2013 Daily Letters from Participants and Notes Added by JEB
Appendix 6-2014 : Notes by day.
2013 Daily Letters from participants and notes added by JEB
May 1, 2014
While the rain had stopped and the fog dispersed when we started it was very gloomy and everything was dripping. The sun broke through when we reached the end of the pier. Philip for John Stevens.
May 2
Hi All,
The light rain that followed us down Niagara Street this morning stopped when we reached Port Weller but we were greeted by clouds and more clouds of small, flying insects . We were covered in the bugs after completing the count. Breathing through your nose is recommended.
A few Yellow-rumped Warlers and one Palm Warber were observed as Jean and I walked to the end of the pier.
Cheers,
Bob & Jean
May 3
Good Afternoon All,
Bugs are still there. Three species of warbler this morning.
Also observed one Rusty Blackbird. I did not add it to the list John as I'm not sure this species should be included in the count.
Cheers,
Bob
May 4, 2014
Good Afternoon All,
Some sun this morning and a cool wind off of Lake Ontario. Three species of warbler during the count.
On the way back, Jean and I observed a Black and white Warbler.
May the Fourth be with you,
Bob
May 5
Greetings
Midges galore. Constantly in our eyes and mouth. They were so abundant that they interfered with the count, probably reduced what we heard and saw. Had there been many birds it would have been very difficult to count them.
We heard and did not see many of the birds in the list. For example we did not see Yellow Warblers or White-throated Sparrows.
4 Red-throated Loons flew by out on the lake when we were at the north end of the pier.
Several hundred Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles were at the north end of the pier in the trees and overhead.
We heard a gnatcatcher and a Palm Warbler on the west side of the pier on our walk back to the Coast Guard Station.
As of May 5 last year we had 11 species of warblers. This year to date only 4 and in smaller numbers than last year!
Dan and John
May 6, 2014
Greetings,
A quiet day, with only a few midges. One Coyote on the road as we started.
About 100 female Red-winged Blackbirds scattered along the count area.
John and Philip
May 7, 2014
Greetings,
A much livelier day than yesterday. Cold wind from the east. Most of the birds were in the central region, not along the dirt road.
Chipping Sparrows, Palm Warblers and Yellow-rumped Warblers present in good numbers. They must have arrived last night or during the day yesterday.
New for the year 2 Black and White Warblers and 2 Northern Orioles.
On the way back we walked along the west side of the pier. No surprises, we did have Catbird.
I predict tomorrow will be a very good day?
John and Philip
May 8, 2014
Greetings,
The migration has started at last!
Philip will send the daily excel file separately.
Wow, what a great morning. Finally some birds. We took an hour and a half and spent a lot of time looking at sparrows along the road. They were Chipping , White -throated and White-crowned in good numbers Our scanning was rewarded with a Clay-colored Sparrow (My third for the region since 1966 and second at Port Weller West) . We observed 9 species of warblers, the best perhaps a Northern Parula.
Regards,
John and Philip
Phil’s version
Hello everybody,
Similar weather to yesterday, but no wind, which kept things feeling much warmer. Lots of new arrivals and bigger numbers.
Bird of the day was a Clay-colored Sparrow 100 metres from the tip. It was with a mixed flock of Chipping, White-crowned, White-throated, and Palm Warblers.
Palm Warblers, White-crowned Sparrows, Catbirds, all showed up in good numbers.
Other arrivals were Northern Parula (heard), Tufted Titmouse (heard), Grosbeak, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-sided Warbler and Black-throated Blue Warbler.
So things are definitely picking up!
Good luck to the weekend counters,
John and Phil
May 9
Another fantastic day! Lots of sparrows, and yellow rumps. First indigo bunting of the year. Clay-coloured sparrow still present. A tree with 7 palm warblers in it. And, a chat! Hopefully Mother Nature will bring down a few more migrants tomorrow. Also included are the data from Malcolmson this morning. Three Eastern Kingbirds together in a tree on the return to our start point.
Katherine and John
May 10, 2014
Fewer birds, but more midges today. Fish crow seen and heard. An unusual sparrow, possible a savannah sparrow on steroids? John “Sherlock” Black is on the case.
Today on Port Weller Katherine Stoltz and I had an interesting sparrow. The bird was sitting in a tree about 3 meters above ground and preening. All field marks were those of a Savannah Sparrow but the overall effect was of a much more strikingly marked bird, more striking than we recall seeing in the past. The streaks on the chest and throat were almost black and the rest of the underparts were clean white. The yellow over the eye was quite extensive and brilliant. We also separately felt the bird was larger than a typical Savannah Sparrow. We observed a more typical Savannah Sparrow on the road shortly after studying the unusual bird. It was smaller and dingier than the bird we had been studying. I would appreciate any comments you could make about this bird.
Katherine and John
May 11
It was a lovely day. First mosquitoes of the year. Had to fight my way out Seaway Haulage Rd because of the chocolate run. A few new migrants, but Malcolmson was birdier (if such a word exists). Still few vireos and flycatchers. About 50 grackles in the trees near the north end of the pier.
Katherine and John
May 12
Hi
Phillip and I did the count on Monday. Although t-storms were predicted we managed to get the count in. Not many migrants, 6 species of warblers and a Philadelphia Vireo were the highlights.
Cheers
Marcie
I should have added that we saw at least 40 Blue Jays flying to the end of the pier and out over the lake and then returning again. This is a behaviour we noticed on the first survey.
May 13
John Black’s comment as we finished was that he couldn’t remember a wetter day either last year or in the earlier five-year study period. It was not raining when we arrived about 7:25 but started at 7:30 when we did and several times in just teemed down for several minutes. On the way back as the rain eased off we found several warbler species that we’d not had going out including Palm, Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, and several Black-throated Green.
John Stevens, Carol Horvat and John Black
May 14, 2014
For the most part the rain held off while we were out but the fog rolled in, often obscuring the tops of the trees from directly below. Everything seemed to be in black-and-white. Yellow Warblers everywhere. Catbirds quieter than yesterday but almost as abundant. On the way back we encountered Chipping Sparrow, Blackburnian Warbler and Cowbird that we’d not had on the way out. Blackpoll seems early to be around with all the Yellow-rumps.
John
May 15
Greetings,
We had a rain free walk outand back. Near thenorth end we had single Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper and Solitary Sandpiper.
We returned to the coast guard station along the west side where we had a single Blue-winged Warbler and two female Northern Parulasin the same bush.
The cormorants are showing up in the trees north of the coast guard station for the first time in recent years.
For your information I attach Katherine Stoltz's Malcomson results. She had a fantastic morning there!!
Regards,
John
May 16
Although the calendar says May 16, it felt more like March. The cormorant invasion is spreading north on the lakeside of the station. Sounds like you are in African Lion Safari with all the roaring and grunting. Heard ovenbird on the way out, and saw a solitary solitary sandpiper.
Katherine
May 17
Happy Victoria Day All,
Sorry for the delay. It hasbeen a "long" weekend. As indicated in a previous e-mail, Jean and I had 15 species of warbler for the count on Saturday including a beautiful Cape may singing in the conifers. Most of the warbler activity was in the first 100 metres.
Too bad the Canada Warbler did not make an appearance during the count.
Cheers,
Bob & Jean
May 18
Hi All,
Busy day yesterday. Jean, Philip and I walked along the pier after a brief stop at the Parmalat Ponds and Lock 1. Not as many warbler species as the previous day. Only 9 observed during the PWW count.
Great Egrets were roosting in the willows near the effluent pipe. A first for Port Weller West as per John B. Hopefully they will continue their stay.
Before arriving at the pier, our group observed an Orchard Oriole and a Willow Flycatcher at the Parmalat Ponds. While waiting for a barge to pass through Lock 1, we observed Cliff Swallows. They are nesting in the windows of the Seaway building at Lock 1.
Best Regards,
Bob
May 19
Hi folks
Monday was a good day at Port Weller. Overcast and a bit of rain. Puddles are growing into ponds. Highlights were a Northern Thrush and Cape May. 14 species of warblers in total.
Cheers
Marcie
May 20
Hi folks
Tuesday and it was actually sunny. Not as many birds today. 9 species of warblers in total. 1 Hairy Woodpecked and 1 Tufted Titmouse.
Cheers
Marcie
May 21
Hi folks
Threatening to rain most of the time. Even fewer birds today. 8 species of warblers in total. 1 Great Egret and 12 Bluejays.
Cheers
Marcie
May 22
7:50 -10:30
Heavy fog the first hour
MJ
May 23
Friday was a little slow - 12 species of warblers.
MJ
May 24
Maggie and I braved the Rankin run mob, and briefly picked up an accidental birder (its a long story!), at PWW today. Much warmer, but much quieter than yesterday. 10 sp of warbler, with 13 at Malcolmson. Had my first chipmunk at Malcolmson.
Katherine
May 25, 2014
A slow day with 9 sp of warbler at Malcolmson and 11 at PWW. A few more flycatchers are coming in, mostly noncommunicative. No Connecticut yet.
Katherine
We observed a pair of House Finches moving north in the trees. The male was singing.
2 HOFI were seen on May 18 and May 21 this May. Not sure if they were a pair. (Note added JB)
May 26
Sorry for an earlier transmission, sent prematurely in error. A beauty of a day with light winds and lots of sun. Got fairly close to a coyote. Surprising lack of species variety. Lots of bugs and not enough flycatchers.
JS
May 27, 2014
Light winds, partly sunny, warm, possibly migrant-free. A singular lack of variety among the warblers.
JS
May 28
Apparently there was no attachment to yesterday’s message so attached are both May 27 and 28 counts. With the fishy stink of the cormorant droppings becoming more widespread, this program cannot end soon enough.
May 29
On the antepenultimate day of the program it was mostly overcast with a
moderate easterly wind. There were a few migrants around but a marked
decrease in the number of Double-crested Water Rats. There were almost none
in the water as though something had driven away all the fish.
JS
There were no DCCO in the trees from the Sand Dock to the end of the pier. A few were seen in the trees on the west side north of the Coast Guard Station on our return.
JB
May 30
A beautiful morning with very little wind and even fewer DCCO than
yesterday, perhaps 50 at the nests near the outfall and a few flying around.
One Black-crowned Nightheron seen from the road on the way in. Returning
from the end we found American Redstart, Eastern Kingbird and Cedar Waxwing
that are not in the count. Also saw a Coyote. The odour, while still
present, seems to be diminishing. Over to you, Jean and Bob.
JS
May 31
Hi All,
A beautiful day to end the study. Fewer DCCO and hardly any odour.
While John B was a paparazoo after the dark swallow, Jean and I walked along the pier. It has definitely quieted down. More flycatcher species than warbler species. Ruby-throated Hummingbird sighted during the count.
Brown Thrasher observed on the return.
Results from this morning to follow in a separate e-mail.
Cheers,
Bob & Jean