Sarnia Skulkers

I spent today birding in Sarnia and area for a change.  With a half decent north wind forecast (ha, they were right!) I started at the lakewatch at the mouth of Lake Huron first thing.  It was a bust!  It was not a day for anything of note to be seen.  With climate change, we do not get as many good north winds there in the fall anymore and things have certainly changed over the years when we would get many good days at Lake Huron.
Dark clouds were to the east.  At one point a funnel cloud was trying to form.

After a couple of hours, I moved over to Canatara Park.  I spent most of the time in the meadow area where lots of sparrows and skulky warblers were flitting about.  It was certainly a day for Orange-crowned Warblers as I tallied at least a dozen there.  Lots of Nashville Warblers as well.  It was not a day for photos as the skies were gloomy and drizzly (just like last week!) and the birds were quickly moving.  I have to use some photos from the past here.

It was difficult to get an accurate number of the birds, but there were lots.  I had Nelson's Sparrow on my mind today.  At least one has been seen in the meadow in recent years.  I did not find one today though.

I then moved over to Wawanosh Wetlands.  There were some birds along the edges including several more Orange-crowned Warblers, Nashville, and other sparrows.  No Nelson's Sparrow here either, but I am sure some were around.

Next stop was Dow Wetlands, but on the way I found some shorebirds along Telfer Road including a Long-billed Dowitcher.

Right out of the gate, there were dozens of birds at Dow along the edges.  More Orange-crowned and Nashville with a few others mixed in.  Sparrows were the bird of the day, but once again they were quickly moving.  I could not get on 90% of them!
On top of the "hill" I stopped in my tracks when I spotted an Ammodramus sparrow.  A LeConte's!  I had solid looks and made sure it was not Nelson's or any other similar sparrow. Like the others, it disappeared into the weeds.
After putting out the alert, some Sarnia birders came along and we spent some time looking around.  Apparently, it was not spotted again.
The LeConte's was a new Lambton bird for me, probably long overdue!
It looked something like this:

I continued on my own and found some more birds at the north end in the treed area.  Included was a Scarlet Tanager, Tennesse Warbler, more Orange-crowned and Nashville etc.

Warbler of Tennesee

Here is my eBird list for Dow today:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S60343568

I came home via the river road and stopped by "Cath's Cart" (Cathcart) Park north of Sombra.  M.B. had reported some shorebirds on the flooded island (which is off limits this year as it flooded all summer).  Included were a couple of Long-billed Dowitchers.

The wrong kind of egret was on the breakwall.

One last stop at Reid CA was very quiet for birds.

Tomorrow, Nelson's Sparrow is on the radar!