Rondeau Park on Saturday

Rondeau Bay (note deer at right)

We finally have some nice weather for a weekend. It was a bit cool this morning, but I headed down to Rondeau Park to get some fresh air and exercise. I walked most of Marsh Trail first thing. There is still quite a bit of ice, but Rondeau Bay is mostly open. Probably upwards of 20,000 ducks are out there, plus hundreds of Tundra Swans and some geese.

The best bird was the first Sandhill Crane that flew by me along the Bay shoreline. Red-winged Blackbirds are very abundant making endless noise all around.

lone Sandhill Crane

I encountered one Purple Finch along the trail, and a few Song and Tree Sparrows. Not much else, and not a single raptor.

I also walked the south end of the campground and heard a couple of redpolls flying over. At one point, surprisingly, I heard the tremelo of a Screech Owl. I look towards the sound and saw a gray morph Screech Owl poking out of a hole in a tree! I tried to approach a little closer, but it popped back in out of sight. It was not to be seen again! One does not often hear a screech owl in the middle of the day, but this one was making itself known.

White-breasted Nuthatch in the campground

I headed out towards Erieau after my walk, but little did I know a Black Vulture was less than two kilometres away.....until I got home! (This has always been my nemesis bird anyway, so what is new?).

Ice off McGeachy Pond, Erieau (note how it was driven towards shore and the spile "cut" through the ice!)