Birder's Corner
GUIDE TO SPRING ARRIVAL DATES IN ONTARIO
by Mike Burrell
Here is a very useful list of 198 of Ontario's fairly common birds and the dates you can reasonably expect to find them returning. Mike Burrell, one of Ontario's most well-known experienced birders, first provided this list in his blog, The Nomadic Naturalist. Note that there are always "pioneers" who will turn up earlier than the expected date.
02 Feb
Horned Lark
05 Feb
American Crow
20 Feb
Redhead
26 Feb
Gadwall
Northern Pintail
Canvasback
Bufflehead
European Starling
28 Feb
Tundra Swan
American Wigeon
02 March
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Ring-billed Gull
03 March
Mallard
Lesser Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
American Coot
04 March
Cackling Goose
Hooded Merganser
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch*
07 March
Red-necked Grebe
Common Grackle
08 March
Ring-necked Duck
09 March
Horned Grebe
Sandhill Crane
10 March
Ross's Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Killdeer
American Robin
11 March
Red-shouldered Hawk
Little Gull
12 March
American Woodcock
13 March
Merlin
14 March
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Song Sparrow
16 March
Eastern Bluebird
17 March
Pied-billed Grebe
18 March
Wood Duck
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Meadowlark
Brown-headed Cowbird
20 March
Red-throated Loon
21 March
Great Blue Heron
Rusty Blackbird
22 March
American Kestrel
25 March
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Fox Sparrow
27 March
Blue-winged Teal
28 March
Pectoral Sandpiper
Belted Kingfisher
30 March
Dark-eyed Junco
31 March
Wilson's Snipe
01 April
Bonaparte's Gull
02 April
Double-crested Cormorant
Tree Swallow
03 April - Great Egret
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
04 April
Osprey
06 April
Common Loon
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Greater Yellowlegs
07 April - Cooper's Hawk
Hermit Thrush
08 April - Lesser Yellowlegs
Purple Finch
09 April
Caspian Tern
10 April
Black-crowned Night-Heron
13 April
Louisiana Waterthrush
Pine Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
14 April
American Bittern
Forster's Tern
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
15 April
Surf Scoter
Barn Swallow
Chipping Sparrow
American Goldfinch
16 April
Broad-winged Hawk
Brown Thrasher
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
17 April
American White Pelican
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
18 April
Virginia Rail
19 April
Purple Martin
20 April
Cliff Swallow
21 April
Yellow-throated Warbler*
Worm-eating Warbler*
22 April
Black Scoter
Upland Sandpiper
23 April
Willet
24 April
Green Heron
Sora
Spotted Sandpiper
Common Tern
Bank Swallow
25 April
Long-billed Dowitcher
Blue Jay
26 April
Solitary Sandpiper
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Palm Warbler
27 April
Wilson's Phalarope
White-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Northern Waterthrush
28 April
Sedge Wren
Grasshopper Sparrow
30 April
Common Gallinule
Dunlin
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
American Pipit
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
01 May
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Warbling Vireo
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Ovenbird
Blue-winged Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
02 May
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Veery
Golden-winged Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
03 May
Great Crested Flycatcher
Prothonotary Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Clay-colored Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
04 May
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Least Sandpiper
Swainson's Thrush
Cerulean Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
05 May
Cape May Warbler
06 May
Least Bittern
American Golden-plover
Short-billed Dowitcher
Black Tern
Gray-cheeked Thrush
American Redstart
Kirtland's Warbler
Summer Tanager
07 May
Common Nighthawk
Tennessee Warbler
08 May
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Black-billed Cuckoo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Connecticut Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Canada Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
09 May
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Cedar Waxwing
10 May
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Wood-pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Blackpoll Warbler
11 May
Brant
12 May
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Mourning Warbler
13 May
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
15 May
White-rumped Sandpiper
17 May
Red-necked Phalarope
18 May
Whimbrel
20 May
Red Knot
Alder Flycatcher
*these species are barely calculable due to a pretty weak peak


Mallard

Red-breasted Merganser

Redhead
Red-winged Blackbird


Red-necked Grebe
Horned Grebe

American Robin

Bufflehead

Turkey Vulture


Wood Duck
Golden-crowned Kinglet


Great Blue Heron
American Kestrel




Blue-winged Teal
Tree Swallow
Great Egret
Common Loon


American Bittern
Cooper's Hawk

Chipping Sparrow

Yellow-rumped Warbler


Cliff Swallows
Virginia Rail

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Spotted Sandpiper
Green Heron








White-throated Sparrow









Great Crested Flycatcher
Whimbrel
White-rumped Sandpipers
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Black-billed Cuckoo
Scarlet Tanager
Swainson's Thrush
Magnolia Warbler
Baltimore Oriole
Blue-winged Warbler
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
American Pipit
Nashville Warbler
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Palm Warbler
WILDLIFE STARRING.....”THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD”
(AGELAIUS PHOENICEUS)
by
SANDRA C. HAWKINS
There are few birds that herald spring with as much verve and enthusiasm as the Red-winged Blackbird. With its raucous song, flashing red wing patches, and aggressive antics, it cannot help but command respect. Upon its arrival, the marshes once more come alive and memories of winter are quickly spirited away.
Description
There is a dramatic difference in colouration between the sexes. The male is glossy black with bright red shoulder patches (epaulettes) that are edged with yellow. Such finery serves him well for defending his territory and attracting a mate. The streaky brown feathers of female birds provide cryptic camouflage that is invaluable during times of brooding eggs and raising young. Red-wings are medium-sized songbirds with females being slightly smaller than males.
Distribution and Breeding Activity
The Red-winged Blackbird ranges throughout North America from southern Alaska, the Yukon and Northwest Territories and coast to coast in the rest of Canada and the United States. It is one of the most common land birds found in North America. It winters throughout most of the USA and as far north as southern British Columbia. Some birds venture farther south to areas such as Baja and Costa Rica. It is opportunistic and may be found in a variety of habitats including marshes, pastures, and meadows. Their migration northward begins as early as February and by August the reverse is true.
It is not an elusive bird. Territorial defence between males begins immediately upon arrival on the breeding grounds. Vigorous bouts of aerial display and loud calls of “O-KEE-REE” alternate with quiet times for feeding and resting. Morning is often the most active time for heightened male rivalry.
Female birds arrive several weeks after the males. Their return marks the most active time in the marsh. Males are usually polygynous and each male may have multiple females resident in his territory. During this period females are often pursued by their own males and by neighbouring interlopers who dare to transgress territorial boundaries.
The breeding cycles of females in any given territory are generally not in sync with each other. One may be brooding when another enters the area. Pair bonds last only for the breeding season and males and females exist for the rest of the year in separate-sex flocks.
Nesting
Female Red-wingeds are solely responsible for building the nest. A marvellous piece of avian construction, the cuplike nest is woven of reeds or other grasses most often in or near marshes or riparian habitats. It is suspended approximately 1 to 3 metres (3 to 8 feet) above the ground by anchoring the structure to vertical stems of adjacent grasses or shrubby branches. The nest is then lined with finer grasses in preparation for egg laying.
Incubation of 3-5 pale bluish-green eggs (spotted and mottled with purplish brown) is by the female alone. The 10-12 day incubation period yields altricial young that remain in the nest for 11-14 days. Both parents feed them a diet of insects. Two, occasionally three, broods are produced each year. Remarkably, although adult birds are unable to do so, young birds that tumble from the nest have some ability to swim over short distances.
Sadly, Red-winged Blackbirds commonly serve as Cowbird hosts, while eggs and nestlings are often predated by other marsh dwellers such as mink, raccoons and birds like the marsh wren.
Diet
Grass and other seeds make up the largest portion of a Red-winged’s diet, although berries, spiders, insects, caterpillars, grubs and even snails round it out. At bird feeders, they are particularly fond of millet seed (Personal Observation).
Conservation Concerns
Red-winged Blackbirds may be some of the most numerous land birds in North America, but that does not mean their future is entirely secure. Remember the Passenger Pigeons whose flocks darkened the sun? Where are they now?
Because marshes and a proximity to wetland habitat are crucial for insuring continued Red-winged populations, these birds are vulnerable to the drainage of wetlands for new housing tracts and the expansion of agricultural and industrial lands.
Pesticides and herbicides take their toll both on the birds themselves as well as on their sources of food. Adult Red-wings may also fall prey to winged predators such as hawks and owls.
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Female Red-winged Blackbird
Female with nestlings