Black-capped Chickadees from this spring...

Yes, I'm up to something.... As you may have noticed.... All in good time......


Many thanks to my Mom for helping me get a lot of these :)

Misc

Zoomies...... Are you serious?! Are you serious right now!?!? 

============

Rough and Tough birding: Man fights off bear while birdwatching with Family:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/alaska-man-fights-bear-toby-burke_n_3195750.html

Thanks Mom!

---------------------


Fear mongering on the weather network (weather.ca) ---- are they serious!?

Question of the day

• 
• 
• 

Which force of Nature do you fear the most?

• Tornado
• Hurricane
• Earthquake
• Tsunami
• Volcano
• Other

View Results

Did you know?

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch was the deadliest hurricane to hit the Americas. It killed 11,000 in Honduras and Nicaragua and left 2.5 million homeless. 

---- Just awesome... How many people in Canada fear Volcanoes?! Why can't I just check my weather without this nonsense!? Maybe they should tweet that.....

I cannot stress how crazy I find this...

Has this ever happened to you? It's now happened to me several times, and it blows my mind every time...

I'm driving along, and I see a really odd looking dead bird on the road... Like really odd - colourful, mid sized.. It's gotta be something cool... 

Oriole? 

Meadowlark?

Rarity??? 

I hit the brakes, turn around, get up close..

and...

BAM.. It's a Banana... 

The State of the Environment - Part 4

Ever sit back and wonder how humanity can sit back and happily watch as our "economic growth" on our continent (and throughout the world) spreads across the surface of the planet? Even when it errily matches the growth of mold on a slice of bread?

THIS IS HOW:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/do-mermaids-exist-a-new-animal-planet-documentary-had-some-believing-so/7156/


THIS is why things are not taken seriously. We as birders/naturalists (I hope I didn't offend anyone there) tend to "flock together" as it were, and I find myself often forgetting the other 95% of the worlds population - that really doesn't give a hoot about nature - exists at all.


Robert Bateman, take it away -

“It is said that kids today can identify over 1,000 corporate logos, but most can’t even identify 10 trees that grow in their area.”


Yikes..........


==================


So there's the fix - get everyone interested in birding... Other than the fact that would be no fun at all.. Just imagine Pelee in the spring.. Or your favourite hawkwatch with 1000+ people watching every day..

But that's the fun part of the blog! I can just identify problems and voice them - I don't need to provide any ideas on how to fix it...

Old OBRC reports! - 2012 edition

I spent the time writing them - why not put them online?! Some personal favourites from 2012 of some self found OBRC-level birds:



First up: Common Teal:

http://peregrineprints.com/zzzz_Article_2012_CommonTeal.htm

This one was a favourite because it was the first time I made a video-log of the bird/sighting while it was still in view:

I haven't added the video to the page yet, but you can listen to it here if you want! I really really really like this idea for future OBRC birds



----------


Up next: Pacific Loon!

http://peregrineprints.com/zzzz_Article_2012_PALO.htm

This one got the nod because it was my first OBRC-level rarity that I had a mega-awesome view of inside my condo! woot



----------


Up lastly, some Sandy Birds!


Leach's Storm-Petrel:

http://peregrineprints.com/zzzz_Article_2012_LSPE.htm



Ross's Gull:

http://peregrineprints.com/zzzz_Article_2012_ROGU.htm


----------

Hope you find the reading interesting - if you read them...

Hey- Remember this?

Remember this giant thing that bit me on Pelee Island last July?


I think I know what it is (was)............


http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/AQUATIC/Ps_ciliata.htm


Psorophora ciliata (Fabricius) is a large mosquito (Cutwa and O'Meara 2005) that has developed an outsized reputation because of its relatively intimidating heft and persistent biting behavior (Gladney and Turner 1969), including anecdotal historical accounts of its legendary aggressiveness (Wallis and Whitman 1971) and 'frightening appearance' (King et al. 1960). The 'gallinipper' or 'shaggy-legged gallinipper' was used as a common name for Psorophora ciliata in various published reports 



=================




And now I hope I never see this species ever again.... EVER.....

Jun 2, 2013 - birding (serious birding)

I actually took a day to do some birding... I'm starting a 6 week busy stretch for work on the 3rd, so I figured - why not?!

---

I started with a 3 hour lakewatch at Waverly Beach in Fort Erie (on semi-strong SW winds). It was actually really good - for June... The waterbird highlights:

RED-THROATED LOONS - what the heck was happening? I counted 27 individuals as a minimun number... I had 21 in view AT ONCE... I had 60+ sightings!!!! 60+!! This is Lake Erie! In June! What the heck?

Common Loon - 3 (min) - max at once = 1... 5 sightings

Canada Goose - 19 molt migrahts (15, 1 3)

Am Black Duck - 1 (male flying E)

Blue-winged Teal - 1 (male flying E)

Gadwall 2 - (males flying E)

Surf Scoter - 2 (min) - max at once =1 ... 3 sightings...

Red-breasted Merganser - 14 (flocks of 1, 2, 5, 4, 2)

Osprey - 1

Shorebird Sp - 2 (small, distant, low to the water - but wouldn't land on it....)

Semipalm Sand - 6 (flying W)

Great Black-backed Gull - 9

Common Tern - in view, everywhere, at all times. 1000? 2000? 5000? ?!?!


Also scored a Pheobe... Complete checklist of all birds on ebird here:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14320083

Just your typical flock of RTLO's - in JUNE - on Lake ERIE 

I was pretty happy when I had the first two........ 

-------------------

I checked several spots, but only had notable birds at a few:


Stonemill Rd -

Semipalm Sand - 50

White-rump Sand - 1

Semipalm Plover -2

G Black-back G - 1

Total ebird list: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14320348




River N of Fort Erie -

1st alt Peregrine Falcon flew upriver

Sev. Great Egrets



Control Gate -

1 1st alt Lesser Black-backed Gull

70-ish Great Black-backed Gulls (more than the fall!)



Dufferin Island - 1 male Gadwall


Above the falls -

1 male Common Merganser

15+ Great Black-backed Gulls

24 Semipalm Sandpipers



==============


Anyways - a fun day to be out!

After hours birding - June 1st

Quick notes - a scaup sp and an Osprey at Turkey Point

A Great Black-backed Gull (injured at Port Dover) ..

Beyond that - it's time for:



EBIRDs!

Towsend Sewage Lagoon:

Jun 1, 2013 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
21 species

Canada Goose  120
Mute Swan  1
Gadwall  1
American Wigeon  2
Mallard  80
Blue-winged Teal  4
Canvasback  1     female - photos
Lesser Scaup  1 ( I didn't actually ID it)
Ruddy Duck  7
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Killdeer  25
Spotted Sandpiper  15
Ruddy Turnstone  3
Semipalmated Sandpiper  24
Dunlin  1
Mourning Dove  5
American Crow  2
Tree Swallow  2
Barn Swallow  10
Savannah Sparrow  X
Red-winged Blackbird  X

Whatchu doin, crazy lady? 

-------------------------


AND THEN ---


Hamilton - Haldibrook Sod Farm, Haldimand, CA-ON
Jun 1, 2013 12:08 PM - 12:12 PM
Protocol: Stationary
11 species

Canada Goose  8
American Black Duck  2
Mallard  30
Green-winged Teal  1
Killdeer  1
Spotted Sandpiper  3
Ring-billed Gull  25
Tree Swallow  2
Barn Swallow  12
Savannah Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  1

Some cool ducks in a plowed sod field on the drive home... Here's a map of where I was:

https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.1147842,-79.9404073&ll=43.1147842,-79.9404073

That field has always looked good for a mega.. Best I've found there is Buff-breasted Sand!



===========

Overall a lot of cool ducks for June... Most were males... The Canvasback seemed really odd (rare at a lagoon at any time? never mind June?) and the Green-winged Teal in a field caught me off guard..

Just keeping my eyes open for any lurking late-spring rares.. You never know...

Condo watch - initialize!

Home in the evening on May 31st... Bit of a squall line moves in around 5:30pm.... You know what that means!?

TO THE WINDOW!!!

Awwwww ssS... wait... nvm.

-----------

View of the squall... The stuff down low is DUST being blown out over the lake! 

View to the west this time... If I ever try to sell my place (ha) .. I'm going to use these as an example of the view... 

So once I was no longer mesmerized by the weather, I started to watch for birds. Not long in (during the rain and high winds) I spotted a CRAZY bird flying in off the water. A Nighthawk!!!  Not sure exactly what it was doing, but I was really excited to add it to the patch list.. #144 for those who are counting (me).. 

(I was excited enough to take some distant pics of it)

Beyond that, nothing too unusual... 

----

aaa_Condo, Hamilton, CA-ON
May 31, 2013 5:40 PM - 6:25 PM
Protocol: Stationary
25 species

Canada Goose 4
Double-crested Cormorant X
Killdeer 1
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull 7
Caspian Tern 7
Common Tern 60
Mourning Dove 4
Common Nighthawk 1
Chimney Swift 2
Purple Martin 6
Tree Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 8
Cliff Swallow 1
House Wren 1
American Robin 2
European Starling 1
Cedar Waxwing 15
Yellow Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow X

Aside from birds, I also had 3-4 Green Darners and 2-3 SADDLEBAG species (views too poor to tell) that flew in close to my building looking for cover from the bad elements.. I also watched a Martin eat a Green Darner on the wing (eating, dropping, catching again etc) - which was really cool.. 

Not much else afterwards! I keep hoping for more shorebirds whenever it rains, but it hasn't really happened yet.. 

Water flowing out the creek after the rain... Terns often arrive and feed along the edge, I presume looking for horribly lost tadpoles or minnows etc

[Ont-Odes] Painted Skimmer in eastern Norfolk County

Below is a post I did to Ont-Odes just now...When the birding gets slow, the odes get great! Unlike ontbirds, our group is small - so feel free to sign up and join the ode chat:

Group motto: Dragonflies in Ontario. Report your sightings, pose questions and learn more about Odonata in Ontario.

groups.google.com/group/Ont-Odes


==========================

Painted Skimmer - June 1st 

While doing a work survey (private property) yesterday June 1st, I found a very cooperative Painted Skimmer on the edge of a woodlot, away from water. Just a heads up! The location is eastern Norfolk County along the lake.


Today near Fort Erie I had my first Swamp Darner of the year. Happy Ode'ing


Brandon

Late Season Mega's on the loose!!!!!!

Least Tern - Ohio (check birding Ohio facebook page - if you have stupid facebook)..

Mottled Ducks in Chicago -

http://www.ilbirds.com/index.php?topic=53338.msg88317#new



---

Non stop southerly flow for days may actually be paying dividends...

I'm not really making any predictions here.. Just watching what has been reported and looking at the wind map.. I might even do something crazy tomorrow (go birding for a bit)...


=====================

Most Checklists Submitted for Current Month

• California -- 22244
• Ontario -- 18164
• New York -- 16233
• Texas -- 15573
• Wisconsin -- 13291
• Pennsylvania -- 12321
• Michigan -- 11605
• Massachusetts -- 11537
• Ohio -- 10622
• Illinois -- 10530
• Florida -- 9016
• New Jersey -- 8674
• Maryland -- 8423
• Washington -- 8378
• Oregon -- 7245
• Virginia -- 6872
• Colorado -- 6601
• Arizona -- 6329
• Minnesota -- 6090
• British Columbia -- 5072
• Connecticut -- 4865
• Georgia -- 4476
• Alaska -- 4236
• North Carolina -- 4145
• New Hampshire -- 4000

Congrats to Ontario for getting 2nd on ebird for the month for checklists!

-----

Population for the top 10 (11):


Cali - 38,041,430

ON - 13,505,900

NY: 19,570,261

Texas: 26,059,203

WI: 5,726,398

Penn: 12,763,536

MI: 9,883,360

Mass: 6,646,144

Ohio: 11,544,225

Ill: 12,875,255

Fla: 19,317,568




New ebird-super-score rankings:


WI - 21.21

MA - 17.36

ON - 13.45

MI - 11.74

PA - 9.65

OH - 9.20

NY - 8.29

IL - 8.18

TX - 5.98

CA - 5.85

FL - 4.67


Long story short - Wisconsin is KICKING OUR BACKSIDE on ebird..  Although I just figured out that Alaska's score is 57.91 - so they really are as well (but are they Alaskan birders?!) Anyways..


If you haven't signed up for ebird yet, you should! It really is rather awesome...