Dickcissel, Brant and more at Porcupine Lake

Migration was still going strong during the third week of May in the Timmins/South Porcupine Area.  We observed a few good birds and added a few more birds to Porcupine Lake's species list.

On Wednesday, May 17, we got a call from a friend (who lives right on Porcupine Lake) about a "different looking bird" at his feeder. He said the bird had a yellow breast and a black triangular patch on the lower neck.  His sense of observation is always great so without hesitation we jumped in the truck and were over there in under 2 minutes.  It turned out to be a Dickcissel.  My first ever Dickcissel sighting (and a first for Porcupine Lake and the Timmins area)

Dickcissel / Dickcissel d'Amérique
Porcupine Lake (17 May 2017)

The Dickcissel was with a group of White-crowned Sparrows at the feeder. It only stayed for 2 days.  The owner of the property generously let me bring other people to his yard to see this bird.  Unfortunately, only 1 other person got to see it; 3 other disappointed birders didn't.  This is what a rare bird stake-out crowd is like in our area: 4 people!  I love it! The Dickcissel is a grassland bird that spends the summer in central United-State. It was a little far from its normal range.

Dickcissel / Dickcissel d'Amérique
Porcupine Lake (19 May 2017)

Two days after adding the Dickcissel to Porcupine Lake's species list, we spotted 2 Bobolinks (a male and a female) near the White Waterfront beach. Bobolink was also a new species for the lake.

Bobolink / Goglu des prés
Porcupine Lake (19 May 2017)

On the next day, we added one more new species for Porcupine Lake: a Black-bellied Plover.  And we observed a Brant.

The Brant was first found by a fellow birder who saw it just before it flew away because of a float plane (planes often land on Porcupine Lake on Saturdays) We re-found it at Bristol bay later on in the afternoon.

Brant / Bernache cravant
Porcupine Lake (20 May 2017)

Brants had been previously reported on Porcupine Lake October 2012 and May 2013 but they weren't reported in the Hotspot eBird list and therefore didn't show on the Porcupine Lake printable checklist (I love that eBird feature)  Now with this sighting, Brants will be included in the checklist when the sighting gets accepted.

The Black-bellied Plover, another addition to the Porcupine Lake list, was first found by my neighbour in the morning and later re-found by a friend in the evening. It was with a group of Dunlins. 

Black-bellied Plover / Pluvier argenté
Porcupine Lake (20 May 2017)

Porcupine Lake is a fairly small lake (10 km circumference) and doesn't have lots of good shorebird habitat and resting spots. There is only 1 small beach and it's always busy with people and dogs.  That's why I was pleasantly surprised this Spring by the number of shorebirds that the lake was attracting.  A group of over 100 Dunlins stayed for at least 1 week. This was the largest group of Dunlins ever seen on the lake since I've been birding it. 

This next Dunlin was part of a group that landed near us as we were patiently watching for the Dickcissel during the only sunny day we had in the last few weeks.

Dunlin / Bécasseau variable
Porcupine Lake (20 May 2017)

It's always nice to see groups of Dunlins stop by.  I especially love to watch them fly in groups. The bad weather probably contributed to their stop in this unlikely spot. The largest group I saw this past week was a flock of 143.

Dunlins resting on dock
Porcupine Lake (22 May 2017)

In addition to the Dunlins, during the last couple of weeks we saw Short-billed Dowitchers, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers. All at Porcupine Lake.

Least Sandpiper / Bécasseau minuscule
Porcupine Lake (20 May 2017)

Semipalmated Plover / Pluvier semipalmé
Porcupine Lake (22 May 2017)

White-winged Scoters also stopped by the lake with a flock of Long-tailed Ducks.

White-winged Scoter / Macreuse brune
Porcupine Lake (21 May 2017)

On May 22, it was nice to see the Eastern Kingbirds had returned to the Lake.

Eastern Kingbird / Tyran tritri
Porcupine Lake (22 May 2017)

These 3 Tundra Swans flew over our neighbourhood on May 22.  

Tundra Swans / Cygnes siffleurs
South Porcupine (22 May 2017)

The 2 last weeks of May is an excellent time to observe warblers in our area; the buds are just coming out and all the warbler species have arrived.  Here is a Canada Warbler that stopped by my yard 2 days ago. The Canada Warbler is one of the last warbler species to arrive in the Timmins area along with the Mourning Warbler.

Canada Warbler in the rain / Paruline du Canada
South Porcupine (23 May 2017)

I hope everyone is having a great Spring so far!

May 1 to 15: Greater White-fronted Goose, Wilson's Phalarope...

Even if it's been a cold, dark and wet month of May, the birding has been good.  The sun almost didn't show up but at least the birds did.  The sad part is that almost all our migrating birds are here now and the month of May is almost gone.

Here are a few highlights from the first half of the month of May 2017.  The second half of May will be featured in the next post.

First week of May:

The month started off right with a Horned Grebe on Porcupine Lake.  Although they are not common here, some were observed at Porcupine Lake last year in May as well.

Horned Grebe / Grèbe esclavon
Porcupine Lake (5 May 2017)

Second week of May:

I didn't go out as much as I wanted to during the second week of May but we did go for 1 day in Moonbeam. We went to the Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons twice (the first time was cut short by the rain) and saw many species.  I was happy to be accompanied by one of my friend who had never been to this spot. After the lagoon, we explored my favorite Moonbeam rural roads and found a Greater White-fronted Goose in a field with Canada Geese. It was my first one.

Greater White-fronted Goose / Oie rieuse
Moonbeam (13 May 2017)

The 14th of May marked the arrival of a few shorebirds. We saw 4 Short-billed Dowitchers, 4 Least Sandpipers and 2 Solitary Sandpipers at Gillies Lake Conservation Area in Timmins.

Short-billed Dowitcher / Bécassin roux
Gillies Lake, Timmins (14 May 2017)

Solitary Sandpiper / Chevalier solitaire
Gillies Lake, Timmins (14 May 2017)

The second week of May also marked the arrival of a lot of our warbler species including this Cape May:

Cape May Warbler / Paruline tigrée
Gillies Lake, Timmins (14 May 2017)

On May 15th we spotted a Wilson's Phalarope.  This was only my 3rd sighting in our area so far.  It was at a decommissioned lagoon along with Wood Ducks, American Wigeons and Gadwalls. The gate was locked so I had to take the photo from very far away.

Wilson's Phalarope / Phalarope de Wilson
South Porcupine (15 May 2017)

Wood Duck / Canard branchu
South Porcupine (15 May 2017)

The first 2 weeks of May were ok but the rest of May was even better (see next post)

Harlequin Ducks in the Timmins Area!

One of our favourite spots to look for migrating birds in Spring and Fall is the Frederick House Lake waterfront in Connaught.  It's 40 km north-east of Timmins (so 30 km from our home in South Porcupine).   If you're coming from the other direction, it's also a 'must stop' location because it is only 14 km south-west from Highway 11 (turn off near Porquis Junction).  Frederick House Lake is a large lake and the bridge where Frederick House River goes into the lake is a great spot for migrating waterfowl.  That's where we saw the Harlequin Ducks.  I was scanning and counting a group of Scaups when the Harlequin Ducks appeared in my binoculars.  As you can imagine, I was so surprised that I quickly lost my count, snapped a photo, and had to start counting again.  

Harlequin Duck / Arlequin plongeur
Frederick House River/Lake (29 April 2017)

I managed to take one more photo before the nearby flock of scaups flew away. Then the Harlequin Ducks followed and landed near the railway bridge. I had seen Harlequin Ducks before at Clover Point on the shore of Victoria BC but I never imagined I would see some so close to home. In Canada, there are populations of Harlequin Ducks on the Pacific coast and on the Atlantic coast but they can also be observed around the Great Lakes in Southern Ontario.  Even though the male (on the right) is resting, you can see its unique colours and patterns. On the left is the female. 

Harlequin Duck / Arlequin plongeur
Frederick House River/Lake (28 April 2017)

A little further east from the bridge, there are nice spots where you can park and scan the shore.  When the water is low, there are shallow sandy areas where you can sometimes spot migrating shorebirds if the conditions are right.  A lone Greater Yellowlegs was there. No sign of any other shorebirds yet but it is still early for other shorebirds in our area.  I will definitely be back in May.

Greater Yellowlegs / Grand Chevalier
Frederick House Lake (28 April 2017)

Exactly 24 hours before the find, on Thursday April 27th, we had a severe thunderstorm go through the whole Northern Ontario area, with wind gusts so strong they blew some roofs off and trees down. The storm was followed by south-east winds.  I'm not sure if that's what brought the Harlequins here but it's always a good idea to check your favourite spots after irregular wind storms.