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Nature Link
EARLY MIGRATION REPORT
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Good Friday started off on a sour note with the heavy rain, but thankfully it cleared up later on to be a rather nice day. I spent the morning at Rondeau Park and saw a number of Yellow-rumped Warblers. This if the first warbler species we see in numbers in early April. Also of note was an early Blue-headed Vireo. My record early date of that species at Rondeau was April 13, 2002, so that date was not beaten. A couple of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers were evident. Hermit Thrushes started to show up in quantity.
Down at Point Pelee, a Palm Warbler was reported as well as a very early hummingbird. Assumingly it was a Ruby-throated Hummingbirdóour one and only common and native Ontario species.
On Saturday, I got up early to go to Point Pelee. A Hermit Thrush was singing in the neighbour's yard before I left. They rarely sing during migration. The Hermit Thrush is one of the most pleasant bird songs you will hear. At Pelee, the Palm Warbler was still there for us to see. An early Black-throated Green Warbler was at the tip for us to enjoy.
Earlier in the week at Brander Park Port Lambton, I heard three Sandhill Cranes come off Walpole Island. They circled over the sewage lagoons and landed in a field behind. This was a new species for my list there. I have accumulated an impressive bird species list there since 1998. As it stands now, I have seen 194 species in or from Brander Park. This includes the sewage lagoons directly behind the woodlot. Looking at the list, there is potential for many more species to be added.
I work nearby, so I can go there before or after work, or even during lunch hour. The woodlot is a very good migrant trap, and on peak days in May, many warbler species can be present. I recall one lunch period I saw thirteen species of warblers in about twenty minutes.
The best bird tallied at Brander was a Virginia's Warbler on May 14, 2003 that I discovered one evening. It was only Ontario's fifth official record!
Even rarer was Ontario's first White-winged Tern in early May 1991 at the lagoons. It was first found by Rob Tymstra of Sarnia. I could see it from the park one lunch hour. I did go into the lagoons to get a closer look a couple of times. Strangely, the tern returned to the lagoons exactly a year later!
Other birds of note at Brander Park include Osprey, Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon. The eagle was just recorded late this winter (long overdue).
The attached photo shows a trail into the woodlot at Brander after the heavy rains this past Friday.
And yes, just like clockwork, the winds did switch to the NW for the weekend! It was much cooler on Saturday, but still a fairly pleasant day none-the-less. Sunday was even worse! (Yes, the long range forecast shows the winds switching to the NW for this Friday).
