eBird Global Big Day 2021

Yesterday was eBird's annual Global Big Day, which coincides with World Migratory Bird Day. As per usual, I like to do what I can and see how many species I can see. While in a normal year I would have likely gone down to Rondeau or Pelee, in this day and age, I decided to stick right around Middlesex County, like I did last year. Throughout this pandemic I have had an increasing interest in Middlesex birding, so I figured it would be fun! My camera was acting up unfortunately, so not many photos today. 

I threw together a rough plan for the day before I went to bed on Friday, and went to sleep dreaming of the success I was hoping to find. 

I woke up around 5:00am, and after throwing some stuff in the car, was on my way. My first stop was Fanshawe Lake to get Common Merganser. I only stayed for a few minutes, but was successful with my quarry! 

By 6:00am, I arrived at Kilally Meadows in North London, which has been in the birding news as of late for a rare visitor! It has also been one of the best birding locations in the city this spring, likely in part because of its proximity to the river. 

As soon as I got out of the car, I heard a Northern Waterthrush, an excellent bird to start the day. It was one of three I found here. Several other species of birds were vocalizing, and my day list was growing by the minute!

I stopped to check a tree in which a Whip-poor-will had been hanging out for a few days, and was pleased to find it in the same spot! Day tick.

I continued on my way hiking the trails, picking up many of the typical spring birds, although it seemed much quieter than previous days. It wasn't until a couple hours in did I get my first Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers! In all, I ended up with 15 species of warblers here, a respectable count, with highlights including Magnolia, Tennessee, Blue-winged, Black-throated Green, and American Redstart.

As for some other miscellaneous highlights, there were several Least and Great Crested Flycatchers, Warbling and Blue-headed Vireos, Veery, Hermit Thrush, Tufted Titmouse (I've had at least four in London this year so far, pretty crazy), Merlin, Common Loon, and Purple Finch. 

On my way back, I came across a group of birders, and they had the Blue Grosbeak which has been around since at least Tuesday (I'll get around to writing a post about that soon). This bird has been pretty tricky to nail down because of its secretive habits, so I was quite happy to see it on this day! I got a couple record shots, nothing to write home about.

I stuck around a bit longer to help others see the grosbeak (some of which this was their fourth attempt trying to see it—that's how elusive it is!), but was eager to carry on my way. Just as I was pulling out of the parking lot, with my sights set on heading up Thorndale way to check out some ponds, I got a call from Pete Read...he had a Black Tern at the ponds at Komoka Provincial Park! This a rare species in Middlesex County nowadays, although a few decades ago it was a bit more expected. Needless to say, plans changed, and I zipped over there about as fast as I could go without getting pulled over. 

I pulled into the parking lot at Komoka, and made my way to the back pond, where it was last seen. On the way, a pair of Trumpeter Swans flew over. This pair has been seen with some regularity in the Komoka area for the past couple months, and they appear to be attempting to breed. This may be the first breeding record for Middlesex, but don't quote me on that.

I met up with Pete, and the two of us scanned the ponds, but were unable to come up with the tern. Darn. He mentioned that perhaps it has gone over to one of the other gravel pits in the area. I didn't really feel like driving around searching them all, so out of desperation, I pointed my spotting scope towards the nearest pit, which you could just barely see from where we were standing. There was a Bonaparte's Gull flying around. Nice. Then, a couple seconds later, I saw the Black Tern! Pretty sweet county bird! It ended up sticking around all day for everyone else to enjoy.

I took a more leisurely walk back to the car, and picked up such birds like Eastern Bluebird, Grasshopper Sparrow, Mute Swan, Double-crested Cormorant, and Eastern Meadowlark. By the time I finished up in Komoka, I was sitting around 90 species for my day list. 

My next stop was Skunk's Misery. Along the way I picked up Savannah Sparrow, Horned Lark, and a Bobolink. I took a drive down Centreville Drive, but overall it was pretty quiet. I did come across a group of warblers, which included my first Pine, Black-throated Blue (actually a FOY), and Chestnut-sided Warblers of the day, as well as a couple Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. I didn't get any Hooded Warblers, but it was midday and overcast/cool, so perhaps they just weren't singing. 

I saw a lot of Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). The "petals" aren't actually petals at all, but are bracts! The genus Cornus has undergone a taxonomic shift, so perhaps the more proper name for this species is Benthamidia florida. 

I began my way back towards Strathroy along some of the backroads. I had originally intended to take highway 80 up to Calvert Drive, but opted last minute to take Old Airport Road. Glad I did! As I stopped at the stop sign at Carolinian Drive, I noticed a sparrow-like bird fly into a dead tree. I snapped a few (terrible) photos, and was shocked to see it looked like a Dickcissel! After a moment, it flew down towards the abandoned house, and I couldn't find it again. Shame that pesky branch was in the way.

Not a bad bird for #100.

I stopped into the Sydenham River Nature Reserve for a brief moment. Not too many birds, but I did hear a Yellow-throated Vireo. 

Lots of Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) in bloom. I'd be lying if I denied that part of the reason I made this detour was to see these plants. 

I made a quick stop at a spot for Upland Sandpiper (which I didn't see), before continuing onto the Strathroy Sewage Lagoons. Here I added such birds like Sora and Virginia Rail, American Coot, Common Gallinule (stuck around!), Cliff Swallow, Purple Martin (a FOY), and a variety of ducks and shorebirds. Seems I missed a Dunlin and Semipalmated Plover, but can't get them all I guess. 

It was time to head up to the northern part of the county. Along Sylvan Road, I found the pair of nesting Common Ravens, a nice addition to the day list. I then went to the Ausable River Valley Trail, which proved to be rather quiet, although I did get Eastern Phoebe, Pileated Woodpecker, and my main target here, Vesper Sparrows. They weren't new for the day list, but I also had a pair of Yellow-throated Vireos It was a nice walk anyways, and I saw a great variety of plants. Hopefully I can try to get my camera back in working order and come back to properly photograph them. 

I opted to skip out on Parkhill CA to try for Ruffed Grouse (partially because of running out of time, and partially because my phone battery died), so I made a beeline for Thorndale to check out those ponds I had not gotten a chance to go to earlier in the day. 

Birds were getting harder and harder to add, and when I arrived at one of the ponds, I saw they were doing work with heavy machinery on one of the hedgerows in which I had a variety of would be new birds for the day list the night before. All I managed to add at that one spot was Hooded Merganser. 

At the next spot, a gravel pit, I scoped for ducks, but was only able to find a single new bird, a lingering black duck. As I tried to find a place to turn around, I had my first and only White-crowned Sparrow of the day fly across the road. I let out a whoop when I saw that one. 

I stopped briefly at a spot where I had a singing Golden-crowned Kinglet earlier in the week, but I didn't find it. I then went out of my way to get an Osprey by scoping a known nest. A bit later one would fly over me, so I guess that was for naught...

I finished my diurnal birding by hitting a spot in the neighbourhood, which is where I got Green Heron, Cooper's Hawk, and Swamp Sparrow (good thing I know that spot well, I had to go to a pretty out of the way place to get that sparrow!). 

A couple hours later, I went out for woodcocks, but for the first time in pretty much all of my spring big days, I couldn't for the life of me find one! Over the course of an hour I checked five or six locations, each one of them coming up empty. Very strange, perhaps all the new development in the area made them move on. As a consolation, I still added two last birds to the day list: Great Horned Owl and an Eastern Screech-Owl.

At the end of the very tiring day, I ended up with 128 species all within the borders of Middlesex County. Sure beats last year's total of 94, and my total of 101 from earlier in the week. Had it been a bit later in May, and we were seeing more migrants move through (overall it was a pretty cold, windy, overcast day, and it hadn't been great for migration in the days leading up), I probably could have even tallied a few more! Of course, there were some quite notable misses, excluding woodcock, such as Eastern Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, Chimney Swift, Indigo Bunting, Northern Parula, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Cedar Waxwing, and Herring Gull.

It was a really fun day, and I saw some great birds. I live for this kind of stuff! 

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.

Rondeau Big Day

Yesterday I conducted a "big day of sorts" in the Rondeau birding circle. It wasn't a true big day in the sense I was out for 24 hours, so perhaps I better call it a "big 12 hours". I ended up with 131 species in the circle, which surpassed my goal of "let's see if we can hit 100". Of course, after I got home and checked eBird I saw just how many things I missed. Perhaps the worst was driving right past Keith McLean in the evening, which had six species of shorebird species I "needed", but hey, that's birding!

I started around 7:30, making a quick stop into Keith McLean. A few birds kicking around, but as it turned out nothing there was "crucial" for the final tally. Notable were my first Yellow Warblers, Marsh Wrens, Warbling Vireo, and Bobolink of the year. There was a Sora way the heck out.

Sora

Upon arriving at the park, I first walked around the campground. Nothing too unusual, but there was an Eastern Wood-Pewee. perhaps a tad early. There was also an odd looking swift, which I determined to be a Chimney Swift. Seemed a lot larger and stronger flying than any one I've seen before.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Solitary Sandpiper being solitary

Black-throated Green Warbler

Veery

Afterward, it was over to the maintenance loop. But not before getting a look at a "lifer" of sorts, a Brewster's Warbler. Brewster's Warblers aren't their own species, but rather a hybrid between Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers. There is another "version" of the hybrid, the Lawernce's Warbler, that was seen on this day in Rondeau, but I didn't see it.

Maintenance loop and Pony Barn ended up being uncharacteristically quiet. Just a few birds here and there. And by "few" I mean species, hundreds of White-throated Sparrows!

Hermit Thrush

Ovenbird

After seeing a Black-billed Cuckoo in the campground (hi Josh), I went over to check the bay. A couple of new species for the day.

Black-billed Cuckoo

Forster's Tern 

Northern Waterthrush

Black-and-white Warbler

I then decided to to the "first little bit" of the Marsh Trail, which for those who don't know is seven kilometers in length one way. The "first little bit" soon morphed into "just a tad bit further" which eventually ended up with "oh hey, I reached the end". I managed to do the whole 14 kilometers in about four hours, three hours to walk out, and an hour to get back, so I like to think I made pretty good time. This was my first time going further than the old observation tower (which is now gone), and I must say, it was quite the nice trail.

Red-headed Woodpecker

There were hundreds of birds along the trail, especially along the second half. The majority were sparrows, comprised of largely White-throated. White-crowned, Song, and Swamp. Other included many Marsh Wrens, which replaced the House Wrens once I reached the more open marsh section of the trail. There quite a few warblers as well, such as Palm, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped, and Yellow, working their way north. A couple individuals of American Redstart, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, and Orange-crowned were seen here and there as well. There was a Wood Thrush along the open marsh section, which seemed like an odd place for one.

American Redstart

Palm Warbler

There were plenty of marsh birds, including at least 23 Soras, 6 Virginia Rails, and 7 American Bitterns. The rails even ran across the path every once in a while. There were a number of Sandhill Cranes in the marsh as well.

American Bittern 

Sandhill Crane

Plenty of ducks, and a couple families of Canada Geese.

Near the end of my return trip, I was surprised to find an American Tree Sparrow. It is likely to be the last one I see this season, unless one pops up in the Bruce Penisula (like one did last year, not that'd you'd know because I procrastinated big time, and ended up never writing a post on that trip!)

Upon arriving back to the car, my dad enlightened me to the fact he had seen a Hooded Warbler fly right through the parking lot! Arrgh, another miss on this day (I should have done Tulip tree trail!)

The White-winged Dove was back to its old shenanigans, and I missed it, even after two attempts. At least I scored Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Pine Siskin at the VC feeders!

I did a quick walk of Bennett, but nothing of note there. Next up was Spicebush Trail. Not too, too much action, but Blue-winged Warbler and Least Bittern were gotten in quick succession.

Blue-winged Warbler

One last quick loop of Maintenance revealed Tufted Titmouse, as well as a flyby Cooper's Hawk. Just before leaving, I scoped out the bay and secured Pied-billed Grebe (I was getting worried!) and Ring-necked Duck. 121(.5) species just in the park, not too shabby!

I picked up American Kestrel and Savannah Sparrow on the way to the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. My first kestrel for Chatham-Kent actually!

The lagoons were quite birdy. I didn't stay too long, but managed to see four new ones for the day; Bank Swallow, Eastern Meadowlark, Northern Shoveler, and Redhead. I had surpassed my personal best for a big day. and the final push to 130 was on!

Bobolink

McGeachy pond in Erieau did not produce any more shorebirds (I only saw 4 species in the circle that day, eek1!), but did give me a Great Egret. #129, one more!

There were no birds on the pier when we arrived. Uh oh. I turned my attention to the distant beaches of Rondeau, and there in all its glory, was a Great Black-backed Gull. Twenty of them actually.

Just as I thought my day was over, I heard it. Buzz-buzz-buzz-buzz. Clay-colored Sparrow! #131!

It was a pretty good day, despite the birds I missed. And next weekend I get to do it all over again in Point Pelee!