Sunrise At Rondeau

I arrived at Rondeau just before sunrise today and caught some photos of the sun rising off south point trail.

The wind was very strong out of the SW, but not the 60 km/h as predicted. As well, it was sunny most of the time, contrary to the forecast. By the way, I just checked tomorrow's forecast, and it has completely changed again. What's new?

Anyway, the birds were hunkered down. Most interesting was a flock of about 30 Eastern Bluebirds sitting in the trees beside the trail. This is certainly one of the larger flocks that I have seen here. We always hope for a Mountain Bluebird, as one has never been recorded in the Rondeau birding area. In fact, one has not been in Ontario for some time. Maybe this winter!

More Juncos have moved in with some more White-throated Sparrows. The Fox Sparrows remain scarce, as I only saw one today.

Merlin with breakfast

On the lake south of Morpeth were a large number of Surf Scoters with a few Black among the scaup. The scoters outnumbered the scaup 2:1. I did not see a White-winged Scoter, strange enough. A few Ruddy Ducks were mixed in as well. Lots of gulls moving, but once again no kittiwake or anything uncommon.

I then went to Erieau and scoped ducks on the Bay. There are thousands. Canvasback seemed to be prevalent, with a few thousand of them.

At Blenheim Lagoons, the imm. Black-crowned Night-Heron (been there a few weeks) was still present in the back corner of pond 3. In pond 5, shorebirds included 120 Dunlin, 3 Least Sandpipers, 4 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, 10 Greater Yellowlegs and a Killdeer. There were lots of ducks including Ring-necked.

Bonies at Blenheim

These strong winds will not doubt bring in some interesting birds, so you retired or non-working birders get out there this week!

Southwest Winds!

Birding at the Tip (photo by Steve T. Pike)

I ventured down to Point Pelee today to check out the Tip on southwest winds. The wind was quite strong more out of the WSW and almost west for a while. There was lots of activity, but once again, no rarities! There was the threat of rain (90%), but as usual, the weather forecast was wrong. It was sunny for quite a bit of the time and not a drop of rain!

Winds up to 60 km/h are forecast for Sunday! It was supposed to be about 40 km/h out of the west, so who knows anymore. NW winds at gale force are predicted for Monday. But again, who knows. Every time I look at the forecast, it is different. Today's forecast was dead wrong from what I saw!

I walked down the road to the Tip. Of note on the way was a late Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.

Anyway, hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls were flying down the west side of the Tip. Later on, the wind switched more west, and the gulls were flying down the east side!

Some Horned Grebes were around, and a lone Pied-billed Grebe was swimming on the east side near the Tip. At one point, a Peregrine Falcon showed up and checked out the grebe, but decided it was not worth touching.

When I arrived at the Tip, I checked out the gulls on the spit, and picked out a hybrid HerringXGreat Black-backed Gull. It stayed around for a while.

hybrid gull (not the one at Pelee!). The Pelee bird was slightly lighter in mantle colour and had a red spot on bill only.


Just before Steve Pike arrived, I saw three meadowlarks head out toward Pelee Island.
Ducks included hundreds of Red-breasted Mergansers, some Surf and Black Scoters, and scaup.

scaup pair

I walked back up the East Beach and joined Steve Pike near the end of Shuster Trail. There were quite a few birds, including Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-throated Sparrows, Juncos, Eastern Phoebes, and a couple of Eastern Bluebirds.
A large number of Robins were flying over the visitor centre.
At De Laurier, about ten Bluebirds were hanging around the parking lot with some sparrows, including Chipping, Tree, and White-crowned. At least three Phoebes were here as well.
Behind the Day's Inn, shorebirds were on the mud including many Dunlin, Greater Yellowlegs, and a couple of Long-billed Dowitchers.

Herring Gull at Wheatley

North Winds!

This is the time of year we hope for good north winds to watch Lake Huron for birds at Point Edward. It is a great vantage point. Over the years, we have had some good times there with jaegers, kittiwakes, gulls and waterfowl. It is also a perfect spot to watch ship traffic!

With a strong north wind approaching 40 km/h today, I managed to slip away from work and head up to Point Edward. It was a little disappointing to say the least. Not much was flying. Even though the wind can be "perfect", this sometimes happens.

There were very few Bonaparte's gulls, but one flock contained an adult Little Gull. Easy to pick out with the jet black underwings. Surprisingly, this flock came out of the St. Clair River and headed out into the lake.

I saw a first basic Glaucous Gull--the first of the season.

Shorebirds included flocks of Dunlin (I think!), and later on possibly two Sanderlings.

All three scoter species were present with a few Long-tailed Ducks.

Well, I'll just have to wait for the next north wind, but this weekend looks good for the Tip of Point Pelee instead!

Autumn Scenes

It got down to the freezing point last night--the coldest yet this fall. However, this morning was so calm and clear. I went out for a walk at McKeough CA this morning in the crisp air. Pine Siskins seem to be everywhere right now. Many were flying over with a few Purple Finches mixed in.

I sat along the St. Clair River for a while. The James L. Kuber barge went by. Last year this was the self-unloading steamer Reserve. It was cut down to a barge and a V-notch put in the stern to accomodate a tug. This setup is more economical than a conventional freighter.

After tending to some business, I went for a walk at Reid CA late this afternoon. I think the trees had turned colour even more since yesterday due to the hard frost last night. It was a beautiful walk as I "bushwacked" through the woods. I went through spots that I had never been in before.
There are some impressive trees in there. Many of them have long, straight trunks with no lower branches. I found one large Black Walnut that I photographed.

large Black Walnut

Another small Elm tree had its trunk completely twisted around in a 360 degree fashion!

Birds included Purple Finches and Pine Siskins, not surprisingly.

female Purple Finch

Butterflies inclued Painted Lady, Mourning Cloak and the sulphurs.

Finches on the Move

Autumn Scene at Reid CA

Yesterday I noticed a few Purple Finches in the yard. They are never common in the Wallaceburg area and NEVER stay. I have had them visiting the feeder and feeding on the trees in the yard, but they never stay more than one day.

This morning there were a few at Rondeau Park, and this afternoon there a number at Reid Conservation Area north of Wallaceburg.

At Rondeau this morning, lots of Pine Siskins were flying around, and when I got home this afternoon, there was a flock in the yard! Although I heard a few at Point Pelee last weekend, these are the first ones here.

Large numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers and kinglets were at Rondeau today. The only other warblers were a single Blackpoll and a single Tennessee. White-throated Sparrows were in big numbers. We saw a single Fox Sparrow, finally. They seem to be late this fall.

At Reid CA, I came across the first Tree Sparrow.

white Orange Sulphur

The only butterflies today were the sulphurs, a couple of Painted Lady, and at Reid a worn Summer Azure. Some sulphurs were completely motionless due to the cold.

Summer Azure

Blenheim Lagoons held at least 150 Dunlin, some Yellowlegs, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers and 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers. Lots of ducks were around too.

Almost forgot to mention, Jim Burk and I saw the first Golden Eagle of the fall at Rondeau. Lots of Turkey Vultures were along the shoreline outside the park. No Black Vulture, but there were some yound TV's with black faces!

Pelee on Thanksgiving Monday

I gave it another shot today, but there was not much to see in the way of birds and butterflies. Noteworthy were Pine Siskins flying overhead today.

I spent time at the Tip of Point Pelee first thing in the morning. A number of Bonaparte's Gulls were moving, but nothing different with them.

Mink rolling around at the Tip!

I saw an Osprey out on the lake heading toward Pelee Island. There were raptors moving today, especially a large number of Sharp-shinned Hawks.
The most abundant bird was Blue Jay. Well over a thousand could be seen while standing at the Tip.
A few Surf Scoters and Lesser Scaup were around. I saw only one Common Loon.
Walking the West Beach Trail, there were not many butterflies to be seen. Observers reported few yesterday as well. The butterflies do not stick around there!

another Common Buckeye

Fiery Skippers were still at the field outside the park.
I heard today that a Common Checkered Skipper was found on Sunday near Kingsville. So, there are more waiting to be found!

McKee Sons barge in Pelee Passage

Today's Adventures

imm. Bald Eagle

Rondeau and Blenheim were on today's agenda. I guess the weather is too nice, as there were not many birds, at least first thing in the morning. It seemed to get better as the morning wore on.

Warblers included Black-throated Blue (4), Orange-crowned, Nashville, Palm and Yellow-rumped. Vireos included Red-eyed and Blue-headed. One Indigo Bunting.

male Black-throated Blue Warbler

Most of the sparrows seemed to be out Marsh Trail. I was hoping to get a look at Sharp-tailed, and one may have been that I never got a handle on.

Red Admiral

At Blenheim Sewage Lagoons, I finally found some Fiery Skippers.

There were actually lots of shorebirds, but most were Dunlin. Quite a number of Turkey Vultures were migrating along with a few other hawks. One was a Red-shouldered.

Two Good Skippers at Point Pelee!

With not much left in the season, I took advantage of the nice weather and spent some time at Point Pelee looking for butterflies. I was not disappointed!

There were not many butterflies, but two rare ones made the day. About 11:00, I came across a dark skipper with elongated wings. I knew it was something unusual, but not sure of the species. Ocola Skipper crossed my mind.

Ocola Skipper at Point Pelee October 11

I was able to share my sighting with Kevin McLaughlin who came along only five minutes later and we were almost certain that it was Ocola. I took several photos.

The distinctive feature of this butterfly is that the forewings are elongated. This was the feature that struck me from the very start. This individual was somewhat worn and rather co-operative for observation.

For Ocola Skipper at Point Pelee, there are records for 1991, 1995, 1998 and 2006 according to Alan Wormington.

Later, I decided to walk the trail again, and was not disappointed. I came across a Common Checkered Skipper! Another lifer! This species had been seen in previous weeks outside the park, so this was bound to be seen inside the park.

The checkered was not as co-operative, as it seemed to be on a mission. As well, I was looking into the sun which did not help matters. I did get a poor photo of mostly the underwing.

Common Checkered Skipper

Other butterflies included Eastern Comma, Northern Crescent, Monarch, Clouded and Orange Sulphurs, Cabbage White.

Outside the park at a clover field, I saw some Fiery Skippers.

Fiery Skipper

Regarding birds, there were a few things. Lots of White-throated Sparrows, kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers. A few Palm Warblers and a couple of Blackpoll Warblers were around as well.

Palm Warbler

At the Tip, ducks were on the move including a Black Scoter, some Surf Scoters, scaup, and Ruddy Ducks. Horned Grebes were around as well. One one Common Loon.

Lots of Killdeer were moving.

A Whole Year!

It has now been a whole year since I started this blog. I thought it would be something fun to do, as well to get the word out on local nature. It has indeed been that.

There may not be many people commenting directly on the blog, but I know a number of people do read this blog and occasionally send me emails.

I really got into photography this summer, especially with butterflies. Needless to say, it has been a fascinating year for butterflies with sheer numbers and rarities. I don't really have a fancy camera, and just use my 300mm lens to photograph the butterflies. Many have turned out really well.

The "first" Southern Hairstreak June 22, 2008

With the discovery of a colony of Southern (Northern Oak) Hairstreaks just north of Wallaceburg on June 22, things really got going with my interest in butterflies. It is amazing what you can find when you start looking!
I have always had an interest in butterflies, at least since 1999 when I did my first butterfly count at Rondeau. I did not know what I was getting into then, but it has been fun ever since.

Southern Hairstreak at a second location July 2008

Birds have always been my passion, and will continue to be so. Now that we are into fall, birding can be very interesting, and less rushed that it is in the spring. I hope to find some noteworthy birds this fall.

Just saw an email from Ron Tozer that the OFO conference tallied 145 species of birds. That was a little less than expected, but considering the "too nice" weather, that was OK. The total number of registered participants was 270, not 275 as I reported the other day. It shows the interest of birding/ornithology in this province.

The weather looks too nice for a lakewatch anywhere this weekend (AGAIN!), but hopefully some good birding will be had.

odd Glaucous Gull at Wheatley

Another OFO Convention in the Books

This past weekend was the annual Ontario Field Ornithologists convention, held in Hamilton. These events seems to get more and more popular every year, as this year was another record-breaking crowd of about 275 registrants.

The weather was actually "too" nice as there was almost nothing to look at on the lake. A strong east wind would have made things interesting, as it did in October 1996 during an OFO convention. That year the winds were perfect bringing in lots of jaegers and kittiwakes along Van Wagners Beach.

As usual, there were a variety of field trips around the area and a nice array of birds were found. Large numbers were not around though. The Dundas Marsh trip turned up a few trusty Sharp-tailed Sparrows. There were not many shorebirds since water levels were quite high.

On Saturday, I opted to go with Bob Curry's trip to Fifty Point Conservation Area. We found just under ten species of warblers and other birds. The only thing worth looking at on the lake was a group of three White-winged Scoters!

We then went over to the old Grimsby Sewage Ponds and found a Sora and a Coot. A Greater Yellowlegs was heard nearby.

After lunch we went atop the escarpment and did an old fashioned crop tour. We came up with some meadowlarks, Mockingbirds and an Osprey among other things.

The evening dinner meeting was held at the Grand Olympia Convention Centre. It was a classy place complete with a doorman and fancy waiters for each table!

Harry Lumsden was honoured as Ornithologist of the Year for his amazing work over the last sixty years.

Sunday was dead calm and it seemed like there were not many birds around. I decided to leave early and stop at Rondeau on my way home.

The sparrows had finally come into Rondeau in big numbers, along with Yellow-rumped Warblers and kinglets.

Butterflies included lots of Eastern Commas, Mourning Cloak, Orange and Clouded Sulphurs and a crescent species, and Painted Lady.

Over at Blenheim Lagoons there was Buckeye, a very worn Eastern Tailed-Blue, Least Skipper, and some kind of small bright fritillary that is really bugging me! This butterfly got away from me and I never got a good look at it. It was probably something good, as it was not a Great Spangled at that location and this late date. Who knows?

I could not be bothered to bring my camera along this weekend, so no photos!

BTW, next year's convention is at Point Pelee again!!!