the Tip of Point Pelee.

When: May
Where: One of those traditional funnels in Lake Erie

This is a juv, adult more likely?

4. Bar-tailed Godwit

Prone to some vagrancy, with records up and down the Atlantic coast, and some inland records as well. Look for a Hudsonian Godwit with white underwings! While I think this bird could be found down here in southern Ontario, our best bet may to keep scanning the Hudwit flocks up on the James Bay coast.

When: May or July/August
Where: James Bay or a sewage pond in southern Ontario

3. Hepatic Tanager

As crazy as it sounds, I believe Ontario is due for a Hepatic Tanager. There are two records for Northern Michigan, and one for Quebec and Saskatchewan. I have no clue what weather events would effect it, but many birds like to wander. Hard to say for sure how one will be found. Likely either banded (Long Point, Thunder Cape) or coming to a feeder somewhere Here are a couple lovely examples:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S41544847
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S32742031

It just has that "weird factor"

When: October or November
Where: North shore of Lake Superior most likely, but somewhere on Lake Erie would make sense

2. Glaucous-winged Gull

With records from New Hampshire, Minnesota, Michigan, Newfoundland, Illinois and Wisconsin, it is only a matter of time before one is detected here. There may be an observer bias, as I know many people don't like to tackle those messy Larus subadults. Hybrids would also have to be taken into consideration. I can find four records of Glacous-winged/Herring Gull hybrids in Ontario. Nevertheless, keep and eye out at your local landfill!

When: November-April, Michigan bird was in May
Where: Anywhere in the Great Lakes region (emphasis on Niagara and Toronto region), Eastern Ontario, northern Ontario someplace (Sault Ste. Marie? Thunder Bay?) and of course, the good ol' James Bay potential

1. Clark's Grebe

My pick for the most overdue bird is Clark's Grebe. Sure, there are limited records for eastern North America, but just look at this bird. Just on the wrong side of the border. It was very likely in Ontario at some point! In addition, I can find about 10 records of Aechmophorus sp. (Western Grebe/Clark's Grebe) from Ontario, meaning they weren't identified to species. These two species can be hard to separate without good enough looks, and hybridization exists. Just west of Ontario, in Manitoba, this species becomes much more common.

When: Late February/March in southern Ontario, May to early June in northwest
Where: Lake Ontario, maybe Huron. Later in the spring, Rainy River and Kenora districts, likely in a sewage lagoon or marsh.

Some birds I had on my "shortlist" but decided to cut include Boat-tailed Grackle, Yellow-legged Gull, Western Gull, South Polar Skua, Temminck's Stint, Bronzed Cowbird, Short-tailed Hawk, Lesser Frigatebird, Arctic Loon, Pacific Golden-Plover, Acorn Woodpecker, Williamson's Sapsucker, Baikal Teal, Common Pochard, Masked Duck, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Black-whiskered Vireo, Eurasian Skylark, and Eastern Yellow Wagtail. A few may be pushing what may be reality, but hey, Slender-billed Curlew is on the Ontario list.

This is birding of course, and there is no way to accurately predict anything. Maybe I'll get some right, maybe I won't. It seems just as likely that a Terek Sandpiper or Wood Sandpiper will show up before my number one pick!

Anyways, that was my take on the whole thing. It certainly opened my eyes to what we need to be looking for!

 Note: all photos from the Wiki Commons

Ontario's Next 25 Birds: Part 1

A few weeks back, I stumbled across some old blog posts from Brandon and Josh detailing what their predictions for the next 20 birds would be (Brandon: part one  part two) (Josh: part one  part two) However, as you can see, they were both written several years ago, on 2011.

A lot has changed since then, most notably the addition of 11 species to the Ontario list, and 6 more still to be reviewed!

Pyrrhuloxia (2004, added 2012)
Thick-billed Kingbird (2012, added 2013)
Brown Booby (2013, added 2014)
Elegant Tern (2013, added 2014)
Kelp Gull (2012, added 2015)
Little Egret (2015, added 2015)
Eurasian Dotterel (2015, added 2015)
Pink-footed Goose (2015, added 2015)
Grace's Warbler (2016, added 2016)
Common Ringed Plover (2016, added 2016)
White Wagtail (2017, added 2017)
Costa's Hummingbird (2017, to be reviewed)
Macgillivray's Warbler (2018, to be reviewed)
Reddish Egret (2018, to be reviewed)
Great Kiskadee (2018, to be reviewed)
White-crowned Pigeon (2018, to be reviewed)
Calliope Hummingbird (2018, to be reviewed)

For my top picks, I managed to get a "shortlist" of about 46 species. I painstakingly narrowed it down to 25 species. I omitted some species that Brandon and Josh chose, and of course picked some of my own. I am not overly too knowledgeable on vagrancy patterns, so perhaps some of these are a little far fetched, but hey, this is Ontario, and Ontario is weird. I did my best to try and rank them from least to most likely, though I still feel like some are out of order a bit. Anyways...

25. Brown Noddy

Perhaps the most far fetched species on this list, but Ontario has seem some far fetched species. This would most likely be the result of a hurricane. Despite there being practically zero vagrant records up in our neck of the woods, there seem to be a few inland records from the states, including one in Tennessee. Are there probably better choices for #25? Yeah, but none are as fun as Brown Noddy.

When: September or October, but if one happened to show up in August I wouldn't be too surprised.
Where: The Great Lakes region, most likely Lake Ontario or Lake Erie.

24. Steller's Eider

There are a very small handful of records of this species from eastern North America from Quebec and Massachusetts. This is a largely western North America/Northern Russia area bird, though there are numerous records from Europe. They seen to vagrate a lot closer to their core range, all it would take is a one getting really lost...

When: March/April or October/November
Where: If one goes down the St. Lawrence, Lake Ontario. However, I can sort of see this species showing up in the James Bay region of Ontario.

23. Mountain Plover

Not a common vagrant, but there are certainly records in eastern North America as close as Indiana and Illinois. This species has been on people's radars for decades now, just a matter of one going the extra (1300) miles.

When: Maybe late April or early May, but most eastern records are from August or September
Where: It seems everyone wants one to show up in the Pelee region (Hillman, Onion Fields), but any suitable sod farm or field may yield one.

22. European Golden-Plover

This species is practically annual in Newfoundland, and breed in Iceland and Greenland, so in my mind it would make a lot of sense for one to be seen in Ontario. A reason I decided to include European Golden-Plover in the top 25 and not Pacific Golden-Plover (also be on the watch for those!) is due to their ease of identification. European Golden-Plovers should be in theory much easier to pick out and identify due to their white underwing and white undertail coverts.

When: May for spring migrants, though I think fall (August-October) would be more likely
Where: Maybe Hillman Marsh? James Bay in the fall may have potential for this species. If they get lost enough, the bay will funnel them right to where most of the birders set up...

21. Shiny Cowbird

A species that may be showing more of a northward vagrancy trend? Hard to say for sure, but definitely one  to watch out for. Case and point: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45356889

When: May or June, perhaps one in the late fall/winter
Where: Likely some random bird feeder, although southwestern Ontario would be ideal for birders, I think the north shore of Superior may have more of a "pull"

20. Surfbird

Another oddity. There are records from Pennsylvania, Maine, Texas and Florida, proving that they can vagrate. To be honest, not exactly sure what speaks to me about Surfbird, but shorebirds are weird, and Ontario attracts weird. It appears most eastern North American records are Spring birds, which may mean they come from Central and South America?

When: April/May or maybe August.
Where: Probably Lake Ontario or Erie if anywhere, but again, there is that James Bay potential (?)

19: Gull-billed Tern

Maybe this species deserves to be listed as more likely? This bird would likely be the result of a Hurricane. This species, although uncommon, seems to range up most of the Atlantic coast. This species may have even already been in Ontario, as one was seen on the American side of the Detroit river in 2005.

When: September or October
Where: Long Point or the Pelee region, maybe Erieau?

18. Redwing

Actually quite the surprising hole in our list, with records from Quebec and New England. Will be the result of some weather system no doubt, as it would have to come Europe, or maybe Iceland? Likely will be found associating with American Robins (be sure to look for a Fieldfare with them just for good measure).

When: December or January
Where: Probably eastern Ontario

17. Bridled Tern

Another hurricane bird! One Great Lakes record from 2003 as far as I can tell, as a result of Hurricane Isabel. Ontario has numerous Sooty Tern records, so it is just a matter of time before this similar looking bird shows up...

When: September
Where: Lake Ontario or Lake Erie

16. Great Skua

A somewhat overdue (?) bird. Great Skuas have likely without doubt been in Ontario before, just no one was there to see it! They range up to Greenland and Iceland, so one ending up in Hudson Bay, then funneled down to James Bay is not too far fetched. The issue with this bird is the lack of birders heading up to conduct some seawatches.

When: October or early November
Where: southern James Bay

15. Cory's Shearwater

Another hurricane bird. There are a couple inland records, and many pelagic records past their normal range. Not much to say about this bird but do some lakewatches during hurricane season. Or perhaps just wait until someone posts a photo to Facebook about a "weird bird" they saw in their urban backyard.

When: August or September
Where: Lake Ontario, or some random storm management pond

14. Golden-cheeked Warbler

A record of this species would be phenomenal! Two vagrant records that I can find, one in Florida, and one in Missouri. Not sure under what conditions this species would go so far north, perhaps something weather related? A hormone driven overshoot? Probably just as likely it will be found interacting with it's environment in  forest as one will be photographed in flight migrating off the Tip at Point Pelee or some other morning flight location. Nevertheless, make sure to check each and every one of those Black-throated Green Warbler types.

When: April or May
Where: Point Pelee, Rondeau, or Long Point

13. Cassin's Vireo

A species that may have been seen a few records, however due to how similar they are to Blue-headed Vireo (they were considered the same species at one point, and heck, may actually be the same species) none have been accepted. There are four (?) other eastern North American records. Without the perfect photo, in the hand bird, or specimen, this species would be hard to ID.

When: April/May or September
Where: Point Pelee, Long Point, or Thunder Cape

12. Common Murre

It may come as a surprise I listed this as #12, as they are fairly common in their normal range, which is't too far from here, however, unlike Thick-billed Murre, Common Murres don't seem to vagrate much. It could be we will just never see one here...

When: November or December (or never)
Where: Eastern Ontario or Lake Ontario

11. Lucy's Warbler

I was actually surprised to find out Ontario lacks a Lucy's Warbler record!  There are three eastern North America records, the closest being Whitefish Point in Michigan. I found a record in Fort McMurray to be notable as well. Ontario has a history of odd southern warblers, the most recent being Grace's Warbler (2016) and Virginia's Warbler (2018), so a Lucy's shouldn't be too far off. This species could very well be in the top 10, and maybe even deserves a place there, but I put it as #11 because why not!

When: November or December
Where: The usual migrant traps (Point Pelee, Long Point etc.) Oakville seems to have a history of being a fall warbler migrant trap.

Up next, part two, which will detail my top 10 birds and some honourable mentions!

Just in case this is my last post before Christmas, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Note: All photos from this post are from the Wikimedia Commons...please don't sue me if I didn't properly credit something!

A Long Week's Payoff (Calliope Hummingbird, Goderich)

Readers may be aware of Ontario's first ever record of Calliope Hummingbird that has been coming to a backyard in Goderich. It has apparently been coming to the feeder since October 18 (coincidentally the same day the Great Kiskadee in Rondeau was refound!), but birders really only knew about it when an ONTBIRDS message came through Monday night detailing its identification and instructions on how to see it! Glenn Coady was able to negotiate with the homeowner to allow for birders to come and view the bird from 9am-4pm from November 20 to November 25. Of course, I had school all week, so I had to wait a painful four days for the weekend to come! There were a couple scares throughout the week, especially when the nighttime temperatures dipped down to -20 on Wednesday night. However, it seemed against all odds, the hummer managed to pull through, and much to my relief was seen going to roost Friday night. Was my patience (if you can call it that) going to pay off?

We arrived at the home shortly before 9:00. A flock of Common Redpolls flew over, surprisingly my first ever for southern Ontario. Before long, we were told we could come back to the yard. The hummer had been seen that morning!

After a few minutes of restless waiting, he all of a sudden whizzed out of nowhere and went to the feeders. Everyone there was very happy!

As quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared. He has apparently developed a routine of coming back every 15-20 minutes or so after feeding, and today was no exception. After a bit of patience, he came back two more times during our time there, even perching in a tree for a short moment.

Thanks to the hospitality of the homeowners, well over 500 birders have been able to see the bird in the last four days or so, and I'm sure that number will continue to increase as the weekend progresses (tomorrow being the last day of viewing). [Edit: the final number of observers over the week of viewing totaled over 700 observers!]

On the way home, we stopped in Exeter, where we were pleased to find some of the famous white squirrels (colour morph of the Eastern Grey Squirrel). I have been wanting to see one for a long time, so was very pleased with the sighting!

Hard to believe December is almost here. I wonder what else will be in store for us as the season progresses?!

Call of the Kiskadee

As many may already know, a Great Kiskadee was found on Friday on the marsh trail in Rondeau park. It was first posted to iNaturalist, and was quickly picked up by the Ontario birding community. ONTBIRDS and Facebook messages were posted. It was go time.

Unless you're like me, and are not legally allowed to drive.

So, why is this "Great Kiskadee" such a big deal? Well, this bird is native to central america and just makes it to south Texas. There has never been a Great Kiskadee recorded in Ontario, or even Canada, before this individual, so it got people very excited!

My kiskadee adventure started when my friend Owen and his dad picked me up around 9:15 or so Friday night. We pulled into Rondeau around 10:45 and set up for the night. The plan was to awake before first light the next morning and be there to start the search. Of course, we had to go to the washrooms first to look at the moths that the lights had attracted.

Large Maple Spanworm

Large Tolype Moth

Rose Hooktip

We woke up early the next morning and walked over to the marsh trail, where we began our search. After about an hour and twenty minutes, with no sign of the bird, I will admit I was beginning to think that perhaps we were out of luck (this is a flycatcher after all, and flycatchers are famous for being one day wonders!), but then all of a sudden I heard "There it is! We have it!". Lucky for me, the people who said that were only a few meters away, and I was able to get on the bird for about two seconds as it flew out of the willows and around to the backside of the tree. Woohoo!

We made a few phone calls, and within a minute we had probably around 30 or 40 birders sprinting down the trails from either direction towards where we had seen it. I found it kinda funny, though I know if I had been one of the ones further down the trail, I would have been the one leading the pack! 😜

It took a little bit, but it was soon relocated out on an open branch, where it remained as it preened for a considerable amount of time. It was viewed by all present, and all those who showed up in the next twenty minutes, on the branch. I think I said something along the lines of "Wow, this bird is very cooperative"....that proved to be its most, and only, "very cooperative" moment all day.

Long story short, I hung around for the next 10 or so hours, enjoying everything that the Marsh Trail (well, the first 200 meters or so anyway) had to offer. At one point I also went for a little walk to the front gate and around the campground, where I saw things such as Broad-winged Hawk, Common Loon, and a very nice looking Northern Parula at close range at eye level (Of course, I let Ethan borrow my camera when I saw her!)

It was great to see many familiar faces, and put even more faces to names. Over the course of my stay, I'd imagine a couple hundred people showed up to try and see the rarity. Not everyone was successful, but the bulk of them were!

While waiting for the bird to pop up, we entertained ourselves with the many other bird species around. Plenty of mixed flocks of warblers, vireos, and flycatchers moved through.

Great-crested Flycatcher

Palm Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Cape May Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

At one point a member of the park staff showed up with a large (well, to me at least) Eastern Foxsnake.

I saw this caterpillar in some vegetation along the trail, a Smeared Dagger.

Later in the afternoon, after at least four hours of waiting, the bird popped up and was enjoyed by all those present, Certainly nice to see after hearing it call from somewhere in the bushes for so long!

I think I can officially call it a very successful day! As of writing, the bird is still present, but patience is needed in order to see it.

Jeez, all these rare birds need to stop showing up so I can get to writing about James Bay (just kidding...please keep sending them oh mighty birding gods)