***Appologies for the last baffled email, it seems that Ontbirds converted my
text by condensing it and the bird list and eBird checklists got pretty
jumbled. I think I have corrected that below, although I won't know until the
actually post is made it seems. If it doesn't work, you can always check out
the checklists online using eBird tools*** Hello keen birders. And I do mean
keen. You might think that one would have to be a bit crazy to venture into
the James Bay region at this point in the year and that's where I come in. I
had always planned on going to James Bay this fall but given the number of
great birds that were continually showing up in late October I decided to stick
it out down here in the south which was a fabulous idea as I was rewarded with
Tufted Duck, Glossy Ibis, Purple Sandpiper, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Cave
Swallows and a Pacific Loon among others. When November came around it didn't
seem like much was happening and it sure didn't seem like those Red Phalaropes
were making much of an appearance in Ontario this year so I threw in the towel
and arranged a trip to Netitishi Point, Southern James Bay, Ontario.
Many of you should be aware of this place because it has been posted about
several times during the last few Fall seasons and this year was no exception
with J. Vandermuelen and A. Wormington having gone earlier in the season. Well
it was a whole different ball game when I went up there. Three weeks of
migration had gone by in that time and both the birds and numbers had changed,
most dramatically so in the numbers.
I will post below the eBird checklists I have generated on a daily basis from
my trip. The lists are extremely accurate and reflect most of the birds to be
seen there this time of year, with some interesting finds from both southerly
and northerly winds. I spent a great many hours in the field (approximately
7hrs. per day for 10 days) and counted every bird even the ones that I wasn't
sure of. It should be noted here that there were a great deal of birds that I
was unable to identify. This simply reflects the great distances and extreme
weather events that can and did occur such as high north winds, snow squalls,
high waves and low tides. Combined, these factors can make birding very
difficult up there. You will understand more fully I think when you read the
eBird checklists. Very little of this was due to observer error, though
admittedly there were a few that I think if given another second or two view I
should have been able to confirm.
***I would not suggest that you do a trip like this unless you have A) a lot of
patience, B) are willing to devote a bit of money and understand that you may
very well see little of note even with good weather conditions, and C) are a
very good birder. Less experienced birders would see less, identify even less
of that, and grow very frustrated with their sightings, I would think. Many
hours need to be spent simply sitting in a chair or standing looking through
your scope at the bay, crossing your fingers that at least a day or two in your
two week (recommended 10 days - 3 weeks) trip produces some strong north winds.
Because I have a lot of time on my hands I was able to check the weather before
hand including both ice, temperature and wind conditions before I made the last
minute (and I mean LAST MINUTE!) decision to venture forth. And as it turns
out it was a good one because little of significance was seen in southern
Ontario while I was away. What is with November this year??? Rarity month for
the year was clearly October even without some of the hurricane birds.
Highlights of my trip were a single Dovekie flying east on the open bay (scared
up off the bay as a few Long-tailed Ducks flew by), a single juv. white-morph
Gyrfalcon which provided some nice photos, and a singe light-morph Northern
Fulmar on strong north winds appearing out of a snow squall. Other highlights
were more significant from a time of year and location point of view. eBird
checklists are at the bottom of this email. OBRC reports for the Dovekie and
Fulmar will be submitted. Dovekie was new for the year for 'our' Ontario bird
checklist on eBird of course. Think we can get 365 species this year? Please
feel free to respond privately. The complete list (of 41 some odd species) is
as follows: Canada Goose, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck,
Eider sp., Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Spruce Grouse, Loon sp.,
Red-necked Grebe, Northern Fulmar, Bald Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, Purple
Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Thayer's Gull, Iceland Gull,
Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Jaeger sp. Dovekie, Snowy Owl, Hairy
Woodpecker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Gyrfalcon, Northern Shrike, Gray
Jay, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Boreal Chickadee, Lapland Longspur,
Snow Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Pine Grosbeak, Purple
Finch, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll.
eBird checklists:
Nov. 16 - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12190120 Nov. 17 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12190169 18 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12190593 19 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12188258 20 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12188185 21 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12188153 22 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12187837 23 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12187762 24 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12187308 25 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12184998 26 -
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12184926 Directions:
51.2908015,-80.1157379 (plug into Google Earth)
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca
For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
