Franklin's, Lesser Black-backed and Glaucous Gulls at Porcupine Lake

This past week, big flocks of gulls gathered on the ice at Porcupine Lake. I decided to go scan them...really scan them.  I am ashamed to admit that I've never really felt excited about looking at a group of gulls before.  I still did it, but without much enthusiasm.  After this week, I can now say that I finally get why some people are excited about gulls.  

This week has brought me 3 life gulls (is that even a proper term?) and has made me spend hours with my Sibley Guide which has great detailed gull pictures and descriptions.  In 5 days, on top of the regular Herring Gull and Ring-billed Gull, we saw GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL and a FRANKLIN'S GULL; all in the same area at Porcupine Lake.
  

In addition to the abundant Ring-billed Gulls and Herring Gulls we saw the following:

We observed 3 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS: they are not that common in the Timmins area but we do see one or two every year (I used to see them at the Timmins Landfill but I rarely go there anymore after they threw me out a few years ago) They are bigger than the Herring Gulls, they have a darker mantle and pink legs. They also have the yellow bill with the red spot.

Great Black-backed Gull / Goéland Marin
Porcupine Lake (24 April 2017)

We also spotted a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, which was a total surprise because they are  rare here.  It was a first for me. They are slightly smaller than the Herring Gulls (and much smaller than the Great Black-backed Gull) The Lesser Black-backed Gull has yellow legs which is how I was able to i.d. it. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull / Goéland brun
Porcupine Lake (21 April 2017)

And on the same day, another uncommon gull for our area: The GLAUCOUS GULL.  This one is very large: larger than the Herring Gulls (as you can see on the photo: it is sleeping next to Herring Gulls) In its adult plumage, this gull is white with pale grey wings and completely white wing tips. I wish I had better photos but it was amazingly far away and it only got up for 1 second to groom (see 2nd photo).  I learned that trying to telepathically encourage a gull to stand up so you can see it's bill and legs doesn't work.

Glaucous Gull (surrounded by Herring Gulls)
Porcupine Lake (21 April, 2017)

Glaucous Gull / Goéland bourgmestre
Porcupine Lake (21 April 2017)

And, last but not least, the biggest surprise of the week: the FRANKLIN'S GULL! This is a Gull that lives in the Prairies during the summer and migrates to the west coast of South America in the winter.   So it was far from its normal range. This was a first for me and for the Timmins area.  This small attractive gull has a grey back with white underparts that had a "pink" look to it when compared with the other gulls.  The bill is dark red and the legs are almost black. The broken bright white eye ring really stood out.

Franklin's Gull / Mouette de Franklin
Porcupine Lake (25 April 2017)

I still have so much to learn about gull identification and the different plumage variations they show according to their age and time of year... but one thing I know for sure: I'm writing a note to myself to check Porcupine Lake every year at the end of April from now on!

Barred Owl and Northern Hawk Owl

I have never had luck finding owls before but it seems like I've had a bit of luck during the last month.  After I saw the Great Gray Owl on February 11, I was lucky enough to see 2 more species of owls.

On the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count, we saw this Northern Hawk Owl that had been previously reported. Northern Hawk Owls are around 16 inches long.  Their range covers the Boreal Forest and they perch on treetops or poles to detect prey (small mammals like mice and voles) They are probably the most commonly observed owl in our region because they often hunt during the day.  Here is a cropped photo from very far away.

Northern Hawk Owl / Chouette épervière
Near Porquis Junction (19 February 2017)

Yesterday, March 11, we decided to go for a walk and found this Barred Owl resting in a tree.  I had never seen a Barred Owl before and I don't think they are very common in Cochrane District.  In fact, I believe it was only the second report of a Barred Owl in our district according to eBird.  Barred Owls are around 21 inches long and they are mostly nocturnal, making them more difficult to observe. Their habitat of choice is mature forest of mixed deciduous and evergreens.  

Barred Owl / Chouette rayée
South Porcupine Area (11 March 2017)

Having a point and shoot camera with a 60X zoom really helps getting photos without disturbing the resting owls.  I was able to get a couple of shots without going near.  It's important to remember that owls need all their energy to hunt prey to survive and it is unwise to stress them for photos.  I am happy when I can observe or photograph a bird without it being disturbed by my presence so I limit my time at the site.  We turned around instead of continuing on the trail so that it could go on resting or hunting.

Great Gray Owl and Gyrfalcon - 2017 has been great so far

Since I started birding seriously, I've been dreaming of seeing a Great Gray Owl.  This bird has been  #1 on my wish list for as long as I can remember and even though we've been exploring so much of Northern Ontario's wilderness in the last 10 years, I had never seen one.  Until this Saturday.

Great Gray Owl / Chouette Lapone
South Porcupine (11 February 2017)

I always had a clear detailed fantasy about how I wanted my first Great Gray Owl sighting to happen... in a trail (and not from far away in a field) And that's exactly how it happened...but even better than I had imagined.  It happened 2 days ago.  Walking in a quiet trail on a winter day with Gary.  The snow piled on the branches.  There were a bunch of chickadees being agitated and vocal near us so we slowed down.  Gary stayed a bit behind to investigate and I slowly turned a corner... and arrived face to face with a Great Gray Owl.  It was perched low in a tree and I had a great view of it.  I was unbelievably close.  It took a few seconds for my brain to realized what was happening.  You dream about it for so many years that it almost comes as a shock when it happens. The bird was not looking in my direction at first so I slowly took my camera out (I was so close there was no need for binoculars!) I turned and gestured to my husband to advance near me so he could get a look.  I took 3 photos and then we just looked at it.  I didn't try to get the perfect shot. I just wanted to enjoy the moment.  Gary and I watched it for a bit before it flew away.  It flew very low, about 4 feet off the ground right in front of us, into the thick forest.  I can't express how beautiful it was to see it fly so close to us. No sound. Just pure perfection. It is by far the most fascinating bird I have ever seen.

Great Gray Owl / Chouette Lapone
South Porcupine (11 February 2017)

This longing to see a Great Gray Owl has been with me for so long that it will be a little strange not to have it any longer.  I will have to find another bird to fill its spot at #1 on my wish list.  Right now it's a tie between the Barred Owl and the Boreal Owl.  (I've heard a Boreal Owl a few times before but I have never seen one)  

I have to admit that 2017 has been great so far, with 3 lifers in the last 40 days.  First was the American Three-toed Woodpecker.  Then, on January 28, I found my first Gyrfalcon near a field in Timmins.

Gyrfalcon / Faucon gerfaut
Timmins (28 January 2017)

I hope 2017 will continue to be as exciting, but I'm realistic enough to know moments like these don't come very often.  That's why you have to really appreciate these moments when they happen. 

American Three-toed Woodpecker and other Winter Birds

On January 6, 2017, we were walking the Bart Thompson Trail near our place in South Porcupine when we spotted 2 American Three-toed Woodpeckers.   During the prior week, we had seen piles of flaked bark on the fresh snow in many spots and we knew there was a Black-backed Woodpecker in the area so we were paying close attention.  When we heard tapping sound, we approached slowly and in my binoculars, I spotted a dark woodpecker.  When we got a bit closer, I realized that the woodpecker was indeed black, but to my surprise, it had white on its back (if it was a Black-backed, the back would be all black) so I got very excited and took my camera out of its case.  It was definitely an American Three-toed Woodpecker!  My first one! We could see a yellow crown patch on the bird's head as he was tapping the tree trunk.  The photo is not clear because the bird was in constant movement.

American Three-toed Woodpecker / Pic à dos rayé
South Porcupine (6 January 2017)

After watching the first woodpecker for a while, we decided to walk back towards the start of the trail.  After about 500m of walking, we heard another woodpecker: the tapping sound was not too loud and intermittently, we heard the sound of bark being stripped. To our surprise, there was another American Three-toed Woodpecker very low on a spruce trunk about 6 meters from us.  It continued working on the bark as we watched it for a while.  We quickly realized that this was not the same one we had previously seen because it had no yellow at all on its head; it was a female.

American Three-toed Woodpecker (Female) / Pic à dos rayé
South Porcupine (6 January 2017)

Even though the American Three-toed Woodpecker's range covers Canada's boreal forest, it is infrequently seen.   I have walked that trail weekly every winter for the last decade and this was my first American Three-toed Woodpecker sighting.   Like the Black-backed Woodpecker, it forages on tree trunks for beetle larvae and wood-boring insects by stripping the bark.  After a fresh snowfall, seeing a bunch of bark flakes below a tree and patches of stripped bark on the trunk of a spruce is a good indication of the presence of either the Black-backed or the American Three-toed Woodpecker. 

Sometimes, you can see the evidence of a Black-backed or Three-toed Woodpecker in the forest when you see a tree partly or completely stripped of its bark; the trunk will look "reddish". Here's what it looks like when a whole tree has been stripped.

Spruce tree with stripped bark

On January 12, I watched the female American Three-toed Woodpecker again.  It was foraging on a leaning spruce tree.  I went back to the same tree the next day and took this photo:

Patches of stripped bark the day after an American Three-toed Woodpecker
had foraged on it. South Porcupine (13 January 2017)

I have observed the female American Three-toed twice since our first sighting a week ago.  She was in the same trail this morning and I shot this short video.

Other interesting sightings this winter so far:

On December 4th 2016, we were driving to Timmins when we spotted a flock of ducks on the mine reclamation lake just west of Pearl Lake in Schumacher.  We don't usually have open water in December, but this isn't a natural lake and it's almost alway the last one to freeze over.  Luckily, I had my binoculars and camera.  There were 56 Long-tailed Ducks accompanied by 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Greater Scaup and 1 White-winged Scoter (all late sightings for our area)

Long-tailed Duck / Harelde kakawi
Timmins (4 December 2016)

White-winged Scoter / Macreuse brune
Timmins (4 December 2016)

In November and December, we observed lots of White-winged Crossbills around the area... they are very hard to photograph but I finally managed to get a few shot on December 11:

White-winged Crossbill / Bec-croisé bifascié
South Porcupine (11 December 2016)

White-winged Crossbill / Bec-croisé bifascié
South Porcupine (11 December 2016)

On December 17th, we participated in the Timmins Christmas Bird Count.  It was a good thing that a flock of Bohemian Waxwings showed up because this species had never been recorded in the Timmins CBC before!  Another notable Timmins CBC sighting was 2 White-breasted Nuthatches... we've been seeing an unusually high number of the WBNU in the region this winter.

Bohemian Waxwing / Jaseur Boréal
South Porcupine (17 December 2016)

And on new year's day: a really neat bird to start the year right!

Northern Shrike / Pie-grièche grise
(01 January 2017) 

Happy new year to all of you!

A Few Fall Sightings and a Sudden Irruption of White-breasted Nuthatch

We had our first real snow fall around November 20th this year and overall, the months of October and November have been mild.  I haven't posted since summer so here are a few Fall highlights.

On October 10, we went for our usual drive to some of my favorite farm fields around Timmins.  We don't see many Snow Geese around here but sometimes we manage to see a few during migration.  We found a small group mixed with Canada Geese.

Snow Geese - Oie des neiges
Timmins (10 October 2016)

One of my favorite fall moment was when we were watching a big flock of Horned Larks and a Peregrine Falcon suddenly swooped by at an incredible speed!   My point and shoot camera is not fast enough for a clear photo of a Peregrine Falcon in flight... I mean, these birds fly unbelievably fast.  But I tried.

Peregrine Falcon / Faucon pèlerin
Timmins (10 October 2016)

It wasn't the only bird of prey around that day, there was a Red-tailed Hawk hunting the fields as well.

Red-tailed Hawk / Buse à queue rousse
Timmins (10 October 2016)

In October, an unusual amount of White-breasted Nuthatch have been observed in Northern Ontario.  I'm not sure how to explain this phenomenon; their normal range don't include our area, they are usually more south. We almost never see them around here and suddenly, there are about 5 different ones that are being observed, all in the same week, at different spots around Timmins, South Porcupine and Cochrane. A quick search on eBird shows us that this also took place on the Quebec side around La Sarre, Rouyn and Val d'Or.  The first Species Map shows the White-breasted Nuthatch sightings from 1900 to 2015 and the second map includes 2016. (Maps are from eBird.org and the red markers are the recent sightings)

White-breasted Nuthach sightings 1900 to 2015

White-breasted Nuthatch sightings 1900 to 2016

Some of the White-breasted Nuthatch sightings were reported on eBird but a lot of them were just shared on the Timmins Birding Facebook Group page so the eBird species map will not reflect how many we actually had in our area.  Most of them stayed until mid to late November and some of them are still present in December. Here is the one that visited my yard for a few weeks:

White-breasted Nuthatch / Sittelle à poitrine blanche
South Porcupine (26 October 2016)

On November 12, we spotted this pure white gull in a field.  It was the same size as the surrounding Herring Gulls and I believe it is a Leucistic Herring Gull (but when it comes to gulls, I know I still have a lot of learning to do so I might be wrong!)

Leucistic Herring Gull / Goéland argenté
Timmins (12 November 2016)

Summer in Northern Ontario

Spring is by far the best season to go out exploring when you love to observe birds, but summer has its advantages too.  

Here are 5 reasons why summer is a great time to go outside and explore in Northern Ontario:

1. Nesting birds.

I've never really spent much time looking for nests or approaching nesting locations... nests are made to be hidden for a reason.  But this summer, we came across some that were very impressive and I snapped a few photos from far away.

Great Blue Herons in nest
Remi Lake (10 July 2016)

Great Blue Heron - Part of a nesting colony
Remi Lake (10 July 2016)

This is how far I was when I took the photos.  I didn't want to disturb them.  From here, it looks like any other shoreline, the nests are well hidden.  There were at least 6 occupied nests with either adults or young in them, all in the same location.  With the sun in our eyes, the visibility was not great but it was really an interesting find.  There was also an Osprey nest very close to the Heron's nests.  The Osprey was in the nest, then flew and perched on a dead brach near there.  

Great Blue Heron nesting colony from our boat
Remi Lake (10 July 2016)

This Bald Eagle nest, on the undeveloped shores of René Brunelle Provincial Park, has been used for years.  One juvenile was still in the nest while an adult was perched nearby.  Most years they have 2 juveniles but this year I only saw one.

Bald Eagle nest with 1 juvenile
René Brunelle Provincial Park (10 July 2016)

2.  Frogs.  Another reason to love summer.  They are fascinating.  I'm still trying to learn how to i.d. them correctly.

Mink Frog?
Porcupine Lake (30 July 2016)

Green Frog
Porcupine Lake (30 July 2016)

3. Interesting plants.  If you take the time to look down, there are very interesting plants growing in Northern Ontario.

The Pitcher Plant is a carnivorous plant that attracts insects in their leaves (shaped like drinking cups) and digest them to get the nutrients they need.  

We found a little lake in Moonbeam that had no access.  We put our rubber boots and bug spray and hiked to it. I was amazed when I got there and found not one, but at least 50 of these amazing plants.  They were growing everywhere, with sometimes not even 1 foot separating them.  It was a challenge not to step on them. When we got there, it was already getting dark and we weren't sure we marked our trail well enough to find our way back so I had only 5 minutes to explore this spot.      

Pitcher Plant
Moonbeam (21 July 2016) 

The Sundew is another carnivorous, insect eating plant that we found growing near the Pitcher Plants.

Sundews (the red ones)
Moonbeam (21 July 2016)

4. Camping in Provincial Parks and watching breeding warblers.  

The best part about camping in a Provincial Park is that you can explore the natural world right where you are from the moment you wake up to the moment the sun sets.  If you are not a camper, I suggest going to spend a day in one of our local Provincial Parks.  It's worth it.

Spring migration is great for observing warblers but here in Northern Ontario, we get to watch them all summer long!  They breed in our Boreal forest and one of the best places to watch them are in Northern Ontario's Provincial Parks.

Blackburnian Warbler / Paruline à gorge orangée
René Brunelle Provincial Park (19 July 2016)

Bay-breasted Warbler carrying food
René Brunelle Provincial Park (19 July 2016)

Northern Waterthrush / Paruline des ruisseaux
René Brunelle Provincial Park (23 July 2016)

5. Sunsets.  What better way to end a summer day?  I photographed this sunset from a campsite at René Brunelle Provincial Park, where we camped for 2 weeks.

Sunset on Remi Lake
René Brunelle Provincial Park (July 2016)

Eurasian Wigeon at Porcupine Lake

On Sunday night (June 12) we were at a friend's place at Porcupine Lake when we spotted a male Eurasian Wigeon on the shore just 50 meters from us.  It was on the grass with other ducks.  As soon as I spotted it, it flew away to the lake a bit further.  I snapped a quick blurry photo before it took off.

Eurasian Wigeon (Right) Mallar (Left)
Porcupine Lake (12 June 2016)

It landed not too far so we were still able to observe it for a few minutes before it disappeared in the thick reeds.  This is the 3rd year in a row that an Eurasian Wigeon is observed at Porcupine Lake.   I missed the first 2 Porcupine Lake sightings, which were in June 2014 and May 2015.  Here is a photo of the bird before it hid in the reeds.

Eurasian Wigeon / Canard Siffleur
Porcupine Lake (12 June 2016)

On Monday morning, I went for a bicycle ride to the lake and found the Eurasian Wigeon again.  This time it was at Bannerman Park, laying in the sun on the shore with other ducks.  It was on a private property, so I took this quick photo from 90 meters away.  It's not the clearest, but still not bad for a small point and shoot camera 90 meters away.  I could've tried to get closer but I really don't like to disturb resting ducks.

Eurasian Wigeon with other ducks and a Crow
Porcupine Lake (13 June 2016)

On my way back home, I decided to cycle the Prospector Trail along Porcupine Lake and I wasn't disappointed.  

Olive-sided Flycatcher
Porcupine Lake (13 June 2016)

I got to watch this Olive-sided Flycatcher catch some very large insects. If you know what kind of insect this is, let me know.

Olive-sided Flycatcher with insect
Porcupine Lake (13 June 2016)

A few minutes after I got home, I received a call from our friend that lives on Porcupine Lake saying I should go back to his place because there was an unusual pale bird that he had never seen before.  When I got there, we spotted the bird flying close to shore and I was able to confirm that it was a Northern Mockingbird.  They are not common here; I had seen one in South Porcupine around 8 years ago.  I also saw one last year, on June 4, 2015 at the Moosonee Sewage Lagoons.  Monday's sighting was a first for Porcupine Lake.

Northern Mockingbird
Porcupine Lake (13 June 2016)

I will try to continue to monitor the Eurasian Wigeon's presence at the lake. And I'm sure we'll all keep our eyes open next year around this time.

On another note, the wildflowers are starting to grow on the edge of the Porcupine Lake trail... but sadly, the city workers cut the grass all along the trail edge. This means we won't see as many wildflowers as usual.  This is a Striped Coralroot that survived the weed-eater! This lovely plant is part of the orchid family I believe.

Striped Coralroot
Porcupine Lake (June 2016)