Fall is drawing to a close, and, as it does, migrants (as well as vagrants from far afield) have become less frequent in Ontario. The following are a couple of birds I scored this autumn that I couldn’t squeeze into my previous few posts but deserve their time in the spotlight all the same. Black Vulture vs. Red-tailed Hawk Now that I’ve reeled you in with a clickbaity title.… On the morning of October 26, I crammed my optics (scope and all!) into my backpack and set out on my bike to do some local birding in the Dundas area. After a decidedly meh start exploring the Spencer Creek trail (see eBird checklist), I went looking for owls. Despite lots of optimal habitat, I found not a single owl. I did see a pair of Common Ravens, a species which I’ve seen a lot more of in places where one wouldn’t usually expect them (they are less frequent “down the Mountain” in Hamilton). It seems that it’s not only finches that are pushing south en masse this Fall. I decided to try for the Black Vulture that had been hanging around in Dundas the last few days. Originally spotted in flight by Jon Pleizier on October 20, the bird had stuck around in the area, roosting on top of buildings and trees on the edge of town. The species was neither a year bird nor a Hamilton lifer for me (I chased another in Dundas back when I was first getting into birding), but I was pleased to quickly locate the bird hanging out with some Turkey Vultures atop a vent on an apartment complex. More interesting to me, however, was watching a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk catch and devour a rodent at the nearby Canal Park.
Fix It in Post I went to Mattress Landing, my morning flight stakeout location just east of Port Burwell, on October 29. Despite stiff northeast winds, it was a weak day for raptor migration with a total of five raps before 11:00 AM when I left. One of the five was a chunky accipiter that cruised by low heading west soon before I called it a day. I snapped some pics, which, at this point, is a reflex for me when it comes to any close flybys. Honestly, I didn’t think much of the bird; perhaps it is because I have only once seen a goshawk before, or maybe it’s because I’ve convinced myself a few too many times that a big, female Cooper’s Hawk is a gos before examining photos to find I am mistaken. Upon reviewing the photos that evening, however, I found (thanks to some input from friends) that the bird I had was indeed an immature Northern Goshawk. Ontario year bird #303 and the first goshawk I’ve ever seen migrating! I really should have known. Goshawks have a hulking diaphragm that doesn’t taper off much toward the tail end of the bird (on Coops it does), and streaking on young birds like this one is much darker and blotchier than on other accipiters. Ontario’s breeding population of Northern Goshawks primarily summer in northern Ontario and are famous for defending their nests zealously and without mercy. They are a low density migrant in southern Ontario.
I’m less mortified to admit that I found a few flocks of (presumed) Red Crossbills in my photos from the day. Red Crossbills’ flight calls are a bit tougher to pick out than those of White-winged Crossbills, and I am only semi-familiar with both. This was a new patch bird for Mattress at the time, though, as noted in my previous blog post, we’ve had others since. Check out the October 29 checklist here! The Bravest of Friends That same day, I made the trek up from Lake Erie to the northern shore of the Golden Horseshoe to chase a Purple Sandpiper that had been found on October 24 by Bruce Wilkinson at Colonel Sam Smith Park in Etobicoke. Though you wouldn’t know it from my lousy species count for the park, I used to consider CSSP my patch (I'm cheating on it now with Mattress Landing) since I am a student at Humber College’s Lakeshore campus, which literally backs out onto Colonel Sam. It was nice to revisit the area after a COVID-induced off-campus semester. I was able to connect with some friends from the area with whom I met up at the lakeside park. After hearing its distinctive chattering, my friend Brendan spotted our target shorebird (Ontario year bird #304 for me) relocating along the rocks at Whimbrel Point. The little fellow took up on its boulder of choice and hung out there until we left, unperturbed by the crashing waves. Purple Sandpipers breed in the high Arctic and winter along North America’s Atlantic coast, frequently wandering into the Great Lakes during Fall migration.
After vibing with our purple friend for a little bit, I turned toward home, and, despite some pre-rush-hour traffic, made it to Dundas in time to see a Cattle Egret James Lees had found earlier that day. It was hanging out with some horses on a lovely piece of land in Dundas Valley, and the homeowners were very happy to welcome birders onto their property to see it. Cattle Egrets are from down south, but they are an annual vagrant in Ontario. This is only the second Cattle Egret I've seen in the province, the first being in Hamilton last September. Ontario year bird #305 for me.
GTA Beauties I went to Mattress Landing on November 20 hoping that the strong southwest winds (terrible for migrants) would bring a neotropic vagrant careening along the bluffs. And they may well have! but impatience got the better of me, and, after just over an hour of very frustrating birding, I headed north in search of safer bets. My target was a Black-throated Gray Warbler found by Sean the Mon that had been hanging out in Woodbine Park near the Toronto lakefront for a few days. Socially distanced mobs of birders and photographers with optics poised made it easy to find where the warbler was spending its time. The bird was feeding among the vegetation beside an unfrozen pond with artificially recycled water. Something that I’ve noticed (this isn’t some sort of groundbreaking revelation) is that insect-eating winter/late Fall rarities often show up beside warm bodies of water (Western Kingbird at Canal Park in Hamilton, White-eyed Vireo and Cave Swallow at Sedgwick Park in Halton, etc.), as these provide the birds with concentrations of food. Wouldn’t be a bad strategy to check these sort of spots (especially under-birded ones) from November to February; who knows what you’ll find! Black-throated Grays, one of the few New World warblers that the West has on the East, show up in Ontario almost annually, usually in the late Fall and winter. They are hardy birds that often survive a long time even in Ontario’s harsh winter conditions.
After enjoying the warb for a little while, I hit up some GTA owl hotspots and stalked evergreens in search of a Northern Saw-whet or Long-eared Owl. Low and behold, I came across one of the former hunkered in a stand of cedars.
Tips for finding Northern Saw-whet Owls:
Saw-whets are at peak migration around mid to late October in southern Ontario, but they pass through during the entire months of October and November. During the day, they can be found in dense trees and shrubs, usually evergreens. The denser the foliage, the better it is for Saw-whets. This is why cedars are their preferred roost. They can often be found in pine and spruce trees, but they prefer young ones as these are usually denser (bite-sized trees for bite-sized owls!). They are not exclusive to evergreens however, and can sometimes be found in dense tangles of deciduous veg, like grape or dogwood. Look for them at or below eye level, though there are of course exceptions. Minimize disturbance when looking for Saw-whets (and any owls for that matter). Once you find a one, do not get too close, and be quiet; not all species of owls are nocturnal, but Saw-whets are one of the ones that sleep during the day. Be careful about publicizing sightings of owls as not everyone will be as respectful to the birds as you, and harassing birds is of course the last thing we want to do! My friend Gabriel Evans-Cook took the following video of the owl later that evening. Cuteness overload!
Oh So Subtle Differences On November 23, Jamie Spence and Marcie Jacklin saw a (then) probable Mew Gull in the Niagara gorge right under the Falls. At the time of writing this, there were twenty-nine accepted records of Mew Gull in Ontario. This species breed in northwestern North America and winters on the Pacific coast. The initial photos of this bird were not enough to confirm the species, and California Gull was an identification courted by some. The next morning, Marcie and Jamie refound the bird and got diagnostic photos confirming it was an adult Mew Gull. Things to look for: dorsal side of the wings are slightly darker than that of Herring and Ring-billed Gulls; slighter, almost pure yellow bill; large, white spot at primary tips. Even with many eyes and optics on the river for the rest of the day, however, the gull was not refound…in Niagara. In a wild turn of events, Sarah Lamond found an adult Mew Gull later that afternoon at Mohawk Lake in Brantford over a hundred kilometres away. Gulls at Mohawk Lake (many people saw the Slaty-backed Gull there last winter) feed in the nearby dump and fly on and off the lake when they're not feeding, so it seemed a pretty good bet that the gull would be there the next day. It was, and so was I, but not at the same time! I had to leave for work at around 11:15 AM, and the gull didn't show up until the afternoon. Lots of people saw it, however, and many photos were obtained. I went back the next day, and, just before I had to leave at 2:45 for work, the Mew Gull showed up. After my shift, I got the news that Alvan Buckley had found an adult Mew Gull (see checklist with photos) in Hamilton Harbour at around 4:40 PM, an hour after the Brantford bird had flown off of Mohawk Lake. Three adult Mew Gulls in southern Ontario at once?! It sounds bizarre, but almost more bizarre would be the same bird being at (let alone being seen at) three distinct locations none of which are all that close. After some study, however, it was found that all three are likely either the same bird or two individuals (Josh Vandermeulen pointed out that the Hamilton bird appears to have slightly different bill markings). The jury's still out on whether the Mew Gull(s) is/are the European subspecies of (known as "Common" Gull) or the American subspecies, but the majority of people are leaning American. I saw a few Mew Gulls in British Columbia this summer, but I'm really in no position to tackle the subspecies of this gull. Take a look at this bird for yourself. An Ontario lifer and year bird #311 for me.
Pacific Loon: a haiku A great find by Rob I drove to LaSalle…success! I went home and slept
Sometimes birding is just that simple. See you in the field!