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