Avian Tendencies

On birding and month-long smiles...

2008-06-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Birding can be one frustrating endeavor. Target birds can fail, weather can bum you out, or good ole lady luck can just get the best of you. But the birder who perseveres is sure to be rewarded sooner or later. June 6 happened to be one of the latter types of days for me and a group of 12 intrepid birders from Ft. Worth, TX, who joined me for a full-day tour of the eastern U.P. targeting the following commonly-sought species:

Connecticut Warbler
Spruce Grouse
Black-backed Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Gray Jay
Boreal Chickadee
several other more common species

During the summers of 2005 and 2006 I had led more than 10 such tours for Michigan Audubon Society, meaning I had a good feeling for how to get large numbers of people on each of these birds. So, my hopeful group arrived on the evening of June 5, when we jumped right into the search by trying to get Spruce Grouse at Vermilion Rd. north of Paradise (unsuccessfully). Not exactly a banner start toward my goal! However, we did luck onto a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher which the whole group saw. As for our other target, the Clark Lake trail just west of Tahquamenon Falls State park lower falls yielded us a displaying male "Sproose Groose" in the waning hours of dusk, opening up much of the following day to focus on other species. Birders 2, birds 0.

Fast forward to 5:30AM the following morning. I must say, for a bunch of folks not necessarily used to the upper peninsula's June mosquito clouds, birding here had to be quite an experience for the TX 12. I had warned them to bring headnets, and they heeded my warning (see below)! Still, as I quickly learned, this was no light-hearted group- these were serious birders willing to happily brave the elements for good birds. Here we are as we prepared to enter the bog where the elusive Connecticut Warbler nests. (Note the moderate smiles and hold onto that thought).Despite starting at the exact location where a Connecticut had been singing the previous morning, we failed to hear anything but the swarms of mosquitos around our heads and a few non-target birds for over 1 hour! Concerned, but not dismayed, we walked over 0.3 miles across the squishy, wet, substrate of the bog toward the far side of this bird's territory when we finally began to hear him singing! We approached quietly, and after another 10-15 minutes of pursuing this bird, we finally zeroed in on his tree: Bingo- high in the top of a jack pine he sat singing:
Here you can listen to his song as we look on

And here you can watch his bill open as he sings.

Score: Birders 3, birds 0.

We were doing great! Only two more primary targets and then virtually the entire afternoon was opening up for some more relaxed birding, perhaps even a nap. We stopped next at the large Sleeper Lake burn (from Aug 2007) just north of Newberry, where we immediately got onto a Black-backed Woodpecker busily drumming and scaling a burnt jack pine, amid many oohs and aaahs. That species out of the way, we returned to the Clark Lake Trail where we got excellent looks at another cock Spruce Grouse at close range right on the road! Then, in an amazing display of good luck a Gray Jay presented itself at close range right above our cars in the parking lot. I explained to the group how very lucky this is at this time of year given the surreptitious brooding behavior of these guys during chick rearing. But this strung of great luck, unfortunately was unable to produce perhaps the hardest boreal species during May and June: Boreal Chickadee. Not that we had the right to complain!

(Sidenote: for a triplist and discussion of this tour see the Ft Worth Audubon forum and this full Flickr album of one of our participants, Barbara Tompkins)

Score: Birders 5, birds 1.

By now each of these 12 birders (and the guide) had developed an increasingly large grin, but little did we realize the best part of the day had not yet come. A nice lunch break in Paradise (the pasties hit the spot!) was followed by a jaunt to Whitefish Point, where migration was not yet completely over. Flocks of Blue Jays in the hundreds were wheeling their way back and forth, much to our amazement. A few hummingbirds, warblers, and other species were working the point, when I received a phone call. A homeowner in Grand Marais (1.5 hours away) had just confirmed the presence of a Michigan mega in his backyard: a NORTHERN WHEATEAR! Given that all 9 of Michigan's records are from the fall, I almost couldn't believe it was for real, but several other expert birders were on it, and it was the real deal. I won't repeat the story here, (see my previous blog post for photos and video) but we all raced over and were treated to 2 hours of continuous viewing of this incredible first spring/summer record for the state- an ABA area bird for 1o of the 12 Texans! It was also my 330th Michigan bird (woohoo!). I ended our now incredible day by offering the following proposition: instead of having a weeklong smile for getting most of your target birds, it was now necessary to hold that smile for a full month. Needless to say, my call to action was not rejected...

Here is the happy group toward the end of our trip.

Wheatear, Grand Marais

2008-06-08T06:29:00.001-07:00

On Friday June 6 I found myself in the eastern upper peninsula near Paradise when I received a phone call that a homeowner in Grand Marais had a bird which he thought was possibly a Northern Wheatear. Given the paucity of spring Wheatear records, and the possibilities for confusion of Mockingbirds, Pipits, and Loggerhead Shrikes, etc., I felt it was a real longshot. However, within 2 hours several birders had confirmed the improbable- it was for real!

So, I immediately drove straight to Grand Marais and was treated to the following:

True to form, this bird was not seen the following day, like most Michigan Wheatears, making this one of the state lister's most frustrating species to chase. I feel extremely lucky to have been in the area when it showed up as I certainly would not have seen it otherwise. Michigan has 9 previous records of this species, all in Aug-Oct, so this is a first spring Michigan record! One must imagine that this represents one of very few spring records regionally as well.

Many thanks to Pat McConeghy, the homeowner who not only found and successfully identified this amazing rarity and then kindly allowed more than 18 people to visit his property during most of his daylight hours. That meant a LOT to a lot of birders!

Black-capped Gnatcatchers

2008-05-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

On the last day of my Arizona trip, May 13, I took the opportunity to chase the rare Black-capped Gnatcatcher for the third time during my trip. The first two (unsuccessful) chases involved birds at Montosa Canyon and Proctor Rd at Madera Canyon, and the final chase was to take place in the early morning hours to pursue a wandering family group which was reported 2 days earlier moving around its territory at the latter location. Amazingly to me, after 1 hour searching the mesquite habitat, I suddenly came across the call notes of a gnatcatcher- indeed, a family of them, and of course they were the Black-cappeds. Digi-binning this hyperactive species proved difficult, but the rapid fire mode of my Sony Cybershot W-80 proved helpful. Out of several hundred photos taken were the following decent shots:This was a wonderful way to end my trip- my 17th lifer for the week!

Final AZ photos

2008-05-12T22:02:00.001-07:00

Painted Redstart
Lazuli Buntin

Flame-colored Tanager
Elegant Trogon
Elf owl (by chance happened to shoot right while flash from a professional photographer's camera went off!)
Lesser Earless Lizard
Jumping Cholla (don't touch!)
Botteri's Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Acorn Woodpecker
Broad-billed Hummingbird (female brooding young)
A mandatory Western treat- the best!

More AZ photos

2008-05-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

AZ trip is still going great- 12 life birds so far, great scenery, great wilderness. In the interest of time I'll be sparse on captions, but here are some highlight digiscoped/digibinned photos from the past 3 days.
Gould's Wild Turkey (note strange white tail band and uppertail/rump!

Thick-billed Kingbird

Scott's Oriole

Ruby Rd (on way to California Gulch)

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

Montezuma Quail

Lucifer Hummingbird female

Hooded Oriole

Hermit Warbler (rare migrant at lowland habitats, such as this one north of Nogales)

Greater Roadrunner

Gambel's Quail- omnipresent and abundant

Five-striped Sparrow (best I could manage!)

Cassin's Kingbird
Brown-crested Flycatcher

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Arizona Woodpecker

Quickie from AZ

2008-05-09T00:05:00.000-07:00

I find myself at a hotel in Nogales, AZ, currently, on a weeklong adventure for birds in Arizona. Due to a series of fortunate events, I was able to see and photograph an extremely rare bird for the U.S. this morning, a Tufted Flycatcher, near Portal, AZ. Despite missing it for several hours at daybreak I (and many others) were able to get on the bird around 10AM for stunning views. Here's one of my 300+ shots to whet the appetite. Now off to bed to prepare for more birds tomorrow AM.

Neotropic Cormorant, Grand Haven (1st state record)

2008-05-06T06:59:00.001-07:00

Michigan's first Neotropic Cormorant (8 photos below) was first reported yesterday morning by Chip Francke but not seen the remainder of the day. I arrived at the tip of the s. jetty at Grand Haven this morning (6 May) at 7 AM and Adam Byrne was already on the bird. What a fantastic find!

Crane Creek, OH weekend highlights, May 3-4

2008-05-04T21:20:00.001-07:00

This weekend I had the fortune to bird Crane Creek, OH both Saturday and Sunday. The boardwalk delivered, as usual, with 23 species of warblers (and 27+ reported for the weekend total) and many seemingly early migrants. Photo ops were often spectacular, which I took advantage of with my Sony Cybershot W-80 shot through my Leica 8X32 Trinovid binoculars. Here are my favorite shots from the weekend, left unidentified for your viewing pleasure (can you pick out the Blue Grosbeak shot (hint: worst photo here by far, but best I got of this rarity):

Carmine Glory

2008-03-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I have been unable to find a Pine Grosbeak in the southern lower peninsula. Not that they're common there, but enough do show up from time to time that one would expect to see it over a fifteen year birding career. Today, while visiting family in Lapeer I decided to take a stab at seeing a flock which has been reported throughout the winter visiting berry trees in the Lapeer State Game Area. I was rewarded.

A flock of no fewer than 17 of these gorgeous birds came in and began feasting on the last remaining berries in a several hundred meter long row of trees (more below on which species of tree this is). The flock was incredibly obliging, allowing my Dad and I to stand within 30-40 feet without disturbing the birds. This made for incredible digiscoping conditions, and by far the best photos I've ever captured of the species:

The mantle of the males is beatifully scalloped:
And females are beautiful in their own right!We watched as the birds busily tore apart the dry, fleshy pulp of these berries, discarding the majority of the berry and eating whatever their first bite garnered them.We noticed that there were some trees with larger berries (left) than the much more numerous small berries (right). Could someone relieve me of my ignorance and tell me what species of trees these berries come from? Is the small berry Highbush Cranberry?

Audubon's (type) Warbler New Photos & Sound Files

2008-02-24T17:05:00.001-08:00

Earlier this week Adam Byrne and I attempted to photograph and record the putative Audubon's Warbler in Lowell, without luck. In the frigid single digit temperatures of the early morning, we merely got fleeting glimpses at the bird in the treetops, and failed to record it. Today (24 Feb) however, we waited until mid-day before we arrived, and we were well-rewarded for it. At 2:23PM the bird came into the feeders while Adam, Curtis Dykstra, Bob Tarte, and 3 Lansing area birders watched. The bird was hyperactive and difficult to photograph, but it did allow these much awaited photos:If you look carefully, you can see that at least one mantle feather has a grayish (not brownish) fringe and very thick black center. It's probable that this represents a newly-grown alternate feather amongst a backdrop of older feathers (molted last fall). The prealternate molt in this species may occur from Dec-Mar according to Pyle. It may also be that the thicker black motling in the forward and rear flanks represent new feathers as well, but I will defer to anyone who knows this species better than I.Note the flecking on the undertail coverts and yellow on the crown, two features not observed before this day. Copyright Curtis Dykstra 2008. Here you can see the suggestion of an eyeline behind the eye, something which is visible in the field as well.

After much effort to record this frustratingly quiet bird, today I finally got one chip note on tape using my Saul Mineroff starting recording package- at the time the bird was distant and there was a lot of background noise, but using Raven Lite software I was able to generate this sound spectrogram of the chip note I recorded (click on photo for larger versions):You can recognize the chip as the inverted "V" shaped mark in the lower left corner, between 4 and 6 kHz. For comparison, here are the sound spectograms of the Stokes eastern Myrtle chip note and Stokes western Audubon's chip note. First, Myrtle:Second, Audubon's:I am not an expert in sound spectrogram analysis, but we can start to look for patterns regardless. First, frequency range: the Myrtle recording from Stokes centers in the 3-6 kHz range, while the Audubon's recording is similar, but seems to show several parallel lines, perhaps harmonics (anyone who understands this better than I, your clarification is solicited!), which creep into the frequencies higher than 7 kHz. I assume this accounts for the "scratchier" tone of Audubon's chip note. The Lowell bird's sound spectrogram lacks the parallel lines (perhaps due to low recording quality?), and seems to occur in a narrower range of frequencies.

Second, the shape of the "inverted V". That of the Lowell bird seems closer to the Audubon's recording in that the right (descending) half of the V is nearly vertical, while in the Myrtle recording it is more angled.

Third, the thickness of the line. The Lowell bird is clearly in closer to the Audubon's recording in this regard- a very thin line, rather than the wider line of Myrtle. Perhaps this is how the qualities our ears and brains utilize to so easily distinguish these species in the field are represented in the spectrogram.

This analysis is certainly preliminary, but as I've indicated before, in the field this bird sounds much more like the Audubon's chip than the Myrtle's chip. The spectrogram here appears to show many similarities to that of Audubon's, and some key differences with Myrtle. Comments or observations on these musings would be very welcome here.

Audubon's Warbler (?) in Michigan

2008-02-17T16:21:00.001-08:00

A week ago I noticed this photo of a Yellow-rumped Warbler from a backyard near Grand Rapids, MI. I immediately noticed the yellow throat and suspected it may be an Audubon's Yellow-rump, not the familiar Myrtle which is the normal form here. Today I finally was able to make an effort to see this bird, and I was rewarded with the following photos. There are only 2 accepted records of Audubon's Warbler in Michigan. Although most of the time this bird looked very plain-faced, there was at times a very slight suggestion of an outline to the auricular, something perhaps suggestive of a Myrtle X Audubon's intergrade. I would really appreciate the thoughts of those familiar with this species in all its forms.
My field notes mention a faint pale spot on the supraloral as well as a rearward and upward extending pale mark from the top eye arc, and that the throat appeared not to have a rearward extension coming up behind the auricular.
From most angles, the throat appeared uniformly yellow, concolorous with the flank spot, but the brief views I had seemed to suggest some whitish admixture of color along its anterior and lateral borders.

My field notes also mention the suggestion of a pale eyeline posterior to the eye, extending a very short distance rearward.
Copyright Bob Tarte 2007. In this photo, the face appears extremely plain.
Copyright Bob Tarte 2007. Here the exposure is slightly different, creating the appearance of a more contrasty head pattern.
Copyright Bob Tarte 2007.
Copyright Bob Tarte 2007. Here the pale supraloral and rear top eye arc extension can be seen, although they appear more pronounced here than in many of my views in the field today.
This map shows the location of the bird from today. It is certainly on a winter territory and should be present for several more weeks should it survive. The left arrow shows the residence at which the bird is very infrequently seen at a suet feeder. Today I first located the bird at the right arrow- about 1/4 mile east of the property in a band of woodland between Fulton (M-21) and the Grand River. The plot is either state or county owned according to Bob Tarte, the homeowner, and he felt birders could park on the roadside without much trouble. Traffic is fast here, however, so be careful. NOTE: be sure to wear rubber boots as the snow is deep and wet here!

Directions: Take I-96 to the Lowell exit and go north into downtown Lowell. Turn left at M-21 (Fulton) and go about 3-4 miles west of town. After crossing Cumberland, look for a blue house with a red barn on the south (left) side of the street, address 10696 (difficult to see the numbers near the front door frame). The homeowner and finder of the bird is Bob Tarte, who can be reached at 897-9202 if you want to ask him whether the bird is being seen. It is seen between zero and a few times per day at the suet feeder directly behind the house, and on the green lawn chair beneath it. However, there have been periods up to a week or more where it isn't seen here, and you should be prepared to walk east along the river listening for mixed species flocks. I found it all by itself (no other Yellow-rumps), only loosely associating with titmice, chickadees, creepers, and nuthatches. It was very high in the treetop, and was only attracted down by use of an iPod and Audubon's Warbler chip notes. Had I not had the iPod and speakers I certainly would not have been able to get a respectable look at this bird.

Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow musings for fall 2008

2008-01-31T21:07:00.001-08:00

As we move through the "off-season" for Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow in Michigan, I have been thinking more and more about how to hone my search for this species this fall. I had heard through the grapevine a few years back that researchers back in the 1950s did some work in Livingston County on this species, and had quite a bit of success in finding (and even collecting) some specimens. I have finally tracked down this research, and it is very interesting indeed. The paper detailing the work was published in Wilson Bulletin in Sep 1958 (Volume 70, No. 3, pp. 284-286). The authors were scientists at or associates of the University of Michigan, namely Russell Mumford and Dale Zimmerman et al. The article can be accessed in full here.

The findings of this article astounded me, especially given the current status of this species in our state (less than annual, and basically considered unfindable except as a rare vagrant). The authors secured *ten* specimens (housed at the Univ. of MI Museum of Zoology) and saw many more individuals of this species during the falls of 1955, 1956, and 1957, all at one location in SW Livingston County. The location is McIntyre Lake; more specifically, the grassy marshes and dry meadows along the margins of McIntyre Lake. This is a place I have never heard of, let alone visited. Nor have I heard of birders going there. A little research showed that it is located in the Gregory State Game Area in extreme southwest Livingston County, about 0.2 miles north of the Washtenaw County line, and 0.8 miles east of the Ingham County line. Here is the current aerial imagery of the site.Public ownership (Gregory State Game Area) is here shown in red, with areas of meadow or marsh habitat striped with yellow.
Here is the map I used to adduce ownership, taken from the DNR's website, and purported to be current as of 2002, with gray indicating DNR ownership.Lastly, here a map layering public ownership with proper Nelson's Sparrow habitat. In other words, the areas that can be searched for Nelson's Sparrow are in blue. In order to enter the property without trespassing, you will have to park on Worden Rd on the east border, or on Bowdish halfway between Leeke and Jaycox, or near Kane and Green Rds on the west. Here I'll summarize the main bullet points of this important paper, then wrap up with what this means for my upcoming search in 2008. Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated in the comment line.

-Nelson's Sparrows were observed at McIntyre Lake on the following dates (# individuals):
9/24/55- 1
9/28/55- 2 (1 specimen)
10/08/55- 3
10/9/55- 2 (both mist-netted and released)
9/16/56- 1
10/7/56- 4 (1 specimen)
9/21/57- 2 (2 specimens)
9/28/57- 2 (2 specimens)
10/5/57- 4 (4 specimens)

-Nelson's Sparrows were **not** observed at McIntyre Lake during visits on the following dates:
10/15/55
9/23/56
10/14/56
10/21/56
1957 (dates not indicated)

-Thus, the searchers detected the bird on 4 of 5 visits in 1955 and 2 of 5 visits in 1956. Dates for 1957 are not specified.

-Up to four individuals were seen daily.

-McIntyre lake has both wet, boggy marsh, and dry upland meadow, and the sparrows used both but *preferred the dry meadow*.

-The Sparrows preferred extensive 1-2 ft high vegetation and avoided cattail unless flushed there.

-Most of the Nelson's Sparrows observed were easily observed!

-After the initial flushing, the birds were seldom flushable a second time, but did respond to pishing by perching high and in view. (this is consistent with word from Wisconsin and Indiana)

These results are really extraordinary in that no one since has even observed 2 Nelson's Sparrows at the same location in Michigan! Further, all or nearly all individuals have shown up at vagrant traps as single birds, not at preferred habitats where the birds appear to be lingering. If this species really is as rare as it seems in Michigan, this paper's results deserve explanation. Perhaps the authors experienced a once in a lifetime fluke for three straight years, or perhaps the species has declined in abundance so that it simply doesn't occur in these numbers anymore. Or perhaps birders since haven't entered appropriate microhabitats during Sept 20-Oct 15 with this species in mind, walking through the sedge and watching for Ammodramus to flush.

Starting around 9/20/2008 I (and hopefully some of you reading this) will visit this site as often as possible, starting at dawn, and coursing all through the meadows and marshes. I would really like to know whether this species continues to occur there, or whether the habitat has grown up to any degree. Perhaps the species will be as easy to find as it was during 1955-1957. I won't pretend to be certain of the answer, but I know where I'd put my money.

Lastly, how does this relate to my search of 2007? First, I am struck by the mentioning that the sparrows preferred 1-2 ft tall dry meadows. Most of my time was spent in 3-5 ft tall wet marshy habitats like Hofma Preserve. This may make the bird, if present, harder to locate. Or it may be less preferable habitat which they avoid. If either supposition were true, then my search image would need honing.

I am also struck by their observation that the birds were easily observable once pished up. I didn't spend a lot of time pishing this year, and again I may have been in the wrong habitat types, but I don't often think of this species as easy to observe and was always paying very close attention to anything that flushed.

This paper at least gives me hope that our chances are good. I look forward to seeing what fall 2008 may bring. I will also add that there are spring records, including many mentioned in this paper (none from McIntyre, however) as early as late April, but mostly around the last 10 days of May. So it may not be entirely a waste of time to search in this manner during this time period as well.

Year of the Irruptives

2008-01-31T17:27:00.000-08:00

This winter started off with a bang. There were early reports of Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, both crossbills, Redpolls, and Pine Siskins well south of their usual northerly haunts, including even Ohio. By midwinter, however, several of these species seemed to have put on the brakes, with the huge invasion we were envisioning never quite coming together.

Fortunately, another irruptive, the Bohemian Waxwing, did come south far farther than normal. Dave Slager yesterday found 50 or more of these beauts at Huff Park in Grand Rapids, and there were additional reports from Berrien County MI and even Indiana. So, of course I had to take a quick jaunt over to Huff to see the madness. It didn't disappoint:
If the Cedar Waxwing is a prince, this species surely is the king. They really are stunningly gorgeous.

You may notice that the above photos appear edited. They are. I removed the vignetting caused by digiscoping of very close birds, as well as the uneven background, and even the chromatic abberations, by several clicks of the mouse. For comparison, here are the originals in the same order:

Niagara River trip

2007-12-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

Curtis Dykstra, Sean Fitzgerald and I visited the Niagara Falls area on 14-15 December. This gull "mecca" has long been a favorite birding destination of mine, and it never seems to disappoint. Best bird for me was my long-awaited life Black-headed Gull, the longstanding bird at Fort Erie, Ontario. We arrived to find a flock of 4,000-5,000 Bonaparte's Gulls sitting there, and miraculously within 3 minutes I noticed a lone bird in flight which turned out to be our target! When the birds were on the water with heads tucked (the majority of our visit), this bird is very difficult to pick out. This was a typical look (note the paler nape and mantle, while any size difference was barely evident).
Once it lifted its head things got a little easier:Mid-day we stopped at the Sir Adam Beck HydroPlant overlook, where we had at least 7 Iceland Gulls at the same time, which included 1 Thayer's adult on the 14th. Here are three of them together (1st winter left of center, 2 adults above and right of center). No California Gull was present at this spot, despite a predictable bird from the last few years.
Amazingly, we dipped on Glaucous Gull both days (!), and so only had nine gull species for the trip. This is the same number I've had on every Niagara trip so I seemed to have reached a celing of sorts. Long-tailed Ducks were very evident along the river, including right next to shore:
The entire Lake Ontario system just has a different feel than that which I am used to on Lake Michigan. Not only did we get King Eider at Stoney Creek (no photos, unfortunately), but diving ducks were numerous right near shore, unlike what I am used to in the shallower waters of Lakes Michigan and Erie. At Queenston dock we had our only Little Gulls of the trip, a 2nd winter and an adult winter. Here is a video clip of the latter. If it looks like the clip isn't there, it IS. Hit the button with the small triangle below and it will appear.

Queenston also turned out to be great for wintering passerines, as there was a small ditch with moving, unfrozen water and plenty of cover. In addition to Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, Tufted Titmouse, Song Sparrow, American Robin, Black-capped Chikadee, and Carolina Wren, we also had this cold Northern Mockingbird.On the 14th, we went to the evening "flypast" at Niagara-on-the-Lake. We were treated to a large flight of at least 4,500 Bonaparte's Gulls heading out to Lake Ontario for the night. I counted them by tens and I believe this to be a fairly accurate count. We were unable to pick out any rarities, but interestingly, we did have one of only 3 (yes, that's right, THREE) immature Bonaparte's Gulls during the entire trip! What this may mean is not yet clear to me, but perhaps productivity was very poor this year, or perhaps youngsters winter at different latitudes or different sites (seems unlikely to me...), but it was very striking how absent they seemed. There were also a few nice waterbirds at Niagara-on-the-Lake including this Red-throated Loon.Lastly, we of course had heard about the remarkable Northern Hawk Owl southeast of Hamilton, Ontario, found last week. This location is about the same latitude as my hometown of Grand Rapids, MI. For reference, this species just doesn't show up closer than a 3-4 hour drive north of us (exception: once one was in Manistee, about 2 hours north of us) . Anyway, we showed up and walked NW down the train tracks to get where this bird was being seen. It turned out to be the most cooperative Hawk Owl I've ever seen, as evidenced by this photo showing it no more than 10m from several photographers. (For the record, we first stood at a distance and *the bird flew closer* to us, not the other way around.) Unbelievable! And here is undoubtedly the best digiscoped photo I've ever taken of this species, and a video clip showing it preening.