I've been out and about birding over the last week or so, to Rattray Marsh, Sobey's Pond in Whitby, Cranberry Marsh and Coote's Paradise in Hamilton, amongst other local birding haunts.
I have finally got myself some photos of a Pectoral Sandpiper, after over 20 months of birding, at the pond across from the Sobey's Warehouse; I stopped by the lift bridge in Burlington and enjoyed watching the Peregrine Falcon, and this morning attempted an ill-advised, badly timed search for a Nelson's Sparrow in Coote's Paradise, part of the Royal Botanical Gardens out Niagara way.
Firstly, I only had until 10am to look for this bird. Sue was celebrating her 25th year at Woodbine Racetrack and we were going to the annual Years of Service Luncheon at noon. Secondly, I didn't arrive at the "trailhead,"(and I use the term very loosely), until 8:30am, and lastly, as referred to previously, there really was no trail beyond the entrance to the so-called paradise.
Last October, when I saw but missed photographing a Nelson's Sparrow, the trail to the then dried up pond, was well worn, and dry. This year, I was most likely only the second party to explore that side of the creek. A couple of other birders had done so the previous day, found a Nelson's and reported it on E-bird. What they didn't report was that there was no trail, and the grass was waist high, with tree limbs scattered about the riverbank.
And in the morning, before the sun was high in the sky and the dew had dried off, it was more marsh than paradise and, no, I saw no Coots. I had at least worn lined winter cargo pants and my waterproof winter hiking boots, but neither were up to the task of keeping me dry. By the time I had made it halfway to my destination, my pants were soaked up past my knees, and my feet were swimming in dew.
And I was lost. I had no idea where I was, but knew that as long as I kept the the creek to my left, I would eventually get where I was going. And with a my GPS App and a little luck, I actually did get to the pond where the bird had been seen. I could see the knocked down reeds where others had been the previous day. Last year, the pond was dry and you could walk in what felt like a huge crop circle and scan the Cattails for the bird. This year the pond was, well, a pond complete with ducks and swans, but alas, no Nelson's Sparrow. By the time I actually arrived, I had only about 20 minutes to stand in 3 inches of water in the reeds and cattails to search for the bird, before I had to turn around and find my way back to Coote's Road and my car.
I did, and spent a lovely afternoon at the racetrack watching people get their years of service awards, including Sue, "the glue that holds the marketing department together." We enjoyed a nice lunch, I met some of her coworkers, including one who was retiring after 23 years, and afterwards we birded in Claireville Conservation area.
Hopefully there will be more reports of Nelson's Sparrows and perhaps a rare bird alert or two this fall to keep me busy after the baseball season ends at the end of September. There will be lots of fall birding and in December I'll be heading out on the road looking to end my year with a Dovekie, the bird I missed at the end of my 2012 Big Year.
Here are some recent photos, along with a partially leucistic Common Grackle:
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