Sunday, April 21, 2019

Weekend Washout Cinnamon-Coated

Needless to say, the weekend curse continues.  Friday was a holiday and of course it rained.  If it was not a holiday the sun would have been out!  Saturday was even worse if that was conceivable.  We had a ridiculous amount of rain (again) and everything was flooded.  Face it folks, our weather patterns have significantly changed (for the worse).

Peers WETland


I was down to Rondeau on Friday and stuck it out in the rain.  At least it was not a torrential downpour.  It even stopped for a while for me to check out south point trail again.  I added a few birds that were hiding in the rain.  Included were some Pine Warblers and a Blue-headed Vireo among others.  House Wrens were first for the year as well.

Near the end of my stay at the park, I checked out beach access 2 where a number of birds were moving through including several Yellow-rumped Warblers, a gnatcatcher and a female Pine Warbler.  I saw the Pine eating a Red Admiral high in a tree!



I stopped by McLean CA.  Three Great Egrets were near the bridge.  There was not much of note here.



Later in the afternoon I checked out Roberta Stewart Wetland.  Lots of bonies were moving through, but again, nothing with them.  Some Common Loons were floating on the Snye, normal for this time of year.


A handful of Greater Yellowlegs were at the wetland.  The water is now way too high for shorebirds.



Saturday I headed towards Point Pelee.  A big mistake!  There was little in the way of precipitation on the way, but twenty minutes after I got out of the car, the downpour came.  And it never let up.  I gave up and about that time I recieved a message about a Lark Sparrow at Rondeau Park.  I headed that way with nothing to lose.
I hope those Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks had not yet arrived when I passed by the designated spot they were found later in the afternoon!  I was watching for things as I drove along, and I am sure I would have seen them.  The driving heavy rain did not help though!

I arrived at Rondeau Park as the wind and rain was horrendous.  It might be last year all over again with flooded trails and a closed campground.
I did not see the subject sparrow at the reported spot, so I went to the picnic area where lots of sparrows were in the grass.  Jim Burk and Paul Pratt arrived to look and we shivered under the picnic shelter.  The Lark Sparrow was not there.  In past years, two different occasions saw a Lark Sparrow at this very spot.  I saw the one in May 2003.

We decided to go down the road and look again.  We turned around at Bennett and started up the road once again, and I spotted the Lark Sparrow!  It was all alone feeding roadside.




It provided good looks for those present.



Nearby, an early Clay-colored Sparrow was with some chippies, as usual.


Chippie with dark nape


After being soaked to the bone, I headed home.  Later I got word of a pair of rare ducks near Port Crewe.  Unfortunately by this time, I had enough and did not go and see the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.  They were a first for Chatham-Kent!

Sunday, the weather was nicer, but there were fewer birds!  In fact, it was very quiet and we were hard-pressed to find a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  One just cannot win!

The White-winged Dove showed well, prancing around Mel's driveway.



Lots of Horned Grebes are around right now.


Some Red-throated Loons are around as well.  We saw one off SPT this morning.  I saw one on Friday also.  A few years ago, this would be a big deal!

I checked Keith McLean CA too.  Some Cedar Waxwings were present.  I had not seen any in quite some time!

Later this afternoon, I set out at Peers Wetland.  Just as I was getting started, a message came though about a Cinnamon Teal at Sombra Lagoons!  Luckily I could make it there in 15 minutes.
Earlier, Josh Bouman had found a stunning male, a first record for Lambton County.

I arrived and saw the bird right away.  We could not get close as it was at the far side of the east cell and going any closer would flush the ducks.  However, good scope views were obtained.  I could only get record photos.




Interestingly, Steve Pike found what he thought was a Cinnamon Teal near Hillman Marsh yesterday.  It has since been deemed some sort of hybrid.  An interesting bird, none-the-less.
The only other Cinnamon Teal I have seen was the male (and likely a female with it) at Rondeau Park back in May 1994.

Seeing the male Cinnamon Teal was a nice way to top off a wet Easter Weekend.


4 comments:

  1. Nice photos Blake! It's getting pretty darn birdy around here lately!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Blake, I see you got a photo of that Chipping sparrow with the dark black around the nape on the same day as the Lark sparrow. What was up with that? I have never seen one with that marking before and it kept me guessing for a while as to what I was seeing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Probably just an anomaly. I think it stood out more since the bird was wet with all that rain!

      Delete