CBC Birding

It was a tiring weekend with lots of walking and long days for doing a couple of Christmas Bird Counts.
Yesterday I went up to Arkona to help Pete Chapman in his area around Arkona.

As with many of the counts this year, birds were scarce.  I have been doing this count for many years and it is always nice to get to that area, especially along the Ausable River gorge.

One of the highlights for me is to check out Rock Glen CA.  In the earlier years, I did this on my own in the morning, then joined Pete for the other areas.
There is a nice waterfall there, and the spot is known for Devonian era fossils.  I remember going there a couple of times as a kid.

I always got some decent birds there, including a Golden Eagle most years.  Yesterday I told the others we should look out over the north field, especially for an eagle.  Just after we peeked out past the fenceline, I spotted a Golden Eagle!  It was too distant for a photo, but I think this is the fourth time I have seen one from that vantage point.

old dam at Rock Glen

We often get Golden Eagle near the Sylvan bridge as well, but not this year.  There is some good walking along the river here and we have had many different birds over the years.  We usually get Yellow-rumped Warbler here, but this year they are very difficult to find anywhere.


Today, Sunday, was the Rondeau/Blenheim count.  Preliminary result just in, is at 109 species.  It was a windy day, but at least the sun was out after a nice sunrise.

View from south point parking lot

It was quite cold at first as well, so it was uncomfortable along the lake.

unco-operative Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I worked the park with Maris Apse and some decent species were found.  We had the only Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2), Purple Finch (where did they all go?), and I saw the only Killdeer and White-winged Scoter (13) of the count.

view from south point

The Killdeer was a flyover at Dog Beach while Maris headed up to the VC.  Late afternoon I went to the south point light beacon to watch the lake. I came up with the 13 White-winged Scoters.  Too distant for photos though.

Rough Lake

Some good birds were on the count including Thayer's Gull at the lagoons, Savannah Sparrow, Wilson's Snipes, Eurasian Wigeon, Greater White-fronted Goose, Sandhill Crane (2), Common Yellowthroat (2), and a record-breaking 92 American Robins.



My next count is Wallaceburg on the 27th, and we could use some help!