Month: September 2012

September 4 2012. Ruthven Park, Cayuga ON. Back early to the bird observatory today, they’re a little short handed and well, it’s interesting and always challenging.  The weather had deteriorated since the summer glories of the past week or so, rain threatened all morning today and even went so far as to dampen us with a mid morning shower; a nice warm one though.

I started the census at 08.45 but had to abandon it after half an hour or so when the shower struck.  The birds must have known something was up and left town because in that half an hour I only counted 11 species. Once the rain had passed over I restarted and turned up 29 species including a couple of Purple Finches, a small and agitated group of Philadelphia Vireos high in the treetops and a nice Eastern Kingbird sitting atop a dead tree watching over the world below.

Towards the end of the morning we found and banded a young male Hooded Warbler.  He was without doubt my Bird of the Day because absolutely nothing else today, not even a couple of Blackpoll Warblers, Common Yellowthroats or Wilson’s Warblers, came close to delivering the same OMG impact.  (Take a look at the observatory’s blog here) Hooded Warblers are uncommon in Ontario, there are small pocket populations around the west end of Lake Ontario and along the north shore of Lake Erie.  But in the central eastern states of the U.S.A it is a fairly common breeding bird.

Any human as striking and stunningly pretty as this bird would surely quickly make his way to become a preening and self-important celebrity.

September 3 2012. Ruthven Park, Cayuga ON. I had quite forgotten what a richness of bird species there is to enjoy on a good day at a good bird observatory.  Today was my first opportunity to return to my favourite bird observatory to lend a hand this the fall season.  Bird observatory activities including census taking, mist-netting and banding continues daily throughout September and October.

To refresh, the observatory is located in the grounds of a splendid 19^th Century neo-classical country house that would look quite National Trustish in England but is little short of jaw-dropping in 21^st Century Ontario. The grounds include several acres of wide alluvial river flats, a network of heavily wooded creek valleys, open farm fields and upland forests. This is perforce a very brief introduction; you can read lots more about it and get completely absorbed for hours by visiting its website here and nature blog here.

On my arrival early this morning it was already busy and I was put to work banding a young Scarlet Tanager.  Then a check of the nets turned up Red–eyed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Winter Wren, Yellow–billed Cuckoo, Magnolia Warbler and Ovenbird to name but a few of what I remember.

It sometimes/ often / usually /always falls to me to do the daily census.  A task that keeps me out of harm’s way for a couple of hours and fills a page or two with a list of all birds seen or heard on a walk around a prescribed route.  I am usually accompanied by visitors, sometimes they’re birders, sometimes not, but many eyes and ears are always helpful.

Today we had some great sightings; a single Yellow–billed Cuckoo (not the one banded just before we left the banding lab), many Eastern Wood Peewees singing.  A couple of Red–eyed Vireos were in the sparse branches of a dead spruce and close to about 20 Cedar Waxwings feeding on the abundant blue-grey fruit of a Red Cedar. Along the river a family of four, maybe five, Osprey were patrolling up and down, the parents looking for food to keep their insistent youngsters happy.  A pair of Wood Duck flew by and then shortly afterwards three Green-winged Teal.  On a gravel-bar in the river were 16 Killdeer, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs and a single Spotted Sandpiper.  Then, perhaps the event of the day, an adult Bald Eagle closely chased one of the Ospreys pressing home a point of proprietorship that I never did figure out.

My Birds of the Day were three Chimney Swifts seen circling above the banding lab. Swifts always make me stop and stare because they are irrefutably birds of summer, always flying in high-wheeling chase above us, twittering busily and living a perpetually airborne life.  If given the chance I think I’d like to be reincarnated as a swift.