Every spring I look forward to running over a dozen Breeding Bird Surveys in both Southern and Northern Ontario. Routes consist of 50 stops spaced 0.8 km apart along a 39.4-km route. We record the total number of individual bird species heard from any distance or seen within 0.4 km of each stop during a three-minute observation. These data are carefully analyzed on a yearly basis to provide information on bird population trends, relative abundance and species composition and richness at the local, regional and continental scale.

We were on the road at 3:30 am this morning heading to farming country north of Port Hope for a 5:02 am start.

Here is how the sky looked shortly after dawn:

Mystery Bird. I will identify it at the end of the post.

We had perfect conditions and no wind for the survey. Some of the highlights:

Five Sparrow species:

Over 20 Indigo Buntings:

Several singing Wood Thrushes:

Many House Wrens:

About 10 gobbling Wild Turkeys:

And this Turkey Vulture:

Some botany:

Mystery bird:

The yellow colour and rusty breast strokes identify this as a male Yellow Warbler.

NATURE POETRY

THE FOUR SEASONS

                              (from a teacher’s perspective.)

SEPTEMBER:

    Leaves fall so softly;

       Spectres of new classes loom –

           Fall’s beauty fading. – J. Barbara

Miles Hearn