[Ontbirds] Sabine's Gull - Stoney Creek
Sorry for this very late post. As I was checking the Lake Ontario shore line last Thursday, December 11th, looking for the reported two female King Eiders at Millen Road, (which I did not re-find) an adult plumage Sabine's Gull flew along the shore at Gray's Road. My apologies to the two birders from the Hamilton area that were also at Millen Road. I went looking for you and couldn't find you. Gray's Road is accessed from the North Service Road of the QEW in Stoney Creek. Todd R. Pepper Leamington, Ontario tandjpep...@cogeco.ca ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] December 2008 issue of Ontario Birds
Ontbirds subscribers, The December 2008 issue of Ontario Birds, journal of the Ontario Field Ornithologists, will be mailed on Tuesday, December 16th. Here are the contents of this 64 page colour issue: COVER: The cover features a painting of Least Bitterns by Barry Kent MacKay ARTICLES: 1) Occurence and habitat of breeding Least Bitterns at St. Clair National Wildlife Area. Shawn Meyer and Christian Friis review the breeding biology of the Least Bittern at one of its best known Ontario breeding locations. This article is illustrated with twelve photographs. 2) Bohemian Waxwings selectively feeding on the stamens of Silver Maple. Winnie Poon illustrates and explains a very unique feeding strategy employed by waxwings in winter. This article is illustrated with five phtographs. 3) Saving the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike: fifteen years of recovery success. Elaine Williams and Jessica Steiner summarize the results of the recovery plan for the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike, one of Ontario's most endangered breeding birds. This article is illustrated with six photographs, one map and three graphs. 4) Harry G. Lumsden - Distinguished Ornithologist. Ken Abraham pays tribute to the impressive body of work of one of his mentors, Harry Lumsden, the recipient of the 2008 Ontario Field Ornithologists Distinguished Ornithologist Award. This article is illustrated with one photograph taken at the award presentation at the 2008 OFO Annual Convention. 5) Black Swift: First Record for Ontario. Stuart Mackenzie recounts the discovery of the first Black Swift ever seen in Ontario. This article is illustrated with two field sketches. NIKON PHOTO QUIZ: Glenn Coady presents an identification analysis of a "little brown job" in fall migration. MEMBERSHIP: OFO membership is $35.00 yearly in Canada, and includes all family members at the same address. Membership runs from January 1 to December 31, so now is an excellent time to join or renew your membership. Members receive three issues of Ontario Birds and three issues of OFO News annually. To become an OFO member, please email Eleanor Beagan, Membership Secretary, etbeagan at sympatico dot ca. This post has been sent by Glenn Coady on behalf of the editorial team of Ontario Birds. We thank the cover artist, authors, photographers and advertisers who contributed to the production of this issue. We hope you enjoy reading it. Happy Holidays to all, Glenn Coady _ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Toronto CBC Results
The 84th Toronto Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 14th. The count circle is centred on the corner of Avenue Rd. and Roselawn Ave. in the City of Toronto. A record 108 participants took part in this year's Toronto CBC. A total of 89 species was found on count day (slightly above the 10 year average of 87) including a total of 51,071 birds (9th highest count all-time; about 2.5% below the 10 year average of 52,390). Highlights of the count included: 2 male Black-throated Blue Warblers - a first ever for the Toronto count - the 171st species all-time to be seen on count day (excluding count week birds) 1 American Pipit - 8th record for the count 1 Common Yellowthroat - 9th record for the count 1 Killdeer - 14th record for the count The Top Ten species counts were: European Starling 16,841; Rock Pigeon 4,683; Long-tailed Duck 4,280; Ring-billed Gull 4,252; House Sparrow 2,403; Mallard 2,367; Canada Goose 1,967; Redhead 1,857; American Robin 1,224; Greater Scaup 1,223 Record high counts included: Trumpeter Swan 6 (ties 6 in 2007); Common Merganser 980 (previously 480 in 1953); Red-breasted Merganser 712 (previously 309 in 2006); Sharp-shinned Hawk 18 (ties 18 in 2001); Cooper's Hawk 21 (previously 16 in 2006); Red-tailed Hawk 99 (previously 89 in 2005); Merlin 3 (ties 3 in 2005 and 2007); Rock Pigeon 4,683 (previously 4,136 in 2007); Downy Woodpecker 245 (previously 234 in 2006); Eastern Bluebird 8 (previously 5 in 2005); Dark-eyed Junco 962 (previously 821 in 1989); Northern Cardinal 517 (previously 478 in 2006). Unususally low counts included: Gadwall 178 (lowest since 141 in 1982); American Black Duck (third lowest count since the 1940s); Bufflehead 411 (lowest since 261 in 1995); American Crow 99 (the seventh consecutive year under 100 individuals since the appearance of West Nile Virus in our area in 2002 - 1294 had been seen in 2001). Species missed altogether (of those which have been found on more than 20 of the 84 count days): Wood Duck, Northern Pintail, Harlequin Duck, Rough-legged Hawk, Ring-necked Pheasant, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Snow Bunting, Rusty Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Finch and Evening Grosbeak. The Toronto Ornithological Club would like to express thanks to our gracious hosts Mary Ellen Hebb and Robin Fraser who hosted a wonderful round-up celebration party for over 60 of our count volunteers. Good luck to all of the other Ontario CBCs and happy holidays to all Glenn Coady Toronto CBC compiler _ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Northern Mockingbird Dec. 15th/08
For all you winter listers I observed a N.Mockingbird which is seen on a regular basis in Markham.This bird can be seen just off Allstate PKWY. which is between Woodbine & the 404 just North of Hwy #7 .Most like coffee as it perched several times just outside of the Timmies at 15 Allstate. Cheers Mike Williamson ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Snowy owl in St. Catharines
Hi All, The Snowy Owl observed during the St. Catharines CBC yesterday was observed by my wife and I this afternoon (12/15) at 3:45 pm. After hearing of the observation at last night's roundup, my wife and I travelled along Fifth Avenue Louth, in west St. Catharines, in hopes of observing it. We observed it on the western edge of the ploughed field, found between Third St. Louth and Fifth St Louth. It is very visible from 1415 Fifth Avenue. We observed the Snowy Owl until 4:45 PM. 2 Northern Harriers were also observed. Bob Highcock and Jean Hampson St. Catharines, ON Directions: From the Niagara Bound QEW, exit onto Hwy. 406. Travel south along the 406 and exit at Fourth Avenue. Head west on Fourth Avenue and continue to First Street Louth. Turn left at First Street Louth. After crossing the railroad tracks, Fifth Avenue Louth will be on the right. Travel 1.2 km, crossing Third St. Louth, to locate the owl. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Ottawa/Gatineau 15 Dec 08 - Christmas Bird Count
Ontario Ottawa/Gatineau 15 December 2008 Birds mentioned: Wood Duck Long-tailed Duck Bufflehead Barrow's Goldeneye Common X Barrow's Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Gray Partridge Wild Turkey Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Gyrfalcon 8 spp. owls Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike American Crow Common Raven Tufted Titmouse Hermit Thrush Northern Mockingbird Bohemian Waxwing Yellow-rumped Warbler Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Pine Grosbeak Purple Finch Red Crossbill White-winged Crossbill Common Redpoll Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak Hotline: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club Phone number: 613-860-9000 For the Bird Status Line PRESS * (star) To report bird sightings PRESS 1 (one) Rare bird alerts are now included in the introductory message Coverage: Ottawa/Gatineau (Canada National Capital Region) E. Ontario, W. Quebec Compiler & transcriber: Chris Lewis hagen...@primus.ca At 5:00 pm, Monday December 15, 2008 this is Chris Lewis reporting. A week of rollercoaster weather and interesting bird reports led up to the Ottawa-Gatineau Christmas Bird Count on December 14th. A preliminary total of 71 species was tallied as well as several record high numbers including Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker, Common Raven, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal and White-winged Crossbill. Over 34,000 American Crows, most of them in the huge evening roost in the Alta Vista area, nearly tripled the previous CBC record. Ten species of waterfowl included a few lingerers such as Wood Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead and Hooded Merganser. Four Barrow's Goldneyes - 2 males and 2 females - were observed, and a male Common X Barrow's hybrid seen on the Rideau River near the Hurdman bridge on the 14th and 15th was not found on the count but may have been elsewhere or out of view at the time. A grey morph Gyrfalcon flying west over the Deschenes rapids and 2 Red-shouldered Hawks were among the raptor highlights, as were 6 species of owls. Late lingerers included Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker and Hermit Thrush. Ten Northern Shrikes and 685 Bohemian Waxwings were good numbers, although "winter finch" counts produced very mixed results. Aside from 81 Red Crossbills, found mainly on the Quebec side, and a record high of 464 White-winged Crossbills, other species such as Pine Grosbeak, Purple Finch, and Common Redpoll were hard to come by, only 3 Pine Siskins were recorded, and Evening Grosbeaks were evidently nowhere to be found. The results will be finalized in the New Year and posted on the OFNC web site at www.ofnc.ca Another local event, the Dunrobin-Breckenridge CBC is coming up on January 3, 2009. Contact information is on the "Coming Events" page of the web site. During the week before the count, noteworthy sightings included a couple of small coveys of Gray Partridge along Concession 20 near Ste-Rose, 2 Great Gray Owls in the Almonte/Carleton Place area on the 10th and 11th, a couple of Short-eared Owls south of the international airport on the 8th and another chased off by crows in Barrhaven on the 12th. A Tufted Titmouse has been sporadically visiting a backyard bird feeder in Russell since late November and was most recently reported on the 7th; the feeder is not visible from the road and the owner does not wish the property to be entered. A Northern Mockingbird first reported on Grandview Rd. on the 6th was still present on the 13th, a Yellow-rumped Warbler reported on the 10th has been coming to a feeder in Carp since late November as well, and an "Oregon" Junco was a nice find in the Hull, Quebec, sector on the Christmas Count. Thank you - Good Birding! ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Snowy Owl still by Lucan
Just checked out Ken Clarke's reportThe Snowy Owl was hunting and on can be on the left or right side of Breen Rd. in the field. It flew on both sides for me. Also a snunk along the road hedge, Rough-Legged Hawk, and a large flock of Snowbuntings. Take hwy# 4 out London, cross over Hwy#7, Roman Line is next road, turn Right past the church and school, first road on the right turn down and check each side, their is a dip in the fields so if you dont find it turn around and go back so you can see into the rolling field. Great Birding Rose ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Kleinburg CBC Results
Results of the Kleinburg Christmas Bird Count Notable Birds: GYRFALCON (first for count) Short-eared Owl Snowy Owl Eastern Buebird (first for count) Red Crossbill (second for count) The West Humber Naturalists held their 28th Annual Christmas Bird Count on Sunday December 14th. The count is centred in Wildfield and includes parts of Vaughn, Caledon, King and Brampton. The weather was cloudy with above freezing temperatures and some light precipitation. Still water was frozen but most creeks and rivers were open. The preliminary results from 28 observers included 57 species, which is about average for the count and approximately 12000 individuals which is also around the count average. There were exceptionally high numbers of White-winged Crossbills (as expected) with 1024 reported so far. Notable misses included Pileated Woodpecker (all previous counts), Purple Finch (22 of 27 counts) and Horned Lark (21 of 27 counts). Notable birds for this count included a Gyrfalcon at Claireville Reservoir (see directions below), six Eastern Bluebirds at Kortright Conservation Area and a Red Crossbill at Cold Creek Conservation Area. My thanks to all of the participants, Bob Noble - Count Compiler Directions for Gyrfalcon: From the intersection of Highway 50 and Highway 7 proceed south on 50. Approximately 350 m south of Steeles turn right onto Indian Line Road (there is no obvious street sign here, there are several grey barrels blocking much of the road, proceed down road through the open gate). Continue along Indian Line Road over the train bridge to the dead end. The Gyrfalcon was approximately 200m southwest of the dead end in a tall dead conifer. As of this morning (December 15) the bird was not re-discovered. ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Northern Great Horned Owl subspecies in Toronto
Yesterday on the Leslie Street Spit section of the Toronto Christmas Bird Count, there were two pale Snyder's Great Horned Owls (subspecies scalariventris) and one very dark Labrador Great Horned Owl (subspecies heterocnemis). The Snyder's subspecies is named after Lester Snyder, a former Curator of Ornithology at the Royal Ontario Museum, who described the pale breeding population of Great Horned Owls in northern Ontario. See photos http://jeaniron.ca/Owls/torontoghowls.htm References: Snyder, L.L. 1961. On an Unnamed Population of the Great Horned Owl. Contribution No. 54: 1-7. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Also see Pittaway, R. 1993. Subspecies of the Great Horned Owl. Ontario Birds 11(2): 64-69. The Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park) is at Leslie Street and Unwin Avenue in east Toronto. The Spit stretches 5 km into Lake Ontario and is only open to the public on weekends and holidays. Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway Toronto and Minden ON ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] Is anyone studying eastern Golden Eagle populations?
Good Morning Birders: Thanks to the terrific work of Peter Sherrington and his associates, most hawkwatchers and many other birders are now well aware of the huge population - 3,000 to 5,000 and perhaps more - of Golden Eagles that migrate in spring and fall of every year through the Canadian Rockies. Using data from Hawk Cliff, near St. Thomas, Ontario and checking dates and numbers for Holiday Beach near Amherstburg, Ontario and the Southern Michigan Raptor Research sites south of Detroit, Bill Smith and I have determined that in this fall of 2008 hawkwatchers along the north shore of Lake Erie have counted at least 250 Golden Eagles. In the same season hawkwatchers at Hawk Ridge near Duluth, Minnesota have counted 169 Golden Eagles, while the highest fall 2008 count in Pennsylvania, at Waggoner's Gap, reached 238 Golden Eagles. It is virtually certain that birds seen in one of these regions were not counted in one of the others, so this means that at least 657 Golden Eagles were seen in eastern North America this fall. That's a lot of Golden Eagles folks! Thus the question in the subject line of this email - is anyone studying eastern Golden Eagle populations? It would seem that there are at least three different populations. Where are they? What habitat are they using? Are they doing as well as these numbers indicate, or ??? Looking at maps, I think the Duluth birds come from the west side of James and Hudson's Bays, the Lake Erie birds from the east side of those bays and the Ungava area of northern Quebec, while the Pennsylvania birds come from northeastern Quebec and northern Labrador. If anyone has information I would appreciate a private email. I will compile any replies and post them to Birdhawk and Ontbirds. Thanks everyone. Mike -- Mike Street Ancaster, Ontario, Canada mikestre...@gmail.com ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
[Ontbirds] FW: Port Burwell/Vienna CBC (Otter Valley Naturalists)
From: bjbi...@hotmail.comto: ontbi...@hwcn.orgsubject: Port Burwell/Vienna CBC (Otter Valley Naturalists)Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:19:30 -0500 Dear Birders: The THIRD PORT BURWELL-VIENNA CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT (ONPV) Sponsored by: The OTTER VALLEY NATURALISTS took place on Sunday, December 14, 2008. It was windy from the southwest, +3 C. with rain and some fog. The absence of snow made finding birds more difficult. With most sectors reporting, our preliminary results totaled 71 species. Highlights include: All three winter mimids, Northern Mockingbird (1), Brown Thrasher (1) and Gray Catbird (1), Blue morph Snow Goose (1), Blue morph Ross’s Goose (1), Golden Eagle (1), Bald Eagle (3), Ruby-Crowned Kinglet (1), Merlin (1), Turkey Vulture (1), Eastern Towhee (1), White-winged Crossbills (130), White-crowned Sparrow (3), Field Sparrow (5), Chipping Sparrow (1), Northern Shrike (2), Eastern Bluebird (19), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1), Red-bellied Woodpeckers were low in numbers with only 3. Northern Flickers were high at 6. Notable misses were Tundra Swan, Tufted Titmouse, Brown Creeper and Snow Bunting. A sincere Thank you to all who participated to help make the day a great success. Sincerely, Ron Allensen compiler ONPV bjbi...@hotmail.com Directions: Port Burwell/Vienna is on Lake Erie at the southern terminus of Highway 19 (Plank Road) about 30 miles south of the 401 from Exit 218. _ ___ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
