Migration has Begun

May 4, 2019
My Dad and I have been planning a Huron county big day since last year with a goal of 100 species. May 4, 2019 was the global big day and we decided to do a 'practice big day'. We hit some of our main spots including the Bluff, Hullett Marsh, and this subdivision of cottages on Lake Huron. The subdivision is on Black's Point Road, which can be good for migrating songbirds.

Here are our ebird lists:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55847014
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55913437
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55847019
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55847032

We woke up bright and early at 5am and headed out to the Bluff. The weather was calling for lots of sun and 18 degrees. Before we got there, we stopped in a field full of gulls and managed to pick out two Glaucous Gulls before continuing.

There was a light rain misting our windshield as we pulled in to the Bluff after 7am. There was heavy blackbird movement south but nothing unusual was seen in these flocks. The rain stopped, but it was still very dark and overcast. The North wind started blowing harder at 7:30am and it got very cold. 

The classic view from The Bluff

One of the many Blackbird flocks

The Bluff was pretty miserable and the birds were few and far between. We had another two Glaucous Gulls there that were both heading north.

We also got 7 Caspian Terns which was pretty cool considering there were no reliable places for them in Huron County (that we know of).

After three hours of mediocre birding in freezing temps, we decided to move on. It is always so hard to leave the Bluff because it feels like anything is possible there. Some crazy things have been seen there through migration that are not only good birds for Huron county, but they are good Ontario birds as well! Check out all the birds that have been recorded here.

We drove over to Black's Point Road and began birding the area. We saw some of our first thrushes of the year (surprisingly late) which were three Hermit Thrush feeding in the ditch beside the road.

The amount of migrating songbirds was disappointing and not exactly what I had hoped it would be. We heard a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and saw many Ruby-crowned Kinglets that were skulking in the large evergreens.

There were also many American Robins around that were being semi- cooperative for pictures. 

Just as we were leaving, we heard a very loud, buzzy three note song. I stopped dead in my tracks as I immediately recognized it. While I had only ever seen this bird once before, and I had never heard it, the song of a Clay-colored Sparrow was distinct. My Dad and I both pished for a very long time with no luck. We heard the sparrow multiple times before it stopped singing. After that, we did not hear it again. We searched for a while before realizing we were almost late to a meeting (I will expand on this soon). Clay-colored Sparrow is a good bird for Huron County and a county lifer for both my dad and I.

We then went to an information meeting at Hullett Conservation area about a new tactic they are implementing to help Snapping Turtles nest more successfully. They created these large boxes with a screened in top, an open bottom, and small rectangles cut out at all sides near the bottom. The idea was that these boxes are placed over turtle nests and stakes were put in to hold the box down. The biggest problem for Snapping Turtles in Hullett, is the staggering rates of nest predation. The boxes are meant to keep out predators while still allowing baby turtles to escape when they hatch. 

After going to this meeting, we decided to do some birding around Hullett. We started at Front Road and saw lots of swallows already moving into the nest boxes. We also got to see one of the first Palm Warblers of the year. We then headed over to Conservation Line and saw many first of the year (foy) birds such as Vesper Sparrow, Eastern Kingbird, and Black-and-white Warbler. There were also quite a few Yellow-rumped Warblers. One of my favourite parts was seeing and hearing Rusty Blackbirds all over the place as most previous views were far away and backlit.

Black-and-white Warbler

Rusty Blackbird

Yellow-rumped Warbler

While the birds have finally started to show up, I also got to see my first butterfly of the year, a Red Admiral.

Red Admiral

As my Dad and I came to the end of Conservation Road, we walked up the dyke and began scanning the water. Suddenly my eyes passed over something different. I gasped when I realized what it was.. a Red-necked Grebe! My dad and I had been looking for this bird since forever. This bird isn't incredibly rare in our area, but it's certainly a great bird for us... a lifer too! I snapped a few digiscopes and posted it in the Huron County Rare Bird Whatsapp group where a few people decided to go look for it.

Red-necked Grebe

       
We then headed over to the parking lot 'with the big viewing stand' where we were surprised yet again. We noticed a large bird flying our direction and after getting eyes on it, we immediately knew it was a Peregrine Falcon. We had only ever seen this bird once before at Hullett so it was a nice surprise - especially for a pretend big day.

Peregrine Falcon

We then went to check on a Killdeer nest that we had been watching for chicks. The nest was still doing well with four healthy looking eggs.

Killdeer nest

We made our final stop at Burns Line were we saw a beautiful Eastern Garter Snake.

Eastern Garter Snake

That was the end of our practice big day finishing at a grand total of 87 species! We had fantastic weather and could only hope our actual big day would be as nice.