*Survey 1 of the Dundas IBA (ON005): Report* The first-ever Dundas IBA Survey was conducted on June 16, 2018 in Hamilton, Ontario. The day was quite warm, with a bit of light rain interspersed throughout the morning. The high reached 28° C, making for very hot afternoon conditions for a bird survey. Many counters were undoubtedly more used to such surveys happening in mid-fall or winter conditions, making this a new experience for many.
This count, which can also be more lengthily referred to as a "Dundas Valley & Dundas Marsh Important Bird & Biodiversity Area Survey" was conducted exclusively within natural lands found inside the boundary of the IBA, which in short covers the Dundas Valley from Summit Musket through to Spencer Creek into Cootes Paradise, extending to Burlington Heights. To read more about this IBA, see < https://www.ibacanada.ca/site.jsp?siteID=ON005>. For those familiar with the Christmas Bird Counts, this survey followed a similar methodology, but did not include urban areas or backyard birdfeeders. This count included 14 volunteer counters who covered quite a lot of ground throughout the day. While we did not cover all mapped zones, we did cover all key areas. Counters employed three means of active transportation: while most of the birding was by foot, eight kilometres was covered by canoe (Cootes Paradise), and ten kilometres by bike (Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail). Since this is the first survey, there are no comparisons that can be done with previous results. That said, there are still a few interesting discoveries in the data. Of the nine "criteria species" (species that have at one time been present in significant numbers within the IBA) that occur within the season, only three were observed: Acadian Flycatcher, Chimney Swift, and Hooded Warbler. This is not surprising, since five of the missing species have been extremely scarce in recent years, with the Louisiana Waterthrush as the only species known to breed in recent years that was not seen. This was deemed a likely outcome however, since while this species did arrive during migration this year, it did not remain past May. In terms of sheer raw numbers, the top 10 species observed were: Red-winged Blackbird (475), American Robin (265), Song Sparrow (166), House Sparrow (154), American Goldfinch (148), European Starling (141), Red-eyed Vireo (135), Yellow Warbler (134), Gray Catbird (122), Ring-billed Gull (119). There were 10 species with 80% or higher distribution for reported zones (in order of percentage of checklists present within): American Robin (97%), Gray Catbird (90%), Northern Cardinal (87%), Indigo Bunting (87%), Baltimore Oriole (87%), American Goldfinch (84%), Eastern Wood-Pewee (81%), Blue Jay (81%), Song Sparrow (81%), Red-winged Blackbird (81%). In contrast, there were 13 species that were highly localized; that is, occurring in one checklist only: Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Wild Turkey, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Least Bittern, Great Egret, Cooper's Hawk, Acadian Flycatcher, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Brown Creeper, Black-throated Green Warbler, Pine Siskin. There were a few surprise results. A total of 6 Hooded Warblers were found in the western side of Dundas Valley, which is a very healthy count for this Carolinian species. A lone fledgeling Pine Siskin was observed at Iroquia Conservation Area, which is a remarkably late date for this northern species which infrequently breeds within this area before migrating back to northern forests. Highlights from the canoe-birding party included Least Bittern, Great Egrets, a new colony of Bank Swallows, a Common Loon flyover, a Pied-billed Grebe on breeding territory, some Yellow-throated Vireos, and so many Marsh Wrens heard that a very conservative estimate had to be made by ear of 25, with likely many more out of audible range. One notable missed species was the Eastern Meadowlark, which has been seen in recent years within the IBA but was not present within this count. Since nearly all species on this list are likely to be breeding locally, the author has not annotated any of the data with breeding status. Thank you to all whom have assisted in this initial survey, including the RBG and HCA for their assistance. The current plan is to conduct surveys every five months, until data is collected for each calendar month. Our second survey is expected to occur late November, followed a third survey next April. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Rob Porter Compiler, Dundas IBA Survey 1 *RESULTS* IBA Criteria Species for Spring/Summer ====================================== Observed in Survey 1: Acadian Flycatcher Chimney Swift Hooded Warbler Not found in Survey 1: Barn Owl Little Gull Loggerhead Shrike Louisiana Waterthrush Prothonotary Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Survey 1: Count Totals ====================== Each line follows the format: species name, count, distribution (% of checklists present within) List is in taxonomic order. *Denotes species adjusted lower to account for possible observation overlaps. Canada Goose 92 (23%) Mute Swan 24 (13%) Trumpeter Swan 4 (6%) Wood Duck 34 (16%) Blue-winged Teal 4 (3%) Mallard 45 (19%) Hooded Merganser 1 (3%) Wild Turkey 8 (3%) Common Loon 1 (3%) Pied-billed Grebe 1 (3%) Double-crested Cormorant 48 (10%) Least Bittern 3 (3%) Great Blue Heron 37 (26%) Great Egret 4 (3%) Green Heron 8 (13%) Black-crowned Night-Heron 7 (16%) Turkey Vulture 77 (55%) * Osprey 4 (10%) Cooper's Hawk 1 (3%) * Bald Eagle 4 (6%) Broad-winged Hawk 2 (6%) Red-tailed Hawk 9 (23%) Killdeer 11 (16%) Spotted Sandpiper 7 (6%) Ring-billed Gull 119 (42%) Herring Gull 20 (26%) gull sp. 10 Caspian Tern 25 (26%) Common Tern 29 (13%) Rock Pigeon 12 (10%) Mourning Dove 55 (45%) Yellow-billed Cuckoo 21 (39%) Black-billed Cuckoo 7 (23%) Chimney Swift 21 (29%) Ruby-throated Hummingbird 12 (29%) Belted Kingfisher 14 (32%) Red-bellied Woodpecker 36 (58%) Downy Woodpecker 47 (68%) Hairy Woodpecker 17 (42%) Downy/Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 23 (45%) Pileated Woodpecker 14 (23%) Eastern Wood-Pewee 64 (81%) Acadian Flycatcher 1 (3%) Alder Flycatcher 4 (10%) Willow Flycatcher 4 (10%) Empidonax sp. 1 Eastern Phoebe 9 (26%) Great Crested Flycatcher 47 (65%) Eastern Kingbird 25 (29%) flycatcher sp. (Tyrannidae sp.) 1 Yellow-throated Vireo 7 (10%) Warbling Vireo 27 (35%) Red-eyed Vireo 135 (74%) Blue Jay 93 (81%) American Crow 60 (65%) Northern Rough-winged Swallow 9 (10%) Tree Swallow 84 (39%) Bank Swallow 15 (3%) Barn Swallow 58 (32%) Cliff Swallow 2 (3%) Black-capped Chickadee 116 (77%) Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 (13%) White-breasted Nuthatch 35 (45%) Brown Creeper 1 (3%) House Wren 68 (71%) Marsh Wren 27 (6%) Carolina Wren 20 (42%) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 17 (35%) Eastern Bluebird 10 (16%) Veery 5 (13%) Wood Thrush 34 (39%) American Robin 265 (97%) Gray Catbird 122 (90%) Brown Thrasher 4 (10%) Northern Mockingbird 2 (6%) European Starling 141 (42%) Cedar Waxwing 87 (61%) Ovenbird 2 (6%) Blue-winged Warbler 33 (45%) Mourning Warbler 3 (10%) Common Yellowthroat 64 (65%) Hooded Warbler 6 (6%) American Redstart 42 (39%) Yellow Warbler 134 (77%) Chestnut-sided Warbler 5 (6%) Pine Warbler 6 (13%) Black-throated Green Warbler 1 (3%) Chipping Sparrow 46 (61%) Field Sparrow 44 (39%) Savannah Sparrow 17 (10%) Song Sparrow 166 (81%) Swamp Sparrow 24 (23%) Eastern Towhee 27 (39%) Scarlet Tanager 29 (35%) Northern Cardinal 88 (87%) Rose-breasted Grosbeak 56 (71%) Indigo Bunting 113 (87%) Bobolink 5 (10%) Orchard Oriole 4 (13%) Baltimore Oriole 84 (87%) Red-winged Blackbird 475 (81%) Brown-headed Cowbird 63 (65%) Common Grackle 89 (61%) blackbird sp. 1 House Finch 15 (29%) Pine Siskin 1 (3%) American Goldfinch 148 (84%) House Sparrow 154 (39%) TOTAL birds counted 4469 Species counted 104 Other taxa counted (spuh, slash, or hybrid) 5 -- Robert Gerald Porter Hamilton Naturalists' Club / Field Events Director Weever Apps / Chief Innovation Officer, Co-founder http://twitter.com/rgeraldporter _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
