Loggerhead Shrike Survey #1

 April 21, 2024

We rose early and were off by 7:30 am.  But it is 123 km to our survey site south of Smith's Falls, and it was 9:15 before we could start our first of 6 surveys.  We did make a very brief stop at the Swale in Smith's Falls, where we observed 2 Tundra Swans and some Green-winged Teals!

There was no rain, but a very chilly wind sprung up, which hindered our surveying and made the playback of the shrike recording ineffective.

Nevertheless, at the first site, SF163J, which saw an American Kestrel and heard both Eastern Meadowlark and Eastern Towhee.  Merlin helped here. The other sites were less productive, but a highlight was 2 Vesper Sparrows at SH163E.

Another highlight was the emergence of spring wildflowers, particularly along Portland Road.  We saw Bloodroot, Spring Beauty and Hepatica, confirmed by iNaturalist. There was a profusion of green spiky leaves, which Bill guessed to be Wild Leeks.  He dug up a couple of specimens to confirm the bulb and garlicky smell.

We headed home via County Road 8, stopping at Bellamy Lake where we saw a couple of skulking turkeys,  an Osprey, a FOS Pied-billed Grebe and a pair of Ring-necked Ducks. At the next pond, we saw Buffleheads.

So, our first survey was a success!  We realized that a lot of our stops were past the optimal time of 10 am.  This could not be helped because of the long drive.  We decided to do our subsequent surveys in the late afternoon for that reason.