My Bird of the Day

RBG. Hendrie Valley, Burlington ON. October 13^th. 2021. I started to write this on Sunday, three days ago, because, while conducting one of our morning transects I had happened to see two Soras. They were quite unexpected, definitely post-worthy and in some ways a puzzle piece that had been missing for years.

Soras are rails. To expand on that a little bit, rails are chicken-like birds of marshes, sometimes heard but infrequently seen. They are elusive, perhaps not intentionally, because they spend their days deep within large expanses of reeds, bulrushes and cattails, picking their way through in search of food: seeds and wriggly, soft-bodied invertebrates. There is really no reason for them to venture very far into the open where they might fall prey to a predator or be seen by birders.

I had intended to post the note about Sunday’s birds but time ran out and other things happened. But the Sora story became especially intriguing when other birders reported seeing these same birds in days that followed. So when we set out on a transect today, we had our fingers crossed in hope of catching sight of them; which we did.

Soras aside, the transect was rewarding in many ways, the valley was full of bird sound, mostly American Robins I think, chattering, whistling and singing softly among themselves. But Carolina Wrens were loud and vocal in many places and there were flocks of Cedar Waxwings, Red-winged Blackbirds and Blue Jays all adding to the sense of continuous bustle. I spotted a Brown Thrasher and we followed its antics for a while as it either chased, or was chased by, robins. They were all very excited about something that we would probably never understand. We thought the thrasher was perhaps a little late in the year and should have left for warmer weather some weeks ago. But a bit of research revealed that some delay departure until quite late in November and that a few spend the winter here. So, perhaps it was just the general scarcity of thrashers that made it special today.

But back to the Sora.  We had just about wrapped up the transect and decided to take a last look for it along the margins of a plausible stretch of marsh, it didn’t take many minutes. We soon spotted it just minding its business picking through marsh debris and turning over fallen leaves in search of food. We were on an elevated boardwalk some two or three meters above and it was apparently oblivious to our presence. The intrusion of a handful of Mallards disturbed it and prompted a bit of wing-flapping and short low-level flights, all normal display behaviour I believe but it added to our appreciation of the moment. Just seeing a Sora is noteworthy but to witness this little flurry of antagonistic behaviour really added to the episode.

RBG. Arboretum, Hamilton ON. October 8 2021.  Burlington. There is a large collection of magnolia trees in Royal Botanical Gardens’ Arboretum, it straddles a short stretch of one of our transect routes. Needless to say, it is a very popular attraction in late April and May, deservedly so. But once the flowers are finished, I don’t think magnolias have a lot going for them, not as landscape trees anyway. In mid fall, about now, these particular magnolias carry bold clusters of bright red fruit and they become attractive once more, but attractive to birds not to horticulture tourists. 

This morning my transect had been quite uneventful until I approached the magnolias, then I became aware of the soft hum of American Robins chattering, whistling and singing softly among themselves. I knew at once what all the fuss was about, it was those magnolia fruits. So, I moved in slowly, made myself comfortable and watched: the robins were gorging themselves on the juicy clusters and, like gluttons everywhere, were endlessly moving around looking for a bigger and better treat.  I have watched this feeding frenzy activity in previous years and on one occasion Northern Flickers made up half the mob. I observed for a long time and started to suspect that the fruit was a little over-the-top, fermented and alcoholic and if birds can be said to act silly, the robins and flickers surely were.

 A bit of overhead movement in the pines caught my attention and I was pleased to watch a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers picking for insects. Then I heard the ringing laugh of a Pileated Woodpecker and saw one fly past, quite close to me and through the magnolias to the woods beyond. Moments later she doubled back and joined in the magnolia feast (she, because females have a black moustache, whereas the males have red). Now, any opportunity to see and photograph a Pileated Woodpecker is worth stopping what you’re doing for, they are 50/50 either bold as brass or evasive. This one was bold and paid me no attention, she was just happy to be sharing the fresh fruit.

She was My Bird of the Day without opposition until much later when I saw a Black and White Warbler, a good sighting at any time, but not quite as spectacular, eye-catching or entertaining as the woodpecker, so it took second place.

October 5 2021.  Burlington. I have been exploring and investigating a piece of private and hard-to-access Lake Ontario shoreline.  It is a missing piece of the puzzle for me and I have long wanted to get to know it. It is inclined to be trashy where plastics and old logs wash up, but deliciously wild and overgrown away from the water’s edge. Thick leafy tangles, fallen trees, grape thickets, shrubs and wetlands all make good bird habitat and when a place is virtually inaccessible, the birding is as good as it can be.  A week ago, a friend and I spent a busy morning there trying to keep up with the migrant activity, it was rewarding if baffling at times and much went unidentified.  (Identification is, of course, the birder’s raison-d’etre.)

Today was different. The weather had shifted from late summer to early fall, it was damp, still, and overcast. I was happy to spend time exploring without the distraction of waves of fall migrants. Still, there were some to be found, numerous White-throated Sparrows and Golden-crowned Kinglets. A few warbler species: one Common Yellowthroat, several Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Blackpoll Warbler, and in the probable category: Orange-crowned and Wilson’s Warblers. (Not bad – now that I come to write it down). A large, dark bird labouring just above wave height turned out to be an adult Bald Eagle and, at the other end of the scale, in deep cover, was a tiny Winter Wren.

It’s always worth paying attention to the mighty Blackpoll Warbler. I didn’t see todays for very long, just long enough to clearly note a couple of distinctive field marks, including bright yellow feet, and to spare a thought for it on its journey ahead. It is a bird that breeds in the boreal forest of Alaska and Canada and winters in the Amazon Basin. It is on its way to the Atlantic coast, somewhere between Maine and Cape Hatteras, NC.  Later this month, once refuelled, it will launch itself south-eastwards over the Atlantic for 2 or 3 days until the North-east trade winds carry it on to the Amazon Basin, a journey estimated to take around 90 hours. Think about it.

Best bird and certainly My Bird of the Day, was this Gray-cheeked Thrush. It was one of several birds that kept flying away in front of me, this is perhaps the most maddening thing birds do.  They see me long before I see them of course, and then as I draw closer, flit – and they’re gone. All I get is that fleeting vanishing movement. Hoping to catch up /sneak-up on such birds is usually fruitless. Thrushes, in particular, can be very elusive and usually prefer to head into deep shade, but I was surprised when todays flew up and close, rather than down and away. I made several attempts to photograph it but, as is so often the case, it darted away just when I’d got it framed and in focus.  I nearly gave up but it finally took up station high above me and stayed long enough for me to get some decent shots, and to confirm its identification.

September 30, 2021. Home. It was just about a year ago that I wrote about a backyard bird, a lingering Tennessee Warbler. Today I had a similar experience with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

In these mid-fall days, migrating birds sometimes show up in unlikely places, to them it’s just where they happen to be, just a pause along the way.  Some days, as I step outside, I’ll catch a fleeting glimpse of a mystery bird making a dash for cover. Occasionally I have some idea what it was, Winter Wrens, for example, are distinctive, they move fast and very low, you could almost mistake them for a mouse. Today’s Ruby-crowned Kinglet was easy to watch and enjoy though.

It spent much of the morning in our backyard which I keep deliberately chaotic and colourful , apparently it makes it a decent place to top up on insect protein.  This bird had found our exuberant Gaura lindheimeri plant to be a good source of food and was hovering and picking meals from the flower-heads. I examined the flowers later and found that some had pinhead-size green aphids on them, almost too small to see, unless you’re a kinglet.

 This is a little mite of a bird, weighs six grams (almost nothing) and is always on the move making it very difficult to photograph.

RBG. Hendrie Valley, Burlington ON. September 23 ^.2021. It was quiet in the valley this morning. It had rained steadily for 24 hours, sometimes heavily, so everything looked and smelled freshly washed. We completed one of our regular transects, hopeful of finding a couple of semi-rarities (but didn’t), and just generally happy to be out at a time when the fall migration can deliver surprises among the expected.

Falling into the expected were a loose flock, perhaps a family group, of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, a dozen or so Gray Catbirds and three Swainson’s Thrushes. In the drama category were four Bald Eagles, two young ones far off in the distance and two adults (white head and white tail) sailing around not far overhead. Other than that it was bits and pieces, the way birding so often is.

There were some notables, which is to say birds that your companion might get grumpy about if you failed to draw their attention to it. These were singles of Blue–headed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat and a female Black–throated Blue Warbler, and two each of Philadelphia Vireo, Red–eyed Vireo and Ruby–crowned Kinglet.

The female Black throated Blue Warbler (above) was an interesting study in the differences in plumage between females and males (below). That little white patch on its wing is diagnostic for making the identification, just as well because otherwise she’s a pretty nondescript bird.

My Birds of the Day were the Philadelphia Vireos. Frequent readers will know I have a soft spot for all vireos and the Philly is perhaps the prettiest of them. They have a lemon-yellow breast, quite pale in some and quite bright in others. Today I think we saw one of each, I managed to get this photo of the brighter yellow of the two.