I started at Rondeau Park this morning. Once again there was dense fog and rather few birds. Seems to be a trend! One had to work hard again to find pockets of birds. Most warblers were directly above major sloughs. I did not add anything new there today.
With some time left in the day and a need to check on the boat at Port Lambton, I made a quick stop at my favourite hotspot, Brander Park. I walked to the NE corner beside the woodlot to look at the wet spot in the field. There is just a small opening in the treeline and I noticed 3 Dunlin, 3 Least Sandpipers and a Solitary Sandpiper. Usual stuff. I then pished a bit and in came a flock of about 15 yellow-rumped Warblers plus a Palm and a female Scarlet Tanager. It seemed a bit surprising to find that many Yellow-rumped because I think I only had about 6 in all of Rondeau this morning!
I took one last look at the shorebirds, but moved a little closer so I could see the whole wet area. Holy ****! An Ibis was just to my right! I took a good look to see that it had dark legs and a dark eye, dark facial skin, etc.
Unfortunately I did not take the camera out of the car, so I ran back to get it and return to take some record photos. I could only get so close without spooking the bird.
The only other Glossy Ibis here I know of is one that John Lamey had at the Lagoons just across the field quite a number of years ago.
As my workplace is only two minutes away from Brander Park, I check this place regularly throughout the year. It is a good migrant trap at times and an amazing number of birds stop here. I keep a list which includes the park and anything I can see from it plus the lagoons which are directly behind the woodlot. My best bird here was a Virginia's Warbler on May 14, 2003. The Glossy Ibis brings my list here to an even 200 species.
Some photos from Rondeau this foggy morning.
Blake, incredible find! You're probably going to want to send that one into the OFO. Good birding!
ReplyDeleteHi Blake, I almost wrote to you on Thurs. evening. Brander was teaming with birds but it was so overcast I got very few useful photos. I sure could see them with my binocs though. Saw the Tanager, and those Yellow Rumped hang out in that corner all the time. Also saw the Blackburnian and the Black-throated Blue. Friday afternoon I also saw either the Indigo Bunting or the Blue Bunting. My photo looks more like the Blue. In my bush I got some great shots of the Orange-crowned Warbler and just missed out on the male Common Yellowthroat. I'm so pleased that we're all seeing some transients...finally! Kim
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