Weather Birding Outlook & Notes (+ possible rarity alert)

Things are looking interesting in the weather world over the next few days, so I thought I'd do a proper post...

First up, images from tonight - Apr 6-  (yesterday when this posts)... Surface winds (NE, cold) -

NE winds in southern ON (and southern Great Lakes) 

Surface winds + temperature from the same time:

Just above freezing, but mainly due to lake water... 

Now we'll look at 850mb winds (roughly 1500m up off the surface)

850mb winds on Apr 6 at 9:30ish pm... Note the strong southerly flow hitting the southern great lakes! I'm not sure how high passerines fly, but I do know they don't fly along the surface...

850mb winds with 850mb temperature overlay... Note that the air is fairly warm right up to the southern Great Lakes, all the way back to the gulf of mexico

Finally, a surface map from the same time (roughly):

Almost-sorta looks like zonal flow?! But the Jet is a bit messy... Anyways, the point of this weather bit is to show that warm southerly air often rides above the surface conditions, so even though we have 3-4 days of NE winds and cool temperatures, conditions are ripe for migration just south of us... In terms of nocturnal migrants, I would expect them to continue flying (with new arrivals possible at places like Pelee or Long Point) - even though the conventional wisdom would be to expect them when the temperatures start to increase...

Neat huh?!

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Other weather news - I don't really feel right issuing a "rarity alert" for later this week, but it's possible that we could see some good birds from some upcoming weather. Most notably is the potential for a severe weather outbreak mid-late week... The exact requirements for a "rarity event" under these circumstances elude me (on a local level) - but overall birders around the Great Lakes should be keeping their eyes peeled as we go forwards...

Severe outlook... Major historical outbreaks of Tornadoes have directly corresponded to mega rare birds in southern Ontario in the late april - may period... But I'm still trying to figure out what exactly we should be looking for in order to get these birds into our borders!

I can say that a severe outbreak is tied to a strong kink in the jet with powerful winds aloft (and often a strong temperature gradient) - so needless to say, that can get birds moving! This system may be a bit too far south to get southern Ontario in on the action, but time will tell... If it comes close enough, we could be in for another serious "surge" in migration. 

How far north the subtropical jet will travel is important! Although great birds often correlate to nice weather on weekends - simply because people are out looking... I'll take any excuse I can get!

This Thurs-Fri storm will "wrap around" with an occluded front for Saturday/Sunday ish - meaning we should see some nice/normal weekend weather... Another system is possible on Monday for another "migration surge" (if we're lucky)... Watch this space! And go birding!

2015 BIG YEAR - March Update

March 2015

This is the third monthly summary of my 2015 CONDO BIG YEAR!!!

Red dot is my condo building

Red mark is the blue area defined in the first map

Click for - BIG YEAR RULES

The birds! (new species in bold)-

Cackling Goose - 2
Canada Goose - 975
Mute Swan - 4
Trumpeter Swan - 1

Tundra Swan - 81

Wood Duck - 2
Gadwall - 7

American Wigeon - 5

American Black Duck - 37
Mallard - 709

Northern Shoveler - 2

Northern Pintail - 64

Green-winged Teal - 2

Canvasback - 6
Redhead - 311
Greater Scaup - 555
Lesser Scaup - 2

King Eider - 1
Surf Scoter - 1315
White-winged Scoter - 1590
Black Scoter - 53
Long-tailed Duck - 2280
Bufflehead - 4
Common Goldeneye - 395

Barrow's X Common Goldeneye hybrid - 1
Common Merganser - 30
Red-breasted Merganser - 570

Red-throated Loon - 15
Common Loon - 1
Horned Grebe - 1

Red-necked Grebe - 4

Neotropic Cormorant - 1

Double-crested Cormorant - 54

Great Blue Heron - 2

Turkey Vulture - 89
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1

Cooper's Hawk - 6
Bald Eagle - 12

Red-shouldered Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 22

Rough-legged Hawk - 2

Killdeer - 25

American Woodcock - 1

Bonaparte's Gull - 2
Ring-billed Gull - 1674
Hering Gull - 2103
Thayer's Gull - 1
Iceland Gull - 8
Glaucous Gull - 35
Great Black-backed Gull - 146
"Great Lakes" (Herring X Great Black-backed) Gull - 2
Rock Pigeon - 29
Mourning Dove - 356
Snowy Owl - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 7
American Kestrel - 2
Merlin - 3

Peregrine Falcon - 2
American Crow - 454
Common Raven - 3

Horned Lark - 125

Black-capped Chickadee - 15

Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
American Robin - 1631
European Starling - 3419
Snow Bunting - 8
Song Sparrow - 5
Northern Cardinal - 27

Red-winged Blackbird - 4401

Rusty Blackbird - 1

Common Grackle - 2524

Brown-headed Cowbird - 202
House Finch - 88
American Goldfinch - 13
House Sparrow - 440

Total species - 73

Total ebird checklists - 34

Best birds of the month: Neotropic Cormorant, King Eider, Common Ravens, Snowy Owl, Cackling Geese, Thayer's Gull

Useless seasonal rarities: Barrow's Goldeneye hybrid isn't seasonal, but still useless! Useless I say!

Highlight "big year" birds: well the Corm is clearly a standout, but good "big year" condo birds include Canvasback, American Wigeon, Red-shouldered Hawk, Tundra and Trumpeter Swans, American Woodcock etc... Finally getting a few Peregrine Falcons also made me happy :)

Checklists of the month:

#1 - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22343285 (probably the first good morning of migration)
#2 - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22611087 (for obvious reasons)
#3 - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22327952 (I like hybrids - and was a fun day)


Total species added to the big year this month: 26

Big year total to date: 77



Target species going forwards: It's a migration sensation! Hard to have targets when the birds are pouring through... I'd still love to get a Golden Eagle (or Black Vulture?!) from the hawk watches, plus I should just grab as many April migrants as possible... I think I'll be putting out some seed (somewhere far below) to try and score some sparrows etc.

eBird needs alerts - ebird seems to have deleted this feature (???) but you can be darn sure I should have had Blue Jay by now...

KM driven: 0
KM flown: 0
KM by boat: 0
KM by train: 0
KM by helicopter: 0

(1 Kilometer = 0.621371192237334 Miles)


Previous summaries: January | February |


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Thoughts:

I pretty much saw everything to date in March... Hairy Woodpecker, Common Redpoll, American Tree Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco are the ONLY big-year species on my list that I didn't see in March... I knew I should have gone to Mexico!

I guess that isn't a bad thing, as I had a sweet mix of rarities and good condo birds to bolster the effort. A bird like Canvasback has been remarkably tough 'round these parts in recent years... So scoring a small group in mid march probably had me a bit more giddy than the cormorant... I was also getting seriously worried about King Eider, but thankfully a female arrived and gave me a break from scanning ducks...

Oh! And Red-breasted Nuthatch was new for my ALL TIME condo list (the only species of the month, and the 2nd "condo first" this year)...

Again the species tallies tell me that I'm doing everything right. I counted ~10,000 migrating passerines this month and can only hope that number increases in April! 26 species of waterfowl is also pretty exciting... With April here, all bets are off - as late month begins the utterly insane "prime time" season for rarities!

Crazy sunrise on 31 March

Toronto on a remarkably clear night

Almost as Epic Condo Birding. Somewhat less epic migration.

Condo bird list from yesterday (April 3rd)... Things felt a bit slower, with considerably less waterfowl on the move - but I still scored 70 species and a few year birds... Wanted to turn this into a proper post... I've looked at the proper list, and have had 81 species (and over 15,000 individuals) at my condo in less than 48 hours. That was a pretty awesome event! Here's a look at the wind map from Apr 2nd

Exactly what I like to see - long distance southerly winds!

The tally:


Canada Goose 63
Trumpeter Swan 1 (K93)
Tundra Swan 21
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 4
American Wigeon 3
Mallard 35
Northern Shoveler 7
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal 4
Canvasback 10
Redhead 35
Ring-necked Duck 4
Greater Scaup 225
Lesser Scaup 300
King Eider 1 
Surf Scoter 175
White-winged Scoter 200
Black Scoter 10
Long-tailed Duck 500
Bufflehead 2
Common Goldeneye 8
Common Merganser 10
Red-breasted Merganser 90
Red-throated Loon 2
Common Loon 18
Horned Grebe 45
Red-necked Grebe 2
Neotropic Cormorant 1
Double-crested Cormorant 475
Great Blue Heron 6
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 250
Osprey 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8
Cooper's Hawk 2
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 45
Rough-legged Hawk 1
Killdeer 15
Ring-billed Gull 200
Herring Gull 60
Glaucous Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1    - truly domestic type bird (really odd looking)
Mourning Dove 30
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 4
American Kestrel 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 25
Horned Lark 10
Tree Swallow 30
Black-capped Chickadee 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 18
American Robin 1400
European Starling 1000
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 1300
Common Grackle 1000
Brown-headed Cowbird 450
House Finch 15
American Goldfinch 20
House Sparrow 25

Some condo notables were my foy Ring-necked Ducks, the Trumpeter Swan, Canvasbacks... The ongoing King Eider (female), a surge in Lesser Scaup, lots of grebes, another Great Egret, a Peregrine (10 raptors), lots of Tree Swallows, Mourning Doves were "migrating" for the first time today, lots of bluebirds, (lots of passerines in general)... Oh - and that small cormorant again... 

Things are looking downright winter-ish for the rest of the week, but that doesn't mean we can't see some good birds! 

Epic Condo Birding. Epic Migration.

This was a day to freakin remember. From January 2nd to April 1st - I had seen 78 species of birds from my condo... I SAW 74 TODAY ALONE!!!!!!!!!

11 FOY's
3 rarities
~20 flagged ebird sightings

I counted over 7500 freakin birds from my place... Full ebird checklist (and some highlight photos) below...

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Cackling Goose 1
Canada Goose 395
Tundra Swan 320
Wood Duck 7
Gadwall 21
American Wigeon 35
American Black Duck 4
Mallard 145
Northern Pintail 125
Green-winged Teal 11
Green-winged X Common Teal (intergrade) 1

Common Teal features (large horizontal white bar on sides, contrasty, extra white on the facial markings) - but had a faint "American" spur on its side. Not even visible in all photos, but seen fairly easily with the scope. Photo'd. Not really a bird i'd expect to see at the condo... Hangin out in a mixed flock of Scaup and Wigeon... 

Canvasback 3
Redhead 65
Greater Scaup 650
Lesser Scaup 45
King Eider 2

ADULT freakin MALE flying W with 2 wood ducks and a RB Merganser mid morning (8am?) - up 100ft off the surface. NUTS... Then a female hanging out with the scoters/feeding etc. Heart attack material... 

Surf Scoter 125
White-winged Scoter 100
Black Scoter 10
Long-tailed Duck 150
Bufflehead 8
Common Goldeneye 2
Common Merganser 45
Red-breasted Merganser 70
Red-throated Loon 1 basic garb going W
Common Loon 8
Horned Grebe 16
Neotropic Cormorant 1

Picked out by my Dad going E along the shore, at the height of the other building. Continuing 2nd for Hamilton. Was with 2 DCCO. Small size, long tail, white facial feathers visible and photo'd. Boom!

Double-crested Cormorant 600
Great Blue Heron 21
Great Egret 1 foy
Turkey Vulture 35
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Cooper's Hawk 2
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 22
Rough-legged Hawk 2
Killdeer 40
Ring-billed Gull 275
Herring Gull 75
Glaucous Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 20
Belted Kingfisher 1 foy
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 foy
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1 foy
American Kestrel 3
Eastern Phoebe 2 foy
Blue Jay 5 foy
American Crow 30
Horned Lark 3
Tree Swallow 15 foy
Barn Swallow 2 foy
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1 foy
Carolina Wren 1 foy
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 foy
Eastern Bluebird 5 foy
American Robin 600
European Starling 800
Song Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 1100
Rusty Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 1000
Brown-headed Cowbird 600
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 35


Here's hoping for some leftover magic tomorrow... 

Sample OBRC Report - Neotropic Cormorant

Had the OBRC annual meeting on Sunday, and similar to previous years - I end the day wanting to quit and never submit an OBRC report for the rest of my life. Yet here I am, less than 48 hours later - writing an OBRC report and creating a blog post to try and convince others to do the same when they find some goodies...

Took less than an hour, and was done within 4-5 hours of observing the bird... Best way to write these things is ASAP (and it turns out a better / more accurate report anyways) - and it's not that hard! Check it out (as a sample) 

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OBRC Report – Neotropic Cormorant 1, adult

301 Frances Ave. Stoney Creek, Ontario
(from condo 1709 - with view over lake Ontario - looking NE)

31 March 2015
1st obs - roughly 7:50-7:55am
2nd obs - roughly 8:40-8:45am

Optics: Vortex Razor 20-60x Spotting Scope. Vortex Razor 8x42 Binoculars.

Camera: Canon 1Dx DLSR. 600mm F4 lens with a 2.0xTC for the second observation.

Circumstances: watching all birds from my condo on the 17th floor, as I often do… Several flocks of Canada Geese were observed heading SE to NW out over the lake, along with 3 groups of Tundra Swans (maybe 25-30 total birds). Lake was pretty calm, when a group of 30 cormorants appeared directly overhead, flying ENE along the shoreline (I was under them before they were visible, due to my condo building… I quickly spotted a very small bird, and as the flock moved around - I could see the small bird had a much longer tail (relatively) compared to the others. Knowing this was a NECO trait, I decided to run for my camera (which was in my bedroom closet) - but by the time I returned, the birds were far away and I only managed some distant shots from directly behind. The small size was obvious, but there was little else I could do.

Maybe 45 minutes later a flock of 20 cormorants appeared in the distance, coming westwards towards my place (but much further offshore). With my scope I could see the a smaller bird leading the flock, so I setup my camera, opened the door to my balcony, got some shoes on, and moved outside with my camera/scope ready… I could see that I was dealing with the same bird/group (as best as I could tell, even though we lost 10 birds) - and had good looks in the scope before heading for my camera. I snapped maybe 50-70 photos as the group passed, and was feeling pretty confident I was dealing with a NECO.

In review of the photos, >90% of the images showed a small patch of white feathering around the bill to complement the small size and structural difference, identifying the bird as an adult Neotropic Cormorant in breeding plumage. I edited 4 photos, posted them online, then posted to my local bird group (hambirds) and ontbirds to get the word out, as I watched them head towards Hamilton Harbour.

Description: Largely covered. Obviously smaller cormorant (reminds me of a Cackling Goose in a flock of Canada Geese), and with good views I could see a structurally longer tail than the nearby DCCO’s (something I haven’t seen well with previous observations). Beyond that, it looked like a slim/small cormorant… I find photos can be very misleading in judging size on variously flapping birds, and it was more obvious in life than the images tell. Review of photos (not visible in the scope, although I was photographing at it’s closest approach) show a tiny bit of white

Behaviour: The bird did not “fit in” to the flock at all… At first, all seemed pretty calm, but during the first observation it appeared to be trailing the flock and not “in a line” with the rest… During the second observation, it was leading the flock – but was constantly throwing it’s head backwards (up or hunched) and around at the birds behind it, as the others “stalled” – looking like it really didn’t want to lead the group anymore – before flying steadily for a bit (when they all sped up) – and it would try again to convince someone else to take charge. I’ve noticed this before with odd geese (Eg,/ SNGO) mixed into flocks of CANG… It’s like they don’t fly quite the same and have a hard time getting settled…

Similar Species: Smaller than DCCO, with a visibly longer tail. Proportional difference in photos is as expected for DCCO vs. NECO. White feathering on face indicates adult NECO. Size/structure obvious in photos eliminate other N.A. Cormorant species.

Weather: spectacular sunrise. 95-99% CC for observations. Exact details from the Burlington Lift Bridge have been saved as a screen capture. Winds/temps would be nearly identical to my location.

 

Experience with species: Self found (photographed) and OBRC accepted 2nd, 6th and 7th records for Ontario/Canada - with 2-3 “other” observations that “got away” or were viewed poorly… Extensive experience with DCCO and several hundred GRCO, along with several thousand PECO and a few hundred BRAC in the ABA area.

Additional Notes: A tiny cormorant was photographed in late March in Michigan (on Lake MI) in 2013, which I fully believe is a NECO, but I don’t believe the observers submitted it for review. Illinois (on Lake MI) had a bird last year (I believe - didn’t look it up) on 13 April (???) and on 29-30 March a young NECO was photographed in upstate New Jersey of this very year. (ebird). This indicates that they are moving early with DCCO’s here, as it has only been the last day or two that decent numbers started arriving on Lake Ontario (I have seen less than 100) in this cold spring.

Brandon Holden
yada yada yada... 

Photos included:

1 screen capture of the past 24hr weather conditions.
13 unique images of the bird (always the left hand bird when flying to the left/west).
2 additional (closer) crops of the two images above. 

First two images were from the first observation, 4th from the left. 

Remainder of the images are from the 2nd observation - always the left hand bird. 

It's that easy! (easier with photos, but I have other examples of birds without pics!) 

Neotropic Cormorant (TODAY) at the Condo

Details on ontbirds shortly (check it out)!!!

(the little one) 

(was not getting along with the other DCCO's)

COSBIRDF

I am a lifelong birder, love virtually all things natural-history related (sorry plants), and work for a large environmental consulting firm. All of these experiences provide me with a unique viewpoint on the world we live in – and as time goes by I find my focus is drawn more and more to our “endangered” or “at risk” species found in Ontario and beyond…Ever since I was a child, the word “endangered” carried a certain mystique, an allure of scarcity… These species can define a habitat or location… And heck – they can even provide a living if the circumstances are correct. 

Despite my limited time taking interest in such things, I can’t help but feel we are at a crossroads in such processes… Sure, I’m new to all of this – but I can say (with some conviction) that things just ain’t like they used to be. Some of the shine has worn off, as it were… I can beat around the bush for hours, but once you slap “Threatened” next to “Barn Swallow” – well, people just won’t be takin you seriously anymore.

So I'm taking matters into my own hands... The process is too slow, and may well be outdated… In the age of instant information and communication, the everyday man (or woman) has no time for delays, debates, consultation, facts or reading. We need these matters dealt with as quickly (and inexpensively) as possible. I have therefore decided to start COSBIRDF, or;

the Committee On the Status of Birds Internationally, Really Declining or F#©ked

I've taken it upon myself to create the new species list for Ontario... Criteria are utterly subjective and rigorously applied. Let me know if you have any suggestions and we can adopt them ASAP... The list! -

Dead:

Eskimo Curlew

Greater Prairie-Chicken

F#©ked:

Barn Owl
Northern Bobwhite

Really F’in Endangered:

Kirtland’s Warbler
Henslow’s Sparrow
Prothonotary Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
King Rail

Piping Plover
Loggerhead Shrike

Endangered:

Cerulean Warbler
Acadian Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Least Bittern
Golden Eagle
Red Knot

Actually Threatened:

Rusty Blackbird
Golden-winged Warbler
Red-headed Woodpecker

Kinda Threatened:

Olive-sided Flycatcher
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Wood Thrush
Eastern Whip-poor-will

Should be Threatened:

Louisiana Waterthrush
Short-eared Owl

Not Actually Threatened:

Barn Swallow
Bank Swallow
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Canada Warbler

Not sure if Threatened:

Yellow Rail
American White Pelican
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Dickcissel

Especially Concerned:

Sanderling
Black Tern
Upland Sandpiper
Purple Martin

Special Concern:

Eastern Wood-Pewee
Grasshopper Sparrow
Clay-coloured Sparrow
Evening Grosbeak
Tufted Titmouse
Ruddy Turnstone
Marbled Godwit

Not concerned:

Peregrine Falcon
Bald Eagle

Window Views!

It has been a while since I've pulled together some condo-window-views... Doing this big year has not only resulted in some great birds, but some great scenes too!

Some of my early favourites from 2015:

Storm!

Advancing dry-front with steam-fog

Already posted - but a goodie. A frozen lake!

Book Review Time! Lost Animals - Extinction and the Photographic Record

Disclaimer! Princeton Publishing provided the copies for review!

(Cover - an awesome one, I must say)

Price listed on book - US $29.95

Author - Errol Fuller

Pages - 256

Size - ~8"x10" - and a little more than an inch thick. 
Topics covered - This book is pretty much 28 species accounts of extinct animals - all featured because of the reprinted photographs of these lost beasts... 
Photographs - Numerous! (148+?) And they're all marvellous and terrible to see

The Skinny: This is a book filled with photographs of extinct animals... The images pull you in, and the (simple) text/accounts keep you thinking about the horrible things humans have done to this planet from a natural history point of view. It's well done. 

The good: It is an interesting book to say the least. Typically I have been reviewing field guides or reference works, and this one is a bit different... It's more of a "book-proper" and therefore may not be the type of material a naturalist is rushing out the door to add to their collection. With that in mind, the book itself is very well done. I could picture an author focusing on the horrible stories of extinction, and the book could have become quite depressing. This isn't the case here, where the figures are labeled in a very factual manner, and the accounts provide relevant details without pointing any fingers. 

If it were darker - it wouldn't be as enjoyable to flip through...

If it were lighter - it wouldn't do these "lost animals" justice...

I quite enjoy it! The "species accounts" structure also allows one to simply pick up the book, and open to any random page - and enjoy it... Rather than reading from start to finish, then putting it on the shelf to collect dust..

The Bad: Extinct animals! But seriously.. The book is quite nice, just don't expect tooo much from it. Many of the images are old (surprise!) so they are hardly the bright stunning images we see in todays print... Shouldn't be a big deal... Also, it acts somewhat like a reference piece, and a lot of work has been put into pulling these images together - but it is hardly a lesson in rigid scientific writing. None of these things are "bad" per-se, but something you should be aware of in advance!

(A good example of some images and how they are presented)

Who should buy it? 

An interesting question! (Thanks!) - I think there are some criteria here to avoid:

- Young children (the images are pretty dull, and they may not appreciate that.. And, 

- People lacking an appreciation for the natural world

I think younger children are not going to become absorbed in this book... Maybe 10+? (I've never had kids, so I'm not exactly sure of this)... But I can tell you that the flying fish book is the type of thing that is going to capture imaginations of little munchkins... The text is easy enough to read that it is very much suitable for "kids" if you think they're ready for it... The other group to "avoid" is people who could care less about our natural world... It's almost the same situation as with the young children (which is how I feel about those people as adults - thinking about things as small kids!) This is not the book to build an appreciation for the natural world... 

To sum it up, if you know someone 10+, and has a basic understanding of what a "species" is, or has heard the word "biodiversity", or just likes being outside in nature - they are likely to enjoy casually flipping through the pages of this book!

(I can only hope my name never appears in a work like this in the future) 

More info here: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10215.html