Chasing the Varied Thrush

Phainopepla

The cold front that arrived late on Sunday brought high winds as well as cold temperatures. Monday morning was so chilly and so gusty that we didn’t do any birding, and when we went to our first show that night (La Reve by Cirque du Soleil) the nighttime temperature had fallen to 0°C. I had hoped that the wind would abate on Tuesday, but it was still blowing strong and not much warmer. That was the only free day of our trip, so I was hoping to do some serious birding, but we stayed inside instead – wind is my least favourite condition for birding, as it makes it hard to hear any calls or chip notes, and most birds are hunkered down themselves.

The weather improved on Wednesday, so Doran and I made plans to go to Sunset Park to look for a Varied Thrush that has been hanging around. This is a rare bird in Las Vegas in the winter, and I had heard about it from Justin Streit, who was also kind enough to send me a map showing its exact location in the park. It was most often seen foraging on the ground near a line of dense shrubs east of the pond, often feeding with doves and blackbirds.

A new life bird on the resort

Hispaniolan Parrot

Doran and I didn’t have any excursions planned for the rest of the week, so we took it easy on the last three days – swimming at the beach, dining at the restaurants, and even doing a couples massage. I went for my usual walks in the morning and afternoons, and although I had already gotten 19 new life birds on the trip, I kept hoping to find something new, or at least get photos of ones I had missed. I kept checking the western edge of the resort to see if I could find the Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo again, as well as the flowers near the souvenir shops for the Antillean Mango. I also hoped to find some dragonflies to photograph near the swamp, although I had heard that they sprayed the resorts for mosquitoes and wasn’t expecting much ode life if this was true.

Return to Sunset Park

Ross’s Goose

On Wednesday we returned to Sunset Park, as it was only a 15-minute drive from our hotel. I wanted to check the undeveloped desert dune system for more desert birds, and wasn’t disappointed. Although I didn’t get any new life birds, I did get a nice photo of a Greater Roadrunner, perhaps the bird I most wanted to see on the trip. A male Phainopepla and a male Anna’s Hummingbird were also great finds, though both were too far for decent photos.

Entering the Peak!

Spotted Sandpiper

The middle of May is the best time to see various migrating birds in Ottawa. However, once again the forecast for the weekend called for rain on both days (May 13th and 14th), and I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to go out birding – or whether or not I’d be able to get out at all. Since my fiancé needed the car for pretty much the full weekend, I was extremely limited in the places I could go. There are only a few places I can get to by bus (not that getting anywhere by bus on the weekend is easy), and I didn’t want to get caught in a downpour someplace where I might need to walk 20-30 minutes to get to the bus stop, then wait another 20-30 minutes for a bus to arrive.

Fortunately, the storm water ponds are only a 15 minute walk from home. Intermittent showers on Saturday made for a not unpleasant experience birding there; I was thrilled to tally 37 species altogether.

Mockingbird Hide-and-Seek

Northern Mockingbird

As is usual this time of year, the birding around Ottawa has become very quiet. A few uncommon overwintering birds are still around, such as the Northern Mockingbird at Mud Lake and the Harlequin Duck at Bate Island, but overall there has been little change to the birding scene. It is about this time of year that the law of diminishing returns comes into effect – the more one goes out, the fewer new or interesting birds there are to see, and it seems to make no difference whether you are out birding for two hours or five. Given the weather this time of year, I prefer shorter outings to longer ones: long enough to get some exercise and stave off the boredom that comes from spending too much time indoors, but short enough to minimize my exposure to the elements.

A Christmas Eve Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird

The Ottawa-Gatineau annual Christmas Bird Count was held on December 20th, and with the warm December we’ve had so far, there was no snow cover and almost all the rivers and ponds were completely open. This resulted in the second-highest number of species ever tallied; among the 86 species were a large number of waterbirds and late-lingering land birds that would have otherwise flown south by now or perished in the cold. The open rivers and ponds also resulted in the highest number of Canada Geese, Buffleheads and Hooded Mergansers ever tallied, and White-breasted Nuthatches, White-throated Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos also enjoyed new high counts.

Port of the Islands

Dolphins

We left Everglades National Park and the Homestead area to travel to our next destination, the Port of the Islands Everglades Adventure Resort located on the Tamiami Trail about 15 minutes east of Naples. Upon entering the Tamiami Trail we noticed a canal running parallel to the north side of the road bordered by a large dyke; because of the number of egrets, Anhingas and other waterbirds flying in and out of the area, we assumed there was a large wetland just out of view. Indeed, there is a large water conservation area to the north of the highway, which historically provided the Everglades with a steady supply of fresh water.

When the Tamiami Trail was built in the 1920s, it created an enormous dam across the shallow, 70-mile-wide River of Grass and blocked the main corridor of fresh-flowing water into Everglades National Park. Although 19 culverts built beneath the Tamiami Trail permit some flow of water, the amount of water entering the Everglades is much diminished. Unnaturally low water levels for over 90 years have significantly damaged sawgrass marshes, tree islands, fish reproduction, wading-bird nesting sites, and the habitats of many endangered species unique to the Everglades. The southerly-flowing fresh water no longer counterbalances the seepage of salt water inland, upsetting the delicate balance of nature. In order to increase the water’s flow, one bridge has already been built to replace a mile of the old road, but it will take years for the remaining 5.5 miles’ worth of bridges to be built and assist in the restoration of the Everglades.

Fantastic Florida!

Gray Kingbird

Ever since I became a birder it has been a dream of mine to visit Florida, with its subtropical birds and climate. Many of our breeding birds spend the winter there, and, as it funnels the birds migrating along the Atlantic Flyway, it is an excellent spot to see a large number of species during migration. Florida claims to have more bird species in the winter than the summer, which is highly appealing to someone who may tally only fifteen species on a cold Ottawa morning in mid-January. Even the resident birds, the ones that can be found year-round, have an exotic appeal.

Just as enticing to me was the prospect of seeing other wildlife, such as butterflies, dragonflies, lizards, snakes, mammals and more. Having spent the past 8 years birding and wildlife-watching in Ontario, I was eager to visit a place where almost everything would be new to me.

Some Recent Photos

Arctic Skipper

June is my second favourite month of the year, right after May. Although migration is over, the birds are singing on territory and more butterflies and dragonflies have begun to emerge, adding interest to my outings. This year, however, is turning out to be a poor one for butterflies, partly because the drought last summer killed off a lot of the larval food plants, and partly because of this year’s cold, wet spring. I only saw a couple of blue butterflies this spring – a couple at Hurdman and one at Shirley’s Bay – but didn’t get close enough to photograph or identify them. Cabbage White numbers seem to be low, and I’ve seen only three Canadian Tiger Swallowtails this spring, all of which flew over my head without landing.