One week’s notice…. Spring is here!

Next week the calendar tells us that spring has finally arrived. The ground hog may have mentioned it about five weeks ago (in case you missed the announcement).

Unlike the last few years where migrating birds returned in January and gardens sprouted in February, this past winter took us back to when winters had snow and Jack Frost occasionally did take a nibble at your nose. The arrival of spring this year also bodes well for a healthy season. As we speak the vernal pools are active with amphibian activity and the endangered Jefferson Salamanders are on the move! It is breeding season for Jeffy and that comes with road closures in some areas to protect the paths they take to reach their breeding grounds.

Now, Jefferson Salamanders don’t make much noise and, while their movement heralds the arrival of spring, they are not the most commonly-noticed of creatures. One creature you will notice is the Red-Winged Blackbird. Traditionally, another first sign of spring is their migratory return from the Southern States.  Keep a look out near wet areas such as wetlands and shorelines populated by tall grasses or cattails and bulrushes. They’ll start looking for dance partners as soon as they return, so their calls will be frequent and easily heard. Just watch out once they start nesting because they defend their nests vigorously!

It’s not just the little ones we watch for this month. Along the north shores of Lake Erie from Windsor to Point Pelee, mass migrations of raptors are a birder’s delight. Closer to home, the Niagara Peninsula Hawk Watch is underway with the big day coming up at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area in the Niagara Region on Good Friday. But really, anywhere along the Niagara Escarpment and the lake shores this time of year is an excellent opportunity to see large birds such as bald eagles, swans, herons, falcons and hawks on their way back to Ontario.

A few weeks from now you might even get lucky enough to see the “clouds” of Broad-winged hawks and my friends the Turkey Vultures as they migrate en masse. Last year’s count of Turkey Vultures estimated more than 20,000 traveling through Niagara and more than 100,000 through Western Ontario!

So if you’re waiting for the flowery signs of spring… they’re coming, but it’s the feathery signs that come first! 

Chris Hamilton

Information Officer

Hamilton Conservation Authority

Black Is The In Colour for This Spring - Part 1

Our warm March has certainly kick-started the spring bird migration through the Niagara Peninsula and the city of Hamilton. Something exciting is happening with the colour black in birds in 2012.

Birdwatchers are seeing some new species and in new ways in the Hamilton area. This spring for the first time ever on March 22, two Black Vultures were seen migrating together at Beamer Memorial Conservation Area. And better still, a renowned nature photographer, Mr. Tom Thomas, was there to record the event of the two birds at Beamer flying overhead. Now to add to those excitement just days earlier another Black Vulture was seen migrating towards Hamilton on March 16. 

Between the years 1961 - 2000 only 15 Black Vultures have been seen in the Hamilton area as noted in Bob Curry’s book, Birds of Hamilton. In the past decade a Black Vulture has been seen only every couple of years in the Hamilton area. To have three of these magnificent birds in less than a week is just phenomenal to the birding world. 

© Nick Chill

In Hamilton we are used to seeing Turkey Vultures flying through our skies from March until November. Over 10,000 vultures, migrate in the spring alone. It was not that long ago when Turkey Vultures were rare. They started to nest in the Kelso area on the Niagara Escarpment in the 1940’s. In 1975 only 53 were recorded in the spring migration at Beamer. In 2011 there were over 6700 recorded by the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch at Beamer. To the end of March of this year there have been 3400 Turkey vultures seen already. This is an increase of 72% over the 1980 vultures seen to the end of March in 2011. WOW!

 In the fall migration of an estimated 100,000 Turkey Vultures leave Ontario on their southward migration each year. Not bad for a bird that was almost nonexistent here 70 years ago.

Tom Thomas

Now to most of us a vulture is a vulture. The difference is that Turkey Vultures have red heads, are a little larger than Black Vultures and the back half of their wing is light gray along the entire length. They seldom flap their wings. They just seem to float through the air. 

© Gerrit Vyn

The Black Vulture has a black head and light gray wingtips. It flaps its wings more often and with its short tail the flight is very reminiscent of a bat in flight. And have legs and feet that are almost white.

In the Eastern United States there are thousands and thousands of Black Vultures from Southern Pennsylvania south to Florida and Central America but they are not as migratory as the Turkey Vulture. 

Birders had high hopes for these sightings of Black Vultures this spring for there were five Black Vultures wintering along the Niagara River around Lewiston N.Y. last winter. This has not happened before either. We have no way of telling whether or not the three migrating  birds seen at Beamer were part of the wintering five. Remember the mild winter. It was the likely reason that that these Blacks survived the winter along the Niagara River area.

This is not the first time some new bird species have shown up in Southern Ontario and stayed. The Cardinal did not appear in Hamilton area until 1923. Now it is in every neighbourhood and across all of

© Jim Paris

Southern Ontario. The now common Red-bellied Woodpecker did not show up in the Hamilton area in any number until the mid 1960’s. The same kind of story goes for the Mockingbird and the Carolina Wren as well.

Remember the Turkey Vulture was not a bird our parents saw. It has recently set up camp and is now in the thousands in migration.

So is it climate change? Maybe. Is it is habitat change? Maybe.  Every  species of bird seems to have a few adventurous members that are always exploring where the species has not gone before and some may find a new area suitable for their life. 

The changes in these birds do one thing for sure and that is wonderful for those of us who enjoy nature. They are providing us with new wonderments every day. No year is the same.

So look very carefully at the next big black bird you see. It could be your brand new neighbour.

Bruce Mackenzie

Manager Customer Service and Operations

Hamilton Conservation Authority

Dofasco Trail and Bird Watching – What Gives This winter?

If you haven't been out enjoying the mild winter yet, you are missing out on an incredible birding season in Hamilton. So far this January there have been two hot spots for birds in Hamilton, one, along the Bayfront Trail below Dundurn Castle, where significant rare warblers have been found since the middle of December. Which leaves the second hotspot, the Dofasco Trail. The east end of the Dofasco Trail has been known as a bird watching hotspot for some time now, and this winter it has proven itself to be very popular with not only the birds but also with bird watchers (including myself).

The centre of the activity on the Dofasco Trail is right where the trail intersects with 10th line and the Railroad tracks. If you want to see a variety of raptors, hawks and owls, this winter it seems these two hotspots  are going to be the place to be in Hamilton. 

Redtail Hawks, Harriers (Marsh Hawks), Kestrels (Sparrow Hawks), Rough Legged Hawks, Turkey Vultures  and Northern Shrikes have all been spotted where the trail crosses  10^th Line.  So far Short Eared Owls have not been spotted, but they should be showing up soon, (if history repeats itself like other winters). Short Eared Owls are usually seen flying over nearby fields just before dusk, searching for their prey. 

Hawks are common in the winter but they have been seen in unusually high numbers this season, and have brought along  some rare birds with them.

You may find yourself asking "Bruce what is with all of the hawks?" The answer simply put is the abundunce of Meadow Voles, and right now there is no snow cover making the voles easier for aerial predators to find them. Meadow Voles also know as field mice, are small rodents that are dark brown or grey in colour, have four short legs and burrow in the grass where their tunnels are in places that are easily visible in the tussocks of grass even in the low wet fields.

Harriers are not unknown as winter visitors to the agricultural areas in Hamilton but at 10^th Line, they are almost guaranteed to be spotted, and up to four at a time!

Rough Legged Hawks find their winter home in Southern Ontario. They summer in the Arctic. They come in two colour phases, light and dark. Light phases have only been seen so far.  They are about the size of Redtails but appear to have narrower wings and may be seen hovering low over the fields searching for rodents.

Both Adult and immature Redtails can be seen. The adult has the rusty red tail and the immature hawks have a brownish tail. They are both the same size.

The Northern Shrike, a rare bird, at any time is usually seen in the field that is full of hawthorn trees which happens to be north of the trail immediately east of 10th line. It is a small aerial predator not much bigger then a blue jay. They feed on small birds like sparrows and meadow voles.  Shrikes are known as butcher birds. They often will impale their prey on the sharp thorns on hawthorns. For more information on shrikes check out Conservation Halton, Mountsberg Raptor Centre video all on Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes. 

In this same area a Bobolink has been seen in the field to the south of the railroad tracks and to the east of 10th Line. Bobolinks are rare in the summer and to see one in January is astonishing (considering they usually flock south to Argentina.) In the same fields you may also see Eastern Meadowlarks. Again another bird that should be much further south. These birds are not expected to be around much longer as the real winter starts to set in.

In this area bird watchers are also seeing Horned Meadowlarks. The novice bird watcher may have some trouble in finding all of these species but there are plenty of other birds that are easy to identify.

To find some easy birds walk along the Dofasco Trail west of 8^th Line along the Vinemount Swamp Boardwalk heading west. There is good flock of Robins there feeding on Buckthorn black berries.  Yes Virginia, there are Robins in Hamilton in the winter especially where there is open water and Buckthorn trees. 

Along the Boardwalk expect to see Black Capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Blue Jays and Winter Wrens. Winter Wrens are the smallest bird in the swamp and sometimes they make themselves easy to see. The wrens are usually hiding under the boardwalk and fly out from under it when they hear your footsteps. Look for a small brown bird with a small tail trying to hide from you.

Even if you are not interested in birds, the Dofasco Trail with Ontario’s longest boardwalk is always exciting. The Dofasco Trail runs from the Devil’s Punch Bowl on the Stoney Creek Mountain to 11^th Line in Winona. 

Remember to keep your eyes and ears open and you may just spot one of the many birds in the area, this winter. 

Bruce Mackenzie

Manager Customer Service & Operations. 

Hamilton Conservation Authority