May 11 2016. Long Point Ontario. Apparently persistent north-east winds of the past few weeks are holding back many of our expected migrants. Among those who gauge the warbler migration of May migration in superlatives and hysteria, today was just an okay day; but I was perfectly happy with it. A companion and I revisited the Long Point area (see May 4) and once again tallied a very varied and respectable list. Some first-of-the-years were: Least Flycatcher, American Redstart, Veery and Red-eyed Vireo. Notable (just because) were a Broad-winged Hawk, several Scarlet Tanagers, a handsome Northern Flicker, and Chestnut-sided, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, Magnolia and Black-throated Green Warblers.
We found ourselves on the opposite side of a thicket of brambles, dogwood and grape from a large knot of anxious birders who were desperately trying to find the Black-throated Blue Warbler they could hear but was avoiding them. Their problem was that while they were on the west side of the thicket, we and the bird were getting along nicely on the east side. I was able to get a few photos, here’s the best of them.
For a long time the Black-throated Blue Warbler was unassailable as Bird of the Day, that is until we were directed to a splendid male Hooded Warbler that was hopping and flitting quickly around a tangle of downed branches. It shone in the relative gloom and had us all gasping in admiration, one look makes you an instant fan. Hooded Warblers’ distribution in Ontario is very limited, generally close to Lake Erie and towards the west end of Lake Ontario; it’s a privilege to count them among our breeding birds. And incidentally, it easily matched the Black-throated Blue Warbler in eye-popping appeal. Co-Bird of the Day.
