April Summary

White-throated Sparrow

By the time March comes, birders are tired of winter and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first spring migrants – the Red-winged Blackbirds, the Common Grackles, the Turkey Vultures, the Song Sparrows and Killdeer. By the time April arrives, birders are eagerly awaiting the next wave of migrants and the first warm days of spring. This year, the second wave of migrants was delayed by the lingering cold temperatures and the lingering snow on the ground. Then it started raining in the middle of the month, and the rivers and creeks began to flood. It was really tough to find the motivation to go out – the weather wasn’t cooperative, the birds were late, and it wasn’t warm enough to look for the first butterflies of the year until toward the end of the month.

Why I still love the Beaver Trail after all these years

Gray Catbird

The Beaver Trail (now an ebird hotspot) is rarely mentioned in Ottawa’s birding circles or its birding literature, and never in the OFNC rare bird alerts. I started visiting it in June 2006 because I was tired of going to Sarsaparilla Trail and found it loaded with life birds – though to be fair, my life list was only at 37 species when I started visiting it! It was here that I got my lifer Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Kingbird, Swamp Sparrow, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager and Northern Flicker. I wrote a post about it in March 2011 (“My Favourite Places: The Beaver Trail”), and now, eleven years after I first visited it and six years after writing that post it is still one of my favourite trails in the area. It is still home to a good number of woodland, marsh, and open-edge species during the warmer months, and can be fantastic during migration. According to eBird, I have observed a total of 103 species there in the past 11 years out of a total of 125 recorded. Yesterday morning’s outing was a perfect example of the diversity of breeding and migrating birds, with a total of 39 species observed in about 80 minutes, including three new species for the hotspot and my own personal total!

Painted Ladies

Painted Lady

The equinox has passed and summer is showing no signs of leaving despite the changing colours of the leaves. Once again the temperatures reached the high 20s, and a heat warning went into effect yesterday, as forecasters say that the continuing sunshine would result in daytime temperatures reaching the low 30s, with humidex values approaching 40C. When I went out yesterday morning I had two targets in mind: the Parasitic Jaeger seen off Andrew Haydon Beach for the past two days, and the influx of Painted Lady butterflies that has reached eastern Ontario. I left early, as I knew the day would warm up quickly, stopping at the Eagleson storm water ponds first to see if anything new had arrived.

Birding in late April means…

Ring-necked Duck

Usually the first two weeks of April are a slog to get through – it still looks and feels like March, cold north winds and long spells of rain manage to out-compete the longed-for southerly winds and warm, sunny days, and although migration should be well under way, it takes forever for the next spate of migrants to arrive. Then one day it happens: you realize the snow is finally all gone, the ponds are ice-free, the buds on the trees look ready to burst open, and your neighbourhood Chipping Sparrows are back and singing right outside your window. The temperatures are finally reaching double-digits on a daily basis, and there are new birds moving in! The second half (well, the last third, really) of April is when the birding really picks up and it really begins to feel like spring. This truly is the beginning of my favourite time of year; here are a few of the things that make birding in late April so wonderful.

Spring Migrants at Stony Swamp

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Stony Swamp is one of my favourite spots to go birding – not only is it close to home, but there are multiple trails to choose from, with plenty of interesting habitats. While Stony Swamp is dominated by mixed deciduous/coniferous forest, there are a few streams, beaver ponds, alvars and marshes which provide habitat for a good mix of birds. As it was supposed to start raining around 9:00 this morning, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to stay out birding today. However, the bright sun and reasonable temperature (only -2°C when I left at 7:30) made me long for a walk in the woods. I decided to go to Sarsaparilla Trail first to check on the pond, and then to the Beaver Trail to look for additional woodland birds. I figured that would keep me occupied until the rain began.

Migration at Hurdman

Wild Turkey

Spring migration is progressing, and although several new species have arrived recently, none are back in any big numbers – except maybe the Bohemian Waxwings that moved through last week and the juncos that are starting to move through now. I spent a few mornings at Hurdman Park before work last week, hoping to take advantage of the early hour to find some new birds. On Monday the 13th I had a good outing, spotting two Green-winged Teal huddled against the shore (a first for me at this location), two Common Goldeneye, two Hooded Mergansers, a couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets, about 20 Bohemian Waxwings, a single American Tree Sparrow, and two Rusty Blackbirds. I heard their squeaky song and thought it sounded different from a grackle’s rusty gate-hinge song, and just got my binoculars on the birds when a Red-winged Blackbird chased them off. I also heard an Eastern Phoebe singing and heard the rattle of Belted Kingfisher, though I saw neither bird.

Suddenly….there was song

Song Sparrow

Although it was supposed to rain on Saturday, I decided to go out birding when I saw that the rain hadn’t started yet. The sky was gray and overcast, and a strong, cold wind was gusting across the open fields, but I managed to spend three hours looking for new migrants before the wind drove me back inside. My first stop was Sarsaparilla Trail, where I heard my first Song Sparrow of the year singing from the edge of the woods. I also heard at least six Dark-eyed Juncos singing from various parts of the woods, though I wasn’t able to spot any. Four mallards had found a sliver of open water on the pond, while a single Purple Finch and several Red-winged Blackbirds called from the edges of the marsh. Three Common Grackles flew over as well. I checked the edges for Great Blue Herons tucked along the shore but came up empty.

Mid-Fall Birding

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

October is here, and that means migration has shifted from swallows, flycatchers, tanagers, and orioles to kinglets, sparrows, finches, and waterfowl. I had an incredible birding weekend, and saw many mid-season migrants that were either year birds or my first of the fall.

Saturday was not only beautiful in terms of weather (sunny, with temperatures rising to at least 17°C), but also because of the fall colours. There were birds everywhere, represented by a number of different species, and I don’t think I’ve ever had such an incredible day this time of year.

Enjoying Algonquin’ s Fall Colours

Shadow Darner

Deb and I went to Algonquin Park last Sunday to enjoy some birds, fall colours, and late-season odonates. The fall colours were said to be at their peak, and with the temperature expected to reach a beautiful, sunny 20°C, we couldn’t have asked for a better day. Unfortunately the great weather enticed several other carloads and busloads of people to visit, so the park was the busiest we had ever seen it. Police were stopping people before they drove into the park to remind them of the speed limit (only 80 km/h in the park, and 50 km/h at the gate), and the parking lots along Highway 60 were full of cars – most even had a tour bus or two parked at the entrance. Some trails (such as the Lookout Trail and Peck Lake Trail) were so busy the cars had spilled out of the parking lot and were parked along the narrow shoulder of Highway 60.

A New Yard Bird and an Owl

Golden-crowned Kinglet
October 2, 2006

I had a pretty good birding day on Wednesday. No, I did not take a day off work, and no, I didn’t see anything new or rare. It began when I stepped outside onto my back deck early Wednesday morning to throw some peanuts out for the Blue Jays. I was just about to toss them into the yard when I heard a rapid, high-pitched “see see see” call coming from my neighbour’s yard. The call was familiar and distinctive, but I had never heard it in my neighbourhood before; for a moment I wasn’t sure what I was hearing, other than a few chickadees in my neighbour’s pine tree. I stood still for a moment, listening, and when I heard it again, I knew I had a new bird for my yard list: Golden-crowned Kinglet!