Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Migration Movements => Topic started by: Tyler on May 23, 2010, 11:53:20 PM

Title: Whimbrel are coming!
Post by: Tyler on May 23, 2010, 11:53:20 PM
Just recieved an email from biologists in Virginia and alot of whimbrel left tonight. They will hit lake Ontario by dawn!
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Post by: Matthew Strimas-Mackey on May 24, 2010, 01:12:07 AM
They were at the Leslie Spit today. I saw about 12 hanging out in one of the ponds.
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Post by: Andreas Jonsson on May 24, 2010, 04:03:54 PM
Aha, interesting. I wonder if they would stay around for a while. I'm thinking about heading down there this evening. Did anybody see them take off?
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Post by: Tyler on May 24, 2010, 06:58:56 PM
Most late migrating  northbound shorebirds HATE southern ontario. Very little habitat and very little food!
With migration conditions being near perfect i.e clear skies and se wind very few whimbrel, sanderling, red knots, ruddy turnstones like to set down in southern Ontario.
 When they lift off from cheapeake and delware bays and the Delmara Pennisula They are usually fat/obese (lots of fuel for long distant straight flights) they want to fly straight to james and hudson bay. They only stay on the ground for extended periods if the migration weather is adverse. i.e. Thunderstorms strong NW/N headwinds. With these adverse conditions they will sit in realtively safe areas like Coburg harbour west pier, beach at darlington p.p. Presquile P.P. beach, Oshawa Second marsh, Whitby harbour west pier, and the spit.

With weather like we are having I expect the vast majority of each species to past high overhead missing us.

That said look for Ruddy turnstones in gull/tern colonies eating eggs and Whimbrels loitering in safe areas for short periods of time.
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Post by: Matthew Strimas-Mackey on May 24, 2010, 08:00:49 PM
@Andreas: Did you see them this evening? When I was there yesterday around 4pm they didn't seem to be in any rush to leave.
Title: Anticipated Whimbrel flight early Tuesday morning
Post by: Bluffs Birder on May 24, 2010, 11:21:46 PM
The following is an extract from ONTBIRDS:

Subject: Anticipated Whimbrel Flight tomorrow
From: Mark Cranford <mark>
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 22:43:37 -0400

This is not a report of birds seen so take this as you may.  After a
slow weekend all indications seem to point to a large flight of Whimbrel
tomorrow along the north shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie.

At 10 pm Monday evening I received an email from a researcher based in
coastal Virginia. It is his opinion that the majority  of staging
Whimbrel took flight this evening. With project northeast winds birds
could show at Toronto early tomorrow morning.

--
Mark Cranford
Mississauga, Ont.


Walter
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Post by: Andreas Jonsson on May 25, 2010, 01:24:08 AM
@Matt

No, I was there at 7pm and I couldn't find them. Where did you see them?

I had some other nice birds though. Will report later. Gotta get some sleep and perhaps get up early to go to Col Sam?...
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Post by: Matthew Strimas-Mackey on May 25, 2010, 09:27:40 AM
The whimbrels were on the biggest island in the first wetland cell.
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Post by: Andreas Jonsson on May 25, 2010, 01:46:48 PM
OK, thanks, that's the first place I looked! They must have left by the time I was there.

Regarding the ONTBIRDS post about last night's migration of Whimbrels mentioned above, there were zero Whimbrels seen this morning until 11am at Col Sam Park. :-(