Bruce Di Labio's Blog

May 15, 2012 Bald Eagle nesting success.

2012-05-17T22:16:00.001-04:00

The Bald Eagles at Shirley's Bay successfully hatched in late April and at least 2 young were observed being feed by the adults on May 4th and again on May 15th. Now we have our first documented breeding record for the Ottawa district. One adult landed at the nest and fed the young pieces of a small fish.

The nesting Bald Eagles now have two young.

Black-crowned Night-Heron and a pair of Wood ducks at Mud Lake.

The Ovenbird is easier to heard than to see. Fortunately this individual was not difficult to locate as it sang .

May 13, 2012 Red-headed Woodpeckers at Constance Bay.

2012-05-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

At least one adult Red-headed Woodpecker was present at the "old burn site" at Constance Bay. This is the 11th consecutive year the Red-headed Woodpecker at this site. Hopefully another adult will soon arrive. The majority of the dead trees, mainly popular have now fallen but there are still a number of suitable nesting cavities. This is still one of the few breeding locations that remain in the Ottawa district. Since June 2002 the woodpeckers have been successful every summer raising a family.

Directions: Constance Bay: RHWP: From Ottawa travel west bound on Hwy. 417 to the March Rd./Eagleson Road and exit right onto March Rd. Follow to Dunrobin Road and turn right continuing northwest through Woodlawn. At the hill turn right onto Constance Bay Rd following it for approx. 1.5 km. Turn left on Allbirch Road and drive 1.3 km to the " T " intersection. Turn left
on Bishop Davis Drive and then right on Bayview Drive. Follow Bayview Drive to Ritchie St. Turn right and go a short distance to Whistler Rd. Turn left and drive .3 km and watch for a gate on the right. The trail through the burn area is opposite the gate. Parking is limited. Please review the birding code of ethics.

The Red-headed Woodpeckers are back for the 11th consecutive year.

Loggerhead Shrike banding informatio update April 12, 2012

2012-05-15T17:24:00.003-04:00

Of the 5 Loggerhead Shrikes observed on April 12th, 2 had no bands while 3 were colour banded. Out of the 3 colour banded individuals I was able to obtain banding information on two. The first one with left leg- orange over yellow and right leg white over metal/silver was banded in 2010 in the Napanee area while the 2 bird with left leg-green over blue and right leg- blue over metal/silver was banded in 2010-same area. A third bird, I was only able to see part of the band combination. On my next visit I'll try to check band combination again.

April 12, 2012 Loggerhead and Northern Shrikes north of Napanee.

2012-04-21T08:23:00.000-04:00

Spent the morning birding the area north of Napanee in search of Loggerhead Shrike. This area is the last stronghold in eastern Ontario for the shrike. Over the past 40 years there has been a steady decline along the north edge of its range. As a teenager in the Ottawa area back in the early 70's the Loggerhead Shrike was a regular summer sight along back roads in the Shirley's Bay, Carp, Dunrobin, Constance Bay, Kilmaurs, and Kinburn area west of Ottawa and numerous nesting sites south of the Ottawa Airport. Unfortunately during the 80's there was a steady decline which carried into the 90's and by 2000 the only active nests were in the south west of Ottawa near Franktown along Hwy. 15 and along Montague Boundary Road off Roger Stevens Road. Since 2000 there has been only a few confirmed sightings of the Loggerhead Shrike usually during mid April and one nesting on the Quebec side of the Ottawa 50km district. Ben and I observed one along Huntmar Road near Richardson Side Road on April 20, 2011 and there was another sighting recently in the Dunrobin area on April 14, 2012. While looking for Loggerhead Shrike I found at least 3 Northern Shrikes in the same habitat and was able to photograph two of the birds.

I spent a couple of hours driving around the various back roads number of Napanee/Newburgh and located 5 Loggerhead Shrikes including 3 colour banded individuals. It was great to watch them hunt insects successfully. In the general area there was a good number of Eastern Meadowlark, American Kestrel, Eastern Bluebird, and Savannah Sparrows.

Adult Northern Shrike perched.

Immature Northern Shrike hunting.

Loggerhead Shrike

Colour banded Loggerhead Shrike.

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Loggerhead Shrike

Loggerhead Shrike with grub in beak.

Loggerhead Shrike sign.

Loggerhead Shrike sits on fence post as truck passes by.

Loggerhead Shrike hunting along road side. Unfortunately many shrikes are hit by fast moving vehicles along county roads. .

March 27, 2012 Bald Eagle nesting at Shirley's Bay

2012-03-28T11:10:00.002-04:00

After building a nest last spring but not nesting, Bald Eagles have returned to Shirley's Bay. On March 20th I observed 2 adults around the nest and on March 21st, one of the adults was sitting on the nest. On March 27th one adult was still observed sitting. This is the first nesting record for the Ottawa district and it will be interesting to see how the eagles do. During the previous breeding bird atlas (2001-2005) no nesting was documented in the Ottawa area. Occasionally individuals are observed during the summer months along the Ottawa River and mutiplie birds by late August to early September.

After building a nest during the spring of 2011 the Bald Eagles have returned

Bald Eagle sitting on nest at Shirley's Bay.
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March 25, 2012 Presqu'ile Birding

2012-03-28T10:06:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone
Today at Presqu'ile P.P. we observed 2 Snowy Owls off Owen Point, 1 on Gull Island and the second on High Bluff Island. It was interesting that the first one was sitting very close to, two Ring-billed Gulls on a log-maybe the Snowy already had breakfast?? On Owen Point there was a Northern Shrike hunting a Song Sparrow. There were 4 Red-throated Loons on Popham Bay and one off the lighthouse. On a earlier visit to Presqu'ile on March 23rd, I observed a very early Caspian Tern off Owen Point ( not sure what the earliest record is for Ontario?), 1 Virginia Rail calling at the Marsh Boardwalk and a Yellow-rumped Warbler on March 22nd in a flock of Brown Creepers and Golden-crowned Kinglets at Calf Pasture.
Good Birding, Bruce

Directions: Courtesy Fred Helleiner: To reach Presqu'ile Provincial Park, follow the signs from Brighton. Locations within the Park are shown on a map at the back of a tabloid that is available at the Park gate. Access to the offshore islands is restricted at this time of year to prevent disturbance to the colonial nesting birds there. Birders are encouraged to record their observations on the bird sightings board provided near the campground office by The Friends of Presqu'ile Park and to fill out a rare bird report for species not listed there.

March 23, 2012 Long-billed Dowitcher in eastern Ontario

2012-03-28T10:04:00.000-04:00

The recent heat wave to hit eastern Ontario brought with it a number of very early arrivals including a Long-billed Dowitcher just east of Ottawa along Bearbrook Creek off Frank Kenny road. The dowitcher was first observed on March 21st and thought to be a Short-billed Dowitcher. After researching migration data on both short-billed and long-billed is was determined to likely be a Long-billed Dowitcher. The bird wasn't observed on March 22nd but was relocated on March 23rd. It was photographed and studied well and is the first record for March in Ontario with the previous record early date, April 4th. There was also a Long-billed Dowitcher observed on March 22nd near Hillsman Marsh in southern Ontario and a dowitcher reported in upper New York state. Another interesting observation was of a Plegadis (Glossy/White-faced) Ibis on March 23rd Presqu'ile Provincial Park. This is another record early date for any ibis in Ontario. Unfortunately the ibis wasn't relocated.

March 21, 2012 Ross's Goose along the Carp River.

2012-03-21T17:18:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone

While doing some yard work late this morning I observed a Ross's Goose fly over in a flock of Canada Geese. I was able to relocate the Ross's Goose along the Carp River off Rivington Street at 12:05pm. It was still present at 12:20pm. There were also 2 Snow Geese, 1 white and 1 blue morph and 1 Cackling Goose among the 1500+ geese.
Good birding, Bruce

Directions: From Ottawa take Hwy. 417 west to the Carp Road exit. and turn right (north) and follow Carp Road to the village of Carp. After crossing the bridge take the first right (east) on Rivington Street and follow to the end.

Ross's Goose along the Carp River.

March 19, 2012 Back home!

2012-03-21T17:12:00.003-04:00

After 5 weeks on the road leading birding tours in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and 2 Cuba tours, Its now time to catch up on my blog. The past 3 weeks I had no internet access or it was to difficult - to slow to update my blog. It will take a week or so to get caught up. Stay tuned!

February 14, 2012 birding Abaco

2012-02-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

The Bahama Warbler, another endemic is found on Abaco

Bahama Warbler

Bahama Yellowthroat

Todd, Dave and Don after a successful morning in Abaco National Park.

Hairy Woodpecker

Rose-throated Parrots

February 12-13, 2012 birding in the Bahamas

2012-02-23T08:46:00.000-05:00

Spent a few days birding in the Bahamas in search of 5 endemics. On Providence Island, Nassau we were able to find the Bahama Woodstar and a few Carribean specialties.

Spotted Sandpiper overwintering in the Bahamas

A Greater Antillean Grackle in Nassau.

One of the 5 endemic species in the Bahamas, a Bahama Woodstar. We were able to get great views of a few in the Botanic Gardens.

The White-crowned Pigeon is a Carribean specialty.

A Limpkin feeding in the gardens.

The Eurasian Collared Dove is very common on the Bahamas.

Wintering North American warblers were a common sight including this Ovenbird.

The Carribean Dove was easiest to find at the Retreat.

Common Ground Dove

Sora Rail

Western Palm Warblers were very common on the islands.

A female Bahama Woodstar feeding.

The White-cheeked Pintail is another Carribean specialty.

February 10, 2012 Gray Partridge in Kanata

2012-02-10T19:42:00.000-05:00

Hi Ontbirders
This afternoon around 2:00 p.m. I observed 9 Gray Partridge near the corner Terry Fox Drive and Campeau Drive. The partridge were feeding beside the Staples store where there is exposed grass along the buildings foundation on the west side. I also observed a couple of flocks of Bohemian Waxwing 50 and 30 along Kanata Ave near Campeau Drive. There was 1 Northern Shrike near the corner of Richardson Side Road and Huntmar Drive. This is the 10th shrike I've observed in the past week in eastern Ontario.

Directions: This area is north of the Maple Grove Road GRPA site and bordered by Huntmar Road,, Richardson Side Road, Terry Fox Drive and Hwy. 417.

I had just finishing shopping at Staples and as I drove out of the parking lot I noticed a flock of Gray Partridge. They were feeding along the exposed grass on the west side of the store. I didn't have my camera with me but managed a photo with my iPhone.

February 9, 2012 Northern Shrikes on the move north?

2012-02-10T19:29:00.001-05:00

The Northern Shrike is a regular winter visitor to eastern Ontario. The first individuals are usually observed in late October and early November. Over the course of the winter there numbers can vary as birds continue to move south in search of food. Over the past week I've observed 10+ Northern Shrikes in areas that I haven't seen them during the winter so far. I one case the shrike was singing. That was one of the few times I've heard Northern Shrike vocalize south of their breeding grounds. Are these birds on the move south or north already. Maybe just in search of food.

Northern Shrikes appear to be on the move.

February 7, 2012 More Wolfe and Amherst Island birding

2012-02-08T19:37:00.002-05:00

A male Snowy Owl sits on the only available patch of ice in the area.

It was interesting watching this individual from the roadside. It sat for a while and then began to waddle across the ice.

Over 40 + years of birding this was the first time i'd observed a Snowy Owl actually walking. Most times you encounter them on fence posts, Telephone poles, barns, hay bails, but always just sitting and looking.

As we watched it waddling it reminded my more of a penguin than an owl.

The owl finally took flight but only flew a short distance and landed. It stayed there for another hour .

On Amherst Island we located 2 Snowy Owls at the east end of the island.

This juvenile female Snowy Owl was well marked.

A Snowy Owl on ice!

February 5, 2012 Birding Wolfe Island and the Kingston area

2012-02-05T22:25:00.001-05:00

The birding on Wolfe island was very good today with a total of 9 Snowy Owls. Again it was amazing to see no snow cover, felt like spring time! The hawk numbers were low but we saw 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 Merlin, 1 American Kestrel, 8 Rough-legged Hawk, 6 Red-tailed Hawk, 8 Northern Harrier and 3 Bald Eagle. With the lake being wide open, water birds were not concentrated. Highlights included 1 Common Loon off the south shore of Wolfe Island. Back on the mainland at Elevator Bay there was a good concentration of ducks including Redhead, Canvasback, both Lesser and Great Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, and Hooded Merganser. Also in the area were 350+ Gadwall, 9 American Wigeon, 9 American Coot and 1 Belted Kingfisher.

With no snow cover its hard to hide.

Snowy Owl in flight.

A Snowy Owl, living in harmony?

Bald Eagles continue to increase across eastern Ontario.

The Northern Shrike is a regular winter visitor to eastern Ontario.

The Merlin is a rare winter resident in eastern Ontario.

In the Kingston area the Gadwall can sometimes be one of the most common puddle ducks during the winter months.

A male Common Merganser in flight.

February 4, 2012 Eastern Ontario birding: Ste.Rose-Cornwall-Amherst Island

2012-02-05T07:38:00.000-05:00

Had a great day birding various areas in eastern Ontario. The first stop was near Ste. Rose where we observed 3 Snowy owls, 2 being very tame. Also in the area was a flock of 70+ Horned Lark feeding along the roadside. The biggest surprise was the concentration of gulls at the Lafleche Rd landfill. The gulls were loafing in a field on the north side of the road. There were 2,450+ gulls, 1500 Herring , 900 Great Black-backed, 38 Glaucous, 26 Iceland and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. This is now the best landfill site for gulls in eastern Ontario. Historically, The Trail Road Landfill Site, formerly Nepean Dump was the best area for gull watching. Our next stop was along the St.Lawrence at Cornwall where few birds were seen and the river was wide open. Along the Long Sault Parkway at Moulinette Island, a Barred Owl was observed sunning itself at noon..
Along Hwy 401, 2 Northern Shrike and 8 Red-tailed Hawks were counted.
The final stop of the day was at Amherst Island where I was amazed at the lack of snow and no ice on the lake. It looked more like a spring day in early April. In the Owl Woods there was 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl and 1 Long-eared Owl. Many of the trails are ice covered and very slippery. On the KFN property, 1 Snowy Owl was sitting on the most eastern Osprey platform while another was observed along South Shore Road. With calm conditions on Lake Ontario and excellent visibility we counted 7 Common Loon and 3 Horned Grebe which are rare during the winter months. Few hawks were noted as we drove the island roads and counted 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and our fifth owl species of the day, Short-eared Owl.

Directions: Lafleche Rd landfill is located at the dead end of Lafleche Road. From the 417 take road 138 south, turning right on Lafleche road which is the first road south of the 417. The dump is at the end of the dead end road, however, the gulls are best seen loafing in the snow covered field north of the the road. Do not enter the landfill site.

Directions: Amherst Island: Located 18 km. west of Kingston. Exit off Hwy. 401 at exit 593 (County Rd. 4, Camden East) and drive south to the very end (Millhaven). Turn right on Hwy. 33 and drive 100 metres until you see the sign for the Amherst Island ferry. The ferry (20 minute trip) leaves the mainland on the half hour and leaves the island on the hour. Cost is $9.00 Canadian round trip. There are no gas stations on the island. There are restrooms on the ferry, and at the island ferry dock. The East End K.F.N. property is at the easternmost part of the island on the east side of the Lower Forty Foot Road.

Because of liability issues, visitors to the Kingston Field Naturalists' property at the east end of Amherst Island MUST be accompanied by a KFN member. For KFN contact information or how to become a member, please visit http://kingstonfieldnaturalists.org/ ."

A very tame Snowy owl.

Horned Larks are on the move.

Gull loafing in a nearby field at the Lefleche Landfill Site.

The Barred Owl is easily recognized by its dark eyes and streaked breast.

The Barred Owl frequents backyard feeder in search of rodents.

One of the few Northern Saw-whet Owls wintering on Amherst island.

With no snow cover it felt like a late March day.

February 3, 2012 Bohemian Waxwings on the move.

2012-02-04T19:13:00.000-05:00

Bohemian Waxwings continue to move into the Ottawa area in numbers. Today, Feb. 3, I observed my largest flock of the year, 750+ near the corner of Carling Ave. and March Road. The waxwings were feeding along the west side of the intersection back towards Beaverbrook area in Kanata. On Feb.2, a couple of flocks were observed in Bells Corners, 50+ and 40+. On Feb.1st 150+ were observed along March Road near Shirleys Brook and finally on January 30, I observed 350+ in the Dunrobin area. There are still lots of Buckthorn berries in patches around the city and these irregular winter visitors may just be beginning to increase as they search for their favorite berries.

Final results Dunrobin,On.-Breckenridge, PQ. Christmas Bird Count

2012-01-31T16:23:00.002-05:00

2011/12 REPORT
The 31st Annual Dunrobin (ON) - Breckenridge (QC) Christmas Bird Count took place on Thursday, December 29, 2011. A total of 35 field observers and 7 feeder watchers recorded 50 species and 8,430 individuals.

Weather Conditions:
A very cold day. If you were a polar bear you would have felt at home! With an overnight low of -19c the temperature dropped to -21c at dawn and a wind chill of -30c! Over the course of the day the temperature remained around -17c with a wind chill of -24c. The winds were mainly from the W for most of the day at 15 km and skies were partly cloudy.
A week earlier the Ottawa River was wide open but froze over just prior to the count. On the day of the count, a few some small creeks and storm sewer outlets were open in the Kanata North area and there were a couple of small opening on the Ottawa River. The cone crop was again poor over most of the count circle but there was still a good berry crop including Mountain Ash, Buckthorn, and Crab-apple.

Sunrise: 7:42 a.m.
Sunset: 4:27 p.m.

Species:
Despite the extreme cold and quiet start it was a fun day in the field. Like the past couple of years, not a lot of activity but definitely lots of interesting observations. Again, the few bird feeders that were full of seed had good concentrations of birds. The empty feeder syndrome continues in eastern Ontario? Not sure why!

There were no new species found so both Boreal Owl and Northern Mockingbird are still likely candidates for next year. A number of interesting observations were made, including: Canada Goose, Bald Eagle, Snowy Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Brown-headed Cowbird.

New Species: No new species and the overall total remains at 110 species.

Record Highs:

Previous Highs are shown in parentheses followed by year.

· Cooper’s Hawk 6 (4,3yrs.)

· Merlin 3 (2,06,07)

· American Robin 253 (34, 2004)

Tied Record Highs:

Previous record year in parentheses.

Fox Sparrow 1 (1995)

Winter Finches:

· Pine Grosbeak (1)

· Purple Finch (5)

· White-winged Crossbill (5)

· Red Crossbill (0)

· Common Redpoll (4)

· Hoary Redpoll (0)

· Pine Siskin (181)

· American Goldfinch (861)

· Evening Grosbeak (0)

A few Dunrobin-Breckenridge statistics:

Total Species:

· Record High 68 (2001)

· Record Low 32 (1999)

Total Individuals:

· Record High 12,554 (1986)

· Record Low 798 (1999)

I would like to thank the field observers and sector leaders for their great effort and my wife, Laurie, for preparing the wonderful post-count supper and to all participants who brought deserts, food and wine to celebrate the 31^stanniversary!

The tentative date for the 32nd annual Dunrobin-Breckenridge CBC is Saturday, January 5, 2013, hope to see you there!

If you wish to see the results from all of the CBC's since they began, visit the Audubon Society Website.

Good birding,
Bruce Di Labio
Dunrobin-Breckenridge CBC Compiler

Species	Number	Records	Comments
Canada Goose	9
American Black Duck	3
Mallard	20
Ruffed Grouse	9		low
Wild Turkey	100
Bald Eagle	6
Sharp-shinned Hawk	3
Cooper's Hawk	6	*	Record High
Northern Goshawk	1		scarce nowadays
Red-tailed Hawk	13
Rough-legged Hawk	6
Merlin	3	*	Record High
Rock Pigeon	491
Mourning Dove	222
Great Horned Owl	1		low
Snowy Owl	1		scarce nowadays
Barred Owl	1
Northern Saw-whet Owl	1
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1		3rd record
Downy Woodpecker	52
Hairy Woodpecker	62
Pileated Woodpecker	11
Northern Shrike	12
Blue Jay	276
American Crow	904
Common Raven	107
Horned Lark	1
Black-capped Chickadee	1280
Red-breasted Nuthatch	22
White-breasted Nuthatch	85
Brown Creeper	6
American Robin	253	*	Record High
European Starling	920
Bohemain Waxwing	195
Cedar Waxwing	123
Lapland Longspur	3
Snow Bunting	1786
American Tree Sparrow	140
Fox Sparrow	1	***	ties Record High
Dark-eyed Junco	119
Northern Cardinal	35
Brown-headed Cowbird	1
Pine Grosbeak	1
Purple Finch	5
House Finch	3
White-winged Crossbill	5
Common Redpoll	4
Pine Siskin	181
American Goldfinch	861
House Sparrow	79


Total Species:	50
Total Individuals:	8,430


Record High*
New Record**
Ties Record High***

	SPECIES	RECORD	YEAR	NUMBER OF	FIRST YEAR	LAST YEAR
		HIGH		YEARS	RECORDED	RECORDED
				RECORDED
1	Canada Goose	284	1989	14	1983	2011a
2	Wood Duck	1	2006	1	2006	2006
3	American Black Duck	148	1987	27	1982	2011a
4	Mallard	116	2011	28	1982	2011a
5	Northern Pintail	1	1994	1	1994	1994
6	Green-winged Teal	1	1994	1	1994	1994
7	Ring-necked Duck	2	94,06	2	1994	2006
8	Lesser Scaup	3	1993	4	1988	1994
9	White-winged Scoter	6	2006	1	2006	2006
10	Common Goldeneye	58	2006	8	1983	2006
11	Hooded Merganser	2	1993	6	1984	2006
12	Common Merganser	36	2001	8	1985	2006
13	Red-breasted Merganser	1	2001	1	2001	2001
14	Gray Partridge	61	1984	15	1982	2000a
15	Ring-necked Pheasant	1	1997	1	1997	1997
16	Ruffed Grouse	65	1989a	30	1982	2011a
17	Wild Turkey	228	2010	12	2000	2011a
18	Common Loon	1	2001	1	2001	2001
19	Red-necked Grebe	1	2001	1	2001	2001
20	Great Blue Heron	2	2011	7	1990	2011
21	Bald Eagle	9	2001	15	1983	2011a
22	Northern Harrier	3	2001	4	1994	2011
23	Sharp-shinned Hawk	5	2000	22	1982	2011a
24	Cooper's Hawk	6	2011a	17	1984	2011a
25	Northern Goshawk	6	1991	26	1982	2010
26	Red-shouldered Hawk	1	98,07,09	3	1998	2009
27	Red-tailed Hawk	40	2006	31	1982	2011a
28	Rough-legged Hawk	31	1988	26	1982	2011a
29	American Kestrel	17	1988	27	1982	2011
30	Merlin	3	2011a	6	1991	2011a
31	Gyrfalcon	1	94,95	2	1994	1995
32	American Coot	1	1993	1	1993	1993
33	Wilson's Snipe	1	1988	1	1988	1988
34	Ring-billed Gull	3	2000	3	2000	2011
35	Herring Gull	1225	2001	15	1983	2011
36	Iceland Gull	4	2000	4	1997	2004a
37	Glaucous Gull	15	2000	6	1995	2004a
38	Great Black-backed Gull	301	2001	10	1987	2011
39	Rock Pigeon	845	2002	31	1982	2011a
40	Mourning Dove	577	2002	31	1982	2011a
41	Eastern Screech-Owl	3	2005	11	1986	2007
42	Great Horned Owl	53	1988	30	1982	2011a
43	Snowy Owl	6	1988	12	1982	2011a
44	Northern Hawk Owl	2	88,01	9	1982	2011
45	Barred Owl	9	2011	26	1982	2011a
46	Great Gray Owl	6	2004a	5	1984	2009
47	Long-eared Owl	3	1982	8	1982	2000a
48	Short-eared Owl	5	1982	3	1982	1994
49	Northern Saw-whet Owl	2	88,89,11	10	1983	2011a
50	Belted Kingfisher	1	88,98,11	3	1988	2011
51	Red-headed Woodpecker	2	2005	2	2004a	2005
52	Red-bellied Woodpecker	2	2011	3	1989	2011a
53	Downy Woodpecker	89	1984	31	1982	2011a
54	Hairy Woodpecker	134	1984	31	1982	2011a
55	Am.Three-toed Woodpecker	6	1998	11	1983	2006
56	Black-backed Woodpecker	6	2000	19	1982	2006
57	Northern Flicker	2	95,95a	12	1982	2011
58	Pileated Woodpecker	29	2002	31	1982	2011a
59	Northern Shrike	25	1988	31	1982	2011a
60	Gray Jay	1	83,95	2	1983	1995
61	Blue Jay	566	1995	31	1982	2011a
62	American Crow	1024	2007	31	1982	2011a
63	Common Raven	167	2001	31	1982	2011a
64	Horned Lark	399	2001	29	1982	2011a
65	Black-capped Chickadee	1859	1983	31	1982	2011a
66	Boreal Chickadee	6	1987	10	1982	2005
67	Red-breasted Nuthatch	213	2000a	31	1982	2011a
68	White-breasted Nuthatch	179	2002	31	1982	2011a
69	Brown Creeper	41	2000a	30	1982	2011a
70	Carolina Wren	1	1988	1	1988	1988
71	Winter Wren	1	1993	2	1993	2004
72	Golden-crowned Kinglet	71	1983	24	1982	2011
73	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	1995	1	1995	1995
74	Eastern Bluebird	6	1999	1	1999	1999
75	Hermit Thrush	1	2001	1	2001	2001
76	American Robin	253	2011a	23	1982	2011a
77	Gray Catbird	1	2007	1	2007	2007
78	Brown Thrasher	1	10,11	2	2010	2011
79	Varied Thrush	1	1988	1	1988	1988
80	European Starling	1196	2002	31	1982	2011a
81	Bohemian Waxwing	1315	2009	22	1982	2011a
82	Cedar Waxwing	273	2002	11	1985	2011a
83	Yellow-rumped Warbler	1	1983	1	1983	1983
84	American Tree Sparrow	316	1983	30	1982	2011a
85	Savannah Sparrow	1	2000	1	2000	2000
86	Fox Sparrow	1	95,11a	2	1995	2011a
87	Song Sparrow	6	1997	21	1983	2011
88	Swamp Sparrow	1	88,93	2	1988	1993
89	White-throated Sparrow	2	1997	9	1983	2011
90	White-crowned Sparrow	1	2006	1	2006	2006
91	Dark-eyed Junco	154	1985	31	1982	2011a
92	Lapland Longspur	31	1995	19	1982	2011a
93	Snow Bunting	4040	1986	31	1982	2011a
94	Northern Cardinal	79	2002	29	1982	2011a
95	Red-winged Blackbird	4	1999	9	1983	2011
96	Eastern Meadowlark	2	87,97,98	5	1982	2002
97	Rusty Blackbird	1	87,88,97	3	1987	1997
98	Common Grackle	2	82,00	9	1982	2001
99	Brown-headed Cowbird	11	1993	6	1982	2011a
100	Pine Grosbeak	277	2009	19	1982	2011a
101	Purple Finch	170	1993	16	1983	2011a
102	House Finch	107	1993	22	1988	2011a
103	Red Crossbill	10	1991	7	1982	2001
104	White-winged Crossbill	649	1989a	20	1982	2011a
105	Common Redpoll	2769	1994	25	1982	2011a
106	Hoary Redpoll	4	86,07	13	1982	2011
107	Pine Siskin	949	2000a	26	1982	2011a
108	American Goldfinch	1360	1995	31	1982	2011a
109	Evening Grosbeak	1931	1988	25	1982	2011
110	House Sparrow	1293	1983	31	1982	2011a

January 27 and 29, 2012 Fork-tailed Flycatcher in Florida

2012-01-27T20:30:00.001-05:00

After reading a number of posts about a Fork-tailed Flycatcher near Ruskin, Florida I decided to take a quick run over to look for it since I was in the area for a few days. We arrived at 3:00pm and after a short while spotted the flycatcher at a distance sitting on a fence line. Had good views through the scope before it disappeared. At around 3:45pm it reappeared at the end of Lost River Trail and sat in one of its favorite trees and put on a wonderful display fly-catching. At that point we noticed that one of its outer tail feathers was missing. This was a first for my North America list, #715.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Fork-tailed flycatcher missing outer tail feather.

Coming in for a landing.

Perched in one of its favorite trees, the Fork-tailed Flycatcher would sit for a while before fly catching.

The Fork-tailed flycatcher is a casual visitor to eastern North America. Most records are from the spring and fall season but a few occur during winter in Florida and Texas.

Spent a couple of hours birding Fort DeSoto on January 29th. With the great weather there were lots of visitors to the park. At the North Beach a small number of shorebirds were noted including 16 Red Knot, 6 Black-bellied Plover and 3 Wilson's Plover. In the nearby woods, both Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers were plentiful, flitting about feeding.

American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatcher feeding.

Forster's Tern stretching.

A Loggerhead Shrike waits for the right moment.

It changes perches before it strikes its prey.

A successful catch!

A young Royal Tern still begging for food.

Winter plumage Ruddy Turnstone feeding on the beach.

Willet

Turkey Vultures were very common.

Wilson's Plover

Innis Point Bird Observatory 30th Anniversary Dinner

2012-01-27T09:08:00.000-05:00

Innis Point Bird Observatory 30th Anniversary Dinner and Silent Auction

February 28th 2012 @ 6PM

at the Marconi Centre, 1062 Baseline Rd.

Ottawa, ON

With a Special Guest Speaker

MICHAEL RUNTZ

“Lovers, Killers, Hoarders and Thieves: the

Untold Story of Birds"

Michael has been an enthusiastic birdwatcher since the age of five. He

has worked as an interpretive naturalist in provincial and national parks,

conducted biological surveys across Ontario, hosted an international

television series Wild by Nature, published 10 books on natural history

(the latest is titled Natural History), written more than 1,000 newspaper

and magazine natural history articles, and currently teaches Natural

History and Ornithology at Carleton University. Through the years,

Michael has received numerous awards including the Council of Canadian

University Biology Chairs Public Science Education Award, and the

Carleton University Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tickets: $40 (or $300 for an eight‐person table)

Cash Bar

Free Parking

Purchase tickets by February 18.

No tickets sold at the door.

For tickets call/email: 613‐725‐2362, e.slump@rogers.com

613‐255‐7584, procorvus@hotmail.com

For more details and updates, check out our Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/InnisPointBirdObservatory

Introduction

Founded in 1982 as the Ottawa

Banding Group, the Innis Point Bird

Observatory (IPBO) is located along

the Ottawa River, near Shirley's Bay,

in Ontario, Canada (just 16 km west

of Parliament). IPBO is a registered

Canadian charity dedicated to the

study of birds and natural history.

IPBO members/volunteers participate

in projects year-round at Innis Point

and Ottawa area.

Projects

• Spring Migration Monitoring

Program (SMMP)

• Monitoring Aviation Productivity

and Survivorship (MAPS)

• Bluebird Trail

• Tree Swallow Nesting Boxes

• Purple Martin Colony

• Winter Bird Feeders

• Osprey Nesting Platforms

• Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding

• Snow Bunting Banding

• Butterfly Garden

IPBO is a member of the Canadian

Migration Monitoring Network:

www.bsc-eoc.org/volunteer/cmmn/ IPBO

http://www.ipbo.ca/

http://www.facebook.com/InnisPointBirdObservatory

info@ipbo.ca

January 25, 2012 More backyard birding

2012-01-26T10:14:00.000-05:00

After yesterdays excitement my feeders were back in action with many of usual visitors. The American Goldfinch were busy with the niger feeders while Mourning Doves fed below picking up any seeds that fell. A European Starling almost back in spring plumage devoured the suet as both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers waited. Unfortunately no Saw-whet today, likely a "one day wonder".

American Goldfinch enjoying niger seed.

A European Starling sits on top of the suet feeder. Note the lack of spots now and bill colour turning yellow.

Once a rare winter visitor the Mourning Dove is now a regular feeder bird during the winter months.

January 24, 2012 New backyard bird, #172

2012-01-25T11:33:00.001-05:00

After spending 4 days birding/owling on Amherst Island in search of Northern Saw-whet and other owls, I find one in my backyard! A new species for the yard list, #172. Fortunately, I heard a Black-capped Chickadee giving a soft scolding dee-dee-dee call from our cedar hedge and I investigated. Sitting about 7 feeet up in a white cedar was the owl. I've now recorded 5 species of owls on my property including Great Gray (during the invasion winter of 2004-05), Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl. The owl struck around long enough that Ben got to see it after school. Anything is possible!
Good Birding, Bruce

Northern Saw-whet Owl #172 for my yard list!

January 21-23, 2012 More Amherst Island birding

2012-01-25T11:31:00.000-05:00

The island raptor numbers continued to change by the day. Over a 3-day tour we managed to find everything that was in the "Owl woods" on my Friday tour but if took a lot of searching! With a very low number of owls it takes longer to locate them and we never had the same owls the following day. On Saturday, January 21st, a late afternoon visit produced both Snowy owl and Short-eared owl but no owls in the "Owl Woods". On January 22nd our first run out we found a Northern Saw-whet Owl, different from Friday's. It made me wonder if there was a movement of saw-whets either north or south? A late afternoon visit to the island produced "0" owls. Not sure if everything is just moving around the island. Our final visit on January 23rd to the "Owl Woods" was again different. No saw-whets but I finally located 1 very cooperative Long-eared Owl which made the day! We did a quick run around the island and found a small number of hawks, total 20, with the high count coming from Northern Harrier 8, Red-tailed Hawk 6, and Rough-legged Hawk 6. There is very little snow on the island and it appears that there are few rodents. Hopefully things will pick up soon.

good birding, Bruce

A Short-eared Owl roosting in a White Spruce.

I've observed Short-eared Owls roosting numerous times but this was my first time to actually see one sitting and able to photograph it.

A Northern Saw-whet Owl sitting with prey.

So far, very few Northern Saw-whet Owls have been observed this winter.

Even Long-eared Owls has been very scarce this winter.

Sunset on Amherst Island.

January 20, 2012 Amherst Island birding

2012-01-25T11:30:00.001-05:00

The bird activity on Amherst Island continues to change daily. The "Owl Woods" was somewhat quiet but we managed to find 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl, my first since checking in late October. There have been very few reports of any owls from the "Owl Woods" this season. The feeders were active with 30+ House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, American Tree sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco. Both Short-eared and Long-eared Owls, one of each were found roosting in the woods. A drive around the island netted a few Snowy Owl and still low numbers of hawks, including Red-tailed, Rough-legged, American Kestrel, and Northern Harrier.

Good birding, Bruce

Directions: Amherst Island: Located 18 km. west of Kingston. Exit off Hwy. 401 at exit 593 (County Rd. 4, Camden East) and drive south to the very end (Millhaven). Turn right on Hwy. 33 and drive 100 metres until you see the sign for the Amherst Island ferry. The ferry (20 minute trip) leaves the mainland on the half hour and leaves the island on the hour. Cost is $9.00 Canadian round trip. There are no gas stations on the island. There are restrooms on the ferry, and at the island ferry dock. The East End K.F.N. property is at the easternmost part of the island on the east side of the Lower Forty Foot Road.

Because of liability issues, visitors to the Kingston Field Naturalists' property at the east end of Amherst Island MUST be accompanied by a KFN member. For KFN contact information or how to become a member, please visit http://kingstonfieldnaturalists.org/ ."

A Common Redpoll feeding on White Cedar cones.

First recorded in Ontario during the early 70's the House Finch is now a regular sight in south Ontario.

A Snowy Owl sits quietly.

Easy to overlook at the best of times as they roost during the day. This Northern Saw-whet Owl was sitting 15-20 feet up a Jack Pine.

January 18, 2012 Birding Amherst Island

2012-01-19T22:53:00.000-05:00

Made a quick trip to Amherst Island and found no snow on the island and no ice on the water. It looked more like late fall. I check the usual spots and found 3 Snowy Owls at the east end, KFN property and 1 along the South Shore Road. The Short-eared Owls starting flying at 4:14pm both east and west of Stella. A small number of hawks were observed including Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks along with American Kestrel. With the wide of waters I counted late 7 Common Loons and 1 Red-necked Grebe off the South Shore Road.

Good birding, Bruce

Amherst Island Ferry

Icy road conditions to the Owl Woods.

With no snow cover, Snowy Owls were easy to pick out.

Short-eared Owls were already hunting at 4:15pm.

The Short-eared Owl is a regular winter resident on Amherst Island in small numbers.