Yarmouth Yellow-throated

Yesterday I went down to the Yarmouth Natural Heritage Area near Sparta in Elgin county. There has been a Yellow-throated Warbler seen there for the past couple weeks, and since I had never seen one before, I wanted to go try and see it.

My dad and I arrived around 11 am. It was quite hot, so I was worried that the birds would have quieted down and the target bird would be difficult to locate. Thankfully, it seemed that at least some birds were still active. As soon as I got out of the car, I was serenaded by Indigo Buntings and a Yellow-throated Vireo. As we started to make our way down the trail, I noted a few first of year odes, such as Eastern Forktail, Dot-tailed Whiteface, Common Whitetail, and a smaller darner, probably Springtime.

Eastern Forktail (with a connected shoulder stripe)

There were a couple Northern Parulas singing in the area where the Yellow-throated had been seen, but no Yellow-throated. As we made our way down the trail, I picked out a few other birds such as Eastern Towhee, some more Yellow-throated Vireos (I put down three total, there were probably more), and a nice male Indigo Bunting. At one point I picked out a song that was familiar, but I couldn't place what it was. I was quite pleased when the Yellow-throated Warbler popped up! I believe this individual is of the subspecies albilora. 

Happy that we were able to see our target species, we continued on our way. I had never been to Yarmouth before, and it seemed like quite the neat place!

Dad spotted a small patch of Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica). Always a treat to see.

There were a couple other plants of interest throughout the area. Will definitely have to go back and explore more thoroughly!

Blue Ridge Carrion Flower (Smilax lasioneura)

Seneca Snakeroot (Polygala senega)

Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata)

Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Grove Bluegrass (Poa alsodes)

In the main pond, I saw one of the two continuing Least Bittern. I also found a Common Gallinule, which seems to be a pretty good bird for Elgin county! It has been a good spring for the species.

On my way back to the car, I heard three warblers of interest. The Yellow-throated had moved upstream, a Mourning Warbler (great habitat, I was wondering if I'd get one), and a Cerulean! The Cerulean had been reported previously, and I was hoping to cross paths with it.

It took a bit of bushwacking, but I managed to get a visual of the Cerulean. This is the first male I have actually seen!

I found a second Mourning Warbler. Not the greatest photo, but it beats my previous ones!

A Yellow-throated Vireo stopped in.

It was neat to find an American Redstart nest. 

 It was a very successful outing! I will definitely have to go back to this hidden gem.

I'm Feeling a Little Blue (I Missed the Little Blue)

I'll be straight to the point...I dipped on the Little Blue Herons that have been hanging around Corner's Corner in Elgin County. It was disappointing, but that's the chances you take with birding!

I did see my FOY (first of year) Winter Wren, which was nice. In typical Winter Wren fashion, I didn't get a picture, so here is one that I got last April in Point Pelee.

With the dozens of Wood Duck boxes (there could very well have been over a hundred on the property), it came as no surprise at least some Wood Ducks were around. 

I was happy to be able to add to my Turkey Vulture picture collection.

Other birds seen include;

Canada Goose

Red-winged Blackbird

Northern Flicker

Wildflowers were also on my radar. 

White Trillium

Yellow Dog's-tooth Violet

Marsh Marigold

Other than the dip, it was a pretty good trip. I discovered a new place and met some new people (along with some people I haven't seen in weeks). 

Spring Migration is Upon Us!!!!!!

Hawk Cliff and Port Stanley

Yesterday was Nature London's annual field trip to Hawk Cliff and area. I went last year, and it was awesome. Although this year things were a little slow, it was still quite enjoyable.

The day started at Tim Horton's, where all good nature outings begin :) On the way to Hawk Cliff, we found an Eastern Bluebird plus a Broad-winged Hawk.

I didn't take all that many photos because most birds were just too far away (or fast in the case of warblers.) Sharpies (Sharp-shinned Hawks) were the most numerous, I counted around 30 birds throughout.

The Monarch tagging demonstration really piqued my interest. I'm thinking to order a tagging kit so I can get involved next season. You can sort of see the small 9mm wide tag on this male.

There were quite a lot of raptors (9) to be banded during the banding demonstration. Sharpies, kestrels, a Northern Harrier, a Merlin, and a Red-tailed Hawk were banded.

I found a Common Nighthawk which a few members of the groups managed to see. I've been seeing them for the last few weeks, but I finally managed to get a picture!

There were a few passerines observed including Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (immature), Canada Warbler, American Goldfinch, Black-and-White Warbler, Blue Jay, Cedar Waxwing, and American Redstart.

After Hawk Cliff, we went to Port Stanley for lunch (Mackie's). A few of us went to the beach to see what we could find, and weren't disappointed. Although we didn't re-find the Sanderlings that I had seen fly by before we ate (I was the only one to see them), we did find a nice variety of gulls. Ring-billed was the most common, but Bonaparte's and Herring gull could be found with them. I didn't realize this at the time, but there were a couple Lesser Black-backed Gulls with them as well. A Common Tern was seen as well.

The last stop was Port Stanley Sewage Lagoons. I immediately found three Hooded Mergansers.

Greater Yellowlegs was the only shorebird species found, Other ducks include Green-winged Teals, Ruddy Ducks, Wood Ducks, and Mallards. Merlin and Kestrels were numerous at the back of the cells.

Black Saddlebags were quite common today.

There was a family of Pied-billed Grebes with 8 young and 2 (obviously) adults.

It was a great day, with very few photographs taken (sorry). I'll be in Algonquin next weekend, so I'm looking forward to that.


On a side note, I won second in my division at the Western Fair photo contest!

2nd Place!