Blue Sky Birding – by Martin and Kathy Parker

A weekly column on bird watching in the North Bay Region which appears in the North Bay Nugget. This column was published in the August 28, 2009 edition. © Martin and Kathy Parker

Common Nighthawks Migrating Through Region

The fall migration is underway with the arrival in the region of a number of species which are starting their journey to their southern wintering grounds.

The common nighthawk, once a common bird of the cities, are now passing through the region. This dusk feeder, closely related to the whip-poor-will, can be observed in the evenings feeding on flying insects.

On August 24 Brent Turcotte observed a single common nighthawk flying over the City of North Bay. Stephen O’Donnell on the same evening had a group of four pass over his cottage on the shores of Lake Bernard.

The common nighthawk is a grayish-brown bird with long slim wings. There is a distinctive white bar on each wing. They fly with deep stiff wing beats and will glide at time with the wings held in a v-shape or dihedral. They are most active at dusk and during the night hours. They will visit lights during the night to feed on the flying insects which have been attracted to the light.

The single common nighthawk observed by Turcotte was present with a large flock of Bonaparte’s gulls. Turcotte noted the gulls were swarming and flying oddly over some of the houses in the area. They were probably feeding on flying insects and the erratic flight was created by them attempting to capture the insects.

The Bonaparte’s gull is the smallest gull which occurs in the region annually. In the spring the adults have a black head. At this time of the year the black is being replaced by a white head with a black smudge behind the ear. The wing tips have a large white triangular-shaped patch.

Bonaparte’s gulls will be present along the North Bay waterfront for the next three months. A good location to observe them is Sunset Point Park. They can be observed sitting on the sand beach.

O’Donnell on August 24 observed a bufflehead at the Sundridge lagoons. This is the first report we have received of this species for the fall migration. They are common in the region in April and early May as they are passing through on their way to the breeding grounds. They start returning in late August and will remain until the waterways start to freeze over in December.

The male bufflehead is a small black and white duck. The male has a very distinctive triangular white patch on the back of the black head.

Richard Clarke of South River forwarded a photograph of a juvenile northern goshawk. The bird had captured a young chicken and was feeding on it. The northern goshawk is a member of the accipiter family of hawks. The have short rounded wings and long tails and are designed for short bursts of speed and manoeuverability. Their primary food is other birds which they capture in a short fast sprint.

Other accipiters in the region are the sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks. All are forest community residents and during the breeding season become difficult to locate.

One of the prime foods of the northern goshawk is ruffed grouse. The barnyard chicken resembles a grouse so the juvenile bird thought it was feeding on its natural prey. Northern goshawks will also predate flocks of feral rock pigeons.

The main identifying feature of the juvenile goshawk, besides it over shape, is the promenant white line above the eye.

Laura Turcotte recently kayaked the Wasi River and flushed a green heron. This secretive heron on small wetlands and river valleys occurs in scatted populations in the region.

In August the waterfowl in the region are undergoing their eclipse moult. The male birds shed their brightly coloured plumage of the spring and replace it with the plumage which resembles the dull protective camouflage plumage of the female. Later in the males will moult again and the bright breeding plumage will return. Identification of waterfowl becomes more challenging in the absence of the male colours.

The Birdwing group visited the Callander lagoon on August 25 during its evening bird walk and spent time distinguishing the male and female mallards present. The plumage of the birds were virtually identical. The distinguishing feature was the colour of the bill. The male bill is a greenish shape and the female’s prime bill colour is orange.

Swallow populations are showing a marked decline in Ontario and across northeastern North American over the past decade. The exact cause of this decline is unknown. Mike Cadman of the Canadian Wildlife Service is part of a initiative to determine why the declines are happening. The initial stage of the study in Ontario is to collect information on pre-migration and migrating flocks of swallows in Ontario. He is collecting information on flocks of over 100 swallows. The information required is location, number of swallows, date and time of day, and information on the behaviour of the swallows and the habitat they are using. Historic information on swallow roosts would be appreciated as well.

Information large concentrations of swallows can be sent to Cadman at Mike.Cadman@ec.gc.ca or ourselves. We will pass any information received on to Cadman.

This weekend the Birdwing group will be holding their August bird bash. If you wish to participate send your list of species observed in a period of no greater than 24 hours to rtafel@aympatico.ca. The average number of species observed in the past five August bird bashes has been 114.

We welcome your observations of the fall migrants for future columns. Please submit your observations to mkparker@ontera.net

Blue Sky Birding – by Martin and Kathy Parker

A weekly column on bird watching in the North Bay Region which appears in the North Bay Nugget. This column was published in the August 21, 2009 edition. © Martin and Kathy Parker

Fall Shorebird Identification Can Be Confusing

August and September are the months when shorebirds are migrating through the Blue Sky Region. Unfortunately there are few locations to find these species in this area. The sewage lagoons throughout the region are the prime locations to find the various species. The best lagoons are ones which are partially drained with ample mud flats for the birds to feed upon.

The sandpipers and plovers are feeding on the various forms of aquatic life which is in the mud.

The smallest shorebirds are collectively referred to as ‘peeps’ and are all very similar in appearance. Small brownish or gray birds with long legs. They scurry around feeding. A birder requires a telescope to obtain the best views. They all prove distinct challenges in identification. The species have two or three distinctive plumages in the year and most lack obvious field marks for quick and easy identification. For beginning birders shorebird identification can be very confusing and frustrating.

There are a number of aspect which one has to take into consideration. Initially one looks at the shape of the birds. Shape can provide up to 90% of the evidence required to distinguish the species. For example the short-billed dowitcher is a as very plump bird when compared to the thin looking and very long legged lesser yellowlegs.

When looking at shape the bird’s posture may change its overall shape. A bird may be craning its neck, standing more erect and with the feathers tucked into the body. Its shape when compared to the birds of the same species adjacent to it appears to be very different. Simply watching for a while is the best way determine if the shape is due the bird being agitated or due to it being a different species.

The age of the bird needs to be considered at well. The adult birds migrate first in the fall and when they arrive will have a worn breeding plumage. During the fall migration they will be moulting into their winter plumage. The patterns on the wings and underparts will be worn and indistinct.

The young of the year migrate later and will have a fresh plumage. The pattern on the edges of the feathers on the wings and underparts will be sharply defined and neatly spaced.

The voice of different species can be used to separate similar species. For example the lesser yellowlegs has a 1 or 2 note whistle call with sounds like yew or yu-yu. The similar looking but larger greater yellowlegs has a 3-note whistle which sounds like whew-whew-whew or dear! dear! dear!. Unfortunately shorebirds usually are found in mixed flocks and it becomes difficult at times to distinguish the voices of the different species.

Birders need to be aware that leg colour is always the best method for distinguishing between species. One problem is that the leg colour can be highly variable ranging from brown to green to yellow. For example the leg colour of some least sandpipers may be a dull greenish brown resembling the black legs of a semipalmated sandpiper in poor light conditons.

Shorebirds are also wading around in the black mud of the lagoons and the legs may become discoloured from the mud and muck. The yellow legs of the least sandpiper will appear to be black due to the mud.

The smallest shorebirds which occurs regularly in the region is the least sandpiper. This sandpiper is very similar to the semipalmated sandpiper which occurs regularly in the region. Overall the least sandpiper has a brownish colouration. In contrast the semipalmated sandpiper is an overall grayish colour.

The least sandpiper has a crouching posture compared to the erect posture of the semipalmated sandpiper. Overall the semipalmated sandpiper is heavier with longer wings and legs and a thicker bill. In flight the underside of the wings of the least are much darker with a more extensive area of black along the trailing edge than the semipalmated.

The leg colour of a prime condition least sandpiper is yellow and the semipalmated is black. As noted earlier this is not always reliable due to caked mud and muck on the legs.

On August 12 Fred Pinto and Kevan Cowcill visted some of the islands in the West Arm of Lake Nipissing in search of migrating shorebirds. The next day they visted the Warren and Verner lagoons. On both of these trips they spotted both least and semipalmated sandpipers. Both are present in the region so one can take the time to identify the two species.

Martin Parker and Steve O’Donnell have been visiting the Powassan lagoon regularly and have not detected any semipalmated sandpipers at that lagoon this fall.

Pinto and Cowcill also had American golden plovers at the Verner lagoon on August 14. This plover is very similar to the black-bellied plover, another regular fall migrant in the region. The American golden plover typically prefers areas with short grass such as sod farms and golf courses. The American golden plover is the smaller of the two species with a smaller head and bill. When flying the black colour in the ‘armpits’ at the base of the underside of the wings is the distinctive feature of the black-bellied plover.

Brent Turcotte on September 19 observed a small flock of six sanderling on the beach of Lake Nipissing near the mouth of Chippewa Creek in North Bay. The sanderling typically prefers sandy beaches and can be watched darting back and forth with the waves. Sanderlings should be present on the beach at for the next few months.

The next activity of the Birdwing Group of North Bay will be an evening outing to the Cranberry Trails at Callander under the leadership of Martin Parker. The group will be meeting at the North Bay Information Centre on Tuesday, August 25 at 6:30 p.m. and then proceeding to the trail. They will be looking for fall migrants. Everyone is welcome to participate.

We welcome your observations of the fall migrants for future columns. Please submit your observations to mkparker@ontera.net

Blue Sky Birding – by Martin and Kathy Parker

A weekly column on bird watching in the North Bay Region which appears in the North Bay Nugget. This column was published in the August 14, 2009 edition. © Martin and Kathy Parker

Great Egret Spotted Soaring Over Area

The great egret resembles a great blue heron in shape and size. The heron is a common wetland species of bird in the region. The egret on the other hand is usually spotted once or twice annually,

On August 8 Sheldon MacGregor spotted a great egret flying over Mashkinonje Provincial Park, south of Lavigne. The individual then flew to the north.

The great egret is a tall wader with completely white feathers. It’s bill is yellow with dark black legs. It is a very familiar bird to visitors to the southern states.

The great egret has been expanding its range into Ontario over the last fifty years. The recanting compiled Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario documented that from 2001 and 2005, the known nesting colonies in Ontario were located on the islands of western Lake Erie, around the Bruce Peninsula, and southern Georgian Bay, Toronto waterfront, Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Luther Marsh and one location along the St. Lawrence River.

The Blue Sky Region is well north of these known nesting locations. This is one species of bird well known for northward dispersal after the breeding season.

The great egret was a species threatened with extinction in the late1800's. The long plumes which are present on breeding birds, and are part of the courtship display, were prized for women’s hats. Egrets were shot by the thousands on the nest so the feathers could be collected and sold the hat trade. A public campaign to stop this hunt resulted in the species being saved. It also resulted in the creation of the National Audubon Society in the United States.

Population of great egrets stabilized and then recovered once the hunt ended. They have also expanded their range northward to new breeding areas.

One should watch for this white long legged waters in the wetlands around the western end of Lake Nipissing.

Angela Martin visited the lagoon near Verner on August 7 and reported that several shorebirds were present. She noted the a pectoral sandpiper was present, the first report we have receive of one this fall migration season.

The Powassan lagoon was visited on August 10 by Steve O’Donnell and Martin Parker, and contained only two species of migrating shorebirds, lesser yellowlegs and least sandpipers. The summer resident spotted sandpiper was present.

On August 10 there were about 25 blue-winged teal present. This species has been absent on the lagoon for the past few months. They are probably birds which have bred further north and are stating their southern migration.

Unfortunate for August birders the waterfowl are in their eclipse plumages. The distinctive and colourful plumages of the winter and spring males has been replaced by a plumage which resembles the female bird. Birders have to take more care to distinguish between the two species.

O’Donnell reports that Bonaparte’s gulls have returned to Lake Bernard at Sundridge. This small gull breeds in the boreal region north of the watershed. They pass through our region each May. They are now stating their slow migration to the wintering grounds. They will remain in the region until November.

The Bonaparte’s gull has a very swallow like in flight, swooping over the open waters of Lake Nipissing and the larger lakes of the region for aquatic insects, small fish and other food. They are the smallest gull which occurs annually in the region. The most distinctive field mark in the fall is the bright white triangle shaped areas on the tip of the wings.

Evening grosbeaks are now common in the South River and Sundridge area. Daily small flocks can be detected flying over. They are primarily visiting groves of choke cherries and feeding on the ripening berries.

There are several upcoming events of interest to bird watchers in the region.

On Tuesday, August 25 the Birdwing Group will be holding its monthly meeting. This meeting will be an outdoor walk on the Cranberry Trails at Callander under the leadership of Martin Parker. The group will be utilizing the trails in order to observed the fall migrants. Meet at the North Bay Information Centre at 6:30 p.m.

Gulliver’s will be hosting a book signing and reading on Wednesday, August 26 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. which will appeal to birdwatchers, naturalists, environmentalists and those enthusiastic about our northern Ontario wilderness.

Soren Bondrup-Nielson will be reading from his account on this research on the boreal owl. This small northern owl is a regular winter visitor to the region, although difficult to detect. A few may remain for the summer months. Bondrup-Nielson will be discussing his adventures as a young researcher who camped in the winter wilderness in order to devise ways to record the then unknown songs of the boreal owl and its behaviour. He now a professor of biology at Acadia University.

Hap Wilson is a well-known wilderness guide and naturalists from the Temagami Region. He will be signing copies of his latest book, Trails and Tribulations which relates stories from his years as a guide facing animals attacks, forest fires and other challenges while on the trail. The book is graced with his lovely drawings.

We welcome your observations of the fall migrants for future columns. Please submit your observations to mkparker@ontera.net

Blue Sky Birding – by Martin and Kathy Parker

A weekly column on bird watching in the North Bay Region which appears in the North Bay Nugget. This column was published in the August 7, 2009 edition. © Martin and Kathy Parker

First Report of Yellow Rail in Region

On the evening of July 28 members of the Birdwing Group of North Bay under the leadership of Dick Tafel conducted their monthly meeting, a field outing to the open country of Chisholm Township is search of interesting field birds.

In a wet meadow along River Road in Chisholm Township, west of Alderside Road, in response to tapping of stones and play back of a taped call they heard a call which they identified as a yellow rail. The call of this very secretive wet meadow species is a rhythm tic-tic tictictic, tic-tic tictictic. The yellow rail is the smallest of the rails which occurs regularly in the province, and this is the first time one had been reported from this area. This species of bird is very secretive, very difficult to flush and is as easy to find in a wet meadow as a mouse. It is easiest to detect after dark when it will respond to the use of a tape recording or tapping of three quarters or pebbles together. One quarter is tapped against the other two which are held together. It is alleged that American quarters work better as their metal composition is different from a Canadian quarter.

They are abundant in the wet meadows in the area which borders Lake of the Woods. One can stand in the wet meadow and hear a number of males calling and even after hours of searching never be able to observe an individual. They do not wish to be observed.

The adult bird is only 18 cm long and is buffy all over, resembling in some ways a week old chicken. The back is striped and checked with buff and black. When it flies it had buffy wing patches. It does resemble an immature sora, another species of rail, which occurs throughout the area in wet meadows as well.

The Atlas of the Breeding Birds on Ontario, 2001-2005, documented the occurrence of this species in only seven locations in Ontario south of the Canadian shield. There were two sites along the shore of Georgian Bay south of the outlet of the French River. There were also several locations along the north channel of Manitoulin Island, and in the Sault Ste. Marie area.

The main breeding locations for this species are along the shorelines of James Bay and Hudson Bay and around Lake-of-the-Woods. Is also occurs in the Thunder Bay and Lake Nipigon region. Until this observation by members of the Birdwing it had not been previously documented in the Blue Sky Region. It is a difficult species to find and much prized by Ontario birders. The yellow rail is the 2,000 species of bird which Tafel has observed or seen in the world. It is also a special birding highlight, because it was found in is home birding area instead of an exotic location elsewhere in the world.

Brent Turcotte was able to capture the call of the individual heard on July 28 on his digital camera. Numerous other birders from the region have visited the location to listen for the yellow rail. On August 4 Steve O’Donnell and Martin Parker visited the site and heard one individual calling about ten times. A group of birders from Pembroke are already preparing to visit the location to see if they can hear the yellow rail.

The location where the yellow rail was found was the same location where sedge wrens and LeConte’s sparrows have been found for the last few years.

Tafel reported that he has been informed that a raft of about 20 common loons has been observed on Trout Lake. This is early for loons to start congregating on the larger lakes in the region. The wet weather has probably resulted in a poor breeding season so the loons have departed their nesting areas on the smaller lakes in the region..

O’Donnell and Judy Arai on July 30 visited a number of wetland areas in Chisholm Township looking for rails. At one wetland on Adams Line they played a tape of sora (rail) calls and about ten individuals responded.

On July 31 O’Donnell observed a northern cardinal in Burk’s Falls. Barbara and James Barrett reported that they have been observing a group of about six or seven sandhill cranes along Highway 234 and Maple Hill Road, west of Powassan. They have also observed the pair of birds with a juvenile along Highway 11 just north of Trout Creek, which has been reported earlier.

With the advent of August, the breeding season is drawing to a close for all but a few of the regular breeding species in the Blue Sky Region. Soon some of the summer residents will be departing. The earliest departing species will be some of flycatchers with the yellow-bellied being the first. As the fall migration progresses during the next few months there should be a number of special and interesting bird observations in the region.

We welcome your observations of the fall migrants for future columns. Please submit your observations to mkparker@ontera.net

Guinness Records of the animals of the Near North

To make the records more interesting please give tips on how to find the animal in our area for each record.  If you know specific places mention them but make sure to include its habitat.  Thanks.

Topics for this Blog

What can we do to make a blog interesting?  Why not research different aspects of nature and perhaps make them into articles.

Here are some ideas:
-Introduce flora and fauna categories.  Amazing facts and as an object of study
-Perspectives on what birders and other naturalists do.  E.g. listing, local routes, surveys, bird watching vs birding etc
-Overview of our species diversity
-Behaviors seen in nature e.g. mimicry
-"Guinness guide" to our local animals (e.g. heaviest, longest wingspan, etc)
-Fooled by nature --> which of these animals behaviors is bogus?
-Explore the interconnections between species

I would like to start with the "Guinness guide to the animals of the Near North"

Dragonfly takes down a Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Here is a forwarded message.  This goes to show how bold some dragonflies can be.
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Dennis Paulson: I thought this was interesting enough to warrant further distribution. There is at least one published record of an Anax junius capturing a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Hofslund, P. B. 1977. Dragonfly attacks and kills a ruby-throated hummingbird. Loon 49: 238.

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Mitch" <mitch@utopianature. com>

Date: September 28, 2009 1:52:26 PM PDT

To: <TexOdes@yahoogroups .com>

Subject: [TexOdes] Fw: [texbirds] FW: Dragonfly takes down a hummingbird

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <Fred_Collins@ HCTX.NET>
To: <texbirds@LISTS. TEXBIRDS. ORG>
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2009 3:33 PM
Subject: [texbirds] FW: Dragonfly takes down a hummingbird


This past Friday, September 25, 2009 I took a bus load of birders to the Smith Point Hawk watch. It was an overcast day with low clouds and very little or no breeze. The sky was full of Green Darners. There were also 10-20 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at two feeders on the Hawk Watch Tower perhaps 20 feet above the ground. There were about 20 people on the deck watching birds. There was a flock of about 20 Mississippi Kites soaring above and near the tower feeding on dragonflies a 100-200 feet above. About mid-day the hummingbird tumbled across the deck within 6 feet of several of us on the deck. I assumed it was two hummingbirds engaged as a male had been
trying all morning to defend the feeder from a dozen or more hummers. To all our surprise, the hummingbird was engaged by a Green Darner Dragonfly. The dragonfly had the hummer by the back of the head or upper neck and it
appeared the hummer would soon lose its life. Unfortunately one of the people stepped in to save the hummer and before he could touch it , the combatants broke off the fight and both were gone in a flash.


I have heard stories like this but never actually believed them. What's more, one of the alert people got a good series of photos of the tussle. My question to this list is , has this ever been documented ? I think the
photos and report are noteworthy. If you are aware of any published reports in the literature about this sort of attack I would appreciate you passing it along to me.


Cross posted to TX-Ento


Fred Collins


Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center
Cypress Top Historical Park

.

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Dennis Paulson

1724 NE 98 St.

Seattle, WA 98115

206-528-1382

dennispaulson@ comcast.net

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