Another Windy Day

Bonaparte's Gull in Erieau harbour

It was not as near as windy as yesterday, but some places were uncomfortably cold in the wind. I started at Point Pelee Tip. The wind was more WNW and certainly not as productive as a SW wind. However, there were still thousands of birds if you counted all the blackbirds flying overhead. Even goldfinches were moving by the hundreds. Several Eastern Bluebirds were seen as well, and even a meadowlark.

One interesting sight was a Brown-headed Cowbird that came in off the lake noticeably tired. It perched in the nearest tree and stayed there for a long time. It was still there when we left.

Some birds do get quite tired after migrating long distances or fighting wind. We see this quite a bit in spring migration as birds come in off the lake. Scarlet Tanagers are a good example, as I have walked right up to them on the path. I remember one spring, a Winter Wren came in off the lake at Rondeau and basically just dove into a shrub right in front of us. It remained motionless for some time.

Anyway, some Long-tailed Ducks were sighted this morning off the Tip and a Red-throated Loon. A couple of Common Loons were out there as well, but no Arctic Loon (!).

Raptors were moving today with several Harriers, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered, Sharp-shinned and Rough-legged. That was actually the first Rough-legged I have seen this fall I think!

It was probably a good day for moving harriers. I saw a couple on the way over to Erieau, and another at Blenheim.

I looked at the spot (no pun intended) where a Spotted Towhee was found earlier in the week, but with no luck. That was no surprise as it one of my nemesis birds. It could still be around, but the weather was not ideal this morning.

Unspotted Towhee

A Yellow-rumped Warbler was near the start of Shuster Trail. It will likely attempt to winter at this point. Many do at Point Pelee.

A large number of Cedar Waxwings and American Robins were just north of White Pine.

I decided to head over to Erieau in hopes of seeing a Snowy Owl. At least that was successful! One young one was in the field just outside the village. I saw it from the road, and later it moved to where I saw it from the railroad tracks marsh trail.

Snowy Owl speck at Erieau

I checked the harbour area and lots of noisy bonies were around, but not much else.

Walking the old railroad tracks, I found a flock of sparrows with six Fox and others. Farther on were some Chipping Sparrows.

Off the trail a bit in the phragmites I heard the rattle of a Marsh Wren. I did my best to get a photo, but it did not come out too far. Some of these do stay around until at least early winter to be counted on Christmas Bird Counts. Perhaps this individual will stay around there.

elusive Marsh Wren at Erieau

Off McGeachy Pond on the lake were several Horned Grebes. I always hope for a Western Grebe, as one has never been officially recorded for the Rondeau area. That is one of many species that are overdue for the list.

As silly as it was, I braved the Blenheim lagoons. Lots of bonies and ducks there. Water is up with all the rain yesterday, so no shorebirds. I kept an eye out for the immature Black-crowned Night-Heron. It was still there last week, but I did not see it today. It had been there over a month.