Week 21 Paul's Update (Shorebirds and Warblers)

Yet another week of birding is complete. You know, it didn't really seem like I saw a lot of birds this week, perhaps because I only really got out in the field three times? There was a Sunday morning trip to Presqu'ile Provincial Park. This is a place on Lake Ontario where I went several times to see waterfowl, though most of the waterfowl is now gone with the exception of a few mallards and some mute swan. The focus now is on finding shorebirds and warblers, which are arriving from the south and stopping over before continuing farther north.

The first new bird we saw on this outing was the Common Tern (photo below). These birds were foraging off the beach by hovering over the water and then dropping from the air into the lake. It was quite a spectacle. The other two new birds seen were Semipalmated Plovers (also seen on the beach) and House Wren (seen in the woods as I talked to two older ladies who has even less birding experience than me). There were no new warblers seen. I didn't feel so bad about this after I asked a couple of fellow birders what they were seeing. They had been there for a week and had only tracked down 8 warbler species the entire week. Yikes that's usually what you might see in a day.

My other significant bird excursion was on Saturday morning. My oldest son was once again prodded into joining me for an early morning trip to Darlington Provincial Park. We were hoping to see Whimbrels, a Pipping Plover, and a Ruddy Turnstone, which were all reported to be hanging around on the lakeshore. We saw none of these but instead saw a Willow Flycatcher (and heard it too), a Blackpoll Warbler (who for another a brief moment showed itself), and a Wilson's Warbler. All were good finds.

That made six new bird species for the week
158 Common Tern 5/19/2013 Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Lake Ontario, Ontario
159 Semipalmated Sandpiper 5/19/2013 Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Lake Ontario, Ontario
160 House Wren 5/19/2013 Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Lake Ontario, Ontario
161 Willow Flycatcher 5/25/2013 Darlington Provincial Park, Oshawa, ON
162 Blackpoll Warbler 5/25/2013 Darlington Provincial Park, Oshawa, ON
163 Wilson's Warbler 5/25/2013 Darlington Provincial Park, Oshawa, ON

Common Tern ready to ruin some fish's day.

Dunlin foraging on the beach at Presqu'ile Provincial Park.

Another Dunlin looking for bugs at Darlington Provincial Park.

My birding buddies. Getting hard to see any birds with all of the leaves.

Song Sparrow relaxing on my backyard fence.