Blue Jays on the Move

Nature Notes for September 28, 2012

After the last column was published about the incredibly rare (for this part of the world) sighting of a Thick-billed Kingbird at Presqu’ile, an additional record for this species for Canada came to my attention. In August 2009, one was found and well-documented in Grand Manan, New Brunswick. The Presqu’ile bird would, therefore, be the third record for Canada and the first for this species in Ontario. The kingbird was present from August 28 to 31. Alas, for all the birders who descended on the park on Labor Day weekend, it was never found again.

After such an amazing start to fall landbird migration, things have quieted down.

There have been no more great rarities. There have been no days with massive fall-outs of birds. Many migrating birds are passing over on clear days and nights undetected by observers on the ground.

Observers may have noticed quite a few Turkey Vultures passing over. They are patrolling the Lake Ontario shore and the GanaraskaRiver looking for salmon carcasses. These large birds seems to like to move on very windy days, of which there have been many over the past couple of weeks.

The other species that is moving in large numbers this month is Blue Jays. Blue Jays migrate during the day and are large enough to see without the aid of binoculars. On September 14, I stood on the observations platform at the A.K. Sculthorpe Woodland Marsh in east end Port Hope and counted about 2400 passing in only half an hour. On a walk this morning (Sept. 25), I counted about 500 fighting into the west wind. This movement is probably in response to a poor crop of acorns and beechnuts in the north. These birds will winter in the continental U.S.

Some readers may have noticed an abundance of birders in the area over the weekend of September 14-16. The Ontario Field Ornithologists were holding their Annual General Meeting in Northumberland County.

The business meeting and a banquet with guest speaker was held at the Cobourg Best Western, but most of the activity was outside, in the field. Field trips were held to Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Brighton Constructed Wetland, Brighton Provincial Wildlife Area, Northumberland Forest, the Port Hope/Cobourg waterfront, Peter’s Woods and as far afield as PrinceEdward County and Second Marsh in Oshawa.

Over the three days of the convention, 173 species were seen by the group. This number reflects the rich diversity of habitats in the area. The species total seemed to be a surprise to the organizers. This meeting is usually held in southwestern Ontario in areas known to be very “birdy”. Previous convention high species counts were 176 at Point Pelee in 2009 and 177 at Long Point in 2010.

Attendance at this convention was an all-time high of 254 participants. Many of these people were being introduced to the birding areas of Northumberland for the first time. Many also said that they would come back again to visit and search for birds.