Patch Birding

Long time, no post! I have not had much to write about lately...

The past few weeks I have been hanging around my neighbourhood. It is surprisingly good for birds, despite the fact that 80% of it is developed. I didn't bring my camera with me (with the exception of today), so photos are lacking, but the story is there!

I have had a decent number of raptors, including Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Turkey Vulture, and Golden Eagle.

I am starting to see many more Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows...winter is coming!

I been able to add a number of birds to my patch list as well, including Golden Eagle, Redhead, American Black Duck, Herring Gull, and Cackling Goose.

I have also come across the expected species for this time of year...Rusty Blackbird, kinglets, White-throated Sparrows, Pine Siskins, and a cooperative Orange-crowned Warbler.

I also submitted my 500th Ontario complete eBird checklist of the year.

Highlights from today include a Redhead which has been around for over a week, a Cackling Goose, White-throated Sparrows, and a trio of Rusty Blackbirds. It was quite quiet today!

Redhead

White-throated Sparrow

Rusty Blackbirds

Hopefully I will have something more interesting to write about before the weekend is over!

The "Naturalists of Tomorrow" Blog is Ready!!! (Note URL Change)

The blog I set up for young naturalists is ready! I hope to see all of you over there!

naturalistsoftomorrow.blogspot.ca

Good birding,
Quinten

New Blog?!?!

Recently I reached out to some young birders and naturalists to see who would be interested in collaborating with me to create a blog where young people with interest similar to mine could come together and post about the stuff they've seen and the photos they've taken. I really don't know how this will turn out, but I'm sure that it will only get better as we go along!

Right now we are only in the early stages, but I hope to go public is a couple days, hopefully sooner. The biggest obstacle we are facing right now is picking a good name for the blog. If you wish to give us suggestions (I encourage you to), please comment below. Anything helps! The name should reflect the age of our authors (younger than most) and our interests (birding, nature etc.) Thanks in advance!

I will post the link here once we launch it, and watch for it at the side in my blog list!

If you know any young birders or young people interested in just nature in general, who would be interested in contributing, than have them contact me at birdsbugsbotanyblog@gmail.com. 

This blog is still my primary place that I will post, and I won't be posting less on here because of the other blog (however, I might write about the same event!). I hope to see everyone over there!

Good birding,
Quinten

Hard-Pressed in Hamilton

Today I joined Owen and a couple other young birders for a few hours of birding along the Hamilton waterfront. The winds were not on our side, and we saw NO pelagic birds, however there were a few quality birds to be seen, but we had to work hard for them!

We started at Windermere Basin, where sparrows, especially White-throated, were plentiful.

Other sparrows included White-crowned, Song, Dark-eyed Junco, American Tree, and an Eastern Towhee.

We couldn't find the Hudsonian Godwit, but there were a few shorebirds to be found such as both the yellowlegs, a group of peeps, and three Black-bellied Plover.

Ducks were fairly easy to find, the most common being Green-winged Teal and Northern Shoveler. Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck, and Northern Pintail were also present, although in smaller numbers.

We checked out Van Wagner's beach after, but the only thing of note here were Surf Scoters and a Peregrine Falcon! If the winds has been blowing the right way, I'm sure we would have seen something!

The canal was next, but other than a Merlin is was pretty quiet. The ever present Double-crested Cormorant was there as well.

The others had to go grab a jacket that was forgotten at Windermere, so my dad and I waited in the canal parking lot for them to come back so we could got to our next destination. After about 5 minutes I got a text that said "There is a Brant here!"

After my dad and I got to the spot, we were told that the Brant was hiding, so we began looking for a vantage point to spot it. After some struggle (which is a story for another time) we finally saw it. It was a lifer for me, and my 250th bird this year in Ontario. Jeremy is only beating me by 80-ish species :-)

Also present was a few pigeons. This is actually the first time I've bothered to photograph them! I guess you could call it a photographic lifer!

The same ducks as earlier were there, including this (blurry) Gadwall.

Just before we said our good-byes, this Leopard Frog was spotted by Owen. They are my favourite species of frog!

Although it was a very slow day, the "Great Brant Chase" (again, a story for another time...maybe in six months) made up for it. Who said birding can't be exciting?!?!

Nemesis No More: American Avocet

This morning I chased one of my nemesis birds. An American Avocet, which is rare to Ontario, was spotted in Blenheim over two weeks ago. I have dipped on avocets on many occasions, one of the most recent being back in April when I missed them at Hillman (but I did end up seeing Willet and Black-necked Stilt, so not all was lost.)

The bird was hanging out in the Blenheim Landfill, and it was very easy to find. In fact, the first bird I laid my eyes on was the avocet!

We watched the bird feeding for about 25 minutes, and at one point it flew a short distance.

Also present were a few Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.

After the landfill, we made a quick stop in Erieau. I had a feeling that I could possibly turn up something decent.

There were plenty of gulls, but when I was scoped them out the only "good" thing I could find were a few FOY (!) Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

I turned my attention to the lake, and soon found Great Black-backed Gulls, Bonaparte's Gull, and a Common Tern.

Ring-billed Gull

I was losing hope when WAAAAAY off into the distance I spotted a Little Gull flying with some Bonaparte's Gulls. They have been scarce this year, and this bird was actually my first of 2017!

The only shorebirds I could find were Sanderling, Dunlin, and Killdeer. The first two were very photogenic.

Sanderling

Sanderling

Dulin

The fish die off often attracts Turkey Vultures. Usually I see carp, so this Northern Pike was a bit of a surprise!

It was a short outing, but I accomplished what I set out to do. I can't wait to get back to the Rondeau area!

Photos from the ON Youth Summit

Two weeks ago I went to the Ontario Nature Youth Summit in Orillia. It was extremely fun and rewarding! Although I had brought my camera, I didn't get much use of it as I was just too busy! I managed to get a few photos with my cell which highlight some of the more stationary things seen (or caught!) I am also including all my eBird checklists from the weekend...I saw an amazing 70 species of birds!

I would like to thank Nature London for sponsoring me to participate. If you are in the London area and are interested in the natural world, I would definitely check them out!

Fox Snake (captive)

Warbler (?) nest

Red-backed Salamander

Leopard Frog

Painted Turtle (I managed to catch it!)

Blue-spotted Salamander

Eastern Screech-Owl (captive)

Raptor presentation by http://www.wildontario.ca/

Gyrfalcon (captive)

eBird Checklists:

September 22nd:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39338964
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39339511

September 23rd:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39342376
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39354393
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39357142

September 24th:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39360046
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39360781
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39376347
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39376341

Algonquin Landscapes

The scenery in Algonquin Park this past weekend was quite something. In my previous post I forgot to include my scenic shots (which aren't the best quality as they were taken with my phone), so here are some of my favourites!

The fall colours weren't as spectacular as we thought they would be, mostly because of the frost and the heat wave stunting their colour change. Nevertheless, it was still nice to look at...it seems that there isn't a single place in Algonquin Park that isn't breathtaking!