Many Wintering Birds Difficult to Find

Nature Notes for January 27, 2017

The winter of 2016/17 continues to be the year of the American Robin. I have received several e-mails and had many conversations with people in the grocery store about flocks of robins. In the past week, they have found the mountain ash tree in my front yard and have proceeded to strip it of fruit.

The weather has been very peculiar so far this winter. Two species of caterpillars have been found crawling around and snow drops have emerged, unusual natural events for January in Ontario.

Many expected birds have not been around in this mild winter with little snow. Until today (Jan. 24), there has not been a substantial snowfall since December 17, the day of the Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count. There has been some freezing rain, but the ice didn’t persist long enough to be a problem for fruit-eating birds. In addition to robins, there have been large flocks of European Starlings, smaller flocks of Cedar Waxwings, and, in some places, flocks of Eastern Bluebirds. All of these eat fruit in the winter.

In Port Hope, there is a Northern Mockingbird guarding its food supply in a multi-flora rose hedge. This species is becoming a bit more regular in Northumberland County in some places along the lakeshore, but it is not common.

Because there is little snow, all of the birds that feed on the ground are widely dispersed. They can reach the ground anywhere. This makes them difficult to find. Sparrows and even Wild Turkeys are much easier to detect against a snowy background.

The flocks of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks that were found on the Christmas counts have dispersed. They are probably still around, but they, too, are much harder to detect without snow.

There have been few large flocks of diving ducks on Lake Ontario this winter. Perhaps they are widely dispersed, since the lake is ice free. Perhaps there is little food for them. Many of the divers eat the invasive zebra mussels. When an new species first invades an area, the population usually skyrockets. After some time has passed, the new species comes to an equilibrium in the new ecosystem and the population levels out. Perhaps the zebra mussels have reached this equilibrium in Lake Ontario, thus there is not as much food for the ducks as there was a few years ago.

Drake Long-tailed Duck, one of the Arctic nesting ducks that often winter on Lake Ontario.

photo © Rob Lonsberry Photography

Last Sunday (Jan. 22), the ducks in Cobourg Harbour were mostly Mallards – hundreds of them. Many were roosting on the breakwall, something I have not seen before. Usually, in January, this breakwall is covered in ice, but it was completely bare. The only other dabbling ducks present were a few American Black Ducks. Diving duck species were present in only very small numbers. These included Long-tailed Ducks, Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneye and Bufflehead. There was a single American Coot, which was a challenge to find in amongst the Mallards. The same day, many Canada Geese were in Port Hope Harbour. The geese have been able to graze on lawns, since there is no snow.

Earlier in the month, a female Harlequin Duck was found feeding off the west jetty in Port Hope. This may be the same bird that was found as early as last November in Port Hope and also in Cobourg Harbour.

With no ice in the harbours, there are very few gulls. They may be somewhere on the lake, but not anywhere that it is easy to see them. There is some ice in Presqu’ile Bay, so this is probably the best place to look for gulls. Several Bald Eagles have also been seen patrolling Presqu’ile Bay.

My backyard feeders seem to have been abandoned by the Mourning Doves. The presence of a hunting Cooper’s Hawk has probably encouraged them to leave. Cooper’s Hawks are bird-eating hawks and Mourning Doves make the perfect sized meal.

On one of the few sunny days this month, a Carolina Wren was singing from the ravine at the end of my street in Port Hope. One had been seen a month earlier at a feeder in the same general area. Northern Cardinals and Black-capped Chickadees have been singing as well. Breeding season, the usual trigger for bird song, for all these species is still three months away.

Who knows what the weather may bring during the remainder of the winter and what effect it may have on the birds.