Here it is: the 10th day of May already! And the northward migration is well underway. I wonder how many people are even aware of the massive movement of birds that are winging their way north – at this time in the migration most of these are long-distance migrants; i.e., birds that are flying from Latin and even South America. Most fly at night and as we sink into oblivion and snore away, the sky is alive with these little creatures speeding north to their nesting grounds. For me, it’s a deeply moving thought. To get a handle on this movement, May 10th has been designated a “Big Day” – and encouragement for people to get outside and count as many birds and species as they can. A good way to get people to pay attention to the natural world around them. Some birders go at it competitively – who can see the most – but, hopefully, most people, birders or otherwise, use the time simply to take in the panorama of birds around them.

It’s been slow going at the Farm with low catches and not a lot of species sighted. My thinking is that these migrants don’t have a real reason to drop in here; they’ve got to get to the nesting ground as quickly as possible, males to carve out and defend a territory, females to find a mate with good attributes and territory and start to nest. After all, there isn’t a lot of time. So I would wager that migrants south of Lake Erie would, in good conditions, clear Erie and continue on to clear Lake Ontario and Toronto before dropping down to rest and feed. It’s not a particularly long arduous flight; e.g., a bird on the far shore of Lake Erie directly south of us would have to fly about 165 km to clear the city of Mississauga where it would then be able to find resting/feeding spots. Given that they fly around 30 km per hour, that’s less than a 6-hour flight – very doable. So I’m sure many migrants are just flying over us.

However, today – to help us celebrate Global Big Day – we had a plethora of migrants, especially warblers, drift through the treetops for a couple of hours. We were able to identify 14 species of warblers! Frustratingly, most of them stayed high in the willows and, although we got good looks at them, we weren’t able to hold them in our hands. And it’s a marvelous feeling to hold a little creature that you know has flown 2000+ km to get here, having traversed all kinds of obstacles, and will continue on for maybe another 500-1000 kilometers.
Banded 21;
1 Northern House Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 American Robin
2 Lincoln’s Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Baltimore Oriole
1 Red-winged blackbird
2 Common Grackles
1 Northern Waterthrush
3 Nashville Warblers

1 Common Yellowthroat
2 Yellow Warblers
4 Western Palm Warblers
ET’s: 57 spp.
Photos:

PS: And from today, the 11th; Banded 32::
1 Warbling Vireo
1 Northern House Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 American Goldfinch
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
2 Red-winged blackbirds
2 Nashville Warblers
1 Common Yellowthroat
2 Northern Parulas

11 Yellow Warblers
3 Western Palm Warblers
4 Myrtle Warblers
2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
ET’s: 46 spp.

Rick

Yesterday we had sunshine and heat, conditions that had me regretting that I had forgot to bring a hammock. It was windy though and that, together with last night’s unsettled conditions, made for poor banding. But….it did make for good planting! Cathy Blott of the Haldimand Stewardship Council brought 12 flowering shrubs and we planted them in strategic areas to enhance the edge habitat, a long-term project that I’m hoping will eventually transform the prairie meadow/wetland interface into a long migrant reserve. It will take time, but we’re well on the way.
Planted today:
Nannyberry
Wild Black Currant
Red Elderberry
Arrowwood Viburnum
Chokecherry
Wild Crabapple
Interestingly, we discovered that taking down a lot of the Buckthorn has opened up the ground to a variety of plants – young Chokecherry was found in thick stands in areas previously obscured by the Buckthorn.


Today conditions reverted to what we were experiencing through much of April: a cold, biting wind and intermittent showers. But, on the bright side, the precipitation couldn’t have come at a better time for yesterday’s plantings. It should certainly help them on their way. So…May showers will bring new growth…and also mosquitoes, so get ready! We did have some nice birds today until rain forced us to close up shop.
May 2nd; Banded 10:
1 White-throated Sparrow
1 Baltimore Oriole
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Common Grackles
2 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 34 spp.

May 3rd; Banded 22:
1 Mourning Dove
1 American Robin
1 White-throated Sparrow
2 Swamp Sparrows
5 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Common Grackle
1 Nashville Warbler

1 Black & White Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat

4 Yellow Warblers
2 Myrtle Warblers
1 Northern Cardinal
ET’s: 46 spp.




Rick

What a marvellous time of year this is. Buds bursting, wildflowers pushing their colours up through the earth, and long-distance migrants singing their way through the treetops.

For several years now we’ve been feeding orioles in Spring and Summer with a jam feeder that they empty enthusiastically day after day. A couple of days ago, from the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of orange and black fly to the spot on the back deck where the feeder usually hangs. The feeder was there…but no jam…I thought it was still too early to put any out. But this bird went to the exact spot it should have been. I went out to see if my eyes had been deceiving me. From the tree overhead I heard an oriole (literally) scolding me. It was obviously annoyed. I quickly grabbed the grape jelly jar, filled the feeding glass and put it into the feeder. Within a minute it was feeding on it! This was obviously one of “my” birds. It had come home. I tried to imagine where it had spent the winter….Belize? Southern Mexico? Certainly some place sunny and warm. I also tried to imagine the flight that had brought it back to my yard, the obstacles it would have had to have overcome: Gulf of Mexico crossing (maybe); the lights of big cities; tall buildings; possible predators. impossible to predict; inclement weather (we’ve certainly had enough of that – and it was bad in the States too). But here it was and providing sweet sustenance was the least I could do. It was a heart-warming moment.

There was a different “feel” at the Farm this morning too. The buds are just starting to break open but bird song was all over. There’s something moving when you see these long-distance birds working their way along the edges and through the trees. Life is coming back from the cold confines of Winter with gusto.

Banded 27:
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Northern House Wren
1 Veery
1 American Goldfinch
5 White-throated Sparrows
2 Swamp Sparrows
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Common Grackles
1 Common Yellowthroat
3 Yellow Warblers
7 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 40 spp.
Rick

It’s amazing the subjects that can be covered when a group of bright young people sits around the picnic table. Take the above picture. (Don’t tell us what you see – keep your deep, inner thoughts….and urges…. to yourself….) You see, it’s really not an inkblot a la Rorschach. It’s a picture of a facial mite that Keira took out of her nose! Well, not literally out of her nose….that would be kind of disgusting for picnic table interaction while consuming muffins. As an experiment, she put a piece of tape on her nose before going to bed. And when she woke up the next morning, examined the tape under a microscope for little parasites called facial mites. And there you see one. Evidently, everyone has them and, according to Keira, you get them from your mother shortly after birth and they stay with you for a lifetime living in tiny openings on your face/head like pores and hair follicles. (To combat them, I’ve reduced the amount of hair on my head….). Also evidently, your genetic lineage can be traced through the DNA of your personal facial mites. See! I’ll bet some of you think that all we talk about is the relative merit of Timbits vs home baking. This morning it got a lot heavier than that.

The weather over the last few days has been a roller coaster with temperatures ranging from low single digits accompanied by cold gusting winds and drizzle/rain to 27 C. and bright sunshine – t-shirt conditions. And, although migrants having been moving through, we’re now starting to see some of that exciting movement. I’m not sure what it is about warblers but they’re somehow special and when you begin to see (and catch) them it’s a great feeling.

The conditions have caused us to make a lot of adjustments to our catching: opening some nets but not others that the wind is billowing; in some instances depending primarily on ground traps; closing early as the wind builds. It can be a struggle but the arrival of long distance migrants keeps it exciting – you just never know what the next round may (or may not) bring.
April 23rd; banded 14:
1 Northern Flicker
4 Tree Swallows
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Brown Thrasher
1 American Goldfinch
1 White-throated Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
3 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
ET’s: 43 spp.

April 24th; Banded 14:
2 American Goldfinches
3 Swamp Sparrows
4 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
3 Common Grackles
1 Northern Waterthrush
ET’s: 44 spp.

April 25th; Banded 12:
1 Blue Jay
3 White-throated Sparrows
6 Red-winged Blackbirds
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Common Grackle
ET’s: 34 spp.

April 26th; Banded 22:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Gray Catbird
3 American Goldfinches
5 White-throated Sparrows
2 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Common Grackles
1 Western Palm Warbler
3 Myrtle Warblers
ET’s: 42 spp.






We’ve slowly making progress on the outfitting of the new cabin. It’s interesting how useful connections are made. I was looking for some ideas to put on the floor so that it would be easier to sweep up at the end of the day and to wash when needed. So Keira showed a picture of the building in the flood; she showed it to someone else who just happened to have a couple of rolls of rubberized flooring that, once they were put into place, seem ideal. And the cost? The donor just wanted to get rid of the stuff…perfect!

Rick