Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...

Man, I love birding in Algonquin Park.

This past week, I kept religiously checking the weather on my days off, and it was looking like the conditions would be adequately horrible. As such, I made plans with Jeff Skevington to do some birding in Algonquin Park on Lake Opeongo and Lake Travers. It turned out that the weather wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but the birding sure fell into the "unexpected" category! 

I met Jeff early Tuesday morning to start birding at the Old Airfield. Nothing spectacular was seen, although we did have two Common Goldeneye fly over, a new park bird for me, and weirdly the only ones we saw on our travels. A fair number of Snow Buntings as well, new arrivals. There was also a selection of some lingering birds, such as Rusty Blackbird, Swamp Sparrow, and a Double-crested Cormorant.

After making a quick loop of the Spruce Bog Boardwalk (nothing of note), we went to the Opeongo docks, where we loaded up Jeff's motorboat, and set out on the water. The lake was a bit rough, but nothing we couldn't handle.

It wasn't too long until we saw our first good bird of the trip, a Red-throated Loon flying by. This is quite the rarity in Algonquin Park, with only a handful of records. 

We continued to make our way up the lake, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. There really wasn't all that much going on, although we remained vigilant. A large (for Algonquin) concentration of gulls on the rocks near the weather station gave us hope for something unusual, but alas, nadda.

Herring Gull

As we reached the North Arm of the lake, we did spy something interesting though. On the water some some Ring-billed Gulls there was a slightly smaller, darker mantled (backed) gull. After some choice words, we reached the conclusion that we were looking at the first Algonquin Park record of Black-legged Kittiwake! (!!!!!!!!!) The title of the post makes sense now, right?

The bird was not in the typical juvenile plumage that is often seen in Ontario, but looked rather adult like in its second cycle (I think, don't really have many gull resources at my disposal in Algonquin lol) plumage. As such, not only is this Atlantic Coast gull mind boggling for Algonquin, but this sighting is fairly significant for the province because of its appearance. 

The bird left at one point, and we thought that in typical Algonquin fashion, it had bailed, but to our surprise, it came back! It hung around for some time, often flying within a few feet overhead, and in the end, it was us that left it! 

As I mentioned above, this is a species of the Atlantic Coast. It is pretty much annual in Ontario, but of course, not in this plumage. It is worth noting that this bird was observed during a period of northeast wind. Perhaps it is associated with the large "invasion" of Razorbills, another bird of the Atlantic, along the Ottawa River that has occurred just a couple of weeks prior. My view of the Razorbill I saw in Ottawa earlier in the month was rather poor, but this made up for it! 

A pretty spectacular bird. It was a lifer for me actually—funny that I got it in the least likely of places!

We motored around the lake for a bit longer. Of course we couldn't top that sighting, but we did come across a Peregrine Falcon, a second Red-throated Loon, as well as a very late Bonaparte's Gull. 

Red-throated Loon

We got off the lake mid-afternoon, did some more birding, and then made the drive to the east side of the park, to Lake Travers. We ended up arriving to the access point around 9 PM, and paddled into our site in the dark. 

The next morning, we didn't have to go far. Right from the campsite, we saw such things as Long-tailed Duck, White-winged Scoter, and Lapland Longspur. Plenty of Red-breasted Mergansers as well. Snow Buntings were constantly flying about.

We hit the lake, and before long has found such goodies as Northern Pintail (rare in the park), both scaup, a large flock of Ring-necked Ducks, and a personal highlight of the day, Bohemian Waxwings feeding on Ilex, the first in the park this fall. 

We set up on a sand spit at the north end of the lake, and watched the skies, hoping for raptors. I should mention that before we even got out of the canoe, a Rough-legged Hawk flew over! It was not too long before we got our first of two Golden Eagles. Other things were moving too, and we tallied 13 Red-tailed Hawks and an additional Rough-legged, as well as a migrant Bald Eagle. All in all, a pretty good movement in Algonquin standards! eBird checklist. 

Not too much more to add, other than seeing a Northern Shrike on the drive out along Barron Canyon Road were a tornado had caused some severe damage. It is a slam dunk every time on the east side!

It was nothing short of an epic 48 hours. I tallied 10 new park birds, and had a great time in great company. Not once did I ever even feel sad about not getting to see that Groove-billed Ani...I think we put that bird to shame anyways. If you put the work in, it pays off. 

A Day at Pelee

This past Saturday, I did my annual trip down to Point Pelee, the southernmost tip in mainland Canada. Pelee is a well-known haunt for many birders in May, and low and behold, I am one of those birders.

The day started early. I arrived in the park about 5:15, and was at the VC and began the walk to the Tip at around 5:30. I planned to walk the road in hopes of finding a nightjar, in particular, Chuck-wills-widow. Thoughts of this species had been circling in my mind in the days leading up to the trip, and the day before I was to go, one had been found on the road. Perhaps my fantasy was to come true!

Alas, no nightjars were found on the road, but at least I was the second one at the Tip! I even got to see the Tip Tower for the first time. It is a sight to behold...but it wasn't open. Apparently it didn't pass its safety inspection. I'm sure there is a whole story behind that!

Upon arrival at the Tip, I was greeted by a number of Black-bellied Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, a Sanderling, and a nice Red Knot.

Black-bellied Plovers

Nice bird, knot a nice photo

Soon, birds started "reverse migrating", in which birds will fly off the Tip towards the lake, and then they may circle back around to the mainland. It wasn't super intense, however there were a couple highlights, such as a Brown Thrasher flying in off the lake, and some Tennessee Warblers flying around people's feet. This is when my camera started acting up, so photos are limited.

Baltimore Oriole

After birding the Tip a bit, we walked up the West Beach trail. We flushed a Sora of all things while walking through a wooded part of the footpath, which was quite odd! A few non-birds too...

Ebony Sedge (Carex ebenea)

Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia cespitosa)

Orchard Oriole

Next was Tilden's Woods trail. A few warblers here and there, most notably Canada Warbler and a few Northern Waterthrushes.

Canada Warbler

Northern Waterthrush

American Jumpseed (Persicaria virginiana) was found here and there throughout.

We went next to Cactus Field, but no luck there. Though I must say, Common Yellowthroats can do a mean Sedge Wren impression! We did a tad more birding north of Cactus Field, but didn't get too far as an alert came through for a Worm-eating Warbler (pretty rare in Ontario) on Redbud trail!

We bee-lined it for the trail, but had to make a quick stop for a Blackburnian Warbler on the lawn near the VC parking lot. It came quite close, and even perched on my foot at one point!

We rode the tram to the halfway stop, then got off and began the search for the Worm-eating Warbler. Nobody had seen it in about 30 minutes, but we were determined. Lucky us happened to be standing in the right place at the right time, and it flew in right in front of us! It was quite elusive, but I managed a couple of usable pictures before I got out of the way so others could see the bird (I am a bit on the tall side).

The Worm-eating was actually a lifer for me, so I was quite happy. It was probably the bird that I wanted to see the most this spring, especially after missing a couple prior here and there.

After success with the Worm, we headed to take a peek for Prothonotary Warblers. We were successful right away. I actually missed Prothons at Pelee last year, and the only one I saw all year was in London (so I guess I can't complain).

There were a couple plants of interest.

Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)

Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

Walking back down Redbud, I was tapped on the shoulder, and told about another rare bird...a roosting Chuck-wills-widow!

I joined the convey of birders as we made our way through Post Woods to where the Chuck was roosting. Took me a bit to actually spot it, but once I did...woohoo! Another lifer, and the bird I had hoped for going into the day.

A Blue-headed Vireo stopped by for a visit.

After the Chuck, I walked around a bit more, before catching the tram back to the VC, where I hopped off and went and saw the reported Cerulean Warbler. It was right on the ground at our feet!

After the Cerulean, we went to the Marsh Boardwalk. A few non-birds were seen.

Midland Painted Turtle

Golden Shiners

Next, we wanted to go to Hillman, but first we checked out Orientation on our way out of the park. Bay-breasted Warbler was my 100th species of the day.

Hillman was pretty quiet. A few more ducks, and some shorebirds.

Short-billed Dowitchers

We went back to the park, as we had word on two more roosting nightjar species in the park, and we wanted to go for the nightjar trifecta. in addition to the Chuck, our second nightjar of the day was Common Nighthawk at Sleepy Hollow.

The third species of the day was Eastern Whip-poor-will, which was sitting on a log not too far from the side of the road! Hands down my best look at the species.

We heard rumours of a Golden-winged Warbler on Redbud. We had been trying to find a Golden-winged all day, and had even followed up on a couple of reports. It was a bit of deja vu for us, as last year, we did the same thing with Mourning Warbler. To add to it, the Golden-winged Warbler was under the same exact same log as the Mourning Warbler, which we had finally managed to catch up with late in the day!

After receiving word of a Kentucky Warbler in Post Woods, we decided to go and try to find it. We searched in the area where it had been seen, but with no luck. At this point my friends I had been birding with all day decided to call it a day. After saying goodbye, I continued up the path. After another 100 meters up the trail, I came across a small group of birders looking at the underbrush. I pointed my binoculars in the direction they were pointing, and low and behold, it was the Kentucky Warbler! No photos, as I only got a couple glimpses before it disappeared.

Since I was walking by the Chuck again, I grabbed a few more photos. Three nightjars on one eBird checklist, not what I was expecting to do on this day!

I made one last trip to the Tip. A couple bluebirds were on the east side.

The Tip is the longest I have seen it in years. As such, four species of gulls were seen.

Ring-billed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

A few warblers were on the rocks along the west side of the Tip.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

After missing it all day, I finally saw the Least Bittern that had been hanging out all day at the Tip, thanks to my mom pointing it out. It didn't look too good.

One last loop of Woodland Nature Trail resulted in a couple new birds for the day, such as Hermit Thrush, Blue-winged Warbler, and Great Egret. By this time it was getting dark, and such pretty much marked the end of my day. Appendage Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum) is an endangered species in Ontario, but it was seen along the paths.

It was a great day, with something like 125 or so species seen. Not too bad given the day and the amount of effort I put in. And heck, two lifers in one day is pretty great too!

Looking forward to see what the remainder of spring brings!

Grebe in the Grove

Some readers may be aware of the Western Grebe being seen in Bright's Grove, just north of Sarnia.

It was nowhere to be seen when we first arrived this afternoon. It was very windy and wavy, which certainly didn't help with visibility. Just as I was about to give up almost half and hour into my search, I spotted it for about a second way out on the lake.

It took a little while before I re-found it again, this time it was much closer.

Soon it swam even closer, to the end of the pier where I was standing.

It dove frequently.

Can you still see it?

Before today, I had never seen a Western Grebe before, so it was particularly exciting to see it. Not bad for an after school twitch!

Hamilton/Niagara July 26th

Back on July 26th I went on a little excursion to the Hamilton/Niagara region to see what I could see.

I saw a few things.

Wandering Glider

Sanderling

Yellow Warbler

Common Tern

Caspian Tern

I was also very pleased to see my Ontario lifer Fish Crow. Unfortunately, I had my camera lens on close focus mode (for butterflies and stuff), so I couldn't focus when the crow was close. I did eventually get a couple photos as it was flying away.

***This is a scheduled post, so if you are reading this within a couple weeks of when it was posted, I am currently on the coast of James Bay trying not to get eaten by a bear :-)