Black Swallowtail

Amherst Island today.

Amherst Island

In the short space of one morning we saw 66 bird species, including 3 for the life list!

Summer Tanager

This is definitely the sighting of the year!

Blackburnian Warbler

Dunlin

These were new for me.

Grey Cheeked Thrush

Another lifer!

Philadelphia Vireo

Upland Sandpiper

And yet another for the life list!

White Rumped Sandpiper

Wilson's Phalarope

Brant and Dunlin

Canada Geese

Yellow Warbler

Amherst Island

Baby Long-eared Owl in nest

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Ruddy Turnstone

Osprey

Baby Long-eared Owl

Northern Watersnake

Beetles on plant

Black-crowned Nightheron

Amherst Island

22 February, 2006

It wasn't one of our better days on Amherst Island. We saw one Snowy Owl in the field off Marshall Fortyfoot Road. We saw this Red-tailed Hawk catch and eat a mouse or vole. We also saw a Rough-legged Hawk and an American Kestrel. On the ferry ride home we saw a Glaucous Gull in amongst all of the Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls. There were quite a few Great Black-backed Gulls as well. The Kestrel and Glaucous were lifers for me. We were disappointed not to find any Northern Saw-whets or Boreal Owls and not a single Long-Eared.

Amherst Island, Ontario

We saw four different Snowy Owls on the Island today.
They were easy to spot on their prominent perches.

Red-tailed Hawk

Horned Lark

Eastern Meadowlark

We were surprised to see several of these as they aren't
a winter bird here.

All of the above birds were seen while driving around the island. We walked into Owl Woods but for all the trudging through the snow we only saw one Long Eared Owl. We had hoped for Northern Saw-whet and Boreal but no luck.

Amherst Island

It was cool and cloudy this morning when I caught the 8:30 AM ferry over to the Island. My first stop was the KFN property at the east end of the island. There was a raft of Red Breasted Mergansers, a Northern Harrier Hawk hunting the open fields, a lone Red-winged Blackbird, and a few Starlings. I was unable to find the Lapland Longspur. I did see a sparrow sized bird flying away from me with a mostly white back (not sure what it was).

In Owl Woods I found a Barred Owl, Fox Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows, and in the Owl Woods proper 3 Long Eared Owls. Some frustration was experienced with Chickadees (who were running most of the activity on the walk in) and Blue Jays who had taken control of Owl Woods and announced my arrival everywhere despite trying to be as quiet as possible. Does anyone have a good recipe for Chickadee?

White-breasted Nuthatch

Amherst Island, Owl Woods

I couldn't crop this picture without making a mess of it but wanted to share this shot of him enjoying his free lunch.

Eastern Phoebe

Amherst Island

Hairy Woodpecker

Amherst Island

I've change my identification of this bird from Downy to Hairy. I initially chose Downy because I thought I saw the "conspicuous tuft of nasal bristles" that Sibley mentions in his guide. I missed the lack of black marks on the tail feathers and the proportion of the bill. When I first saw it I thought it was a Hairy because it seemed larger than I expected for a Downy. Even identifying a common bird requires observing as many details as possible and not giving too much weight to any one factor. Thanks to Nathan for helping with this ID.

Northern Flicker

Amherst Island, Owl Woods

Amherst Island

I had a very nice day over at Amherst Island today. When I looked at the Weather Network it said Drizzle all day but when I looked at the radar it showed very little chance of precipitation. General rule of thumb: When birding always take the most favourable weather report as the most likely scenario! I didn't add anything to my list today but really enjoyed the excursion. First observation was a Red-Tailed Hawk down the end of the island near the KFN property. I was hoping on the drive around to see the Lapland Longspur but couldn't find it. Heading back towards the Ferry I spotted a Northern Harrier, flying low along a field, white spot on the rump, hunting away. I was able to get out of the car and set up the Scope and watch him for quite a while. Then I drove to the Owl Woods site and got some pictures of an Eastern Phoebe and a Downy Woodpecker. In the Owl Woods themselves I found a Northern Flicker but nothing else of interest. On the way out I was able to stop the car and watch another Northern Harrier through the scope while he hunted the field beside the road. A short time after he left a Great Blue Heron came in quite low across the field, which I thought was strange - was he trying to get in under the radar of the hawk?
Back to work tomorrow, once again the employer wins out over the birder - but the weekend is coming!