Sunday

Yesterday was a bit of a lazy day, but I did get out.  I went out in my boat for the first time this spring and did some touring around.
A couple of Great Egrets were at Stewart Wetland first thing in the morning, then I saw them from the boat perched in a dead tree as I passed by in the boat.

More butterflies are showing up.  I saw Eastern Tailed-Blue and a European Skipper for the first time this year.

Eastern Tailed-Blue

I have also been looking at dragonflies and damselflies.  There are many different species once you get looking!

Lancet Clubtail

Interior shots of the work project which is virtually complete now...

end

Along Lake Erie

melanistic Garter Snake (?)

I started at Rondeau this morning.  Migration sure has come to an abrupt halt.  Usually you still have quite a few migrants in the last few days of May, but I did not detect many today.  I heard a couple of Blackpoll Warblers at Rondeau, but that was it.  I did hear an Ovenbird, but perhaps that is one that is staying.  I saw one Common Loon flying over the lake.  Some non-breeding loons do stick around on the lake in the summer as well.
I was done there by 08:00!  So, it was off to Pelee to at least look for butterflies.   (I did see a couple of Hobomok Skippers at Rondeau).

Giant Swallowtail (missing a chunk!)

I headed down East Beach first thing.  Butterflies there included Spicebush Swallowtail, Giant Swallowtail, and Red Admiral.  One of the better dragonflies included Carolina Saddlebags.
Birds included a Horned Grebe off the pilings, heard one Blackpoll Warbler, and a Northern Mockingbird.  Most interesting was a Black Tern on the beach with a broken wing (?).

The south part of West Beach Trail was closed due to a certain function, unfortunately, as I wanted to check it for insects.
Heading north, I heard a Black-throated Green Warbler just south of Marsh Boardwalk turnoff.

Snout

After I had something to eat, I checked out the West Beach Trail south of Northwest Beach parking lots. 

Little Wood Satyr

A fair number of butterflies were there including about 15 Little Wood Satyrs and a Silver-spotted Skipper among other species.  I started off looking at a Snout.  I had one earlier along the road south of V.C.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Lots of dragonflies were around.

Common Green Darners

 Actually the last day or so there has been a huge emergeance of dragonflies.  There were thousands yesterday around Wallaceburg.  Not sure what species though.

Some Evening Butterflies

Hobomok Skipper

Took a bit of time this evening to go for a walk at Reid CA.  I had about eight species of butterflies, some first for the year.  New for the year included Common Ringlet, Northern Crescent, Hobomok Skipper and Giant Swallowtail.

Black Swallowtail

Northern Crescent

Juvenal's Duskywing

Giant Swallowtail

Common Ringlet

Dragonflies included Giant Green Darners, Common Whitetails.

Victoria Day Birding

Today was probably the nicest day weatherwise so far this year.  It was just pleasant to be out walking around even though not many birds were present.  The bulk of yesterday's birds had already departed under last night's clear skies.

female Blackpoll Warbler

A good number of warblers were around, including Tennessee, Black-throated Green, Yellow-rumped (1), Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, etc.

American Redstart

Probably the highlight for me was a male Hooded Warbler at the Gardiner Deer Exclosure.  It did not co-operate for photos!
I also looked for more Showy Orchis plants and found several.  Some were quite fresh.  There is one area in the park that they are numerous.  I do not have a proper camera for photographing orchids, but I did get some photos.

The lake was clear for the first time in two days, but hardy anything was out there.  I did see a Common Loon and a male Hooded Merganser.  Not sure where the Hooded came from, but they have nested in the park's sloughs.

I did not see any Whimbrels, but others did.

Rondeau May 23

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (without the ruby throat)

Today was certainly different.  Not surprisingly, dense fog developed overnight.  I headed down to Rondeau anyway knowing that some new migrants would have come in.

Chestnut-sided Warbler 

There were definitely more birds today, especially on South Point Trail.  Along the beach area it was obvious that some birds had just arrived as they looked tired.  Sometimes very early in the morning along the lake you will see birds still coming in.  They just "dive" into the shrubs!

Magnolia Warbler

Notably, Magnolia Warblers, Wilson's Warblers and Blackpoll Warblers had increased in numbers.  Later in the morning I went out Marsh Trail and found an abundance of these.  I had at least 25 Blackpoll, 12 Wilson's and a number of Magnolia among other birds. 

female Blackpoll Warbler

A couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers were still hanging around.
Wilson's are always reliably found in dogwood shrubs.  They seem to like dogwoods!

Wilson's Warbler

A couple good "winter" birds were out Marsh Trail including Red-breasted Nuthatch and White-crowned Sparrow.
Although migration is winding down, there are still lots of birds to come.  Some will show well into June.  The latest Blackpoll Warbler I have ever seen was June 22, 2003 at Rondeau!
Fall migration starts in a few weeks!!

Near the Gardiner Deer Exclosure, I found a couple of Showy Orchis, Galearis spectabilis, plants. 

Steve LaForest found them yesterday and I was curious to find them.  They are somewhat uncommon anymore and are found in rich deciduous forests.  They are certainly easilly overlooked!  These were past their prime though.

Showy Orchis

Another plant .....

Star of Bethlehem (introduced species)

Blenheim Lagoons were very "quiet" today.

Rondeau May 22

No photos today.  As usual the morning started off cloudy, rainy and drizzly.  Typcial sign that is a weekend!  At least it was warm, and the afternoon weather did clear up.
Birds were around, but few and far between.  Unusual for the Holiday Weekend.  One had to work for them today at Rondeau Park.
Not surprisingly, quite a few flycatchers had come in.  Many Alder Flycatchers were throughout the park.  As well, I picked up an Acadian Flycatcher in a reliable spot that I find them every year.  I got a look at an Olive-sided Flycatcher at south point trail parking lot.  It is one of my favourite with its "Quick-three-beers" call.  Unfortunately it was silent. 
Gray-cheeked Thrushes were in numbers and lots of Swainson's Thrushes were around too.
Warblers included a total of 21 species for myself.  Best was a singing Connecticut Warbler on south point trail.  Lots of Tennessee, Wilson's and Blackpoll were around--a sign that the month of May is waning.
Cedar Waxwings were in large numbers today--another sign of late May.
Most sparrows have gone, but a few Lincoln's were around. 
I met "The Grippers" who were doing there annual Baillie Birdathon.  They were doing quite well.  I gave them a few tips on where to find some species.
At Blenheim lagoons, a total of three Red-necked Phalaropes were swimming in pond 5.  A Wilson's was around as well.  It has been a good year for phalaropes showing up at Blenheim. 
Erieau was quite foggy, so it was not too productive.

Holiday Weekend

There should still be lots of birds around this weekend.  Usually there is a large variety of species present on the May Holiday Weekend.  Some early stuff will be lingering and the later stuff will be around.  Thrushes and vireos seemed to have arrived in numbers in the last few days.  A good variety of warblers will be around, and for shorebirds, Whimbrel will appear in numbers in the next few days.
Yesterday at Brander Park, Port Lambton, a few warblers were present including a Cerulean.  I heard it singing at the top of the highest trees, but could never get a good view of it.  It is only the second of that species I have had there.  It is the only regular warbler that I had missed this spring.
A Swainson's Thrush (wish it was a warbler!) was singing in my yard this morning. I can still hear it out there somewhere right now.
Black Terns finally arrived in numbers in the last week.  I hear them flying around Port Lambton every day.

Yesterday I looked at some Juvenal's Duskywings at Reid CA.  I was a bit disappointed as there were practically no butterflies nor migrant birds.  The only migrant bird was a White-crowned Sparrow, which I almost missed!

For those interested, we are almost done that big winter project!

 It is almost complete save for installing the steering and finishing up a few odds and ends.

Back in December......................

May is almost over!

May 18

Another view of the Yellow-headed Blackbird

Today was the last day of my week off.  The weather was crappy once again!  Talk about getting sick of this weather...........

At first light today I checked out Blenheim Lagoons.  The Red-necked Phalarope was hanging out with Dunlin today.  No sign of the Curlew Sandpiper.  Apparently it was only there for a short while yesterday morning and seen by one lucky person.

I decided to sit at Erieau to watch gulls and terns for a while.  The rain held off.  Lots of gulls were out on the lake.  Much too far to do anything with.  I did pick out one Little Gull and the leucistic Bonaparte's stood out.  Small groups of Bonaparte's Gulls were coming from the west, and one had a darker mantle.  Although rather distant, I believe it was a Franklin's.
Some Black Terns were out on the lake.  They have finally come in, as I saw several at Port Lambton late yesterday.

The "Ghost"

With the rain still holding off, I did some walking at Rondeau Park.  I did not come up with anything new, but noticed that more Swainson's Thrushes and Red-eyed Vireos were in.

Yesterday, on my walk back along the south beach, I accidentally came across a Woodcock nest.  There are lots of Woodcocks out there, but they hide well!

A large Garter Snake....

Some More Birding

Great-crested Flycatcher

Yesterday, Sunday, I went back to Rondeau.  It seems birds have been getting fewer and fewer since last Friday.  Today, Monday, was very disappointing.  We are due for some new birds!

White-eyed Vireos have been scarce, but a few more have come in.  One was on South Point Trail early Sunday.  I did quite a bit of walking first thing, then decided to go out Marsh Trail.  The birds were rather numerous out there, probably due to the easterly winds.  I found a good 15 species of warblers, plus several Scarlet Tanagers. 

The most plentiful specie was Yellow-rumped Warbler, surprisingly.  Yellow would surpass that, but as for migrants, the Yellow-rumped Warblers I saw totalled at least 35.  There were several Wilson's, as expected for this time of year.

Blackburnian Warbler

Sedge Wrens were calling in their habitat.  Some do stay to breed out there.
After lunch I headed down the backside of South Point Trail in hopes of seeing the reported Kentucky Warbler.  I did hear it sing three times, but it was rather far off the trail, and it would not have been a good idea to pursue it.  I did not need to see it anyway.
With all other areas covered, I ventured outside the park, first stopping at Blenheim Lagoons.  The reported Red-necked Phalarope was present keeping company with a pair of Mallards in the first pond.  Phalaropes are pretty this time of year, so it is always nice to see them.
Before arriving, I was unaware that a female Yellow-headed Blackbird was present, so I looked for it.  It was difficult to find, as it was feeding in long grass.  We have had this species here before, but not in recent years.

Next stop was Erieau.  Lots of gulls were present, including the long-staying Glaucous Gull.  Several Little Gulls were around, but I only spotted one. 
A couple of days ago a Black-tailed Gull was reported.  Apparently there is an odd Lesser Black-backed Gull around that mimics and Black-tailed, so this is perhaps the bird that was actually seen!
Shorebirds included four early Whimbrel.  Usually this specie shows up in large numbers along the lakeshores around the Holiday Weekend.

In the evening, I was determined to hear Whip-poor-wills, so I staked out the Visitor Centre Area.  The first bird started calling at 8:59 p.m.  I heard two others. ....Finally!
Monday morning my plan was to walk out the south beach to the end of the sandspit.  I try to do this once a year.  There has been considerable erosion out there and many trees lost.  Some spots were difficult to get through.

leucistic Bonaparte's Gull

At one point, the Glaucous Gull flew past me coming from the east.  Lots of gulls were on the water, including Little Gulls. 
I managed to get a decent look at the leucistic Bonaparte's Gull.  I first saw this bird May 13.

Two Dunlin with Sanderling

Shorebirds included three Ruddy Turnstones, three Dunlin, one Sanderling and the Willet that was reported yesterday.

Dunlin with Three Ruddy Turnstones

The only warbler out there besides Yellow, was a Northern Waterthrush. For some reason they are quite reliably seen out there!
After checking out Erieau later, I went home early as there was not much else to see. Probably should have stopped at Blenheim Lagoons!