South winds blow in more travellers
Another good push of northbound migrants took place over the past week. With strong winds out of the south, a number of new arrivals were observed including spotted sandpiper, lesser yellowlegs, northern rough-winged swallow, eastern towhee, brown thrasher, palm warbler, rusty blackbird and a flood of rubycrowned kinglets.
The ruby-crowned kinglet is one of our smallest songbirds. Its ruby crest is concealed much of the time and only raised if excited or agitated. For such a diminutive bird, this insect eater has an incredibly loud song consisting of a series of jumbled notes.
Despite cooler days this past week, a few species showed up early, including a common tern on April 13, a black tern on April 19 and a chimney swift and great
crested flycatcher on April 22. It only makes you wonder what else has arrived early to eastern Ontario.
With the last of the ice now gone, the Ottawa River is playing host to a new selection of water birds including common loons, red-necked grebes and horned grebes. These species will linger for a few weeks before continuing on to their nesting areas further north.
At Deschênes Rapids on the Quebec side, Conroy Island is like a miniature “Presqu’ile Provincial Park” for colonial nesters. Among the colony nesters seen this spring were hundreds of ringbilled gulls, 15+ double-crested cormorants and eight blackcrowned night herons. Also observed on this tiny island were three adult great egrets on April 23 along with a couple of great blue herons.
On April 23, there were still a number of diving ducks at Shirley’s Bay including lesser scaup, ringnecked duck, common goldeneye, bufflehead and common merganser. Most of these species will continue on north to breed.
With breeding season in full swing, a pair of bald eagles are still incubating eggs at Shirley’s Bay, and hopefully by the end of April a couple of baby eagles will successfully hatch. Last summer this same pair raised two young. Fortunately, the eagles have chosen prime real estate at Shirley’s Bay. Their nesting site is on DND property and off limits to the public. This success story, however, is not common for many nesting raptors (hawks, owls, eagles and ospreys) as these species will nest and raise young in very public areas.
In recent years, this has occurred a number of times with the great horned owl. Not always known for choosing the best nesting platform, this species typically uses old nests of larger birds or a broken-off tree stump. Young owlets can sometimes be living in very precarious situations and it is not uncommon for owlets to fall out of the nest. During this critical period, if you find a young owlet on the ground, please leave it alone. The parents will take care of it. Many times, healthy young owlets are removed from a nest area and taken to the Wild Bird Care Centre, only to be returned the following day. If you are unsure, contact the Wild Bird Care Centre.
Keep in mind the birding code of ethics and respect these birds. Give them space and don’t push them.
There were a number of interesting observations this past week in eastern Ontario including Ross’s goose, little blue heron, bluegray gnatcatcher and yellowheaded blackbird.
Two Ross’s geese were found along Frank Kenny Road at Bear Brook near Navan on April 21 by Rob Pinilla. The first record for the Ottawa-Gatineau district was on April 26, 1997, and now there are over 30 records of this goose.
On April 19, I observed an adult little blue heron flying over Dunrobin Road near Riddell Road. This southern heron is a very rare visitor to eastern Ontario. The heron continued flying east and disappeared. The first record was an individual found 40 years earlier on April 21, 1973, at a small pond in Merivale Gardens. Remember Merivale Gardens? The little blue remained in the area until April 25.
A blue-gray gnatcatcher was observed on April 19 near Kanata by Brian Halliday. A regular breeder in Prince Edward County and Presqu’ile Provincial Park, this species is a rare visitor to our region and has occasionally bred here too.
Another big surprise was a male yellow-headed blackbird found by Wendy Desrocher and Bob Silver of Lansdowne, Ont., on April 20. The blackbird was first observed at their feeder in a mixed flock of common grackles, red-winged blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds. The yellow-headed blackbird is a very rare visitor to eastern Ontario. Its breeding range in Ontario is in the Lake of the Woods area west of Thunder Bay and in extreme southwestern Ontario along Lake St. Clair.
The amount of activity at bird feeders continues to increase as new visitors take advantage of the abundance of seeds. Many feeder watchers reported numerous species including eastern towhee, brown thrasher, chipping sparrow, fox sparrow, white-throated sparrow and white-crowned sparrow, to name a few. Keep your feeders well stocked as there are more species to come. Also, keep an eye out for unusual visitors and have a camera ready. Anything is possible in the birding world.
On a final note, it is important to be aware of the many hazards for migrating birds. One of the largest killers of migrating birds is home and office window strikes. To reduce bird strikes, ensure that feeders are not too close to a picture window or keep the curtains closed during the day. As birds see the reflection of trees and other vegetation, they think it’s safe to fly. Other eco-friendly ideas include hanging old compact discs, tin foil or aluminum pie plates in front of your window. It may not look nice but it will prevent window strikes. Window decals are available online.
Thanks to all birdwatchers who sent reports and photographs.