Middlesex Biggish Year: March Update

Hard to believe we are already three months into the year! The Middlesex Biggish Year continues. A bout of warm weather brought in some migrants perhaps a bit earlier than normal, although I didn't capitalize too much off this (I'll get them later anyways). In total, I added 19 new species to my year list, which now stands at 112 species, or about 82% of the birds recorded so far this year in Middlesex County. I nabbed a couple tough species, I missed a couple of my targets this month: Lapland Longspur and Red-shouldered Hawk. Certainly still time to cross paths with them! The finches that graced us last fall have yet to make a northward return. This next month will prove critical. I was hoping to get some rare waterfowl this month, but it never happened. There is still time I guess. 

The breakdown:

Code 1: 76 species (12 new)

Code 2: 21 species (4 new) 

Code 3: 10 species (3 new)

Code 4: 3 species

Code 5: 2 species

Code 1s consisted of the typical spring migrants. Killdeer, Tundra Swans, and Turkey Vulture were all, as expected, checked off in the first week of March. Gadwall and Northern Shovelers were found in the first half of the month as well, with Blue-winged Teal coming in within the last week. I saw my first Eastern Phoebe the same day as my first Eastern Meadowlark. American Woodcocks showed up about halfway into the month. An early Common Loon was seen on Fanshawe Lake, with a Double-crested Cormorant appearing that day as well.

I guess I didn't take many pics this month,
so here is a record shot of my FOY vulture

Code 2s were some of the expected but harder to find migrants. These included Horned Grebe and Lesser Scaup on some of the larger bodies of water, as well as a Peregrine Falcon, which was chasing down some Northern Pintails. A singing Tufted Titmouse, still uncommon in Middlesex, was nice to get out of the way early.

Code 3s included two of the North Middlesex specialties: Ruffed Grouse and Common Raven. I also saw two different Snow Geese this month, a nice bird and not always a guarantee to be seen every year.

Snow Goose

Well, that's the month of March for you! It has been fun so far, and I anticipate that it will continue to be that way. Onward to one of my favourite months!

Spring Came Early

 Yesterday I went out in search of Ruffed Grouse and spring plants. My first stop was Parkhill Conservation Area, in northwest Middlesex. This is a well known spot for both of the things I was seeking. Last June, I visited Parkhill CA in search of plants, and flushed a bird in the bushed I was 99% sure was a grouse, but since it would be a county bird, I obviously wanted to be sure. 

I arrived at the CA shortly after 7:30 (I checked out the reservoir first, but there wasn't any waterfowl). It was about 5 degrees out, so not super warm, but pleasant. It wasn't long before the Western Chorus Frogs and Spring Peepers started calling.

As I was walking through the woods, I found a single plant of what I believe is Spreading Sedge (Carex laxiculmis var. laxiculmis). The glaucous leaves make it var. laxiculmis. 

I continued along the top of the ravine. Plantain-leaved Sedge (C. plantaginea) was common.

The short red bracts are evident here!

Wide Leek (Allium tricoccum var. tricoccum) was another numerous species. I might cover this species in more depth in a future post.

The first of the "Hey, that's early" moments came with this Early Meadow-Rue (Thalictrum dioicum). 

Finally, I managed to hear a Ruffed Grouse drumming. New county bird! I heard it a couple times again later. I could now just focus on the plants :)

The first hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) plant I looked at was this "four-leaved" oddity. Perhaps it was a good luck omen?

Lots of the normal looking plants as well, including some in flower.

Eventually, I decided to descend down into the ravine and head back. Seems I picked the right spot to go down, because I ended up coming across a big patch of Carey's Sedge (C. careyana)! This was one of my most wanted plants, and I was keeping a sharp eye out for it on this day. It is similar to Plantain-leaved Sedge, but the leaves have a more "unwrinkled" appearance. I didn't end up getting any good pictures of it, but the bract (basically a specialized leaf) is much longer and is green on Carey's Sedge, whereas it is short and red on Plantain-leaved. Carey's Sedge is ranked S2 in Ontario, meaning it is very limited in distribution, but it is known to occur in this area. 

You can sort of see the green bracts here...

An assortment of other spring plants, several of which I don't normally see until mid-April!

Early Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum giganteum)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Trout lily (Erythronium sp.)

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

Broad-leaf Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum canadense)

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)

probable Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla)

I photographed a couple mosses as well, including Bright Silkmoss (Plagiothecium laetum), a new species for me.

Bright Silkmoss

Dwarf Anomodon Moss (Anomodon minor)

I finished up at Parkhill, and the decided to stop into Coldstream CA on my way home. I had just under an hour to explore it.

There was a large naturalized population of Japanese Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) along the river. This is a non-native species. I am not sure how invasive it is, but it is one to be aware of.

I added another species of toothwort to the day list, Two-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine diphylla).

False Mermaidweed (Floerkea proserpinacoides) was just one of the species found in the floodplains.

As I was on my way out, I spied this sedge, which stopped me dead in my tracks. It looked like Carey's Sedge! I am not sure if it is known to occur in this location, although I do know it is known to be found further down the Sydenham River. Although I am pretty sure it is indeed this species, I'll have to go back to confirm it once it grows a bit more.

What an enjoyable few hours! I even managed to get a few plant lifers. I'm sure I'll be back out there soon...

Summer Has Come to an End (For Me!)

Well, Summer Vacation is over. Tomorrow I will be back to school, and time for birding will become scarce. Although I am a bit sad, I am looking forward to the trips planned later this September! On the weekend of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, Nature London is sponsoring me to go up to Orillia for Ontario Nature's Biodiversity Youth Summit. Then, a week later, I will be up in Algonquin Park for a weekend of birding. It should be fun!

This past summer has been quite awesome. With my family, we've travelled over 5000 km (3000 just for the great Violet-green Swallow dip). We've birded four of the five Great Lakes. In the last 2 months I observed an incredible 195 bird species (for comparison I saw 159 in my first year of birding), plus an astounding number of other organisms. I decided to compile a collection of photos from this past summer, highlighting all the great things I was able to see.

Compton Tortoiseshell 

Butterflies, Birds, and Mosquitoes

French River Photos

Ruffed Grouse

Superior Shots

Magnolia Warbler

Clay-colored Sparrow

Red Fox

Common Goldeneye

American White Pelican

Common Loon

Gitche Gumee: Exploring the North

Ring-necked Duck

River Otter

Gray Jay

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Common Raven

Moose

Olive-sided Flycatcher

White-winged Crossbill

OFO Young Birder's Weekend in Algonquin

C-17 (not a bird, but it was fun to ride!)

Semi-palmated Plover

Northumberland Birding

Lesser Yellowlegs

West Perth Shorebirds

Wood Stork (!!!)

Red-necked Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Arctic, Plains, and the Everglades

Eared Grebe

Red-necked Phalaropes

Evening Eared

Common Gallinule

Green Herons

Long Point Adventure

Yellow-headed Blackbird

American Bittern

Twitch to Mitchell

Well, there you have it. Two epic months spent observing nature in Ontario.

Just another 10 months before I get to do it all over again!

It will be time for the Christmas Bird Count before we know it....