Spring Birding

By Donny Moore

Now is the time to start thinking about Spring birds. Although we have likely had a few early birds return to the area due to the mild winter, the Spring birding season starts in March.

Some of you readers may have been at my presentation about birding in the water treatment facilities and heard about the diversity that can be encountered there. Well this is a great time to start checking them out. Locally Essex has the most open site to explore with a parking lot just of hwy 3 (due to recent construction it is a little harder to get there). Harrow lagoons has a permit allowance which is open to members of the Field Nats. I have worked with the water treatment management company to gain this access. Some guidelines can be obtained from the Field Nats about the expectations of those who wish to go there. At the time of writing some work is being carried out in there and we should not enter. Rule of thumb would be if you see heavy equipment in there, do not enter.

Getting that out of the way though leads me to say these areas are a great place to welcome back many waterfowl species. Geese, ducks and swans will use these areas throughout the winter depending on open water levels. Typically you will see lots of migrant Canada Geese, Tundra Swans and lots of dabbling ducks. These numbers will start to change going through March as they make their way back to breeding grounds. As they leave many other species start to arrive. Killdeer will be seen and heard, Yellowlegs will appear and also then many duck species. Expect to see increasing numbers of Northern Shoveller, Bufflehead, Scaup, Ring-necked, Pintail, Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal and Black ducks.

As we move through Spring more waders will show up too. Usually a bit more difficult to ID, it’s best to be prepared with good optics. I would almost suggest that Harrow lagoons can not be fully appreciated without a scope. Saying that, I do not wish to deter anyone from going to look at what can be readily enjoyed with binoculars.

More and more Songbirds will be arriving during this time too and you will note the change in behaviour with your feeder birds. The community that is enjoyed by the “birds of a feather” will start to change to the more aggressive, breeding mode. The chips calls you have heard all winter will be changing to full songs and birds will be staking out territory and mating. As you look around on your commutes, you will see Redwinged Blackbirds perched high at the tops of Phragmite, shrubs, small trees, fence posts and hydro poles. The males will sing for about 3 weeks before females start to arrive to see what impresses them.

Robin’s will be poking around the yard hoping the worms are coming up in the soft spring earth. Starlings and House Sparrows, will be getting down to it both in nest building and mating.

As the appeal to go to the birding Mecca of Point Pelee increases during this time, I would encourage you all to try and put some extra effort into finding your own “patch”. Somewhere close to home that you can start to see and appreciate the birds that are in your area. I assure you that if enough of us are doing “patch work” more interesting information about birds in Essex county will arise. Also we will start to record many more rarities as these birds can turn up anywhere at anytime and if we are all just checking out the same spot, more will be missed than recorded. So wether it’s your local treed park or municipal water treatment area, get out there and enjoy the freshness of spring and all that it brings.

Please also if anywhere seems to be private property seek permission. This could be from private landowners, local municipality or management company.

You can always get in touch with me or follow along on my musings on Facebook

@donnymoorephotography