March 2013 - Migration Begins

Nature Notes for March 29, 2013

The month of March marks the change of season in the bird world. There is so much to report!

Presqu’ileProvincial Park held their annual Waterfowl Festival on the weekend of March 16 and 17.  This event celebrates the arrival of migrant ducks from wintering grounds on the Atlantic seaboard. Most stage here to feed before continuing on to nesting grounds further north. Since most lakes further north are still ice-covered, there are still lots of water birds around.

The first arrivals are diving ducks. Some species such as Long-tailed Ducks, GreaterScaup, Common Golden-eye, Bufflehead and White-winged Scoter winter on the Great Lakes, but now they are joined by more birds which have wintered further south. The flocks now include Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Ring-necked Ducks, Canvasbacks and all three Mergansers – Common, Red-breasted and Hooded.

Many of these diving ducks can also be viewed in Cobourg Harbour. There have been two Ruddy Ducks here, too. This is an uncommon migrant in this area.

Among the divers, there are often American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, and Gadwall. These are dabbling ducks which tip up to feed but don’t dive below the surface. As the ice melts in the marshes, other dabblers such as Green-winged Teal, NorthernShoveler and finally, Blue-winged Teal, will arrive. Many dabblers make use of any small pond or flooded field.

Thousands of Canada Geese could be found this week foraging in last year’s harvested corn and soybean fields. They often spend the night on Lake Ontario, so at certain times of the day, there are big flocks travelling between farm fields and the lake. Last Sunday, the huge flock of geese on Garden Hill pond included one Snow Goose. There were also three Cackling Geese, a small version of the Canada Goose which has recently been designate as a separate species.

This year, there have been Tundra Swans with the geese in larger-than-usual numbers. The usual flight corridor for Tundra Swans is further west, through Long Point on Lake Erie. This spring’s west winds have pushed the birds further east. The large white birds are hard to miss when they are present. Tundra Swans (formerly called Whistling Swans) are native swans which spend the winter in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay area on the eastern seaboard. These birds make very long migrations north and west. Some nest as far north as the NorthwestTerritories.

The first obvious arrival of landbirds was on March 10 this spring. Red-wingedBlackbirds, Common Grackles and American Robins all appeared on that date, which is about the time they are expected. There was a dump of heavy snow after that date and a robin moved into the multiflora rose bush along my driveway. The rose hips assured his survival when he couldn’t forage on the ground. Since that first arrival, the weather has been cold with north winds, so there hasn’t been much more landbird migration.

I saw my first Killdeer last Sunday (March 24), although there have been a few earlier sightings reported in the area. A few Turkey Vultures have been seen patrolling the roads, the earliest on February 28. These, too, are recent arrivals from the south.

AmericanWoodcock have appeared at Presqu’ile. These odd looking birds probe with their long beaks into the earth to find earthworms to eat. The cold nights this week cannot have made this very easy.

With all of the new arrivals, it is easy to overlook the lingering “winter” birds. American Tree Sparrows have begun to sings. It will not be long before they leave for the taiga. There have still been a couple of Common Redpolls visiting my feeder. They will depart for the tundra soon. Dark-eyed Juncos are also singing their trilly song. Most of them leave Northumberland County to breed although they don’t go as far, only to the Canadian Shield.

For the next two months, the bird species mix may change almost daily. I urge readers to explore their local patch to see what birds are around.