I'm Just Here for the Bird: Northern Birds on mild January Day

It was my last full day off before starting a 9 day run of work, where birding will be confined to a few early morning romps in the woods. The goal for the day was to start down at the Toronto lake shore and head west toward Stoney Creek, and be up on Hamilton Mountain at dusk for Short-eared Owls. Pretty much everything went to plan, except the sighting of said owls.

Most often, when I go out to bird, my expectations are the least of my worries. Not getting lost or stuck in the snow is usually what I hope for and if I can spot a good bird or two, including some of the target birds for the day, I consider that a success. Friday, the temperatures were hovering close to the freezing mark, which by the standards of the past week, would be considered a heat wave, or as we northerners like to call it, a January thaw.

My day started in Col. Sam Smith Park, as it usually is. Great birding spot any time of year, and the gateway to the QEW and the Niagara region. After 2 years of visiting the park and never seeing a coyote, I saw the wild dog for the second time in a week, as I entered the paths to the lake. So far, he's not shown much of an interest in eating me. Down at the lake were Red-breasted Mergansers, White-winged Scoters and enough Scaups and Golden-eyes to fill the Ripley's Aquarium.

And the Northern Shrike, whom I am getting to know better these days. I've searched for that bird for the better part of two years and now have seen it on 3 occasions in the past few weeks. I chased it from tree to tree trying to get a good photo. And good is as good as it gets. Overcast skies and distance foiled my attempts at great photography. My next stop was a quick search for a Northern Saw-whet Owl at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. I've seen one there in the past, but after 15 minutes of tromping through thigh deep snow, I gave up the search.

From there it was off to Burlington and the skyway bridge. Well, under the skyway to be more specific. Down at the Burlington Ship Canal there were hundreds, if not thousands of ducks of every species. I quickly found a group of Canvasbacks and dozens of White-winged Scoters. I tried and failed to find any Black or Surf Scoters, but did find the single Ring-necked duck out of the hundreds of Scaups and Goldeneyes. And since I was already under the skyway, I scanned for the resident Peregrine Falcon, which I found on a wire between the two sides of the bridge. There is a breeding pair there, but I have never seen both on the same trip.

From there it was off to the Windermere basin, in search of a Northern Pintail, and that's where things started to go wonky for me. Firstly, the entrance is so hidden that I drove past it the first time, and had to circle around, make several "legal" u-turns, before finding the parking area. I walked from the parking lot to the viewing area, and did not find the Northern Pintail but had nice looks at a few Ruddy Ducks. It was starting to get late, and I needed to head up for the owls, so I walked back to the car, enjoying a flyover of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk as I walked.

I was thinking I hadn't seen anything smaller than a Shrike or Robin today, when I realised that I had been walking for a lot longer going back to the car than I had getting to the viewing area. I kept walking, thinking that I hadn't gone far enough when I began to realise I had gone way too far and had no idea where exactly I was. I hadn't seen my car, and now I didn't know which way to go. When in doubt, keep moving forward, I guess. I didn't want to turn around and head back the way I had came, only to discover that the car had been just around the corner. It wasn't and I was actually getting further and further from my destination.

However, as is sometimes the case, you don't always get where you intended to be, but rather where you needed to be. And where I was, as I turned another bend in the path, was a little end of the river with not just Northern Shovelers, but the Northern Pintail I had come to see, just not where I had been looking for it. I got a photo just as it took off and vanished around a corner. I rounded the corner in the path and way off in the distance, found my car. I had circled around and was now heading back the way I had come.

Relieved, I headed up to Stoney Creek where a Northern Harrier was gliding over a berm, as I arrived to go "owling." I spent the rest of the evening with another birder, Rich, waiting for the Short-eared Owls, just as Linus waited for the Great Pumpkin. As darkness descended, we realised there would be no owls on this night and parted ways until the next rare bird alert. Last time we had met was along the Niagara River in search of a Common Eider that turned out to be a King Eider.

It was, despite not getting the Saw-whet Owl, a pretty good day for "northern" birds: Northern Shrike, Shoveler, Pintail and Harrier. Next up, another owl hunt. This time a Great Gray. I hope it turns out more successful than my search for the Saw-whet and Short-eared variety.