Wilson's Phalarope stops in Port Hope

Nature Notes for September 27, 2013

The water level in the A.K. Sculthorpe Woodland Marsh, alongside the Waterfront Trail at the east end of Port Hope has been quite high this fall. This makes it unsuitable habitat for all but the most long-legged shorebirds. On September 11, there was one GreaterYellowlegs in the marsh, a suitably tall bird for the depth of the water.

But there was another shorebird, playing hide-and-seek amongst the Mallard flock. This bird sent my husband scurrying back to the car in the parking lot to fetch the spotting scope to have a better look. Gray back and head, white underneath, with a fine, needle-like bill: this was a Wilson’s Phalarope in winter plumage.

In the breeding season, they are more colourful. As with all of the three phalarope species, the female has the brighter plumage. The female Wilson’s has a strong stripe through the eye and down the neck, black on the face and neck, blending into cinnamon on the neck. It is gray above and white on the belly, gray and cinnamon on the wings, with a white rump. The male is a much more faded version of this colouring, with only a hint of cinnamon on the neck. Female phalaropes are also larger than the males.

With all phalaropes, the male incubates the eggs and cares for the young. The behavior led John James Audubon, the man who first described these species to Europeans, to confuse male and female.

In spring, the females arrive on the breeding grounds before the males and compete with other females for mates with a colourful display.

Females may lay more than one clutch of eggs in different nests with more than one male, a behaviour called polyandry. As with most shorebirds, the nest consists of little more than a depression in the ground, lined with grass, and hidden in dense tall grass or sedge, near water.

Phalaropes have an unusual technique of feeding. They spin around in the water, changing direction often, in order to stir up the aquatic invertebrates which are their primary food. This bird was swimming around the foraging Mallards, probably because the ducks were churning up the water, and thus, turning up food for it.

Although there are scattered breeding records for Ontario, Wilson’s Phalaropes breed primarily in the prairies of Canada and the U.S. It is an inland species and a species unique to the new world. The other two phalarope species, Red and Red-necked, also occur in the Old World and nest near salt water in the high Arctic. Wilson’s Phalarope nests near freshwater or brackish ponds, often on islands. Where is does nest in southern Ontario, it favours the verges of sewage lagoons for breeding.

Several years ago, a pair of Wilson’s Phalaropes were found in a wet pasture field on Chub Point. They were seen throughout the spring and may have nested there, although no young were ever found.

Most Wilson’s Phalaropes that appear in Northumberland County are, however, migrants. These birds are usually found in wet grassy fields or shallow ponds. Occasionally they turn up on the beach at Presqu’ile.

Wilson’s Phalaropes winter in large shallow ponds and saline lakes in the grasslands and mountains of South America. In contrast, Red and Red-necked Phalaropes are pelagic in winter. That is they winter on the ocean

The Wilson’s Phalarope in Port Hope lingered for two days and was seen by several of the local birders.

2013 Fall Migration Begins

Nature Notes for August 23, 2013

The CNE opens, evenings are cool, back-to-school ads appear … and birders’ thoughts turn toward migration.

Although southbound migrants have been on the move since early July, late August to early September is the time when birders become twitchy. Few unusual birds of note have appeared so far in this area, but there is always the possibility.

Sometimes young birds seem to have a faulty compass and travel in unexpected directions. Sometimes migrants get caught up in storm systems and are carried into areas where they don’t normally occur.

The first migrants to move south are usually the shorebirds which breed in the high Arctic. Most of these birds have long migrations, from breeding grounds in the Arctic to wintering grounds in South America. There is not much shorebird habitat in Northumberland County. The weather this summer has, so far, been remarkably storm free. There has been no reason for these migrants to land and rest. In good weather, they will travel very long distances without landing.

Some shorebirds are appearing on the beaches at Presqu’ile, but so far not in large numbers and no rare species in the mix. Although they start to migrate in July, they will continue to do so until well into October. The most unusual shorebird to appear locally was a Red-necked Phalarope which was seen off the west beach in Port Hope one day last week.

For the past couple of weeks, large mixed species flocks of swallows have been congregating on roadside utility wires. This is the precursor to their departure. Most will be gone from this area by the first week of September. Most Tree Swallows stop at the Gulf coast, but the Purple Martins continue on to Brazil.

On August 11, my husband and I visited the Nature Conservancy’s Hazel BirdReserve. There were Eastern Kingbirds everywhere. We didn’t keep count, but we were seldom out of earshot of these medium sized flycatchers. They, too, are heading for South America. There were many fewer around last weekend.

Late August through September is the main time of the warbler migration. Warblers are not as brightly coloured as in the spring and the males don’t sing much at this time of year, so they can be more difficult to detect. They usually travel in mixed species flocks which can also include Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches and several of the small flycatchers.

There are more Ruby-throated Hummingbirds around just now. Most of them are migrants. They can often be found feeding in patches of blooming jewelweed as well as in gardens and at backyard feeders.

Raptor migration usually starts in early September and continues into early November. Hawks and falcons move in the daylights hours. Hawk watches often report large numbers of diurnal songbirds, too, such as Northern Flickers, American Robins, Blue Jays, and several species of blackbirds. Although some of the latter remain around through the winter, many migrate south to winter in the continental U.S.

Two events are scheduled in Northumberland to help observers learn more about migrants and migration.

August 31 and September 1: Monarchs and Migrants at Presqu’ile Provincial Park in Brighton offers guided hikes for shorebirds and songbirds, as well as bird banding demonstration (weather permitting). For more details, check: www.friendsofpresquile.on.ca

September 7: Prairie Day at Alderville Black Oak Savanna offers a variety of activities including guided hikes through the property, make a “cookie” containing native prairie seeds, bird banding and entertainment. Follow them on Facebook

Missing Monarchs

Nature Notes for July 26, 2013

Monarch butterflies have been much in the news recently because of their scarcity. They had a hard winter in their wintering grounds in the mountains of Mexico. Very few have been seen in Ontario this year. Despite a large stand of common milkweed, their larval food plant, I have seen only one so far in my garden. In total I have seen only five or six Monarchs this year.

 Fritillary and Monarch on Swamp Milkweed

© Rod Lee

The butterfly stage is the adult stage of this insect. Many butterflies lay their eggs on a specific food plant. These eggs hatch into larvae (or caterpillars) which must feed, shed their skins several times to grow and then pupate. Although gardeners sometimes object to the larvae feeding on plants, without them, we would not have butterflies.

Like the Monarch, several other butterfly species migrate regularly into our area. In the spring of 2012, I wrote about a huge flight of Red Admiral butterflies, which was noticed by people who do not usually pay attention to natural phenomena. So far this year, I have seen only one Red Admiral.

The weather conditions in the spring of 2012 were hot and dry with lots of south winds. These conditions helped the migrant butterflies. Spring 2013 was cold and wet, and not conducive to butterfly migration. The species which migrate regularly into Ontario cannot tolerate cold winter temperatures so they must recolonize the province every summer.

Other butterfly species winter over in the larval or pupa stage and emerge with spring warmth. The Mourning Cloak, on the other hand, overwinters as an adult so can be found flying quite early in the season.

Each butterfly species has a particular flight season. At this latitude some have two flights per season, some only one. Further south they may have more flight seasons.

Although many adult butterflies live only a few weeks, some like the Monarch and the Mourning Cloak are quite long-lived. Mourning Cloaks that emerge in September can overwinter as adults and may have a life-span of almost 10 months. Compton Tortoiseshell adults emerge in July, overwinter as adults, and fly again from April to June. Some of these butterflies can become very faded and tattered, but can still fly and reproduce.

Most school children are taught that the Monarch larval food plant in only milkweed. Many other species are just as fussy. The Baltimore Checkerspot feeds only on turtlehead. Columbine Duskywing feeds only on columbine plants. The Karner Blue butterfly feeds only on wild blue lupines (but not on the cultivars grown in gardens) and has been extirpated in Ontario due to the scarcity of their food plant. Because of these species specific food requirements, they occur in local colonies. These colonies can easily be destroyed if the area is disturbed. Other species feed on a wider variety of plants so are less vulnerable to disturbance.

Migratory butterflies are strong fliers, but many butterflies do not fly strongly. These species do not disperse very far from their larval food plants.

Last Sunday (July 21), a butterfly focused outing of Willow Beach Field Naturalists turned up 22 species of butterflies along a local roadside. This area offered a variety of habitats – wet, dry, wooded, open field. The most exciting find was the number of Baltimore Checkerspots – several nectaring on each bloom of swamp milkweed or Joe Pye Weed. 

Baltimore Checkerspot on Swamp Milkweed

© Rod Lee

We only saw one Monarch. It will be interesting to see what the fall migration of Monarchs brings.

Chimney Swifts in Northumberland

Nature Notes for June 28, 2013

While doing summer errands in downtown Port Hope, Cobourg, Brighton and probably several other towns in the area, readers may hear “chittering” from overhead. If you glance skyward, you will see small birds swirling around, often quite high up.

The “chittering” is coming from these birds, Chimney Swifts. They fly swiftly, as their name would indicate, as they hunt flying insects for food.

The Chimney Swift is one of four species of swift that occur in Canada and the only one in eastern North America. Its breeding range in Canada extends from central Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia. It winters in South America.

The Peterson field guide describes the shape of this species as “a cigar with wings”. It has a very short tail with stiff tail feathers to help with balance when it perches on vertical surfaces. Its wings beat very quickly, but for moments, it will glide with its wings outstretch in a bow shape.

Although its feeding habits are similar to swallows, it is not closely related to them. It has been found to be more closely related to hummingbirds.

Prior to European settlement in North America, Chimney Swifts made their nests in hollow trees. European settlers cut most of the eastern forests, but they provided the swift with another suitable nesting place: many chimneys.

The nest is built from small twigs cemented to the inside of the chimney wall with the birds’ special sticky saliva. Usually only one pair of swifts nests in each chimney.

Northumberland County is rich in Victorian era chimneys. However, many are no longer used and have been blocked up. Changes in fire codes require that wood burning stoves and fireplaces now have metal lined chimneys. Many chimneys have been capped to exclude animals and birds. All of this has reduced breeding places for Chimney Swifts.

In the 20 years between Ontario’s two Breeding Bird Atlases, Chimney Swifts declined 46% in the province. While part of this population decline is probably due to the lack of chimneys, there are probably other contributors to this decline. Some other factors may include a reduction in flying insect populations due to pesticide use and drainage of wetlands. These factors may also affect swifts on the wintering grounds in South America.

In some places, towers are being erected specifically for this species. The towers take the place of chimneys and hollow trees.

In 2009, Bird Studies Canada started the Ontario SwiftWatch Monitoring Program. Through this program, volunteers work with professional biologists to locate Chimney Swift nesting and roosting habitat.

This involves finding Chimney Swifts and following them at dusk to try to find out what chimneys they are using. It also involves trying to count the numbers of birds using a particular chimney.

This can be a bit tricky. Although only one pair generally uses one chimney for nesting, after the nesting period, swifts gather in large flocks prior to migration. Sometimes, so many are entering a chimney at dusk that it looks as though smoke is going down the chimney.

For details concerning participation in the SwiftWatch program contact 1-888-448-2473 ext. 124 or OntarioSwiftWatch@birdscanada.org.  The web site is www.bsc-eoc.org/research/speciesatrisk/chsw/index.jsp?targetpg=index&lang=EN There is also a Facebook page for SwiftWatch.

In our area, Colin Griffiths is volunteering on this project. He has agreed to let me publish his e-mail address. If any readers are aware of Chimney Swift nests or roosts, contact Colin at griff@ancientbrit.ca.