Early Spring Migrants 2016

Nature Notes for March 24, 2016

About a week after last month’s column appeared, the first avian heralds of spring appeared. Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds swarmed backyard feeders, eating furiously to recover from their migration from the southern U.S.

Many observers also started reporting American Robins. Although a few have been around all winter, some of these were newly returned migrants. For most of the winter, I have had a robin spending a lot of time in the mountain ash tree in my front yard. This bird is so used to us that he doesn’t even fly when we drive in the driveway and get out of the car. He just “chucks” at us a couple of times and goes back to eating the fallen mountain ash berries. If this is the same bird, he has recently acquired a mate. We’ve seen a female with him this past week.

Waterfowl are among the earliest migrants. They require open water, so follow the thawing ice as temperatures warm in the spring. Presqu’ile Provincial Park’s Waterfowl Festival was last weekend (March 19 and 20). Because of the mild spring, the lake and Presqu’ile Bay were ice free. Although there were waterfowl present, they were quite far out on the bay. Even with a spotting scope, they were difficult to see. Many of the ducks and geese have already moved further north. The huge rafts of Redhead and scaup that were present almost three week ago have mostly departed.

My husband, Roger, and I volunteered to man a viewing platform last Sunday for the Festival. Although ducks were scarce, we had some other good sightings. Just after we arrived at our post, a Peregrine Falcon flew through. It was very ambitious, making a run at a Canada Goose! It didn’t get the goose – no surprise here – but thoroughly frightened the small Bufflehead that were feeding nearby. When the Bufflehead took flight, we had a better idea of how many there were. Diving ducks are very difficult to count when they are feeding because only seldom are all of them on the surface at the same time.

Later in the morning, two Sandhill Cranes flew past our platform, calling loudly. They circled around and looked like they might land in the marsh, but circled again and flew away to the east. Sandhill Cranes are becoming more common in southern Ontario, so there is a chance that readers might encounter one. When they are courting, they are very noisy, so are easy to detect.

Two Pied-billed Grebes entertained viewers quite near the viewing platform. These small grebes nest in Presqu’ile marsh.

The previous week, Willow Beach Field Naturalists held an outing to search for waterfowl. Rice Lake was still partly ice-covered, with open leads. Off Harwood the group found a good variety of ducks – Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks, Common Goldeneyes and Northern Pintails, in addition to the ubiquitous Canada Geese.

GardenHill Pond held a surprise – a single Greater White-fronted Goose amongst the hordes of Canada Geese. There were also a few Cackling Geese. These are a small species of Canada Geese that have recently been designated as a separate species. There were also Northern Pintail, several Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon here.

An American Wigeon drake, one of many ducks seen on Garden Hill Pond on a WBFN Outing.
photo © Rob Lonsberry Photography

Many of us had our first Song Sparrows of the season on this outing. A Killdeer also appeared that day, calling its name as it flew over. A Belted Kingfisher was fishing in Close Point marsh.

On March 17, an American Woodcock, another early migrant, was calling at the A.K.Sculthorpe Woodland Marsh. Woodcock probe with their long beaks into the soil to feed on earthworms and insects. Immediately after this date, there were two very cold nights. If the ground froze again, this bird may regret that he migrated quite so early.

Although the weather forecast predicts a return of wintry weather by the end of the week (when this will be published) the birds tell us that spring is here.

Getting Started at Birdwatching

Nature Notes for February 26, 2016

How does one get started at birdwatching?

Birding does not require a great deal of equipment. The two basic pieces are a good field guide and a pair of binoculars.

There are a great many bird guides on the market these days. Generally, I recommend the ones with drawings rather than photographs. With a drawing, the artists can make a composite of all the birds of a particular species that he or she has ever seen. Roger Tory Peterson was the first to use arrows to point out critical field marks and the Peterson A Field Guide to the Birds is still a standard reference. The other two that I use most frequently are The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America and The Sibley Guide to Birds.

To most beginners, bird field guides are something of a mystery. They are set out in phylogenetic order. That is, the most ancient birds are at the front of the book and it proceeds through more modern birds. Recently, work on the DNA of birds has led to many changes in this order. A number of bird species that were thought to be related based on physical characteristics no longer are, based on their genetics. Even people who have studied birds for a long time are struggling to keep up with this new information.

As valuable as the illustrations are, the range maps are perhaps just as valuable. There have been many changes in bird ranges through the years. For example, Red-bellied Woodpecker historically did not occur in southern Ontario, but now is a regular species throughout this area. Older field guides will not show this species as occurring locally. Similarly, Common Ravens have expanded from the north and now nest in Northumberland. Again, older field guides will not show this in their range maps.

The other piece of equipment that is necessary is a pair of binoculars. The sort you purchase will be determined by many variables. How much do you want to spend? What magnification should you choose? How much do you expect to use them? How big is your hand? How much weight can you tolerate around your neck? If you are serious about birdwatching, buy the best binoculars you can afford, as you will be spending many hours looking through them. Although many binoculars are for sale over the internet, I think that you need to have them in your hands to see if they fit you.

When you are equipped, the next task is to learn your “local patch”. Learn the bird species that regularly occur there, and in what season. Do they nest in the area, or are they just migrating through? This patch might be an area as small as your own garden, or as large as Presqu’ile Provincial Park or the Northumberland Forest.

If you want some help in learning birds, there are a number of organizations in the area that can help. Not only can these groups help you with bird identification, but they can provide a social activity where you meet people with similar interests. Willow Beach Field Naturalists hold regular field trips, many of them focused on birds. The Northumberland Land Trust, Lone Pine Marsh Sanctuary, Alderville Black Oak Savanna, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority and Lower Trent Conservation hold many guided events that deal with many aspects of natural history. 

Male Wood Duck, with female in background - just one of the many species of ducks that might be viewed at Presqu'ile's Waterfowl Weekend.

photo © Rob Lonsberry Photography

Presqu’ile Provincial Park holds several events that include guided bird hikes. The next of these is the Waterfowl Weekend, scheduled for March 19 and 20 this year. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., volunteers will be on hand to help you view and identify a possible 25 different species of ducks, geese and swans. This event is good for beginners. Most of the birds are big and much easier to focus on than small landbirds.