All Work and a Little Birding, at Least

I finished work late in the afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays having won their first Spring Training game of 2012, right here in Dunedin.  Not much time to go anywhere, but Possum Branch is close and well, why not?

I think I am truly getting tired of listening to the Red-winged Blackbirds.  They drown out almost everything, well everything except the Blue Jays.  I also saw the Green-tailed Towhee and got my first photo of the year of a Song Sparrow, a bird I had seen earlier in the year, but only through binoculars.  There were also doves, but no white wings.  I drove to a couple of streets in St Petersburg, as the sun went down, where they are said to congregate, but only saw a flock of doves flying above a building and in the twilight was unable to discern the white wings.  Another try will be made at sunrise in Clearwater.

I have time tomorrow, so will go for a Lark Sparrow back at Fort De Soto, followed by a try for a Yellow-headed Blackbird at Mayakka River State Park in Sarasota.  Both were confirmed sightings.  I will stick to only confirmed reports, as twice I have gone when only one sighting was reported but not confirmed by others, and failed to find a bird, as may have been the case yesterday when I went looking for a Curlew Sandpiper.  I may have seen it, but no one has confirmed the original sighting so I am erring on the side of caution, in this case.  I did spend a lot of time on the bird with my scope, but the sun was setting behind the bird and I really couldn't swear on a stack of Sibley's Field Guides that I really did see it.

So I remain stuck on 212 Big Year Birds, but with lots of Birding ahead of me, in including South Florida and Arizona a month from today.

Birding While Working in Tampa Bay

Today, March 2, 2012 I made my first trip to Fort De Soto in St. Petersburg.  I was only there a couple of hours, but saw a nice list of birds.

I arrived in Dunedin, on Wednesday and as soon as I was in my car, late in the afternoon after a long flight delay, I headed straight to Possum Branch Preserve and enjoyed looks at a Killdeer in the grass, a Savannah and Lincoln's Sparrow.  In addition to Red-winged Blackbirds and Cardinals I saw a white tailed rabbit and the now infamous Hispid Cotton Rat.  I guess I can add one more "rodent-y" thing to my list of "rodent-y" things for my year, bringing that total up to 3.  Before it got dark I drove to Moccasin Lake Nature Park hoping to find White-winged Doves.  Of course, no dice that evening or the next morning.  I expect to spend the next month not finding White-winged Doves, and have to drive even further than North Bay next winter to try and find them.

One interesting sight in that neighbourhood was people feeding the birds.  Not too strange, right?  But in Toronto, say, people feed bread to the Geese and Ducks.  Here in Florida - for better or worse - people bring bags of bread to feed Wood Storks and White Ibis, in addition to the Mallards.

Yesterday I took a drive out to St Petersburg to another nature park, Clam Bayou, in search of Chuck-will's Widow.  Of course bird chasing does not always get you the bird that you want, but sometimes you do get a bird or two that you need, to paraphrase The Rolling Stones.  I was able to spot a Short-billed Dowitcher in the shallows next to a sinking sail boat, (it seemed abandoned, so I did not have to dive in and rescue anyone - rats!)

Which brings us back to today.  I will be returning quite frequently to Fort De Soto, as it's an amazing birding location, especially during Migration, if you can't get to the Texas Gulf Coast.  In just a couple of hours I saw what follows.  There were a few other shorebirds I didn't list, but I didn't get a close enough look to confirm their identities.

Great Horned Owl - Mom and babies
Brown Pelican
White Pelican
White Ibis
Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Bellied Plover
Brown-headed Cowbird
Willet
Long-billed Curlew
Laughing Gull
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Mourning Dove
Common Ground Dove
Grey Catbird
Northern Mocking Bird
Osprey
Palm Warbler
Common Grackle
Ruddy Turnstone

Off to Spring Birding...

Well, Spring Training to be specific.  I have the unique opportunity to be heading to Florida for the next month as part of my job, working in Dunedin during Spring Training.  But I will have lots of time to add birds to my Big Year, when not on the job.  I will be heading down to Everglades National Park, the Keys and Dry Tortugas, Fort DeSoto, Merritt Island and wherever the Florida Rare Bird Alerts send me, within reasonable driving distance of Tampa Bay.

Hopefully, with Spring Migration, I will be in the right places at the right times to see a lot of new Year birds and Lifers the next 32 days.

Chasing, Not Just Birding

So, on Saturday it was back to chasing.  There was a report of a Townsend's Solitaire in Cobourg on Friday morning - it was seen again Friday afternoon - and I had wanted to drive right there, but was suffering from some kind of 24 hour bug and between the lack of sleep the night before and Tylenol Cold Pills, I was not willing to risk a 90 minute drive for a solitary bird.  The last time I drove under adverse conditions - whiplash and a concussion after being run off the road heading to Kingston - I nearly drove off the road, heading back to Kingston, and had to get off the road, call for help, and have Sue ask me, more than once, "What made you think you could drive to Kingston with whiplash?"

I decided not to go through that again.  Besides, I was driving into a snow storm, and was feeling a wee bit dizzy.   I turned around and went home and slept all day Friday.  I felt fine Saturday morning, so off to Cobourg I went, as did a few other intrepid birders from Toronto and Port Hope, hoping for an easy look at the bird.  It was not to be.

I had been keeping in constant contact with Dennis, the gentleman who had posted the sighting the previous day, via e-mail.  He had seen the Solitaire in two locations in his neighbourhood, and had also been out for two hours that morning, with no luck.  I cruised the neighbourhood for about 20 minutes, trying to not look like a Peeping Tom, looking into various yards through my binoculars, from my car.  I eventually pulled up in front of the house on Weller Court and scanned the tree out front for the elusive bird.  No bird, but Dennis was kind enough to invite me in for tea, after I e-mailed him from in front of his house.  Dennis is a kind, friendly gentleman who has a lifetime of birding experience around the world.  He's been to places I can only dream of and it was a pleasure to take tea with him, as we swapped birding stories, and watched for the bird out his back window.

After tea, I thanked him for his hospitality and continued around the neighbourhood on foot.  I ran into a carload of Toronto Birders from Toronto, a gentleman from Port hope and another gentleman, who's name eludes me now, just as the Townsend's Solitaire eluded me on Saturday.  It might have been Craig or Greg.  Not sure.  We walked around a bit together, saw crows and gulls and goldfinches, and maybe, a brief, but doubtful look at the bird, passing between two houses.  The most we could confirm, was it was grey.

We also swapped birding stories from this winter.  He had seen Bohemian Waxwings this year, but not Cedar Waxwings, and for me it was the other way around.  He had taken the drive to North Bay, returning from Montreal, to see the White-winged Dove, while I will get it without the 4 hour drive when I return to  Florida in a couple of days.  I even have directions.

So no bird.  It probably got blown away during the snow storm.  A good chase and encounters with some very nice birders who were willing to risk part of their weekend for the mere chance at seeing a good bird.  Sometimes the chase can be just as satisfying as finding the bird.  Even when you don't find the bird, you often meet some darn nice folks.

Just as Sue and I did to today at Woodland Cemetery, (I seem to return there a lot - perhaps I should reserve a river-view spot for sometime in the future).  Sue wanted a return trip to Burlington to find the Snowy Owl and Eastern Screech Owl.  The Snowy did not show himself at Bronte Harbour, but Mr. Screech was out and happy to pose for photos from the many Birders/photographers that were there this morning, birding, not mourning.  There were so many cars lined up along the roadway we thought we might be intruding on a funeral.  Nope.  I even ran into one of the men I had met on 10th Road looking for Short-eared Owls.  He began as a nature photographer but is really enjoying the Birding too.

After Sue got her owl, we took a walk down to the Valley Inn trail hoping to see a Winter Wren, (we did hear it), and perhaps a Field Sparrow.  Apparently the Valley Inn Road/Trail is where Christmas Trees go to die and are reborn as Carp Barriers.  Who knew? We did see a Tree Sparrow that had not been reported.  It does look a bit like a spring/summer plumage Chipping Sparrow, but the Winter Chipping Sparrow is quite different, and our photo was not close enough for a positive "Chipping" ID.  So I could not count a new bird for the year, while Sue got 3, giving her 113 for the year.  I remain stuck on 210.

Just Birding, Not Chasing

Not very long ago, on a walk in James Gardens, in Etobicoke, or Colonel Samuel Smith Park, down by the lake, I would have just seen birds.  Sure I knew there were ducks and song birds, geese and gulls.  But that's about it.  Today was different.  I walked for an hour or so in James Gardens and another hour down in Colonel Sam, and actually saw the birds.  No rarities or new birds for my list.  But today, that wasn't the point.  I just wanted to go Birding.

I ended up with a nice little day list and really enjoyed the walk, on what was a very calm day before tomorrow's "reported" snow storm.   12 birds, one or more of each, in James gardens:

Cardinal, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, American Crow, Mallard, House Sparrow, Hairy Woodpecker and Canada Goose.

In Colonel Sam, I saw an additional 7 birds:

Ring-billed Gull, Gadwall, Redhead, Mute Swan, including a juvenile, Red-breasted Merganser, American Coot and Long-tailed Duck.

Maybe tomorrow there will be something new to chase.  Only a few days until I am back down in the sunny south.

No Fool's Mission, Finding the Harlequins

I awoke early, dressed quickly and fired up the GPS in my car, inputting the location of Collingwood Harbour and with a Tim Horton's coffee in hand, drove the 135 kilometres in about 90 minutes, while listening to morning talk radio, to see if I could see some fancy-pants ducks in a harbour I've never been to.  Thanks to Alan Wormington's post last night I was saved a drive for a chancy look at the Harlequins 4 hours away in Prince Edward County.

It was almost too easy.  I drove down to the end of Heritage Drive, parked the car, grabbed my binoculars and scanned the bay.  It took less than a minute to find two of the Harlequin Ducks, as they were actually very close to rocks.  Had I arrived a few minutes later they would have been more difficult to spot without my scope.  I rattled off a few photos as they drifted away, then grabbed my scope and got some really nice looks.  I spent more time talking to Roy, a casual birder who comes down there to walk his dog and look at the birds, including the Peregrine Falcon, than I did looking at birds.  I did, however, get a nice look at the Peregrine before I left.

I had the rest of the day to bird at Kortright Centre, where most of the trails were closed due to ice, and the Hamilton/Burlington/Bruce Trail areas, and if my goal was to see Gulls, Canada Geese and Black-capped Chickadees, my day could be considered a success.  It was actually more comfortable in the cold and wind of Collingwood Harbour than walking in the rain and trying to see birds through wet binoculars in Hamilton.  But I survived the ice of Kortright, braving the sleet and walking in the muck of The Bruce Trail, as well as the rain at Bayfront Park and Lasalle Marina.  By the end of the day, in addition to the Harlequins and the Peregrine Falcon, I did see Hawks, Ravens, Crows, Swans, a large variety of ducks and many Black-capped Chickadees.

So, the Harlequin Duck was bird 210 of 2012.  And I may still yet drive out to Prince Edward County, or back up to Algonquin Park this week.  I still have 7 days before heading down to Florida.

And as an added bonus for the day, I got to wear my LL Bean Snow Sneakers, which had arrived Monday evening.  I love 'em!

From a Peaceful Lake to an Even more Peaceful Place

A nice sunny day and a good day to just take a leisurely walk out at Humber Bay, down by Lake Ontario in Toronto, and look for Ducks.  And maybe even a Northern Shoveler.  It was a good chance for me to see and photograph some of the standard winter ducks I had already seen and work on my identification skills.  I am still learning.

We did run into a lot of Birders and photographers and even ran into a fellow Birder/photographer I had met in Brampton on my Ross's Goose chase.  This time he was looking for Ruddy Ducks and they were there in large numbers.  Rafts of them, in the birding vernacular.  I finally got a good photo of them, rather than one taken from hundreds of yards away.  There were also Buffleheads and Goldeneyes, Mergansers, Mallards and even a white fronted mixed duck.

The payoff for the morning walk came just before we headed home for lunch.  I wanted to get a better look at the Ruddy Ducks through my scope, and while doing that, Sue spotted a pair of Northern Shovelers splash down close by.  Bonus!  The promised Shovelers,(they were the bait to get me down to the lake), arrived just as we were preparing to pack up and leave.  I got the scope on them and a few photos to go along with the ones I got of the Ruddy Ducks.

After lunch I headed off on my own, in search of a few more birds to wrap up the long weekend.  I was supposed to be working, not birding, this weekend, but getting Sunday and Monday off was great.  I decided to retrace my route from yesterday and see if I could pick up a few birds in the Burlington/Hamilton area.  I went back to Bronte and low and behold, if Barry wasn't there looking for yet another hybrid duck, the Redhead/Ring-necked cross-breed.  It was in a great location, in the harbour right out in front of where the Snowy Owl was soaking up the sun.   We had missed it yesterday.  So two birds with one stop.  I got myself a nice photo of the snowy and a look and photo of yet another interesting hybrid.  Neither were additions to my year, but it was nice to get another chat with Berry, who seems to be everywhere.  But then again, he probably thinks that about me.

There was a gaggle of other Birders present at the end of the pier in Bronte and we got talking about the birds seen in the area the last few days.  The topic of owls naturally came up and I inquired as to the location of the Eastern Screech Owl we couldn't seem to find yesterday.  With Barry providing me with a much better set of directions, I headed back out to Woodland Cemetery, after briefly and unsuccessfully looking for a Ring-necked Pheasant up in the Stoney Creek area.

Barry did not steer me wrong.  I quickly found the correct tree next to a sign marked "Section 25" and to the right of a headstone with the appropriate name of "Gardener," three trees to the right of the Green Bench on the west side of the cemetery road.  I identified the broken branch, and immediately spotted the owl.  Before I checked it out with my binoculars, I spotted a bird I didn't recognize hopping back and forth between a headstone, where some seed had been left, and a close by tree.  I snapped a few photos and later learned it was a White-breasted Nuthatch.

I returned my attention to the  Eastern Screech Owl and snapped a few photos and then had a more leisurely look through my scope.  I wanted to hoot with joy, but silently pumped my fist, a-la Tiger Woods and rejoiced in my 8th Owl of 2012.

That was my 88th bird species of February.  9 Days to go and 12 birds for another Century month.  There won't be many more hundred bird months, as it just keeps getting harder and harder to add birds as the year moves along.  Wait and see, I guess.  But not bad for a know-nothing amateur Birder.

So, as the sun set in the peace and serenity of Woodland Cemetery, it was time to head home with my 209th Year Bird in hand and a smile on my face and a long drive ahead of me tomorrow.