Another Late Spring

North shore of Lake Erie March 28, 2015

This is the third year in a row we have experienced a long, harsh winter. It has been exceptionally cold so far in 2015 with temperatures in the minus double digits for weeks on end. 

Tundra Swans migrate from Chesapeake Bay to their summer nesting grounds in the Arctic and pass through south-western Ontario in late February to mid-March. They stage in large numbers on ponds near the town of Aylmer and viewing stations are available for the public to watch the birds. When I visited yesterday morning, the temperature was -12 C and the ponds were frozen. This is the second spring where migration is late and the number of migrating swans is down significantly due to lack of open water. Volunteers count the birds each morning and feed is provided. There were about 300 swans as well as Canada Geese and a handful of other migrants. In good years there are thousands of swans resting here at a time.

I took many photos so I posted a slide show to You Tube with the highlights of my day.

None of the farm fields had vernal ponds and the only birds of note along the side roads were Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures and one Northern Harrier. I saw one very cold Eastern Kingbird on a wire right at the lake front and there are no insects at these temperature. It has arrived far ahead of schedule.

I drove to the Lake Erie shoreline to find open water. The beach was covered in snow and large ice chunks. A handful of diving ducks including a small raft of Redhead Ducks and a single Hooded Meganser swam near the pier. 

On the way home I stopped by the Bald Eagle nest I watched last year. It was good to see an adult bird in the nest and hopefully it is warming an egg or two. 

Red Maple blooms were about ready to open, a sure sign of spring. I passed a maple syrup stand on the highway outside an Old Order Mennonite farm. Two young men had a propane heater, a solar energy panel and a cell phone. There was a sign indicating that they now took credit and debit cards for payment, perhaps using the Square app. In some ways there has been more progress in the Old Order community in the past 10 years than in the past 100. 

In this past week I have counted 34 bird species in just a handful of locations. The migratory notables include the following:

Snowy Owl, Northern Harrier, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Eastern Kingbird, American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, Kildeer, Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded Merganser, Redhead duck, Junco, American Tree Sparrow

Other year-round specialties include: Pileated Woodpecker, Wild Turkey, Common Raven