Todd Hagedorn and I have returned from a 17 day expedition to Netitishi Point, located 35 km due east of Moosonee on the south shore of James Bay. We were present from 3:00 PM on October 28 until 10:00 AM on November 14. The following is a summary of our highlights.
We observed five species on the Ontario Bird Records Committee (OBRC) review list for the Lowlands region of Ontario, including: - Eurasian Wigeon - 1 male on Nov 3 - Harlequin Duck - 3 female types on Oct 30 - Western Sandpiper - 1 on Oct 30 - Sabine's Gull - 1 adult on Nov 11 - Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 adult on Oct 31 Additionally, a Western Grebe was observed on Nov 11. If accepted by the OBRC this will be a new species for the Lowlands review list. The following observations are of species generally considered rare in this part of Ontario. - 4 Hooded Mergansers on Oct 31 - 2 male Canvasbacks on Nov 2 - 1 Red-necked Grebe on Nov 5 - 1 Purple Sandpiper on Nov 5, 2 on Nov 8 - 1 Red Phalarope on Nov 9 - 5 sightings of Black Guillemot on 3 different days (Nov 6, Nov 8, Nov 9) Birds that were fairly late included: - 11 Snow Geese on Nov 9 - 1 male Gadwall on Nov 8 - 2 Surf Scoter on Nov 11 - 1 adult Double-created Cormorant on Nov 9 - 1 juvenile Northern Goshawk on Nov 14 - 1 adult American Golden-Plover continuing until Nov 7 - 1 Pectoral Sandpiper on Oct 30 - 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet continuing until Nov 7 - 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet on Oct 29 - 2 American Pipit on Oct 31 - 9 American Tree Sparrows on Nov 1, and 1 staying until Nov 7 As expected given the time of year, Gyrfalcons were regular and we finished with sightings on five days, involving at least four different birds. All of the expected boreal birds were accounted for, including Spruce Grouse, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Bohemian Waxwing, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak and Hoary Redpoll. Snowy Owls were frequently seen during the second half of the trip and one highlight was watching one repeated dive-bombed by a Gyrfalcon. The dominant wind direction at southern James Bay is southwest, and this trend continued throughout this trip as we had southwesterly winds on all but four days. Strong southwest winds and warm weather occurred during November 6 and 7, with the temperature reaching a balmy 16 degrees on November 7. This caused numerous insects to be seen including several Mourning Cloaks, though we were unable to find any birds with southern origins associated with this weather event. A moderate northwest wind on November 3 instigated a good waterbird flight that included 4681 Brant, 3755 Northern Pintail, 102 American Wigeon, 89 Green-winged Teal, 1710 Dunlin, etc. Strong northwest winds on November 11 also caused a good flight dominated by scoters and Long-tailed Ducks, though we also observed 25 King Eiders (35 total were seen on our trip) and the aforementioned Sabine's Gull and Western Grebe. Finally, while not bird related, we had a couple of interesting mammal sightings. These included a Bearded Seal on Nov 10 and a Beluga on November 14. Ringed Seals were not observed despite usually being somewhat common at this location. I'll be posting daily summaries on my blog (www.joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com) in the upcoming weeks. To get to Netitishi Point, take the Ontario Northland train from Cochrane to Moosonee, take a cab to the airport and charter a helicopter to go east 35 km to the coast. A spotting scope is recommended. Good birding, Josh Vandermeulen Todd Hagedorn Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ 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
