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More birds and butterflies
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Last Tuesday, (September 9) was a big day for migrating Monarch butterflies. Upon leaving work at Port Lambton, I noticed dozens of the winged beauties flying about in a southwesterly direction. Driving home, I had to dodge many more along the way. Sitting out on the back porch that evening I observed large numbers passing through the yard. I had never seen such numbers before, at least in my area.Point Pelee in known as a concentration point as Monarchs wing their way south. Some days, one can go there and see thousands, especially at the tip. Rondeau and other spots are known to a lesser degree. It was noted on September 9 by many, that along Lake Erie, thousands of Monarchs were migrating. This past Sunday (Sept. 14) Rondeau held its annual Monarch migration day. Although Monarchs were seen, I do not think it could compare to the previous Tuesday.
Another rare and exciting bird was observed at Point Pelee on September 12. (Obviously I was not there!) Just after 9 a.m., an adult Ross's Gull flew by the tip. This was Pelee's second record, and probably the ninth record for the province. Most often this species is seen in winter, as it is an Arctic gull that rarely finds its way south. Shortly after this, a juvenile Sabine's Gull flew by with some Bonaparte's. I mentioned this species in the previous column as being a sought-after gull.
Last weekend (September 6-7) was one of the better weekends for birding. I observed a total of 21 species of warblers at Rondeau Park, plus other birds. Early September is the peak time to catch migrating warblers and other passerines as they head to their wintering grounds. At Blenhiem Sewage Lagoons most of the shorebirds had left, but a total of seven Hudsonian Godwits (moulting adults) were there. These are large shorebirds with long slightly curved bills. They are never seen in big numbers, and seven is an excellent showing. In fact, the most I have seen previously at any given time is six. These seven birds stayed the whole week and were still there at the time of this writing (Sept. 14).
September 14 and 15 revealed many other shorebirds at the lagoons also. A Wilson's Phalarope remained, as well as a Red-necked Phalarope. The Phalaropes are unique birds as they swim much of the time. They will spin in circles on the water stirring up edibles. They are also different in the fact that the females are more colourful than the males, and also that the males incubate the eggs. Few birds are like this. A third species, Red Phalarope, is much more uncommon, and is seen later in October.
Hopefully next weekend will be interesting at Point Pelee, as it is the annual convention of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO). I will report on it in the next column.
