Thick-billed Kingbird at Presqu'ile

Nature Notes for August 31, 2012

 

Thick-billed Kingbird at Presqu'ile Provincial Park August 29, 2012

 ©Sherwood McLernon

 Enjoying one of the abundant flying insects.

©Sherwood McLernon

A Thick-billed Kingbird had been found at Presqu’ile! The post appeared on Ontbirds, the listserv of the Ontario Field Ornithologists, just as darkness was falling on the evening of August 28.

Bill Gilmour, who lives in one of the cottages adjacent to the park, heard a bird he didn’t recognize as he rode his bicycle along the cottage road near Calf Pasture. He found the bird and identified it as a Thick-billed Kingbird, a very unusual bird for Ontario. He quickly notified the Brighton birding community and several people were able to arrive in time to see it.

On the off chance that it would still be there in the morning, some birders from southwestern Ontario hopped in their cars in the wee hours of the morning and started driving. They were not disappointed. By 6:30 a.m., the first posts appeared on Ontbirds. The bird was still there.

I didn’t arrive until about 9:30. The bird was very easy to see. It was catching flying insects, mostly wasps, dragonflies and large beetles. It would fly out, catch a meal, and return to the same perch near the top of a dead cedar tree.

This is first record of this species for Ontario and only the second for Canada. The first was from Vancouver Island in 1974. The Presqu’ile bird is probably the first record of this species from eastern North America.

The Thick-billed Kingbird is a member of the flycatcher family. It is in the same genus at the Eastern Kingbird, which is a common breeder in this part of Ontario. It is larger than the Eastern. As the name indicates, it has a very large heavy bill, which helps a great deal in identifying the species. The colouring is a dusky brownish gray on the back, wings and tail, white throat and a slight yellow wash to the lower underparts.

It has a bright yellow crown patch which is usually concealed. The Presqu’ile bird flashed its yellow, just once, this afternoon. I was lucky enough to be looking at the bird when it did so. One of the photographers present was lucky enough to snap a photo just as the bird flashed.

There is a small population of Thick-billed Kingbirds that nest in southern Arizona. This is the nearest to Ontario that the species breeds. Most of the population lives year-round on the Pacific slope of Mexico. The Arizona population migrates south into Mexico for the winter.

Just why birds such as this one wander outside of their normal range is unknown. If this sighting had come after a hurricane, birders would probably have put it down to the storm winds. Flycatchers, as a group, are prone to wandering well beyond their normal range, particularly in the autumn. Many wanderers are young birds that seem to have a faulty compass and turn north instead of south when they come to migrate. Sometimes, they hang around for an extended period of time in the same general area before cold weather suppresses insect activity and they starve.

The consensus of those who know was that this was an adult bird. Who knows how it got to Presqu’ile. It could have been in the area for some time, undetected.

In any case, this bird had approximately 200 visitors on Aug. 29. They came from many parts of southern Ontario – Leamington, Long Point, Ottawa, Toronto, Belleville, Algonquin Park to name a few places. One person drove from Buffalo, New York. The person who travelled the furthest so far flew in from Nova Scotia just to see the bird.

It was seen throughout the day in the same general area. It was seen to go to roost at about the same time in the evening and in the same place as it had on the previous day. If it stays tomorrow and over the weekend, who knows how many people will have visited this corner of Northumberland County in order to see it.

August 2012 - Landbird Migration Begins

Nature Notes for August 24, 2012

This week, the southward migration of landbirds is beginning to be evident. In my garden, Red-breasted Nuthatches can be heard giving their distinctive call. Although this species does nest in Northumberland County, they do not nest in my neighbourhood in Port Hope. These birds might have come from the Boreal forest. This species often moves south because of a shortage of their preferred food, conifer seeds, in the north.

An early movement of Red-breasted Nuthatches often presages an influx of finches (Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Purple Finch, Red and White-winged Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak and Evening Grosbeak) later in the fall. Birders are always trying to predict these influxes or “irruptions”.

Another species which moves south in response to food shortage is Blue Jay. Ontario’s dry summer may not have produced enough acorns and beechnuts, their staple winter food, for many to stay over the winter. It will be interesting to see whether we see huge flocks of jays migrating this fall. The few that do overwinter will almost certainly use bird feeders.

Fall migration is a much more leisurely affair than the northward one in the spring. As long as the birds can find food, they can stay. There is not the same pressure to breed and raise young while food is abundant.

Most of the small landbirds migrate at night. Although I listened at my open window last night, I couldn’t hear any. The weather was clear so they may have been flying too high to be heard easily.

In woodlots, mixed species flocks of warblers could be found this week. A good way to find these flocks is to listen for the Black-capped Chickadees. Often, they will be accompanied by warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and nuthatches. Since the chickadees are much more vocal than the warblers, they make these flocks easy to find.

In a few places, flocks of swallows of several species can be found gathering on roadside utility wires. Since swallows feed almost exclusively on flying insects, they need to go south before the weather gets too cold for the insects. Our largest swallow, the Purple Martin, winters in south America, as far south as Brazil, so they also have rather a long journey to make.

Bobolinks, too, winter in South America. They are now at the peak of their migration. During the day, their “pink” call notes can often be heard as they are passing overhead. This evening (Aug. 21), a large flock was seen feasting on weed seeds in a rather weedy soybean field just west of Port Hope.

Many shorebirds are being reported from the beach at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. This is the best place to see large numbers of shorebirds in Northumberland. The highlight so far has been a Willet, a large shorebird that breeds in the western prairies. Small numbers of shorebirds may be seen anywhere along the lakeshore where the beach is undisturbed and there has been a deposit of algae. Shorebirds feed on the little invertebrates that inhabit these algae mats.

Shorebird southward migration begins by early July. The adults do not take any longer than necessary on their northern breeding grounds before turning around and moving south again. The young of the year will follow when they can fly well enough.

There are two events coming up that celebrate migration:

September 1 and 2, Presqu’ile Provincial Park’s Monarchs and Migrants weekend, www.friendsofpresquile.on.ca

September 8, Alderville Black Oak Savanna Prairie Day, 8467 Cty. Rd. 18,1.5 km. west of Cty. Rd. 45, www.ricelakeplains.ca.