Last Weekend of March

We still had rather cold conditions for this time of year. Not many birds to report yet. However, tomorrow it promises to get quite warm. I expect there will be a flood of spring migrants on Tuesday. (Yes, once again it will be mid week for those of us who have to work!).

Saturday was rather nice, but I was unable to get out much due to other committments. I went to Rondeau Park on Sunday, but as usual, a strong and cold east wind greeted me. It seems that the last few years, east winds prevail in the spring, especially on weekends.

I took a long walk out marsh trail, like I usually do towards the end of March. There were very few birds along the trail, but there were lots of ducks out in the Bay. Usually there are countless Song Sparrows and some Swamp Sparrows along with a meadowlark or two. Today there were only about six Song Sparrows, a few Tree Sparrows, and two Juncos!

pair of scaup taking flight

I did however encounter an American Woodcock, as seen in this poor photo. Other birds included a few Northern Cardinals, a couple of Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, and a couple of Northern Harriers, two imm. Bald Eagles, and a Rough-legged Hawk.

imm. BALD EAGLE

There were very few geese. I was hoping for White-fronted, but no luck. I had a flock of twenty two years ago which was a record high.

With the strong east wind, there was no sense in checking out the other side of the park, so I made a quick check of Spice Bush Trail entrance. I came across an Eastern Phoebe near there.

On the way home I decided to check out Ridgetown Sewage lagoons. Hardly anything there, but near there heading home, I spotted my first male Eastern Bluebird of the year.
At home I still had a few Pine Siskins and a Common Redpoll.

Easter Weekend

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, SHUSTER TRAIL

There just is not much to report this weekend. Winter weather refuses to leave. There is still lots of ice and snow, and it will not warm up!

On Friday I checked out Rondeau Park and area. Hardly a landbird was to be found there, but the Tundra Swans on Rondeau Bay were a sight to behold. There were upwards of 15,000. Quite a few ducks were there as well, but not as much as we usually see this time of year. The Pinery area has had practically no swans up until this weekend since they are holding back due to the cold weather.

I observed over 30 Wood Ducks along the shore off south point trail in the park. They must be waiting for the ice in the sloughs to melt!

Saturday I looked at the St. Clair River. Most of the ducks have dispersed to parts unknown because there just were not many to see. A number of White-wiinged Scoters were still at Point Edward.

On Sunday I ended up at Point Pelee. I met Steve Pike the Tip. We looked at ice more than anything! There were some neat formations along the shoreline.

ICE NEAR POINT PELEE TIP

Along Shuster Trail, I noted the usual Hermit Thrushes and White-throated Sparrows. The Gray Catbird was still in the same spot feeding on Sumac berries. A Red-bellied Woodpecker stopped in also.
On the way out I noted about ten Yellow-rumped Warblers along the road north of White Pine.

Sunday Stuff Too

Winter is still hanging on, so I went out to the St. Clair River to look for ducks. I checked around the marinas, and not surprisingly I found several dead ducks. A Canvasback was laying on the ice near my boat. Very sad situation! It looks like many more will be dying as I saw several live ones that looked lethargic. It does look more and more like starvation as there is still lots ice and feeding areas are at a premium. It is hard to fathom though.

On a lighter note, a pair of Long-tailed Ducks were at Port Lambton. These are always uncommon in the main part of the river. The male was in breeding plumage with is long tail! No wonder they are called Long-tailed ducks!

Just before sunset I headed out to Stewart Wetland along the Snye. First thing in the morning, I noted two dead Canvasback there. Further analysis at the end of the day revealed four more dead Canvasback. There is only a small amount of open water there, but many ducks are packed in. They have been vigourously trying to feed, so they will have that cleaned out in no time of food.

Several Hooded Mergansers were around, and I noted one male nearby at sunset.

Saturday Stuff

Today was cool, but sunny and calm. I needed to do some walking so I headed down to Point Pelee. Everything was still quite frozen and lots of snow and ice was on the ground. With the extended winter, not many spring migrants, except blackbirds have come in.

Shuster Trail was still the best spot, as it has been most of the winter. Adam Pinch and I encountered a Gray Catbird and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. As well there were at least four Hermit Thrushes among many Robins. They were all feeding on sumac berries.

On the way home, I walked a bit at Hillman Marsh and encountered some Rusty Blackbirds. Out on the lake was a good sized raft of scaup with other species.

At Wheatley harbour, a number of Ring-billed Gulls were in. A few Bonaparte's Gulls were on the lake as well. I was hoping for a Mew Gull, as it is a good time for one of those!

Passing through Dover Twp. a few groups of Tundra Swans were in the fields. There were even a few Redhead ducks in the "small lakes" in the fields. I saw a few American Wigeon as well.

After I got home, a couple of Turkey Vultures soared over the house--the first for the season.

More and more reports of dead ducks are coming in. I cannot help think that it is more than just malnutrition as I have never seen it this bad. Hopefully some more answers will come about.

News on the Dead Ducks St. Clair Region

Today I received some news about the dead ducks. The DNR in Michigan has done some testing and determined that the ducks have died due to malnutrition.
I also heard that there were a number of dead ducks at Erieau yesterday. There are always a number of ducks that expire each winter, but this year seems to be worse than usual.
Below is a news release from the DNR (Department of Natural Resources):

To: DNRWIRE@LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOVSubject: Large Duck Die-Off in Lake St. Clair Pegged to MalnutritionFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 12, 2008Contacts: Ernie Kafcas 586-465-7214 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014 Large Duck Die-Off in Lake St. Clair Pegged to Malnutrition
A combination of approximately 600-800 canvasback and redhead duckshave turned up dead along the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clairshorelines, according to the Department of Natural Resources. Thedie-off likely has been caused by malnutrition, as toxicology tests onthe ducks have ruled out other causes, DNR wildlife biologists said."We are receiving reports from several spots along the St. ClairRiver and Lake St. Clair shoreline of lethargic acting and dead ducks,and expect more reports as the weather warms up and more carcasses arerecovered," said Tom Cooley, wildlife biologist at the DNR'sWildlife Disease Lab. "The Lake St. Clair area is a wintering area forlarge numbers of these duck species, and every year we see more and moreducks in the area, which is making for greater competition for availablenatural food."Wildlife biologists along Lake St. Clair have collected samples of thedead ducks for disease and toxicology testing. The biologists have notedthere are more canvasback ducks being affected than redheads. Cooleysaid that last winter, various waterfowl species were found dead in thesame areas, and those deaths were attributed to malnutrition as well.Lake St. Clair is a primary wintering spot for both canvasback andredhead ducks due to its large expanse of water and availability offood, such as wild celery. Some waterfowl do leave the lake and migrateeither to the East Coast or to the Gulf of Mexico; however, DNRbiologists have observed that there were a larger number of waterfowlstaying the entire winter this year. "Normally, we see 20,000 to 30,000 ducks spending the winter on thelake," said DNR Wildlife Biologist Ernie Kafcas, stationed at the LakeSt. Clair Fish Research Station. "However, this winter, we are seeing30,000 to 40,000 ducks staying because the waters stayed open later thiswinter and did not experience a hard freeze until after mid-January.Ducks that go into the winter with low fat reserves and have to competefor food in extreme late winter conditions are more prone to deaths dueto malnutrition." Residents concerned with the die-off should contact the nearest DNRoffice to report any ducks or other species of shore birds that theyfind dead in the area.

Dead Ducks

Last Friday evening I read about some dead Redheads being found on the St. Clair River in Michigan. I have not heard anything more about it.

However, after supper tonight I took a leisurely ride out to the big river and noticed a number of dead ducks among the chunks of ice. Four were on the Snye in within a short distance of each other. Out at Port Lambton I noticed two dead Redheads close together off the dock. Obviously there are more of these ducks around. In all my years I have not seen anything like this, so it would be interesting to know what is going on. It could be a number of things, but I will not speculate at this point. The photo above shows the two dead Redheads at Port Lambton. I could not get close, and the day was waning, so the photo is not too good.

Another odd thing recently is that Redheads have been showing up on lawns and on various rural properties. Today a female Redhead was on the snow outside the shop door just as I was leaving the place where I am working. Last week the owner talked about a number of ducks just waddling around on the property. This behaviour seemed strange to me.

With the milder weather today, more open water is showing. The photo below shows an open spot on Stewart Wetland. Mostly Redhead were hear with some Canvasback and two Gadwall.

In other notes, a number of Harriers have been around this week.

After the Storm

Today was a rather beautiful day with no wind and full sunlight! What a difference from yesterday. I got out by mid morning and checked out the St. Clair River. Lots of ice had moved in since yesterday. Not a huge number of ducks to look at, but I did see some. That same old wigeon pair was still at Lambton Generating Station. The male came fairly close for a photo. Some Redheads were in close as well.

REDHEAD DUCK

As usual, I drove back roads home, but today I was limited as some were not ploughed yet. I was going to check a small pasture, but that road had not been ploughed.
Just before dusk I headed out to that pasture to check for Short-eared Owls. Just like clockwork, they were already hunting. I saw a total of five, plus a light morph Rough-legged Hawk. I managed to get a few photos of the owls, but of course lighting was not too good.

SHORT-EARED OWL

I then headed to another pasture, but nothing was there.
One of these days I would like to come across a Snowy Owl!

Winter Still Continues!

COOPER'S HAWK in yard

Although some spring migrants showed up this week, the winter weather continues. A heavy snowstorm was originally forecast for this weekend, but apparently most of it will miss us here. I have had enough of winter, and eagerly await spring weather.

Some American Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds showed up here this week, and today a Song Sparrow was at the feeder.

Geese have been moving in, and the big news at least for this vicinity was the sighting of two Ross's Geese. They were at a marsh just SW of Wallaceburg. These were the first that I have heard of for this area.

I just got word late today that many Canvasback and Redhead have been found dead floating down the St. Clair River on the US side. It will be interesting to know what caused that. Perhaps I will get out on Saturday to see some ducks on the St. Clair River.

REDHEADS ON CHENAL ECARTE

There have been reports out of Point Pelee of spring migrants. Some of those birds are actually wintering birds such as the Hermit Thrushes in Tilden's Woods, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and perhaps the White-crowned Sparrow. One of the thrushes I photographed in January.

HERMIT THRUSH AT POINT PELEE IN JANUARY

Thoughts of spring remind me of getting out in my boat. Although it is For Sale and I may not have it this coming season, it would nice to get out at least once a week for a ride. My boat is a 1947 Chris Craft 22' Sportsman boat that I restored years ago.

I will add to Friday's post that I got out early Saturday morning to look at ducks on the St. Clair River. Good thing I got out when I did, because the storm quickly moved in, and it was difficult getting home. I noted large numbers of scaup and Ring-necked Ducks at Sombra. There had not been many scaup on the river this winter previously. Tomorrow will be a better day!

Winter Continues...

It seems like winter wants to hang on. It remains cold, and we get snow almost every other day. Everything is still very frozen. There will be lots of ice to come down from the northern lakes in the weeks to come.
Today I checked out the St. Clair River. It was open, so the ducks were spread out. Many were dozing in the sun. Nothing unusual, but two White-winged Scoters were at Port Lambton. They may be the same ones I keep seeing all along the river. The American Wigeon pair was at Lambton Generating Station. I managed to get a photo of the male in the ice.
Driving the back roads home, there were lots of hawks. A large flock of Common Redpolls was flying over at one point. I wish they had set down so that I could have looked at them closer for a Hoary, or other subspecies.
Along the creeks, evidence of higher water a week and a half ago was seen as “ice shelves” were attached to the tree trunks.
My last stop was at a local conservation area. I checked out the Wood Duck boxes and one contained a large vole. It seems Screech Owls like to use them as storage boxes! Sometimes they roost in them during the day. This same box had a dopey owl in it a year ago (see photo).
Another nice day to be out!