I think the weather has finally broken. It was quite cold this morning with frost and dense ice fog, but things warmed up considerably this afternoon. I ventured down to Rondeau to see what I could find.
On south point trail, there were plenty of Song Sparrows. I saw one Field Sparrow and a few Tree Sparrows. A male Eastern Towhee came out of the underbrush at one point. Early on, I heard a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a Fox Sparrow. An immature Bald Eagle was along the lakeshore. Arriving back at the parking lot, the first Brown Thrasher of the year greeted me.
On tulip tree trail, I encountered the first Eastern Phoebe of the day, and a Fox Sparrow.
On spicebush trail, a whole flock of Fox Sparrows, six or seven in total, were singing or chipping. A very loud Phoebe was near the start. I also saw a pair of Purple Finches which were likely the same ones I saw on the marsh trail last Sunday. This spot was not far from where I saw them last week.
Walking around the campground, I heard an Eastern Bluebird at one point.
The Bay was completely fogged in as was the lake, so I did not scope out waterfowl obviously.
It has certainly been a long winter! A number of White Pine trees came down during the winter, so we now have fewer of those. The south beach shoreline has taken a beating, with more erosion. This area has shrunk considerable over the last ten years, and even more if you go back forty years. The sloughs are quite wet, but it will not last long if we do not get the precipitation.
On south point trail, there were plenty of Song Sparrows. I saw one Field Sparrow and a few Tree Sparrows. A male Eastern Towhee came out of the underbrush at one point. Early on, I heard a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a Fox Sparrow. An immature Bald Eagle was along the lakeshore. Arriving back at the parking lot, the first Brown Thrasher of the year greeted me. On tulip tree trail, I encountered the first Eastern Phoebe of the day, and a Fox Sparrow.On spicebush trail, a whole flock of Fox Sparrows, six or seven in total, were singing or chipping. A very loud Phoebe was near the start. I also saw a pair of Purple Finches which were likely the same ones I saw on the marsh trail last Sunday. This spot was not far from where I saw them last week.
Walking around the campground, I heard an Eastern Bluebird at one point.The Bay was completely fogged in as was the lake, so I did not scope out waterfowl obviously.
It has certainly been a long winter! A number of White Pine trees came down during the winter, so we now have fewer of those. The south beach shoreline has taken a beating, with more erosion. This area has shrunk considerable over the last ten years, and even more if you go back forty years. The sloughs are quite wet, but it will not last long if we do not get the precipitation.
On Sunday I took a long walk out marsh trail and noted more birds than last week. There were certainly more Song Sparrows and finally some Swamp Sparrows! I heard one Snipe doing its aerial display. I came across a Yellow-rumped Warbler, but it appeared to be winter holdover as it had no colour. More Golden-crowned Kinglets were in.
Blenheim Lagoons were full of waterfowl, and full of water too! Water levels are very high there.
On to next week........
Neat Blake! I had a great day on Monday with a huge movement of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Flickers, and Juncos to name a few. Check out my blog. It is actually updated with a mystery bird to boot! lol
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