Photo of the Week 3

This one's of a tree marked as a nest site of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, in North Carolina. John Fussell showed us them and much more around Croatan National Forest - if you're ever in the area, look him up!

Photo Quiz

Meant to post this yesterday but got caught up with homework and movies with friends. My blog's 1-year anniversary was on the 22nd, and I went skiing - spent almost the whole day in the park learning tricks. This weekend will be the last one for Searchmont this season. On another note, I'm taking an idea from John Garrett and posting a series of quizzes - I'll update them on Tuesdays - I'll give it a week then I'll post the answer. Whoever has the most right at the end of the series wins! You don't actually win anything other than the knowledge that you're good at quizzes though.

I'll start with an easy one. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments section (I won't show them until the week is up)!

Photo of the Week #2

Well, another Thursday, another random photo from my travels! This is Mile 0 of the Trans-Canada Highway, which at a length of 7,821 km is the longest national highway in the world - the midpoint is just north of the Sault!

Bigbying

On the 16th I decided to bike out to the east end to look for some birds that Stan had reported at his feeders. It was -1ºC when I started out, a little chilly to be outside for an hour in just a sweater but the biking helped warm me up. I added 6 new Bigby birds, the best being the two that I went to see - House Finch and Red-bellied Woodpecker, both of which seem to be becoming more regular in the area. The other Bigby birds were both nuthatches, Pileated Woodpecker, and Evening Grosbeak. Yesterday I went up to Searchmont with a couple friends, and it got up to 12ºC! We skied in t-shirts for most of the day, and went waterskiing at the end across a huge puddle that had formed.

Weekend Adventures

Yesterday I met up with Jason T from southern Michigan for an afternoon of birding south of the Sault. We had a decent day with 34 species - 3 of which were lifers for him! Unfortunately, the Hawk Owls decided it'd be a good time to leave, and we didn't find a single one of the three that were here all winter. We did have an unexpected Gray Jay though, along with most of the finches including 2 very nice Hoary Redpolls.

Today I decided to skip out on Searchmont so I could sleep for an extra hour or two and then work on some things. Turned out to be a good plan as my brother wasn't feeling well so they came back early anyway. It was a beautiful day, with temps up to 8ºC!!! After being outside in the backyard for a bit and finding my first Dark-eyed Junco for the year, I decided to bike down to Bellevue to see what was around. It was so warm I only needed a t-shirt and jeans (although most other people were still wearing jackets for some reason...). Anyway, I managed to add 4 year birds and 16 new Bigby birds today (plus the junco) - year birds were Canada Goose, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, and Red-winged Blackbird, bringing my year list up to 65 and Bigby to 33! Spring is here! (hopefully it'll stay this time)

Photo of the Week

I've decided that once a week I'll post a random photo from one of our trips. This one is from Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. It's a great place, I'd highly recommend it if you're ever in NM - it's fairly cheap too.

Spring? or not...

Well, about a week ago the weather decided it was going to be warm, and the snow started to melt. The birds started returning and singing - only a few species as is typical for super early spring, but it was still nice. I spent quite a bit of time down at the Locks, and managed to find a Snowy Owl! A new bird for Ontario! Also found some year birds like Peregrine Falcon and Ring-billed Gull. There was quite a bit of activity, with the Rusty Blackbird starting to sing along with Robins, American Tree Sparrows, and the redpolls, goldfinches, siskins, etc. Then I heard about a 2-week old report of a Boreal Owl in the Sault College Woodlot. Now, I'd never even been to the woodlot before, and had no idea how to get around it, let alone where the "conifer plantation" was. Turns out the conifer plantation is a fairly large area - about 4 acres. Since I had no idea on the exact location, I decided to head down the hill to the first part of the plantation that I saw. I found a likely-looking area, and walked off the path and into the thigh-deep snow. I got into the trees, and promptly spooked a rabbit still in full winter gear. I followed it for a few yards, trying to get close enough for a photo. It took off running, as rabbits are prone to do. I looked up to check the tree I was standing beside and - BOREAL OWL!!! It was staring at me with those bright yellow eyes, wondering who was interrupting its nap. So, it took me all of 2 minutes of searching to find this little guy - I got amazingly lucky. Went back the next day with Kirk and after an hour and a half had nothing to show for our efforts but a small pellet from the day before. I was just happy that I found it - this is the first Boreal Owl I've ever seen (although I've heard them calling before).

Now we are back to winter with a huge storm in the last 24 hours. We got a few inches of snow along with rain and ice pellets yesterday evening. Overnight that turned into pure ice on the roads with wind chills below -20ºC. Woke up briefly at 6 a.m. as the house was shaking - turns out the wind was 80+km/h with gusts up to 100km/h causing power outages in some areas (including the hospital!). This continued through the entire day, mixed with blowing snow causing total whiteouts - driving was quite the experience - averaged around 20km/h as you couldn't see a car or the red lights until they were 20 feet in front of you! Of course, living in the Sault, we still had school, but by the end of the day the highways (along with most of the city) were completely shut down and there were multiple accidents.

Boreal Owl! These photos are uncropped!

February...

Probably one of our weirdest months for weather here in the Sault. Lows of around -30ºC (-22ºF) and highs of 6ºC (43ºF) or so have been normal these last few years, and it can be snowy, rainy, cloudy, or sunny - with no two days exactly the same! At least the days are getting longer, and it stays light until after 6 p.m. now!

On the 14th I hitched a ride with John Ralston to see what was around across the river. We had a great day, with 40 species including Northern Hawk, Snowy, and Great Gray Owls!

Northern Hawk Owl

Snowy Owl in Rudyard

Other than that, I haven't been out birding much - although I have been skiing a couple times and managed to land the biggest jump in the park - a 65 foot gap. I have some videos of me and my friends skiing - they haven't been wanting to upload to the internet though.

Year bird #50

As the title says, I got my 50th year bird today in the form of a Horned Grebe on the river. What's a grebe doing in Sault Ste. Marie in February you ask? We're in one of our midwinter thaws, yesterday we tied a record of 6ºC (43ºF) set back in 1966, and it was at least that warm again today. Unfortunately, that means all of our precipitation comes as rain, and the roads have been getting worse by the day. Two Greater Scaup were also brought in with the warm front, along with robins and many Herring Gulls (they disappeared for a few weeks back in January). Searchmont is also having some bad conditions, with the raining and freezing and melting and whatnot. I was up there on the weekend, had my first-ever park sesh - hit the 40 foot jump by the end and landed it no problem. Also managed to find a flock of around 10 Evening Grosbeaks along with the usual siskins, redpolls, etc.

If you're thinking that 6º is cold, think again! It's actually almost uncomfortably warm here - I am quite comfortable in just a t-shirt and jeans. I can't wait for this thaw to be over so the skiing conditions will get better! Also so the roads will improve, they're bumpy as all hell right now and covered in massive puddles.

On another note, all this melting combined with a broken sump-pump caused my basement to flood this morning. I was rudely awoken at 8 a.m. with the news and got to work before I was even awake (I had spare first which is why I was still asleep at 8 a.m.). We got it mostly cleaned up and the plumber came and installed a new pump, so hopefully there will be no more of that nonsense.

Recent pics

Ok, here are some of my pics from the past little while. Most of them came through without problems, but a few are still getting messed up in the transition from camera to computer for some reason.

I'll start off with a few from the backyard. I've had between 40 and 100 siskins at the feeder every day for the past week. Redpoll numbers have increased from 1 back in early January to 10 a week ago, and now are up to around 40 or 50. They've brought 2 Hoaries with them, 1 is a nice male and the other is a female - possibly of the nominate hornemanni subspecies.

This piebald Pine Siskin has been visiting the feeders since early January. I see him/her every few days.

This is the male Hoary Redpoll - note the lightly streaked sides and clean undertail. He also has a nice pink wash with a pink rump.

Here is a similar-looking male Common Redpoll for comparison (shown with a Pine Siskin). Note the dark streak on the undertail, and more streaking on the flanks.

This is one of the few xanthrochroic siskins that have been visiting the feeders. They aren't green-morphs (like the one I had back in early January - saw it a few days ago as well), but just have an increased amount of yellow in the wings and tail.

Now on to the pictures from the Locks the other day. Here's the main building for the locks themselves.

The Rusty Blackbird which was the main reason for my visit.
One of the 14 American Robins I saw (with a Cedar Waxwing).
One of the flock of around 80 Common Redpolls - feeding on an alder bush.
How many Bohemian Waxwings can you spot?
A few shots of Bohemian Waxwings.
They're a lot fatter than Cedars.
Compare the Bohemian (right) to the Cedars (left). Note the overall gray colouring, with the reddish undertail.

Locks today + recent stuff

I haven't been out for a while, and seeing as there is a Rusty Blackbird hanging out at the Locks I figured I'd best go and see it. Turns out that's not the only thing hanging out there! In addition to the Rusty, I had 14 Robins (very unusual for this time of year to even see 1 or 2), along with 140 Cedar Waxwings, 60 Bohemian Waxwings, and a late Horned Lark. I also had some other birds of interest such as a Brown Creeper (new for the year), 80 Common Redpolls, 10 White-winged Crossbills, and good numbers of ducks (345 Mallards and 16 Black Ducks). I have a bunch of pics which I will hopefully be able to post.

Also recently, I added a new yard bird on January 26th in the form of a juvenile Golden Eagle flying with an adult Bald Eagle! It was also new for my winter list, and was the first one I've seen within the city limits. The same day I had a Hoary Redpoll visit the feeders. On the 27th I set a new record for numbers of birds at my feeders with around 150 finches (100 siskins including 1 green-morph, 40 Redpolls (no Hoary), 5 Goldfinches, and 5 Purple Finches).

With all these finches I figured it'd be a good opportunity to get a few photos, so I went out and crept up on the feeders - a few of the siskins were quite tame and would allow me to within about 8 feet before they started looking nervous so I backed off. I had some good pics, in the nice light...but somehow during the transfer to the computer they all got messed up. So, I'm hoping that this problem was a one-time thing and that I will be able to post my pics from today.

What happened to all my siskin photos:

For now though I'll leave you with a sketch of a Hoary. As you can probably tell I don't spend much time drawing and have never taken an art class...

Hawk Owl!

Despite severe weather warnings, I convinced my mom it would be a good idea to let me across the border for a few hours today in between storms, to look for a couple hawk owls that were reported yesterday. I managed to find one of the two, and got some decent pics when it landed on a telephone pole right next to me! This was only my second-ever Hawk Owl - first one was March 5, 2005. I also added Wild Turkey, Rough-legged Hawk, Evening Grosbeak, and Red-breasted Merganser to the year list - adding in the Red Crossbills I saw yesterday while skiing I'm at 41 for the year (33 sp. today). I think I'm going to put up a page on my site for my day lists - I use them for future reference and lost all my notes from 2005-2008 when the computer crashed - this way they are safe unless freewebs crashes!

On another note, that siskin from the other day is apparently a "green-morph" bird, which make up about 1% of the total siskin population, and are most frequent in the southwestern USA.

Sitting in the tree - first view of it

It flew down the road a ways, then back to the tree - I just stood on the road and watched

Then it flew from the tree to the pole I was standing beside!

I moved around the pole to get a profile view

The Day After

So, after yesterday's excitement, I decided to head out again, this time a bit more locally. I went down to the Locks at 3:30 this afternoon (yes, I know...late start) and found - among the more common species - a Red-necked Grebe, a Greater Scaup, and a Hoary Redpoll, all new for the year, and Greater Scaup was new for my winter list. Even more locally, I had around 40 Pine Siskins in the back yard today, along with one very brightly coloured individual, I'm not sure if it's just more pigmented or if it's a different subspecies. Also had a flock of 7 White-winged Crossbills hanging around the yard, my first ones around here since 2004.

On another note, my 2007 http://www.freewebs.com/ontariobirds/2007.htm and 2008 http://www.freewebs.com/ontariobirds/2008.htm year lists are up for anyone who is interested! Lifers are in blue.

Weird Siskin

Happy New Year!!!

First day of 2009, and after not enough sleep, I went out birding, of course. Had to get a better start than last year! Scored 32 species, an average total for January birding around here. One of my resolutions was to keep better day lists, so here it is (I won't post them up all year unless there is demand for it!). Since they are all new for the year, nothing is bolded. The first five were European Starling, American Goldfinch, Common Redpoll, Rock Pigeon, and Common Goldeneye.

Mute Swan - 7
American Black Duck - 3
Mallard - 183
Common Goldeneye - 84
Hooded Merganser - 4
Common Merganser - 9
Sharp-tailed Grouse - 3
Bald Eagle - 4 (adults)
Herring Gull - 9 (7 adults and 2 1st winters)
Glaucous Gull - 6 (all 1st winters)
Great Black-backed Gull - 1 (3rd winter)
Rock Pigeon - 58
Mourning Dove - 38
Snowy Owl - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Northern Shrike - 1
Blue Jay - 9
American Crow - 1
Common Raven - 44
Black-capped Chickadee - 31
White-breasted Nuthatch - 1
European Starling - 36
American Tree Sparrow - 6
Snow Bunting - 46
Pine Grosbeak - 2
Purple Finch - 36
White-winged Crossbill - 1
Common Redpoll - 33
Pine Siskin - 15
American Goldfinch - 118

Number of Species: 32

2008 recap

Ok, so I'm taking Chris's idea and recapping my year of 2008 birding activities - not as extensive as his, but still pretty good! I should have done this about 2007 - 474 species with 167 lifers over 3 provinces and 7 states - 2008 finished off with 325 species, 41 lifers, 2 provinces, and 9 states (most states are drive-throughs only). Anyway, here is my year in terms of birds (this may take a while to read through, I've shortened it considerably though!):

January 1 - probably spent the day sitting at home, as I added only 5 of the most common species to my list!

January 4 - Downy Woodpecker finally makes an appearance

January 5 - went skiing at Searchmont, stopped along the way to add a very late Northern Pintail and Cackling Goose - year list up to 12!

January 6 - finally got out birding! Highlights were Bald Eagle, Tundra Swan, Northern Cardinal, and Boreal Chickadee.

January 12 - Hairy Woodpecker decides to show itself

January 20 - my first Mourning Dove of 2008!

January 27 - Pileated Woodpecker on the way to school

February 2-3 - Ross's Gull turns up in Niagara Falls, spent the weekend looking for it with no luck. Added 4 lifers though, with Tufted Titmouse, Little Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and King Eider, along with many other gulls and ducks, bringing the list up to 64!

February 16 - Got out birding on the Michigan side, added some UP specialties like Rough-legged Hawk, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Hoary Redpoll, Snow Bunting, and Northern Shrike

March 29 - my next new year bird...what happened? Whitefish Point turned up Red Crossbill, Bohemian Waxwing, Red-shouldered Hawk, Merlin, Golden Eagle, and Northern Harrier - spring is on the way!!

March 31 - Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle arrive!

April 3-8 - Spring is definitely here, with new birds added every day - highlights were American Woodcock, Cackling Goose, Ring-necked Pheasant, Ross's Goose, Eastern Meadowlark, Fox Sparrow and very early Yellow-rumped Warbler and Eastern Phoebe.

April 13-20 - Ducks, grebes and loons are arriving in numbers, along with the earlier passerines and shorebirds - year list breaks 100 with a Blue-winged Teal! April 20 saw the first Swallows, and my lifer Boreal Owl!

April 25 - Owl Prowl with Ken, nabbed American Bittern, Pectoral Sandpiper, Le Conte's Sparrow, Barn Swallow, and Northern Saw-whet Owl for the year.

May 1 - Warbler Month! Started it off on the right foot with Palm, Black-and-white, and Pine Warblers.

May 2-16 - A very busy time for birders, I added around 50 new species to the year list, with a lot of warblers! The details on rarities and events are below.
May 3 saw me leading my first outing, we saw over 50 species in the morning, and I went on to see over 80 species that day. Highlight of the day was my first Ruddy Duck for the Sault!
May 4 I added Great Egret - a rarity up here
May 6 Ken found a Marbled Godwit that stuck around for photos
May 7 a Western Tanager and a Lesser Black-backed Gull showed up in the rain
May 8 was the highlight of my SSM birding for 2008 - Bob found a Tufted Duck within a 5 minute bike ride of home!!!!!!!!
May 12 John found a Willet in the same spot as the Godwit and Tufted Duck were hanging out!
May 16 saw a White-eyed Vireo at the Locks - that makes 7 new birds for SSM in 14 days!

May 17 - birded WPBO again, added 12 species including some warblers, sparrows, and flycatchers, along with Red-bellied Woodpecker - another rarity in the Sault area

May 18 was my Big Day for 2008 - spent 18.5 hours driving over 300 km to see 135 species - a new record for Algoma District as far as I know. I also added 7 year birds.

May 24 saw bird #200 for the year - a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, along with a Red-eyed Vireo at the locks.

May 27-June 2 - My biggest birding trip for the year, went to North Carolina with Kirk, John, and Tim to do some land birding and 3 pelagics. It was an awesome trip, with 169 species total, around 70 year birds and 33 lifers. Finally got to see most of the southeastern warblers (including Swainson's!), along with most of the seabirds that Hatteras is famous for. Seabird highlights were Herald (Trinidade) and Fea's Petrels, all three regular Storm-Petrels, all the regular Shearwaters, a South Polar Skua that hung around the boat for a while, and 2 of the 3 jaegers, including an adult Long-tailed. On the way back we stopped in southern Michigan to add a few more.

June 7 - started work at the Sault Golf Club, added Black-billed Cuckoo and Mourning Warbler while cutting greens!

June 19 - Franklin's Gull shows up near Pumpkin Point! Got it for the Sault area, and spent the rest of the day birding, although added nothing new to the list.

June 20 - Decided to take a day off and headed south of the border, adding Western Meadowlark, Connecticut Warbler, and Upland Sandpiper in Chippewa County.

July 24 - the day before my 17th birthday, added White-winged Crossbill while at work.

July 29-August 5 - Family trip to Manitoba, added 25 year birds and 1 lifer - Hudsonian Godwit. Year bird #300 was a Sprague's Pipit. Other prairie specialties included Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Grebe, Swainson's Hawk, Black-billed Magpie, Loggerhead Shrike, American Avocet, Snow Goose, Prairie Falcon, White-faced Ibis, Piping Plover, and Wilson's Phalarope. Also added an Orchard Oriole on the way back.

August 29 - Finally got Bay-breasted Warbler for the year, and on the Bigby!

September 1 - Black-backed Woodpecker at WPBO - missed them in the winter...

September 21 - Red-throated Loon at WPBO - missed them in spring!

October 18 - Dickcissel turns up at WPBO while we were there! Not new for SSM but always a good bird up here.

November 8-9 - Back to Niagara Falls, added Black-legged Kittiwake to both year and life lists! Also found Cave Swallow, a new one for ON and Canada.

November 15 - Snowy Owl at WPBO becomes my last new bird for the year, #325.

List totals at the end of 2008:
2008 ABA year - 325
2008 Sault year - 228
2008 Bigby - 161
World - 799
ABA - 552
SSM - 266
Ontario - 259
Algoma District - 238
Yard list - 97