Tuesday Tuft and Other Stuff

Yesterday my Dad and I went to the Burlington/Hamilton area in search of waterfowl, namely the rare waterfowl that had been seen in the area recently.

I noticed a couple interesting birds on the way to Hamilton, including a Common Raven (uncommon this far south) and my first Turkey Vulture of the year! The vulture caught me off guard, but it is no doubt one of the ones that overwinter in the Hamilton area.

We first visited Spencer Smith Park, where a Ross's Goose had been found the day before. Within 30 seconds, I had found this tiny white goose snoozing with some Mallards.

Eventually the goose got up, walked around a little bit, then went back to sleep.

Next stop was the lift bridge and canal on the Hamilton/Halton county border. I found the resident Peregrine Falcons right away.

There were also a number of ducks such as scaup, Long-tailed Ducks, White-winged Scoters, and Common Goldeneyes present in the canal.

White-winged Scoter

I walked to where the canal opens up into the bay and decided to do a little bit of scoping to see what was out there. Within five minutes of looking, a scaup caught my eye. When the scaup turned broadside I realized that it was no scaup...it was a TUFTED DUCK.

Needless to say, I sort of lost my mind because I wasn't expecting to see the Tufted, as it it hadn't been reported since Saturday. I called my friend Owen right away to get the word out. After I got Owen and my other friend Ethan (who has a blog by the way) to post the sighting, I went back to my scope and tried to find it again....turns out ducks can swim.

After all that excitement I realized something...I didn't photograph the bird. Dang it!

Next, I went over to the Halton side of the canal in search of the female Harlequin Duck that has been hanging around. I found a few other things such as more scoters and a Mute Swan along the way.

Mute Swan

It wasn't long before I found the Harlequin Duck beside the pier. I hadn't seen a Harlequin since 2016, so this was a treat!

I stopped in quickly to Windermere basin just to scope out the ducks there. There were plenty of Mallards, along with lesser numbers of Bufflehead, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead, Gadwall, and Ruddy Duck.

flyover Gadwall

Northern Shoveler

Plenty of Double-crested Cormorants were also around.

Green Road was the last stop, and I was in search of King Eiders. I found a female shortly after being there, later ending up with two females and two first winter males. All the ducks were very far away, so this is my best pic (highly cropped).

All three species of scoters were also present, including my first ever adult male Black Scoter.

Surf Scoter

It's not often I see all my target species, and then some! A very good day, and I can't wait until I get back out!

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?!?!

Big December Day

Yesterday in an effort to brighten up the last few days of December, I did a "Big Day" in Hamilton and along the Niagara river. I set a goal of 50 species, and I ended with 52. We started with looking at the Burlington Bay area, where 19 Greater Black-backed Gulls were found.

Next was the canal under the lift bridge that crosses the Halton/Hamilton county line. Hundreds of Long-tailed Ducks inhabited the area.

From Front to Back: Adult Male, First-winter Male, Adult Female

A few scoters and mergansers were with them.

White-winged Scoter

Then came the real prize...a female King Eider.

Windermere Basin yielded some puddle ducks such as American Wigeon and Northern Shovelers. This was also the only place where I found a few Ruddy Ducks among the Buffleheads.

We searched for Black Vultures at Queenston Heights next. Nothing at first but this Red-tail.

But then I noticed some dark blobs on the church...a kilometer and a half away!

I took pictures, but the blobs appeared to be Turkey Vultures, which also winter in the area. But I figured that where there are Turkeys there could be Blacks hidden among them. I ran back to the car to get my scope, and set up. It took 10, maybe 15 minutes before I saw three smaller-than-TV black birds flying at least another 500 meters behind the church. They then sharply dropped beneath the tree line but in the split second before disappearing, I saw the silvery wing tips of the Black Vulture...at two kilometers! We soon re-found at least one on the church.

The Queenston sand docks revealed this funny Long-tailed Duck. She swam quite far down river in this position.

At the whirlpool I found a Thayer's Gull, but no Black-headed! Four Canvasbacks as well.

I got my first real taste of gull-watching (gulling?) above the falls. Thousands of gulls were perched and flying around.

This barge known as "The Old Scow" broke loose from the tug boat up stream while dredging the sand banks almost a century ago on August 6, 1918.  There were two men on board when it got marooned on the rocks just up stream from the Horseshoe falls.  It took the US Army to help with the rescue, and 17 hours later the two men once again stood on solid ground.

We met a group of birders who were just leaving. They told us that there were a few Little Gulls flying around. Little Gulls are quite rare in the ABA area (code 3), but can be reliably found in Ontario. You just need to know where to look.

If Little Gulls didn't have a dark underwing, it would be nearly impossible to pick them out.  I had to be quick to get this shot.  He was hard to keep track of.

It was an awesome day, and I'm four species closer to 250. Eight more to go!

RBG and Some Shorebirds

Yesterday I decided to see what the Royal Botanical Gardens had in store, so I headed there for the day. There are some good birding opportunities within the properties, and I had the most luck at the Arboretum. I also checked out Hendrie Park, The Rock Garden, and the RBG center.

One could find a lot of Cabbage Whites, Monarchs, Black Swallowtails, bees, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in with the flowers.

The woodland trail at the back of Hendrie park provided my first Vireos and Warblers of fall migration. Eastern Wood-pewees could be heard.

After Hendrie Park, it was off to the Arbor-thingy for lunch. Chickadees and Cardinals were looking for handouts.

The Marshwalk Trail is quite hilly, but worth it. This Eastern Comma is the first one I have seen this year.

Although the observation tower may be small, the number of birds is big. Great Egrets and Caspian Terns are all over the place.

I managed to find an adult and two immature Black-crowned Night-herons.

A Bald Eagle, Osprey, Coopers Hawk, and Red-tailed Hawk were the raptors seen.

Three Great Blue Herons flew in. Mute swans were swimming and flying around.

On the way back, I spotted a Northern Flicker and a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

Next stop was the Rock Garden, which used to be a quarry. I didn't take any photos at this location.

After the Rock Garden, I went to the shore of Lake Ontario to look for some shorebirds. No luck with the Red-necked Phalaropes at the Tollgate pond, but I did find an immature Sanderling.

The best bird at Windermere Basin was the Juvenile Marbled Godwit. It was way in the back, and I barely saw it on 60x magnification, let alone get a good picture. this is what birders call  a "record shot", or what non birders call a "horrible photo".

Other birds I saw while at Windermere included Stilt Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Baird's Sandpiper, Black-bellied Plover (FOY), Caspian Tern, Double-crested Cormorants, and a Night-heron. Also seen were about 15 peeps (small shorebirds) that I did not bother with. Apparently a Buff-breasted Sandpiper came in when I was there, but I didn't see it.

The last stop of the night was back at the Hamilton Harbour, where I managed to find the Red Knot.

Can you find the Red Knot? Hint: It's a Juvenile

Today I was back Hamilton way, and I wanted to try for the Red-necked Phalaropes again, so I stopped by the Tollgate ponds, but they were no where to be seen. I did however find a Whimbrel (FOY) and a couple Lesser Scaups.

Another one of those record shots

Windermere Basin was next, and I managed to find the actual viewing area! The shorebirds were not all that different from yesterday, but I did find a few new ones such as Short-billed Dowitcher, Semi-palmated Plover, and Dunlin. The Marbled Godwit didn't make an appearance.

Green Heron

Well, my fun little weekend on the shore of Lake Ontario is at an end, but fall migration is just starting to pick-up. Stay tuned for more on shorebirds and other migrants!

Yesterday's eBird checklists:
RBG Hendrie Park
RBG Marshwalk Trail
Tollgate Ponds
Windermere Basin
Hamilton Harbour

Today's eBird checklists:
Tollgate Ponds
Windermere Basin



Did you find the Red Knot?