A Good Walk Perfected

Sometimes I wonder whether what I’ve written is relevant.  Perhaps at a point in time a piece was newsworthy or interesting.  However, time and current events often catch up and leave your piece as something to be filed under “P” for passed its best before date.

However, this story, basically a report on a presentation on birds and birding, seems more relevant today that when I put fingers to keyboard back in May of 2014. 

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It has been said that golf is a good walk spoiled.

But birding is “a good walk perfected.”  That was the message Jeff Gordon brought recently  to a large group of outdoor enthusiasts at Bird Studies Canada’s (BSC) National Office in Port Rowan just about 400 metres from my residence.

Yes, we have a National Office in Port Rowan. And Gordon, a celebrity in the birding world was a most able and appropriate speaker as spring migration is ramping up here on Ontario’s South Coast.

Gordon heads up the American Birding Association (ABA), a non-profit organization that provides leadership to North America birders and also contributes to bird and bird habitat conservation through its programs.

He was in town to participate as the Celebrity Birder in the annual Baillie Birdathon as well as to speak at this special event billed as a Celebration of Birding.

Gordon is passionate about birding and birds.  He worries, though, that birders need to open up to others who may be interested in nature and the outdoors but are intimidated by the vast knowledge many experienced birders present.  Rather birders need to be “evangelists” about their hobby and help “break down barriers” for newcomers.

Gordon’s presentation included plenty of action shots of birders from around North America including Alvaro Jaramillo. (Jaramillo coined the “good walk perfected” line.)  The ABA head takes these types of pictures because birders are good at taking photos of warblers and eagles and the like but not so good at taking pictures of people enjoying birds.  More images that capture the “grandeur of birding” are needed.

Earlier in the day, local ornithologist Tim Lucas found a rare Kirtland’s Warbler near the entrance to the new Long Point Provincial Park.  This is considered North America’s rarest warbler and is normally found only in a small area in the north central part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula during breeding season.

Gordon and a dozen or so others were there.  He captured the excitement on his smart phone and shared the footage in the evening presentation thereby reinforcing his key message.

I think Gordon made his point well that night.  The next day another relatively rare bird was located in the area.  Check out this picture from Jody Allair's twitter account and you should be able to share in the enthusiasm with those seeing a Bell’s Vireo for the first time.

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This story was originally published by Forever Young, a Metroland paper.

Update:

**In 2020 Bird Studies Canada changed in name to Birds Canada.  That change is recognition that their work extends beyond the study of birds and encompasses “public engagement, habitat stewardship, education and training, involvement in guiding conservation decisions, and more.”

**The 60th Long Point Christmas Bird Count took place on 19 December. The count covers a 24km circle centered on the lighthouse south of St. Williams, ON. 

Stu Mackenzie of Birds Canada reports that forty-seven local birders counted a remarkable 73,759 birds of 114 species.

This total ties the second highest species total (114 in 2016). It is also the third highest total number of birds tallied in the 60-year history of the Long Point count.

Ice free conditions on the Inner Bay meant that many waterfowl were still present including 20,000 Redhead.  Thousands of Tundra Swans and Sandhill Cranes remain in the area. 

Highlight bird was the first ever White Pelican seen on Count Day at Turkey Point.  It is still here.

Seven Great Horned Owls were counted including this one photographed close to our B & B on Birds Canada property.  

A Harbinger

This morning we are hearing red-winged blackbirds, clearly a harbinger of spring, right?  I realized I’ve had this thought and probably said it aloud many, many times during the late winter over the years.

But what is a harbinger?  I don’t really know where the word comes from.   You’ll know, but I don’t.  So I looked it up.

Well, there is an archaic use of harbinger.  That is “a person sent ahead to provide lodgings.”  I guess that is pretty much what Mister RWBG is doing out there today.  And the more modern usage “something that foreshadows a future event: something that gives an anticipatory sign of what is to come” seems to fit too.  But it must be noted there is another meaning  i.e., “one that initiates a major change : a person or thing that originates or helps open up a new activity, method, or technology.” 

Anyway,  I can report that there are many harbingers of spring around Port Rowan/Long Point these days.

Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) reports  that great numbers of birds are already arriving in Long Point Bay. Tundra Swans, 1000’s of Canvasback and Redhead, & a good mix of other species are here. There are still a lot of Sandhill Cranes around too.  Karen saw big numbers landing in the fields to the west of

us on Saturday evening.

Here is a recent listing from e-Birds that will give you an idea of what has been seen in the area in recent days.
https://ebird.org/canada/subnational2/CA-ON-NF?yr=all

LPBO Notes

Some other interesting local stories picked up from LPBO’s twitter feed @LongPointBirdOb include:

·       **The Northern Saw-whet Owls banded at LPBO were found elsewhere and recently reported to LPBO.   Both were caught at Watters Smith Memorial State Park, West Virginia, which is 380 km to the south of us. One of those #owls was recaptured only 6 days after being banded at LPBO.

·    **Stu Mackenzie, LPBO’s Director of Migration Ecology, reports on the Swainson’s Thrush that was wearing a band from another observatory when caught here last May.  It was banded near Bath, MI, 330 km west of Long Point, in Aug 2018.

Details on upcoming LPBO activities can be found at https://birdscanada.org/longpoint/images/LPBTbrochure.pdf

Cheers,

Karen, Graham and Bob

Saw Whet Weekends at Wood B & B

Not a week goes by without some interesting bird activity in the Long Point/Port Rowan area.

The period from mid-October until early November is notable as Northern Saw Whet Owls are moving from boreal forests into and through our area.

This small nocturnal owl with a catlike face, oversized head, and bright yellow eyes, while common, is not often seen.  However, on some evenings, staff at the nearby Long Point Bird Observatory’s (LPBO) Old Cut banding station capture and band dozens of these owls.

For the second year we are offering a special package at Wood B & B so visitors can have a chance to see these owls up close.


Our package at $300 (CDN) per room* for two includes:

• Two nights stay
• Check in Friday (October 20, October 27 or November 3) from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Breakfast Saturday and Sunday
• Lunch Saturday and a bagged lunch to go on Sunday
• Dinner Saturday
• Check out Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
• Throughout the weekend you can birdwatch or enjoy the rural charm, diverse landscapes and small town atmosphere of Norfolk County.

*

*A portion of this package fee will be donated to the Long Point Bird Observatory Research Programs.

Call us at 519-586-9700 for information about family and single rates.

. or to make a reservation.

Find out more about Wood B & B at https://www.bbcanada.com/13914.html

Old Cut Banding Station

What the Huffington Post Left Out (about Port Rowan)

A recent piece in Huffington Post listed six top coastal towns in Canada.  The list was comprised of Tofino B.C., Lunenburg and Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia, Twillingate Newfoundland, Cavendish in P.E.I and our town Port Rowan.  See http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/allison-eberle/coastal-canadian-towns_b_9522064.html


The story was actually entitled 6 Coastal Canadian Towns That Will Blow You Away.  And, yes, it is nice that a “hamlet” like ours gets this kind of recognition for its great vacation opportunities.  It seems stroppy to quibble but……….

What about the birds?

Among the many attributes (camping, beachcombing, swimming, hiking and shipwreck diving to name a few) that the Huffington Post listed for Port Rowan there was not one mention of birds.
So just to help out Huffington Post readers I figured some further information was in order.

Six Things you need to Know about Birds in the Port Rowan Long Point Area

1. Port Rowan is situated within a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.  Reserves are internationally designated protected areas intended to show a balanced relationship between people and nature.  There are 16 in Canada.


2. Because of its geographic location, sticking out 32 km into Lake Erie, Long Point attracts large numbers of birds during migration. Many birds, tiring as they fly over Lake Erie in the spring, head to Long Point as the nearest landing point.  Here they can rest and feed before continuing on their journey.


3. According to E-bird Canada, four hundred species of birds have been observed in Norfolk County – most in Port Rowan/Long Point. That is more than 81% of the species that have been recorded in Ontario.


4. So it makes sense that Port Rowan is home to the national office of Bird Studies Canada (BSC), Canada’s leading national charitable organization dedicated to bird science and conservation.

Old Cut Field Station

5. Affiliated with BSC is the Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO). Founded in 1960, LPBO was the first organization of its type in North America.  Three research and banding stations are operated by LPBO where they have banded an amazing total of 972,216 birds since 1960.  The Old Cut field station, a ten minute drive from Port Rowan, is open to the public beginning this weekend (April 1).


Black Tern at the Wetlands last Spring

6. On Hunter Drive in Port Rowan there is a unique feature – wetlands recently converted from sewage lagoons.  The sewage lagoons have been decommissioned and the site has been transformed into an engineered wetland. This change will also restore the balance of the property with prairie grasses and other native shrubs and trees.  Threatened birds like bobolinks and meadowlarks may be attracted to the enhanced habitat and begin to nest here. In the last decade, nearly 30 per cent of all the bird species that have been seen in Canada have been observed at this spot.

Port Rowan Wetlands Opens

(This story originally appeared in the Norfolk News on September 30th.  Since then birders have observed a  Hudsonian Godwit, the first recorded at the Wetlands. Below is a shot of the Hudsonian Godwit taken Sunday evening.   

Wetlands Opening

It was fitting, perhaps, that a shorebird joined the crowd that had gathered on Hunter Drive North for the official opening of the Port Rowan Wetlands Sept. 24.

A pectoral sandpiper came in low and glided through the assembled group of dignitaries and interested observers. The bird landed on the newly constructed concrete walkway just metres from the viewing platform.

It was easy to imagine that the sandpiper was paying tribute to the newly restored area.

Birds have been coming to the former Port Rowan Sewage lagoons for years, of course.

Steven Price, president of Bird Studies Canada, whose national headquarters is just to the southwest of the site, recalls driving here from Toronto about 40 years ago.

“We’d tell people to go to the cannery road and turn north,” he said, recalling that the lagoons provided easy access to see swallows, waterfowl and a few shorebirds.

In the last decade, nearly 30 per cent of all the bird species that have been seen in Canada have been observed at this spot. That works out to 190 different species according to E-Bird, an online database of bird observations.

Although the pectoral sandpiper is a species that is doing well, fourteen species at risk have also been observed here, said Price, whose organization was one of the partners involved in establishing the wetlands.

With the completion of the adjacent wastewater treatment plant in 2012, the sewage lagoons were decommissioned.

Funds were then obtained to transform the site into an engineered wetland and restore the balance of the property with prairie grasses and other native shrubs and trees.

Water that once went directly into Dedrick Creek now moves through the wetlands and is naturally filtrated. This natural cleansing works to keep pollution, toxins and nutrients out of the water system.

Mayor Charlie Luke referenced the construction of the new wastewater facility and pointed over his shoulder to the wetlands.

“This is the icing on the cake, here for generations to come,” said the mayor.  

Steering committee members like Peter Bryan-Pulham, senior drainage superintendent for Norfolk County, spoke of how the Drainage Act, often a piece of legislation that is a challenge to navigate, actually worked in favour of getting the project done as the various partners worked together.

“It is a good example of groups who can sometimes be at each other’s throats agreeing on a common objective to restore sewage lagoons that aren’t much use to people when they are closed,” Price declared.

He expects that threatened birds like bobolinks and meadowlarks may be attracted to the enhanced habitat and begin to nest here. Nighthawks and chimney swifts could be drawn to the wetlands area too.

The County hopes that people from around the province and from across Canada will come as well.

They’ll be interested in how they may be able to replicate this unique Norfolk venture that benefits the natural world but will also be of economic value to Norfolk and Port Rowan.

Goings on in Port Rowan/Long Point This Week.

It has taken a long time but it appears that the grand opening of the Port Rowan Wetlands will take place this Thursday.

Some of you will remember the sewage lagoons on Hunter Drive North.  They were decommissioned three years ago and since then they have been in the process of being converted into a functional table wetland.

We’ve been observing the complex process of the transformation over these past three years.

The most obvious changes occurred this spring.

That was when the berm that separated the two ponds was removed.

Now there is a long point that looks like an island.

According to by Shirley Rothery, Chair of the Long Point Biosphere, 

at the “north east where the municipal drain enters the wetland

the bottom will be contoured so that it rises gradually to the height of the island. This will help to keep water circulating in the wetland from the north east where it enters to the north west where it will exit. The variation in the water depths will encourage the growth of different types of vegetation and attract different birds and animals.”

You can read a summary of the project at http://www.longpointbiosphere.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/biosphereBeacon_summer2015_loRes.pdf.  It is on page 7.of this informative newsletter from the Long Point Biosphere.

Tall prairie grass has been planted on both sides of Hunter Drive.  This will eventually transform the area into an ecosystem once common in the area.  It will benefit wildlife and help protect the cold water creek from erosion.

Snowy Owl at the Port Rowan Wetlands December 2014

E-Bird records 190 species seen at this site http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L382681?m=&yr=all&changeDate=Set . Last Saturday one of our B & B guests observed 35 species on a quick trip to the wetlands.  They are located just 600 metres north of our house.  The ongoing transformation will certainly promise that even more species will be seen in future years.

Barn Swallow / Forest Birds Workshop - September 24, 2015

Also this week, there will be a couple of presentations at Bird Studies Canada (BSC) headquarters on Thursday evening.  BSC’s Kristyn Richardson will talk about stewardship programs for swallows.  She will be followed by wildlife biologist Gregor Beck and BSC’s Jody Allair.  They’ll talk about forest birds that are at risk.  The workshop runs from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at BSC headquarters,115 Front Road in Port Rowan on Thursday, September 24th.

Update

It has been  a while since we posted.

In fact, it was May 23rd when we noted the presence of a pair of White Faced Ibis which, according to Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO), was the last day they were seen.

Barn Swallows

Our family has been volunteering for the nonprofit group Bird Ecology and Conservation Ontario. Zoe Lebrun-Southcott and Andy Campomizzi are running a Barn Swallow and social cues program.  Read more about it at http://www.beco-birds.org/portfolio-item/barn-swallows-and-social-cues/ 

Unfortunately the structures we are monitoring haven't been productive. We see lots of other birds though during our twice weekly monitoring sessions including the Green Heron (pictured above) which seems to be present fairly regularly.

Long Point Bird Observatory  (LPBO

Speaking of LPBO, their 56th spring season ended at the Tip on June 10th. The day before they had observed a Cassin's Kingbird. This was the first ever at Long Point and the first live one in Ontario since 1970.  According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this bird should be in Mexico or the south west United States. (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cassins_Kingbird/id)

Birds are moving around the Long Point/Port Rowan area all year.  And consider this: It is only 48 days until the Fall Monitoring season opens on August 15th.  Here is a summary of the spring season from LPBO.  http://www.bsc-eoc.org/longpoint/index.jsp?targetpg=lpbosight

Counting Butterflies

An interesting event is coming up this Saturday July 4th. Adam Timpf is coordinating a Butterfly Count.

He tells us that the the butterfly count runs like a Christmas bird count. 

"Groups of people cover different areas counting and identifying every butterfly they find. People spend the entire day in the field and then get together around 5:00 for dinner and to compile the results," says Adam. 

If you are interested in participating contact Adam at adam.timpf@gmail.com

Wetlands

Some of you will remember the old Port Rowan sewage lagoons.  They are being transformed into wetlands as this story from the Port Rowan Good News does a good job at describing.   http://www.portrowangoodnews.com/port-rowan-wetland-restoration-will-be-first-of-its-kind-to-transform-sewage-lagoon-to-functional-wetland/

We've been watching a family (maybe two families) of Common Gallinule at the wetlands recently.  Hopefully, we'll have some pictures soon.  

Meanwhile, here is a Black Tern from that location from earlier this year. 

Birds of May

We have been favoured by some interesting birds in the last week.


Along with many others, we've had some good views of a pair of White-faced Ibis which were in the area for about a week.  They could be found just off Lakeshore Road about 500 metres east of Port Royal.  They are pictured  in flight above and feeding to the right. They may still be around.


Graham got a good shot of a black tern  at the Port Rowan Wetlands on Friday May 22nd. (to the right).

Spring is Here. We think.

Motus Tracking System

Earlier this month I decided to check out the rumour that spring had arrived.


So I headed out so seek confirmation.


One way to do that if you live in south Norfolk County, as I do, is to go to the Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) banding station at Old Cut on Long Point.


Thousands of Tundra Swans have already passed through the area on their way to their Arctic breeding grounds.  The Swans were somewhat behind this year due to lack of open water but on this Easter Monday migration was more widespread.  Swallows, Eastern Towhees Kinglets, Phoebes and others were moving through, evidence that we may finally be able to put winter behind us.


The banding station staff and volunteers were busy with birds and, as always in my experience, easily approachable to take questions from visitors.


One question about the technology involved in banding and tracking birds was a timely one.


That is because LPBO has been using the same relatively simple, labour intensive bird monitoring and research techniques since 1960.  That was the year when LPBO was established as the first organization of its kind in North America.                                                                                                                     


Banding and monitoring requires mist nets (Imagine elongated badminton nets.), cloth bags, favourable wind conditions and people power.  Here is a short video that shows how it is done.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihvgEERGKqU


Soon, an LPBO staffer will band the research station’s one-millionth bird at one of their three Lake Erie shore locations. The records provide a huge database of knowledge.  And, while I believe this work will continue, a new system has been developed over the last few years that will take research to a completely new level.


The Motus Tracking System fits birds with miniaturized radio transmitters so that researchers can track the real-time movements of these radio-tagged birds. 


These small transmitters cost about $200.  They weigh 0.3 grams and less depending on the bird that is being tagged. A warbler, who tips the scales at about ten grams, receives a transmitter that weighs about 0.1 grams, for example.

More than 250 tracking stations have been set up to date.  These stations resemble those TV aerials that we all had on our roofs in the fifties.  Each one of these stations can pick up the signal from tagged birds when they pass within about 20 kilometres.  


LPBO Program Co-ordinator Stu Mackenzie is the Motus Wildlife Tracking System Manager.  He reports that researchers and organizations radio-tagged over 1800 birds and bats of more than 30 species in southern Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes, and as far north as Southampton Island, Nunavut last year.


The Motus Tracking system is an exciting new development that will foster cooperation among bird researchers throughout the western hemisphere.  They’ll gain a better understanding of how migratory animals move over land and water.  Better wildlife policies and regulations will result.
For a more detailed description of the tracking system go to http://www.bsc-eoc.org/download/BWCfa14.pdf

Refocussing on "Our" Birds

The New Year provides the opportunity to make a small change in focus of this blog.

When we started out it seemed like a good idea to provide a little info on birds (and other wildlife) we have seen or heard about in the Port Rowan/Long point area.  From time to time, we’d slip a little reference in to Wood B & B.  Like this http://www.bbcanada.com/13914.html

Earlier this week, we read that a hunting season for Snow Geese and Ross’s Geese was going to start in Alberta.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/alberta-expected-to-declare-first-snow-goose-hunt/article22316287/

Apparently, hunters will be able to bag up to fifty a day.  (We aren’t hunters here so forgive us if “bag” is not the right word.)

It seems that these birds are in such abundance now that they are destroying their own habitat.  We have always understood that one of the main concerns for birds and other wildlife is the destruction of habitat.   We are more accustomed to us (humankind) being the offender when it comes to habitat destruction.

But, let’s get back to the idea of a small focus change for this blog. These birds are “our birds” as they represent two of the nearly 400 species counted at Long Point/Port Rowan over the years. For that reason, it seems appropriate to keep track of how species like these are doing when they’re not “visiting” us.  Let’s see how it goes.

Last fall Canadian Geographic had a story on this subject.  You can read it here.  http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/oct13/ross_geese_nunavut.asp

Time to check the feeders.  It’s cold down here.

Sandhill Cranes near Port Rowan

This time of year, we spend a fair bit of time heading westward a kilometre or two looking for Sandhill Cranes.

They aren’t hard to find as they are usually feeding just east or west of highway #59, north of Front Road/Lakeshore near Port Rowan.

On Christmas Eve at dusk, we watched from the Big Creek viewing platform as a couple of hundred came in for the night.

The Long Point Christmas Count conducted on Saturday December 20th tallied 730 Sandhill Cranes.

Here they are:

More details on the count at http://www.mail-archive.com/birdalert@ontbirds.ca/msg35028.html

Snowy Owl in Port Rowan

It is a warmish but drab day in Port Rowan.

Keen birders are off at the Woodhouse Christmas Count.
http://www.delhinewsrecord.com/events/1053372

We went for a short hike at the Port Rowan Wetlands on Hunter Drive North with no real expectations of seeing any interesting birds.

Port Rowan Wetlands

Graham took the picture of a Female Snowy Owl shown below before she headed off in the direction of the Beer Store.