Twists and Turns at Rondeau

 Monday was another rainy day, so I stayed around home getting some things done.  However, Tuesday was a nicer day so I went down to Rondeau Park to some walking.  It was nice not to have rain!  I am still in disbelief of the ridiculous weather we had on Sunday for the Christmas Bird Count.  Since my area consists mostly of walking, it was not enjoyable and to the point it was the worst count (weatherwise and lack of birds) in the 35 years I have been doing them.  It put me off, so I feel that I will not be doing anymore counts this season!

Despite the weather, the count did fairly well breaking 100 species.

Yesterday one of my walks was up Harrison Trail.  It was one area I did not get to on Sunday, but I do not think I missed much.  It is a quiet winter for birds, and there were very few.

I looked at things trailside and photographed some interesting sights.  Some trees were deformed due to vines twisting up their trunks.

Here is another smaller one.

This tree took an abrupt turn at one point in its life!

It was quite covered in lichens.  One of the most common lichens is Common Greenshield.

Another type I found, I believe is Smooth-footed Powderhorn.

Another common one is Hoary Rosette.  (though this one was not at Rondeau)

There were lots of mosses, including this Delicate Fern.  Looks a bit like cedar leaves.

Regarding birds, it was quiet of course.  I did see three Red-throated Loons and one Common Loon on the lake.  I managed to see the only Red-throated Loon the CBC on Sunday.  I was very lucky just to get that, as I easily could have missed it in flight.

The campground was fairly birdy though.  There was a nice group of birds at the south end, and another at the north end.  A few Ruby-crowned Kinglets were around.  They were very flighty this day, so I had difficulty getting on them.

Each group of birds had a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  They were AWOL on Sunday apparently!

Some White-throated Sparrows were around as well.

Today, I did some wandering around without much luck.  

I wandered out towards Mitchell's Bay.  I finally saw my first Snowy Owl of the fall.  Not many have been around so far.  As usual it was way out in a field.

II walked the south shore nature trail.  Very quiet for birds.  There were quite a few juncos though.  This one had a more distinct hood.  They are so variable though.

This Great Blue Heron was resting in a tree.

I took a short walk at Reid CA this afternoon.  Here is another tree on the twist theme.  Looks like it was twisted its whole life!

Lots of Shagbark Hickory trees are at Reid.  This one had a knot between its trunks.

Various mushrooms and fungi are quite visible.  Common at Reid is Splitgill Mushroom.

Frosty Days and a Pelee Visit

Prior to today, we had some nice, but cold days.  The skies have been clear and mornings frosty.

milkweed pod

Friday I  decided to go to Point Pelee--a fine day to be out.  Very few landbirds around right now, but tens of thousands of ducks were on the lake.  Large numbers of scaup and scoters (white-winged) are around.  The end of Shuster Trail always has lots of Common Goldeneye.  This is where they congregate in big numbers for some reason.  However, walking along the beach would be difficult with all the erosion.

All ponds were frozen due to the cold (as they should be this time of year), as seen along De Laurier trail.

The most interesting thing I noted was the presence of American Pipits.  They were in various places along the main road, trails and in the woods.  Perhaps they were blown in with the strong west wind on Thursday.

While in the area of the Tip, I always check the outside of the washroom walls.  Various bats tend to hang around in the corners.  This day, a Silver-haired Bat was there.

I walked out a bit of Hillman Marsh before heading home.  Several pipits were there as well in the boardwalk area.

Nearer home, there was not much to see as I passed through the old Dover Township, but one field held well over 1000 Tundra Swans.

With the clear skies, astronomy enthusiasts would have attempted to check out the Geminid meteor shower Friday night.  However, the near-full moon was just too bright to see much.

Sunday was the annual Blenheim/Rondeau Christmas Bird Count.  Seems to be a trend as it was ditto to last year with windy conditions and lots of rain. Not much to say about it though, as I did south point trail east.  Hardly a landbird to be found!  Lake was active, especially with White-winged Scoters.  I did not cover as much as I would have liked.  After getting soaked to the bone, and no relief in sight with the rain, I left early.  Very disappointing, as I look forward to this count and spending lots of time there.

Scene of south point trail

Scenes Along the River St. Clair

 On this gloomy day, I had plans to check out the St. Clair River up to Corunna.  The river has always been an attraction for many reasons, and has been a big part of my life since I can remember.

The Good 'Ole Days!

I stopped by Roberta Stewart Wetland first thing.  With the low water levels, it is mostly mud!  Goes to show that the dike is not completely sealed from the Chenal Ecarte!

Next stop was Baby Point, aka Brander Park.  This is a very historic spot dating back to the earliest settlement in the area.

I have done extensive birding here since it was close to my old workplace.  Even an interpretive sign has my name on it!

The above photo is from many years ago, but unfortunately this sign is almost toast now!

Along the river there are other interpretive signs, one of which I wrote about before.

Here is a scene from low water times looking downriver, similar to today.

I always search the sand and have found some interesting things over the years.  Today, I found this mussel shell.  It appears to be a Spike, which is not often found along the river.  Or, at least it is the first one I have seen here.  We do not often find mussel shells along the river's edge.

Further upriver, I stopped at Cath's Cart Cathcart Park, always a good birding spot (at least in the past!).  We already have a big number of Common Mergansers hanging around here this winter.

Gulls tend to congregate here as well.

Larry, Curly and Moe?

A little farther upriver, I stopped at the outlet of Bowen Creek.  I had never checked out this outlet before, but I was alerted by a friend that there were mussels along the creek.  Since I am quite interested in mussels, I had to go and look!

There were oodles of Giant Floaters.

But, the highlight was an Eastern Pondmussel.  It is a species of concern in Canada, and listed as critically imperiled in Ontario.  I have found several at Rondeau Park, but it is rare along the St. Clair River.

Since water level is so low, one can walk along the shoreline.  There are lots of beaches along the river right now!  Beaches were common when I was little, as I remember swimming in the river at Port Lambton off the end of Gibson Lane.

Here are views at the outlet of Bowen Creek.

north

south

I stopped by Willow Park as well, which is in front of where the old Lambton Generating Station used to stand.

Common anymore, are alien species of clams and mussels, with thousands of shells littering the shoreline.  Here is an Asian Clam.

Most numerous are Quagga Mussels and Zebra Mussels.

The river was a bit quiet for birds today, not surprisingly.  By now in the past, we would be having colder weather and some ice forming.  Ducks and gulls would be congregating in the river.  But with climate change, that is a thing of the past.

I went as far as Guthrie Park, but there was hardly anything up that way.  The north parking lot, our favourite spot for gull watching, is closed off for some kind of construction.  Not sure for what, but it will be disappointing if it lasts all winter.

After stocking up in Corunna, I headed towards home and went for a walk at my old standby place of Nicholl's Memorial Forest and Wetland.  There were a few birds there, including a couple of Red-tailed Hawks.

Cold weather tomorrow, before the weather goes for a crap on the weekend....again.