Late April Arrivals

There seems to have been a major migration push in the last few days. Luckily, I've been out to see a few of the newly arrived migrants, and some that have been around, but are the first ones I've seen all year. I saw three first of year (FOY) species yesterday on the Nature London hike to see the American Woodcocks out at Killaly Meadows ESA. Here, we found some good birds, including FOY Yellow Warbler, FOY Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, FOY Eastern Towhee, and FOY Spotted Sandpiper.

"Sweet, Sweet, I'm so Sweet!" - Yellow Warbler

This morning, I had my first good looks this year at a trio of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Of course, I didn't have my camera, so I had to go back later. Thankfully, there was still a single bird hanging around.

I had to chase the little bugger around the pond and through swampy areas to get any decent shots(good thing I was wearing rubber boots!)

This weekend, despite there being rain on the forecast, I'll be heading down to Rondeau. Hopefully I can turn up some good birds (like maybe a White-winged Dove)!

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I feel like this pretty much sums up some days during spring migration....it's very relatable.

pre13.deviantart.net

Spring Migration Photos

Spring is far behind us, and although the birding is still good, I'm sure we all are missing the flashy spring plumages of neo-tropical migrants. So, before we have the daunting task of identifying fall warblers, I've decided to write a post with some photographic highlights from this spring, along with the location of where I got the shot. I was lucky enough to view 148 species in the month of May (I saw 89 last year), plus a few additional species in April and June, and I was amazed that I was able to photograph a lot of them. Although you've probably seen a good portion of these photos before, I hope you enjoy them anyway!

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Point Pelee National Park (April 23, 2016)

Bonaparte's Gull - Point Pelee National Park (April 23, 2016)

Spotted Sandpiper - London (May 6, 2016)

Forester's Tern - Hillman Marsh Conservation Area (April 23, 2016)

L. Erie Sunrise - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Horned Grebe - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Black-throated Green Warbler - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Blackburnian Warbler - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Yellow Warbler - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Eastern Screech Owl - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Blanding's Turtle - Hillman Marsh Conservation Area (May 7, 2016)

Canada Geese - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

American Coot - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

Barn Swallow - Point Pelee National Park (May 7, 2016)

American Redstart - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

Cape May Warbler - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

Ring-billed Gull - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

Common Yellowthroat - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

Magnolia Warbler - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

White Trillium - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

American Redstart - Bruce Peninsula (May 22, 2016) 

Pine Siskin - Bruce Peninsula (May 22, 2016) 

Merlin - Bruce Peninsula (May 22, 2016) 

American Bittern - Bruce Peninsula (May 22, 2016) 

Bobolink - Bruce Peninsula (May 22, 2016) 

Tree Swallow - Bruce Peninsula (May 22, 2016) 

Black-throated Blue Warbler - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

Red-headed Woodpecker - Bruce Peninsula (May 21, 2016) 

Hooded Warbler - Skunk's Misery (June 5, 2016)

Eastern Phoebe - Rondeau Provincial Park (June 5, 2016)

Giant Swallowtail - Skunk's Misery (June 5, 2016)

Dickcissel - Strathroy (June 10, 2016)

Thanks for looking!
Click here to read about the Cape May Warbler and the Common Yellowthroat
Click here to read about that American Bittern and Bobolink
Click here to get the story behind the Dickcissel

By the way...I'll be heading up to Carden Alvar (Kawartha Lakes) this Sunday, July 24th. Look for the blog post sometime on the 25th or 26th!