PELEE SPRING BIRD HIKES

Spring is definitely in the air this week with local temps 'soaring' to the high 40s (Farenheit!). This should bring loads of waterfowl, blackbirds and gulls, and the first sparrows and smattering of later migrants like Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow and the first shorebirds. Its a reminder that May is not far off.

For those folks coming to Pelee this May I wanted to let you know that I am now working in partnership with the Comfort Inn, Leamington (www.choicehotels.com) to offer birding hikes and accommodations. The hikes are offered on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from May 2 - 21, 2010. Maximum group size is six participants and special discounts on accommodations and hike fees are available for guests of the Comfort Inn, Leamington. All the details are available on line at www.netcore.ca/~peleetom/webdoc14.htm I welcome you to check out this link and join me on a hike this spring!

The number one focus of these hikes will be getting repeated good looks at spring songbirds, with a particular emphasis on warblers. Over the years 42 species of warblers have been recorded at Pelee, with 36 being annual in the park. On a three or four day visit, you could reasonably expect to see between 20 and 30 species of warblers in the park. Every visit is different due to the dynamic nature of migration.


This Magnolia Warbler is one of the most commonly encountered species in mid month, but early on it can be hard to find. However, early in the month Yellow-rumped, Nashville, Palm and Pine Warblers are much easier to find. They often get tough later in May.


This snappy male Cape May Warbler is one of three species often referred to as 'spruce bud worm warblers'. This is because their abundance and breeding success is often linked to cycles in the spruce bud worm population in their boreal forest breeding grounds. The other two species in this group are the Bay-breasted and Tennessee Warblers. In some years, these species can be everywhere in the park, while at other times they can be darn tough.



Many warblers like this Golden-winged Warbler choose either an overland route or trans Gulf route for getting around the Gulf of Mexico to and from their wintering grounds. This means that most of these sites miss some species (Golden-winged is mighty tough in coastal Texas). A big advantage of northern migrant traps like Point Pelee or Crane Creek is that migration corridors converge here, so we get all the warblers breeding at this latitude or farther north.


For Canadian birders, Point Pelee is THE most reliable site in the country for finding 'southern' breeding warblers like this Hooded Warbler. Others in this category included Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush and Yellow-breasted Chat.





This endangered Kirtland's Warbler graced the northwest beach parking lot for seven days a few years ago. It was seen by thousands of birders during the period. Although this species is only likely to be seen on its breeding grounds in Michigan, they have been seen with increasing regularity at Pelee in the last decade. At Pelee, the best dates for finding this rarity are between May 12 - 17 th.

This is just a small selection of some of the exciting possibilities that make a visit to Point Pelee in May a time to remember. I hope to see you on the trails there!

ADULT MALE COOPERS

There seems to be at least three different Cooper's Hawks visiting the feeders this past week. After the young female, we were visited by an adult female, and then today Kathi noticed an adult male at the feeder. He sat for at least two minutes just eight feet away from the living room window allowing me to snap off about twenty pics. The one below is probably the best.


As you can see from this cropped head and shoulders shot, this adult male was calling a single loud note much like the call heard last week. I guess this is a common call which I somehow have never heard before - a good reminder that there is always so much to learn!


There were also some signs of spring this week with returning Pine Siskin heard and a small group of Canada Geese flying over in early morning. With the warmer weather this coming weekend there should be lots of waterfowl pouring in. Can't wait!

ODD COOPER'S HAWK VOCALIZATION

I'm back home in the snow and ice for two weeks now and finally getting out to do some birding. Today I had an interesting encounter with a rather tame immature Cooper's Hawk. Because of the large size this bird was almost certainly a female.

Here are some digiscoped images of this bird taken through my Kowa TS 883.







What attracted me to this bird was the repeated almost meow like vocalization it was producing. It repeated this call in bouts of about five to eight calls a second or two apart. These bouts were repeated every one to two minutes for nearly an hour! If it had been late summer or the fall I would have thought it was a food begging call, but really not sure what was going on in late February! If you click on the video link below you can hear a few of these calls in the clip. If anyone is familiar with this call, I'd appreciate you dropping me a line at peleetom@netcore.ca

ECUADOR WRAP UP

After six days we said goodbye to Napo Wildlife center and headed back to Coca. There were so many great memories from this wonderful place. One of the most profound was the exceptionally hard working and skilled local guides. I highly recommend a visit to Napo Wildlife Centre for anyone wanting an outstanding Amazonian experience!


Once back in Napo we had fun at the dock while waiting for our bus. The dock hotel has a menagerie of tame mammals and birds including a cheeky band of squirrel monkeys. No pack, drink or hairdo was safe! In the photo below, Andrea is totally in her element (with her work at the Cincinnati zoo) with a few treats for her friends.

We spent our final four days at Wild Sumaco lodge and San Isidro, pushing our group list to around 470 species of birds and 23 mammals (including 8 primates). Unfortunately I was under the weather for part of this, so I don't have a lot of photos to document this part of the trip. However, both provided a great wrap up to our Ecuadorian adventure!

AMAZONIAN ECUADOR DAY 6

Our last full day began with an extra early start so we could get out to the Napo river early. We hiked across the tower trail in the dark and light rain. Jills sharp eyes picked out a small snake sitting quietly on the trail. Fortunately it was a non venomous Tricolored Swamp Snake. Paul picked the snake up first, allowing me the confidence to do the same!



Our destination today were the small river islands in the Napo river. Although these islands look pretty poor as habitat, they hold a totally unique set of birds. We spent the morning visiting several sites including the one below. It doesnt look impressive but we saw some fantastic birds including Gray-breasted Crake and Lesser Wagtail-tyrant!



It was great to share this trip some dear friends, including Paul Pratt and Bruce Di Labio (pictured here with our native guide Mauriano). I have been lucky enough to call Bruce and Paul friends for nearly forty years and feel privileged to be able to say so!

AMAZONIAN ECUADOR DAY 5

One of the most familiar sights and sounds here is the Yellow-rumped Cacique. Right next to the lodge dock there is a large and noisy colony, and their nesting season was in full swing. In fact, one evening after supper we were surprised to find this visitor on the steps of room - a fledgling cacique. With a little coaxing he was soon on his way.



Not every maiden flight is so smooth. One morning as we paddled across the lake a young cacique took flight from shore and headed out over the lake. He didn't make it so our guide paddled to give him a helping hand. Paul picked him up and we soon had the wayward fledgling back on solid ground. Hopefully the results of the second flight were better!

AMAZONIAN ECUADOR DAY 4

Today we switched for the morning so that the group that had done the Tiputini trail now did the tower and vice versa. The first trail group had managed to find the rare Hairy-crested Antbird, but the second group couldn't repeat this luck. Antbirds are a diverse but frustratingly difficult family of new world tropical birds. In most places they are hard to find, but here at Napo there is a remarkable selection. During our twelve days in Ecuador we would tally over thirty species. Photographing them is tough as they tend to be in the understorey. This isn't the best photo but this male Black-faced Antbird gives an idea of the typical view of antbird - dark and shaded and partially obscured!


For both groups the main target on Tiputini Trail was the exceptionally difficult and beautiful Black-necked Red Cotinga. Like its relative the Cock-of-the-rock, this is a lek species. The males come to traditional display sites (not nesting sites) where they display their fitness by singing and fluffing up their elaborate feathers. The Tiputini trail offers the most accessible lek of this species in the world. Fortunately both groups were successful in their quest for this rare find. As you can see it was worth the long, hot and humid trek!


We visited Napo during the dry season, but the trails were still quite wet and muddy in places. We had very little rain during our stay, but we were impressed with how many fungi were growing along the trails. Some looked like fungi we might have in temperate regions (though they almost certainly were different species).




Others were structurally quite different from typical bracket or 'toadstool' type fungi. This odd bat shaped species was one example.



Perhaps the most unusual fungi we saw was one that apparently had taken over a butterfly body. This created a truly bizarre growth form!!




In the afternoon both groups again paddled the black water streams. Our path through one of these was blocked by a newly fallen tree. Our native guide Jorge took out his machete and with bare feet, started to chop at the tree, while balancing on the bow of the boat. Some in the group (okay ME!) thought this was a fruitless proposition, but as you can see Jorge is a remarkable man!




As we neared the lodge at dusk, a full moon was rising over the lake. It was a magical way to end the day!