I headed inland but could not come up with any owls. I even checked some coniferous trees at McKeough for Long-eared, but there was no evidence of them. Just after I came out into the open, a large dark bird caught my attention high in the sky. TV or eagle? The bright sun did not help matters, but then I thought eagle. Expecting nothing other than a Bald, I kept looking and it turned out to be a Golden! An adult Golden Eagle was working its way westward. A new bird for the area. My position was not good for photography, but here is a "silhouette".
After I got home, I took a look at the feeder setup and a Red-breasted Nuthatch came in. For some reason very few birds are at the feeder this year, but this nuthatch was new. A good bird for here.
This morning I took my usual Christmas jaunt up the St. Clair River. We now have LOTS of ice in the river. Perhaps a good thing as it will concentrate birds, especially gulls. Still not many ducks on the river (lots of Long-tailed though), but certainly more gulls.
The best spot for birds was at Cathcart Park. A variety of things were there and I sat in the car for some time. I saw a White-winged Scoter working its way downriver, so I got out and walked over to the breakwall.
Just as I got there, a Double-crested Cormorant flew by! Would be an excellent bird for the CBC on Saturday. Another silhouette!
The scoter took off downriver.
I looked downriver, and there was a Horned Grebe! Another good bird for the river this time of year. It came in fairly close.
Most of the gulls were off OC Industries, including an adult Glaucous. I would think gulls will build in numbers from now on.
Inland, I found the Snowy Owl at the Sombra solar farm. It was on the ground, so could easily be missed.
Not much else of note as I headed home. A good-sized flock of Snow Buntings was near Becher, and at least one Lapland Longspur was amongst them.
Leading up to the Wallaceburg CBC this Saturday, I will do some checking around.
Christmas nuts:
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