I spent two hours today at the Cranberry Hawk Watch but loneliness, the high humidity and 32C temperatures drove me to the comfort of home. I only saw one migrating raptor (an adult Bald Eagle), but did see hunting Cooper's Hawk, American Kestrel and a Northern Harrier - all were locals who have staked out territories for awhile at Cranberry, so are not recorded as migrants.
What does one do at a hawkatch when it's that hot and the hawks aren't flying? well ... one observes: 42 species of birds, 3 butterflies and 3 dragonflies amused me. Best birds were: Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, 21 Bobolinks, Solitary Sandpiper, Blackpoll Warbler and Blue-grey Gnatcatcher. The following species were in full song: Northern Cardinal, Swamp Sparrow, Virginia Rail, Mourning Dove, Marsh Wren and Song Sparrow - not as rare as one would think, but this was a very good mix of songsters! Interactions between species is common, especially during migration as many birds compete for food and cover. This is a partial list of what I observed: a Green Darner (a dragonfly for those who don't study these creatures) aggressively chased a Ruby-throated Hummingbird away from the jewelweed that the dragonfly had been hunting; a cardinal confronted a mourning dove that was hogging a feeder - the cardinal made a sound best described as a grunt -never heard one do this before - it did this repeatedly but the dove never gave up its seat! one hummingbird chased everything in sight - it undertook a very aggressive display against a Nashville Warbler - the interaction was really interesting as the hummer would repeatedly fly sideways and up and down (sort of like a pendulum) in front of the warbler. The latter was clearly disturbed by the repeated challenges by the hummer over a 2-3 minute period. After a few minutes, the hummer was distracted by two other hummers and went on a chaotic chase after them. In the absence of the hummer, the warbler snuck off to a more peaceful place! and you thought nothing happens on hot days! and a reminder - Doug Lockrey has served the hawkwatch admirably for many years and of late is not as mobile as he would like. Pls remember to enter the data you see on one of the recording sheets available at the site. I know that people were there yesterday, but no data was recorded - remember if you see something of interest and no one is writing it down, then the data is lost forever - pls do your part! Cranberry Marsh can be reached by exiting 401 at Salem Rd in Ajax going south to Bayly St and then east to Hall's Road and then south to the south platform trail. Geoff Carpentier www.avocetnatureservices.com _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
