East of the Great Plains, an interesting variety of migrant White-crowned Sparrows can be observed. Some birds are “classic” examples of their respective subspecies; leucophrys to the east, gambelii to the west, but many migrants throughout this broad geographic area show intermediate characters. Continue reading White-crowned Sparrows in the East →

Fall is a superb time of year to enjoy Red-tailed Hawks. By early-mid October, the first of many northern breeders descend upon southern Ontario. These northern birds are richly colored throughout and generally have heavy-duty blackish belly bands (some examples showcasing a near-solid “vest”). Continue reading “Northern” Red-tailed Hawks →

By late September, temperatures generally drop quite a bit overnight and do not rise again until mid to late morning. For early morning birding, look for edge habitat that is sunlit; these areas are warmer, drier, and usually have plenty of insect activity. Continue reading The Sunlit Edge →

By late summer / early fall, some adult Yellow-bellied Flycatchers may appear grayish white below…a far cry from their deep and bright early-spring finery; most of their fall molt is completed after their arrival in the wintering grounds. Continue reading Least & Yellow-bellied Flycatcher ID: autumn birds →

Hi there,

This fall, I have embarked on a migration monitoring project in the west end of Ottawa. I visit NCC Shirleys Bay Waterfront Trail several times per week. I have enjoyed seeing “fresh batch” migrant arrivals, increasing and decreasing species abundance; changes to species richness; influxes of specific age groups, etc. Continue reading Least Flycatcher ID…not so straightforward? →

Thursday, August 27th

I birded NCC Shirley’s Bay Waterfront Trail (Trail 10) from just before 0630 AM to just after noon. Amazing birding! Northwesterlies overnight = many landbirds were present and I knew I had to get on them quickly, so, I arrived shortly after dawn. Continue reading Birding the Shirleys Bay Area →

While looking for shorebird habitat S of Richmond Ont., I observed an adult Black-bellied Plover (almost entirely finished its molt into definitive basic, aka: non-breeding, plumage) on the S side of Brophy Dr., about 300 m E of the McCordick/Eagleson intersection. Continue reading Black-bellied Plover: some ID Notes →

The first migrant Baird’s Sandpipers usually appear in southern Ontario during the last few days of July / early August. Here are a few comments on what to look for with Baird’s (far from a definitive list). Continue reading Baird’s Sandpiper: some ID notes →

Using eBird’s Explore Data – Line Graph function, I put together an example of fall migration timing for 5 species of warbler (an arbitrary list) within 5 counties… Continue reading Warblers are coming! →

2 July 2015 – I had the pleasure of observing a female Cerulean Warbler foraging uncharacteristically low to the ground…..definitely a far cry from way up in the the canopy of a mature hardwood! Continue reading Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) – Frontenac Park →