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Nature Link

With Blake Mann

Winter birding

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

For bird watchers that keep lists, December 1st is when winter listing starts. I do not keep such a list, but many take it quite seriously. Out of season birds are most sought after. This past week, Maris Apse a good friend of mine, found a Wilson's Warbler in High Park in Toronto. He was looking for another winter oddity, a White-eyed Vireo. Unknown to him, the previous day, a Black-throated Gray Warbler was briefly sighted in the same area. This warbler is from the west, and only shows up in Ontario every few years. It was finally relocated on December 11 after some extensive searching, and Maris did see it. Winter warblers can be a real treat, apart from Yellow-rumped (winter in Ontario in small numbers). On January 11, 1998 I found a Nashville Warbler in Rondeau Park. That was quite a surprise, and the bird stayed about a week.

Closer to home, a White-rumped Sandpiper was located at Harrow Sewage Lagoons (Essex Co.) on December 8. It was a new provincial record late record.

Two female King Eiders were still present at the mouth of Lake Huron. I watched these on December 11 drifting down into the river with the current. They have been there a month and could conceivably stay there for several weeks.

A Peregrine Falcon was observed hunting south of Lambton Generating station. It may be wintering there at Detroit Edison power plant, as this species has in the past. Just before I wrote this article, I observed a large falcon swoop through the neighbourhood. I can only assume it to be a Peregrine Falcon. The only other possibility is a Gyrfalcon, but they are very large and rarely seen in southern Ontario.

As I mentioned in a previous column, this will be the year of owls. Several Snowy Owls have been showing up in various locations in southern Ontario. On December 7, Lance Allin reported a Snowy at Sarnia Bay. I located one near Grande Pointe on December 11. At least one had been seen near Erieau earlier.

The Black-necked Stilt was still being seen at Ridgetown last week. They must be hardy birds, as the one near Wallaceburg a few years ago put up with some nippy weather. Maybe it is the same bird! Both have been determined to be females.

Then there is waterfowl and gull watching on the rivers. Until it gets cold, duck numbers remain low on the St. Clair River. In recent years with the milder winters, numbers have not been like they used to. The attached photo shows some Canvasbacks at Fawn Island.

Christmas Bird Counts start this week and continue for three weeks. Good birds always turn up on these outings. I will be reported on any unique findings, as well as the local counts, as results come in.