Wednesday 16 November 2016

13-19 August; first days in the Bay

13 Aug
My first partial day at Longridge Point!
Birding Highlights; Common Loon x3, Goshawk x1, Osprey x1, Yellow Rail x1, Hudsonian Godwit x46, Olive-sided Flycatcher x3, Nelson's Sparrow x1, Savannah Sparrow x25, Rusty Blackbird x5, Pine Siskin x1.
Other wildlife highlights: lots of Hudson Bay Toads (Bufo american copei) all along the marshy trails.
Summary: Dan "a nun once slapped me" Kennedy, the greatest helicopter pilot I ever had, dropped us off at Longridge Cabin at about 11am. Doug, Anne and I hopped out, and four people hopped in. We moved all the gear, and settled into our palatial cabins!
First order of business was a safety/protocol briefing from the three Longridge stalwarts of the season, Dan, Kathryn and Amie. Bears were the main item of concern. In short, Black Bears are normally fine unless you startle them or get between them and their cubs, so make plenty of noise if you're on your own, and look out for cute black furry things in the treetops (a few years ago Mark Peck got bluff-charged when he accidentally stood underneath a tree full of cubs). Carry bear-bangers and Bear spray, but odds are you won't need them (and we never did, the only Black Bear I saw close ran off very quickly when it got our scent).
Now, the one real risk was the Polar Bear that had been seen in July! This is a sensational occurrence this far south, but also a worrying one. Polars are a very different kind of beast to Blacks.

I did know about this beforehand, but I didn't tell too many people as I didn't want to worry you! Thankfully, the Bear was only seen once in mid-July, when it startled three volunteers by flushing out of a sand dune about 60 yards ahead of them. It then swam off north, and was never seen again, thankfully! Although it would have been pretty exciting, he thinks wistfully...
Polar Bear track, with Kathryn as hand-model (©Allie Anderson)

Once the briefing was over, I got to practice using a Bear Banger, just in case I should need it. You stick the banger in a pen, release a trigger and it shoots into the air, explodes and makes a hell of a bang. But to be honest, I was more worried about taking my hand off with it! I took to singing, very loudly and out-of-tune, whenever I walked alone, and never once encountered a Bear, though they'd doubtless heard me coming and made themselves scarce.

ANYWAY, brief discussion of Bear safety over, lets get back to the daily log! Once our briefing was over, we went for a short walk down to the coast. I got my lifer Hudsonian Godwits on this walk, flying along the shoreline, black underwings somewhat muted against a dismal sky. There weren't any other shorebirds of note this day, in retrospect. However, I got lovely views of a perched up Nelson's Sparrow, and Olive-sided Flycatchers posed nicely around the cabin. Of my three other lifers this day, one was very nice, a singing Yellow Rail at dusk. Of the other two, a Gray Jay was somewhat expected, while the 70 or so Savannah Sparrows that were literally everywhere were my biggest Canadian "tarts tick", finally removed! How I missed them at Long Point last year, I will never know.
However, the highlight of the day came barely 20 minutes after the helicopter departed. I was scanning the marshes, when I saw a massive, streaky raptor, with deep and powerful wingbeats. It was flying head on, so my first impression was a Harrier, but it just looked too barrel-chested, and the flight was too direct. It kept flying at me, still head on, when finally the penny dropped that I was looking at an enormous, juvenile female Goshawk! It barrelled ever closer, those raging, primeval eyes piercing the soul of the slackjawed, awestruck ape that had intruded on its day. I was standing right beside the cabin, and for one horrific second it looked like the Gos was about to crash into it, only to swerve up and above at the last second, and furiously streak into the woods after some unknown prey. That stare was enough to make a grown man weep; I felt like I'd seen the last thing many a bird and small mammal will ever see. One of the real highlights of my time in James Bay, and less than an hour into my stay! It was also the only Gos I ever saw up here.

14 Aug
Our first survey day!
Route walked- to Bear Point and back with Amie and Doug, stopping near Gilligan's Island to help set up mist nets
Birding highlights; Snow Goose x16, American Golden Plover x2, Semipalmated Plover x108, Short-billed Dowitcher x3, Marbled Godwit x5 (lifer), Hudsonian Whimbrel x16, Red-necked Phalarope x4 (lifer), Olive-sided Flycatcher x2, Le Conte's Sparrow x1 (lifer), Common Redpoll x8.
"First day felt like boot camp!", reads the first line in my journal, and did it half. The 16km we walked today was the longest distance I must have walked in one day in, well probably almost 10 months, and I felt it! Amie, Doug and I surveyed up West Bay towards Bear Point (cue map).
For future reference; Pisquatchee, Longridge and Bear Point are the three peninsulas on the coastline, West Bay is an extensive mudflat with several creeks running into it. The Wrack was a patch of stinking, rotting seaweed that was a magnet to sandpipers feeding on the flies in it. The Treebird Trail was a path along the belt of Black Spruce that stretched from our cabins to the coast. Of the three main creeks (not labelled), Longridge Creek was west of our cabins, and was our favoured bathing spot. Tringa Creek was immediately north, behind the Spruces, and came out just east of Longridge Point. Limosa Creek was about halfway between here and Bear Point. The next point on, east of Bear Point, is where I saw the best sighting of the whole month (more on that in the next post!).
It was a fairly quiet survey, which was just as well as the protocols were lengthy! It took Doug and I a while to get into the swing of things. However, we saw a few good birds. The third creek along in West Bay (soon to be named "Limosa Creek", but as yet unnamed), pulled out the goods, as it would continue to throughout. Here I spotted my lifer Red-necked Phalaropes, two juveniles feeding together, and giving great views. We also found a Short-billed Dowitcher here today. My second lifer of the day came shortly after, when Amie spotted five Marbled Godwits flying by as we approached Bear Point. Surprisingly, the only ones I saw all trip! We ate lunch on the infamous Bear Point, so named because of a troublesome Bear (or series of Bears) named "Scruffles", who loved to cause mischief to unwary surveyors by pushing them out towards the tideline. Thankfully, we remained unmolested by Scruffles, or his proud lineage. Two more Red-necked Phalarope flew over calling though.
Amie and Doug survey the flats 
By the time of our return the tide was low, which made for easy walking on the mudflats! We ate up the time, getting from Bear Point to Gilligans Island (named after a TV show, or a book, that I either don't know because I'm young or because I'm an uncultured philistine) in less than an hour, on spectacular expanses of open mud that seemed to eat away at the horizon.
On the way back, we helped the banding crew set up a new set of mist nets. It's a pretty hard slog setting them up in mudflats, certainly a lot different to my previous banding experience! After all of that I was shattered, but not so shattered I didn't manage another lifer, a Le Conte's Sparrow Doug pointed out on the walk back. A few beers and a nice meal followed, and I collapsed into bed a happy man. 

15 Aug
 First walk to Pisquatchee, and first "luxury spa treatment" in the local creek.
Birding Highlights: Lesser Scaup x27, Surf Scoter x1, Black Scoter x800, Sharp-shinned Hawk x1, Yellow Rail x2, Spotted Sandpiper x1, Hudsonian Godwit x100, Red Knot x16, Baird's Sandpiper x1, Tree Swallow x1, Hermit Thrush x1, Le Conte's Sparrow x1, Nelson's Sparrow x1.
We walked to Pisquatchee for the first time today. Another nice walk, this time over much rockier habitat than in West Bay. The coast between Longridge Creek and Pisquatchee is quite rocky, with mudflats only exposed at low tide, and even these being a mix of pebble and open mud. Pisquatchee itself used to be about the height of Longridge Point, but several years of erosion have severly diminished it, to the extent that most of the long, rocky point that snakes into the bay gets covered at high tide. The higher areas are a popular roosting spot though. The rockiness tended to limit shorebird numbers, especially the Calidrid sandpipers, although it was good for Turnstones, with 118 here today one of our higher counts. Red Knot was a new species in Canada for me, and it was lovely to get my first views at the endangered Rufa subspecies, whose presence here in such high numbers is the very reason shorebird surveys first began in this area! I had my first "creek bath", literally jumping naked (it was common courtesy to warn fellow campers, lest they scan for birds and get quite the surprise) into the shallow creek a kilometre or so from camp. It was nice to feel somewhat clean again, although it seemed to triple the number of Mosquitoes and Horseflies finding me appealing. I've got nothing else written in my journal, so I don't think anything of ground-breaking significance happened today.
Hudsonian Godwits, roosting at the mouth of Longridge Creek
16 Aug
Our first walk up Longridge, and first Wolves!
Birding highlights: Snow Goose x53, Surf Scoter x3, White-winged Scoter x3, Black Scoter x870, Goldeneye x87, Common Loon x4, Red-throated Loon x3, Yellow Rail x3, American Golden Plover x2, Hudsonian Whimbrel x2, White-rumped Sandpiper x3900, Wilson's Phalarope x1, Red-necked Phalarope x1, Philadelphia Vireo x2, Le Conte's Sparrow x3, Nelson's Sparrow x1, Clay-coloured Sparrow x1.
Other highlights; two distant Wolves, but good views through a scope.
Doug and I walked up Longridge for the first time today. This is the largest peninsula, with a shingle ridge rising several metres above sea level. The west shore is only exposed at very low tide, but the east shore is shallower, with plenty of exposed rocks for shorebirds to roost on at high tide. It was a very enjoyable walk, with the two highlights occurring early. A juvenile Wilson's Phalarope was on The Wrack first thing in the morning, and as we walked up Longridge, Dan radioed over to alert us to two Wolves in West Bay. After a bit of panicked scanning, we located them in scopes. These guys were really distant, at least 2km away and in heat haze, but it was still fantastic to see them. Wolves are so long-legged, with powerful, hunched shoulders, languid and fluent gaits and ears constantly pricked up, aware of everything. They probably knew exactly where Doug and I were, even at that distance. They really are one of the most graceful looking creatures going, with the air of looking  perfectly designed for an opportunistic, hunting lifestyle. They make Dogs look like underdeveloped, chubby children, even those larger, more impressive breeds like Huskies.
We got out to the Tip of Longridge for the survey back. Out on the sea was a good congregation of Black Scoter (this is without a doubt the best place in Ontario to see this species, with thousands of mainly males using the Bay to moult). A few White-winged and Surf Scoter were mixed in, with 3 Red-throated Loons that flew by not particularly notable for me, but a good James Bay record.



Some photos of Longridge Point


17 Aug
Doug, Anne and I walked to Bear Point, and surveyed back. Many birds were exhibiting Zugunruhe (pronounced "soo-gun-rhoo" and my new favourite word) as they prepared for the long migration south.
Birding highlights: Blue-winged Teal x4, Redhead x1, Osprey x2, Yellow Rail x1, Stilt Sandpiper x3, White-rumped Sandpiper x2500, Least Sandpiper x270, Short-billed Dowitcher x3, Red-necked Phalarope x5, Le Conte's Sparrow x1.
In between writing the last day's summary and this one, about two months have passed, while I got moved to the Tip of Long Point unexpectedly quickly (more on that later!), and had no internet from September 19th til November 7th! It's set back my hope of getting this blog actually updated, and sadly means my memory of what actually happened in James Bay has faded considerably. In my journal, I noted many high-flying flocks of Yellowlegs and Black-bellied Plovers on a stunning, hot-as-hell day. I also wrote down that I was pleased I was beginning to get to grips with ageing and idntifying the shorebirds, near enough every bird I was unsure on, and enquired Doug's opinion on, was now being met with agreement rather than correction!
a cheeky pish for Mr Mcrae
18 Aug
A very quiet survey of Pisquatchee. However, quite a few treebirds were around the campsite and the trail. I helped Anne do some invertebrate surveys.
Birding highlights; Yellow Rail-2, Hudsonian Whimbrel x8, Turnstone-100, Bonaparte's Gull-710 (I missed the only Little Gull reported in the whole month I was up here), Blue-headed Vireo-2, Black-and-white Warbler-10, Tennessee Warbler-1, Cape May Warbler-2, Wilson's Warbler-1, Common Redpoll-1.
Today was really slow on the shorebird front, the gorgeous weather and tailwind of the previous day presumably resulting in an exodus. To give you some idea, Anne and I (Doug had to abandon the survey halfway through with an ailment), surveyed almost double the distance we'd normally manage in the five hour survey period, purely through hardly having to stop and scan a single flock. We made it from Pisquatchee to beyond Gilligan's Island in five hours, normally you'd be lucky to get to The Wrack. I had my first really good look at a juvenile Hudsonian Whimbrel, this bird having a bill so short it could pass for Little Curlew to the unwary observer (or, come to think of it, Eskimo!). Once we were done here, I assisted Anne with some of her invertebrate surveys (an additional part of the current research, to work out what the birds were feeding on). I was basically just scribing notes & fiddling about with mud samples, but it saved Anne a bit of time and was diversionary on a boring day! I can only half-(or a bit more than half)conceitedly add "experience of mudflat invertebrate survey techniques" to my CV, and watch the jobs come flooding in. I took a chance to grab a few photos of the cabins today too.
Our palatial living quarters!

The main highlight today was some excellent "tree-birding". I saw my first Blue-headed Vireo of the trip, and eight species of Warbler was about as good as diversity ever got here. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the big movers, with at least 30, mostly freshly-fledged juveniles, filtering through the narrow belt of Black Spruce surrounding our camp.

the Black Spruce ridge that proved a migrant trap for passerines
19 Aug
Per my diary, "a very hot, lazy day". It was about this time I learnt the secret of putting Beer in the solar freezer for an hour or so right after survey's had finished, what with a fridge being unavailable.
Birding highlights; Shamefully, I wrote almost nothing down! A flock of 20+ White-winged Crossbills moved through the Spruces mid-morning. I had an excellent look at a Nelson's Sparrow too.
Juvenile Nelson's Sparrow
Survey ended up being called off today, as there seemed an imminent threat of thunderstorms all through the afternoon. They arrived later than expected, so annoyingly we'd probably have been alright if we'd called bluff on the weather.
The day's excitement came in the form of a possible resighting of a Prairie Falcon that had been seen earlier in the season by the previous crews. As I recall, a young Peregrine was eventually found being harassed by Crows near where it had last been seen, which presumably explained the sighting. I myself was feeling a bit worse for weather, with the searing heat and exceptionally persistent insects. A bath in the creek restored me to near-human levels of functionality.


Black Bear, though very infrequently seen, made their presence well felt around our camps. Fresh scat was visible on the trails almost every morning, and the flattened vegetation photographed above was a regular feature! They were undoubtedly digging out the sweet roots of plants such as the one pictured (I can't remember its name, but it looks like Rhubarb, and is presumably the same family as this and Docks), and probably also rolling about, given the level of flattening we saw. I'm not sure whether this was cubs playing, their mother scratching & attempting to rid herself of parasites, or some other behaviour, but either way, it was nice to see signs of them evidently doing well. It was even nicer that our bear interactions around camp avoided actually seeing them at close quarters! Not that I wouldn't love a good look at a Bear, but there's nothing worse for both parties than them becoming too habituated to us.

And so ends the first installment from James Bay! I'll try and not be another two months getting the next one posted, especially since many of the most exciting moments came during this week!

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