Breeding Bird Surveys - 2018

Having been working on bats and reptiles for the last year in the eastern Georgian Bay area, I've been aching to get back into some bird work.  A Breeding Bird Survey route in the area recently popped up, so what better way to get back into it.

My route starts close to Mactier, Ontario, and heads through to Orrville and then up the 518 HWY. This year, I did a practice route to learn where the stops are and what birds I should be able to expect (and which to brush up on before heading out on the actual day) and then a second survey, which was the actual one I've submitted data for. Both of these I did with one of my awesome birdy friends!

During our practice survey, we got a total of 52 species, while on the actual breeding bird survey date we observed a total of 70 species! Of course every once in a while we would also find a few non-bird species such as deer, a few turtles crossing the roads, and the ever so loud amphibians (primarily grey tree frogs).  Another common sight was always questionable road signs....

Surveys started at 4:58 am, which means I had to leave my house in Carling around 4am.  I was SOOOOOO not used to getting up that early anymore, so coffee was a must (about 4 cups of it...whoops!).  But it made me remember why I used to love being a morning person, so much bird song and gorgeous sunrises. 

early morning start

The biggest downside to the survey day would have been the the wind, not necessarily because of the early morning, but because of the mass amount of pollen that was blowing off of all the pine trees!

 

Some of our birding highlights included:

Alder Flycatchers!  I was so surprised with how many of them there were along the route!

How many Chestnut-sided Warblers there were!  Being able to hear Chestnut-sided Warblers right alongside Yellow Warblers and Yellow-rumped Warblers all day really helped solidify in my brain (once and for all!) what they sound like.  You know, until you hear an "odd" one.

Two Black-billed Cuckoos were singing away at one of our stops!  It has been a number of years since I had heard one.

All along the route there was some AMAZING scenery - the wetlands, fields, forests.  In fact there were a few places with some of the most gorgeous wetlands that i've seen in the area.  It was a real treat to be able to stop and listen at them.

Other photos from the day:

Northern Flicker

To put a cherry on top to our days, the Orrville bakery was at the (almost) end of our route, which means we got to stop in for a coffee and a treat on our way home!