Reports

April 4, 2015 - Minesing Wetlands Spring Migrants

Brereton Field Naturalists’ Club Field Trip Report

2015-04-04 Minesing Wetlands Spring Migrants, Trip Leader: Chris Evans

 

A beautiful, though very brisk (-5 C felt like -10C with 20 km/h NNE wind chill!), spring morning graced 15 Members and 7 not-yet-Members on this outing.  Our first meeting place was the usual Little Lake Park parking lot at 8:00 AM where a Dark Eyed Junco was trilling brightly as the full moon was setting.  We then convoyed to the Bradford Greenhouses, with kind permission from the management, for our second rendezvous/carpool location.  As an auspicious start, enroute to McKinnon Road, we spotted 2 pair of swans 470 m across a field on the south side of CR 90 just west of George Johnston Road.  They were a challenging distance away, but after considerable discussion and study in Phyllis’ spotting scope, we concluded there were one pair each of Trumpeter and Tundra Swans.  The main field mark used was the straightness of the bill of the Trumpeter versus the convex bill shape of the Tundra.  Then, on to McKinnon Road, which was the hotspot for most of the waterfowl and passerines as well as the Bald Eagles.  We first observed a regatta of 10 swans 400 m west of McKinnon Road and 250 m south of 2nd Conc. Sunnidale.  A 3rd year Bald Eagle flew into the scene, causing a stir among the ducks, swans and geese in this marsh, now regularly flooded by the breach in the levee of the Mad River.  It will be interesting to see if this breach heals itself in time or not.  We visited Ervin Osvart’s feeders where we observed passerines and watched flights of Canada Geese, Northern Pintails and other waterfowl dropping into the Minesing Wetlands beyond our view, but not beyond our hearing!  From the din of the honking of Canada Geese, there must be tens of thousands of Canada Geese staging in the Minesing Wetlands.  We then stopped to look for Wood Ducks west of the 2nd Concession Sunnidale and McKinnon Road intersection.  While we didn’t see any Wood Ducks, there were rafts of Ring-necked Ducks in full breeding regalia paddling around and on the flooded 2nd Concession.  What a delight for the eyes they present!  There was a bag “Great Blue Heron” in the willow saplings in the northeast corner of the sod field on McKinnon Road.  It attracted a huge number of double-takes and many photos.  I suspect all of the Great Blue Herons were fully occupied with courtship activities in the heart of the Minesing Wetlands.

 

No!  I didn’t have to go badly... anymore.  This is a Yoga posture called Eagle or Garudasana, struck in respect for the magnificent Bald Eagles we observed. Red-headed Eagle?

We had a very welcome rest and refreshment stop at Tim Horton’s in Angus which warmed our bodies and hearts for the rest of the trip.  Time was flying, so we didn’t venture east down the 2nd Concession to the Mad River, but carried on directly to the 6th Concession Sunnidale where we saw the two Red-Tailed Hawks, many Turkey Vultures, a kiting Rough-legged Hawk and a female Northern Harrier hunting low over the fields in typical Harrier style.  The the trip leader got close enough to positively identify his tentative Snowy Owl sighting as a crushed white bucket in a field.  Fortunately, I’m very accustomed to eating crow and quite enjoy it now.  Another highlight for many was the pair of Sandhill Cranes west of 18/19 Sdrd Sunnidale just north of 7th Conc. Sunnidale.

 

Glengarry Landing and Ronald Road fields were not yet flooded, so there weren’t the usual rafts of waterfowl there.  We said farewell at the Four Cedars Cafe & Convenience in Minesing around 1:00 PM and went our separate ways back to our meeting places.

I am grateful to all of the enthusiastic participants, carpool drivers, Brereton Field Naturalists’ Club experts and logisticians, NVCA, NCC, MNRF and all those who conserve and preserve nature.  Infinite gratitude to Mother Nature for her resilience, benevolence and the miraculous lives we have.

 

Birds: (38 species)

Canada Goose, gaggles upon gaggles upon gaggles

Trumpeter Swan, pair

Tundra Swan, 12 to 20, regatta

American Wigeon

American Black Duck, pair

Mallard, many pair, daggle

Northern Shoveler, pair

Northern Pintail, many, predominantly males

Ring-necked Duck, many pair

Greater Scaup, pair

Bufflehead, 5 males

Hooded Merganser, 3 pair & 1 female

 

Great Blue bag Heron (bag garnered many double-takes and baffled some)

 

Turkey Vulture, many

Bald Eagle, 2 (or 3?) immature, had mainly buff tail with a narrow dark terminal band. I’m thinking it was a 3rd year bird.  Bird 2 I didn’t look at as closely, but think was a juvenile (1st year, technically 2nd year?) bird.

Northern Harrier, 1 female or juvenile

Red-tailed Hawk, pair + 1

Rough-legged Hawk, 2, light morphs

 

Sandhill Crane, pair

 

Killdeer, 2 heard

 

Ring-billed Gull

Gull sp., many, likely some Herring Gulls, but didn’t have an opportunity to ID any.

 

Rock Pigeon, 5

Mourning Dove, dule

 

Snowy bucket Owl, (trip leader had to eat crow on this one)

 

Downy Woodpecker

 

Blue Jay, scold

American Crow, cauldrons

 

Horned Lark, springul

Black-capped Chickadee, banditries

White-breasted Nuthatch, jar

American Robin, worm  

European Starling

American Tree Sparrow, grove

Song Sparrow, singing males

Dark-eyed Junco, a trill of singing males

Northern Cardinal, conclave

Red-winged Blackbird, merl

Common Grackle  

American Goldfinch

 

Domestic Bird:

Rooster, crowing

 

Mammal:

Muskrat

 

 

 

Phyllis Tremblay, Lyn Pope, with Ruth & Chris,

Darcy & Marilyn Murray, and Janet Sauve Brown with Dave Lord,

Rick Irvine with Al McNair,

Donna Millar,

Clare Holden & Lane Henderson,

Ormie van Alstyne,

Yvonne Metcalfe,

Linda Francis,

Barb & Peter Williams, Christine Beggs,

Beryl Lougher from Collingwood/Wasaga Beach

Linda Nichols and Bill Avery from Midland