Sunday Report

White-winged Crossbills

It was a leisurely day for me. I had not looked at the St. Clair River much lately, so I headed out there first thing. Lots of ice and the Sombra ferry was not running needless to say.

There were some small open spots along the way, and farther upriver it was more open. Ducks were concentrated in these small areas. Most were Canvasback, followed by Redhead. I saw one Ring-necked at Sombra and a Long-tailed Duck there as well.

Towards Lambton Generating Station, there were lots of Long-tailed. At least 80 to that point. Very strange to have that many on the river, but that is the way it has been this year.

No gulls to speak of.

Inland, I stopped for a walk at Moore WMA on Bickford Line. As usual, the Yellow-rumped Warblers came out after some pishing. They would not co-operate for photos. There were at least eight of them.

Part of this area is the valley of Black Creek, a tributary of the north branch of the Sydenham River. It floods easily when the water is high. There were still chunks of ice clinging to the trees from a few weeks ago.

I watched the feeders and yard all afternoon. After 3 p.m. a group of about 15 White-winged Crossbills stopped for a few seconds at the top of a White Spruce.

Crossbills on the go!