May 13 2017. Ruthven Park Cayuga, ON. Several weeks ago I agreed that I would lead a birding hike for visitors to this park today. It was billed as Warblers and Other Spring Wonders or something like that and almost no-one came! Still, I enjoyed the company of two well-informed but admittedly bird-perplexed women, one was the mother of a young lad who was thoroughly engrossed in the activities of the banding lab.
Frankly it wasn’t very birdy, or at least not what you might expect of a May morning. It is so rewarding when you can show people the drama of spring migration, you know: flashy warblers, tanagers and grosbeaks, but I couldn’t; visible birds were in short supply. I was having a wonderful time, I could hear many birds and usually knew what I was hearing, but drawing someone’s attention to an intermittent bird song is a poor substitute. My companions seemed happy enough though and while I may have thought they were captivated by my bird-lore patter it was more likely the beauty of woodlands in spring; and why not?
It wasn’t without it’s wow moments: a beautiful male Indigo Bunting had us all gasping and I was able to show them a Chestnut-sided Warbler and a Black and White Warbler, both fairly high up. To me a Swainson’s Thrush was pretty special although they are hardly spectacular to look at and my Bird of the Day was an Ovenbird a few yards in front of us.
Ovenbirds are far more often heard than seen. They have a ringing song that carries far in thickly vegetated deciduous woodlands, but seeing them is more often a matter of luck, they stay low and keep their distance. Today’s was more at ease with our presence than is usual and I was able to get some decent photos. That name, Ovenbird, is a rather folksy reference to their domed nest, like a miniature Dutch oven, constructed on the forest floor.
Twenty-six species was our count, a low one for mid May. For all the promise of May it still can be hit and miss.