Recent Birding May 9-11

I have been spending my time off birding at Rondeau Park for the most part. Birding has been tough at times with few birds in this strange weather.
Tuesday was one of the best days so far with nice weather and a fair number of birds to sort through.  I birded most of the time with Steve Charbonneau.  One good find was a Grasshopper Sparrow in the group campground. We inadvertently flushed the bird off the grass, but I got a good look to confirm that it was the said species.

It flew a ways into the woods, and stayed there for some time.  A species of open grasslands, the Grasshopper Sparrow often finds open areas in the woods during migration.

Wednesday was sunny as well, but cool (the trend this year!).  I got early enough to hear at least one Whip-poor-will.
It was evident most of the birds left the park overnight with few new arrivals.  It was tough finding any numbers of birds.

Clay-colored Sparrows had arrived, as a few were found.  I located one in the picnic area near marsh trail entrance, which is a usual spot for them.  I was not able to get a decent photo due to certain circumstances.

Bennet Ave produce some good birding later in the day.  I found this cute mink in one of the sloughs.

This morning saw rain starting after 2 a.m., but it was light and was off and on until about 7.  New birds had come in, but they were on a mission!
Steve and I started at Spicebush trail and walked up Rondeau Road.  Birds were all along the way, but they were certainly heading north.
By the time we got near marsh trail entrance, we could see dozens of warblers and other birds heading north in quick fashion. It was evident there was a mass exodus!
Who knows how many birds we missed, but we stood at the gate for about an hour watching un-named warblers stream north.  Other birds were mixed in including Eastern Kingbirds, orioles, grosbeaks and vireos.
Some did hesitate enough to ID, but most were moving too fast to ID in poor light.  We figured a large number of the warblers were Yellow-rumped and Nashville, but others were mixed in.
We estimated at least 200 warblers in less than an hour.
After some time, the parade subsided and we moved on.  Not many birds were seen in our travels after that!

We did have one Red-throated Loon pass over during the show.

It remained cloudy most of the morning, but later cleared up for a nice day.
The Prothonotary Warblers were co-operating on Tulip tree trail.

Better days are ahead!