ONshore Birding

The gulls are beginning to appear in greater numbers along the Niagara River! A few days ago, I had the fortune of observing this subadult Little Gull feeding close to shore in Fort Erie with some Bonaparte's Gulls. It appeared to enjoy a great deal of success, nabbing a small fish on nearly every attempt! I still have space for my November 28 gull tour along the Niagara River. More details available here: http://www.onshorebirding.com/2020-11-28-niagara-river.html

Did you know that the Niagara River is one of the best gull-watching locations in the world? A total of 18 gull species have been recorded along the river over the years, with between 10 and 13 species recorded annually. This winter I will be leading several tours along the Niagara River and gulls will be the primary focus of these tours. We will go over identification, how to age gulls, and aspects of their ecology. We will also be on the lookout for any other bird species, and waterfowl will feature prominently. My first tour is this Saturday, November 14. See my website for more details: http://www.onshorebirding.com/day-tours.html Pictured: A Black-legged Kittiwake from Niagara Falls on November 27, 2017.

The Snow Buntings have arrived! This species breeds in the high Arctic and spends the winter in the middle latitudes of North America where hundreds, or even thousands of individuals will flock together. The windswept pier at Port Weller, St. Catharines is an excellent location to catch up with this species during its migration through southern Ontario in late October through November. On each of my last five visits, I have enjoyed sightings of this charismatic species. Snow ...Buntings are among the first bird species to arrive at the breeding grounds in the spring, returning when the landscape is still snow-covered. Rock crevices are the preferred nesting location in this treeless landscape, so females will line their nests with a thick layer of feathers. This helps to insulate the eggs from the cold rocks underneath. The female can't leave the nest in this cold environment and so she is dependent on the male bringing food to her at regular intervals each day. Amazing how songbirds like the Snow Bunting are able to survive in this seemingly inhospitable environment. See more

The slippery, algae-covered rock lining the Port Weller east pier in St. Catharines is an excellent location to search for migrant Purple Sandpipers in late October through November. This Arctic breeder passes through southern Ontario in very small numbers and Port Weller often gets one or two at this time of year. Spring Purple Sandpipers in southern Ontario are exceptionally rare, but in the autumn juvenile individuals sometimes stop over for a few days. This afternoon ther...e were three Purple Sandpipers (and some Dunlins) at the end of the pier. They were having a lot of success finding small invertebrates among the rocks! Birding at Port Weller the last three days has been stellar, with sightings of Snow Buntings, all the expected diving ducks, a Peregrine Falcon, a flock of Brant and a Short-eared Owl (I missed the owl, though!). It is an exciting time of year to see what birds are moving through!

Yesterday our ONshore Birding tour circled Hamilton harbour, visiting many productive birding areas and finding around 80 species of birds, a good number for late October. The rain luckily held off and we were treated to perfect, calm conditions. Some of the many highlights included the long-staying pair of juvenile Ross's Geese at Bayfront Park, a flock of Evening Grosbeaks in Dundas, a surprise late Blue-headed Vireo, nice views of Dunlins and Black-bellied Plovers at Toll...gate Ponds, fantastic looks at all three scoter species in Stoney Creek (including over 200 Black Scoters!) and a crisp male Barrow's Goldeneye that my friend Rich had found yesterday. The biggest surprise was seeing the long-staying Brown Booby fly past us at Green Road! This bird, only Ontario's second, has been along the west end of Lake Ontario for over two months. Pictured is one of the two very tame Ross's Geese, taken on October 18.