Huron Shore Birding

Early this morning I headed up to Sarnia to check out the mouth of Lake Huron for birds.  There was a stiff west wind, not ideal for bringing in birds off the lake, but what the heck.  (We do not get good north winds on weekends!).  Yesterday was a better wind and a Black-legged Kittiwake was reproted milling about near the entrance to the St. Clair River.
There was quite a bit of movement at times today, despite the less than ideal wind.  However, this time of year is always interesting.

This spot, incorrectly called the Point Edward Lighthouse (it is Sarnia and there is no lighthouse here!) is a popular spot for lakewatching.  We have had lots of fun there in years past.

During my stay, the wind died considerably, but news of Brant and big numbers of Dunlin further up the shoreline caught my attention.  That was for later.

Early on, I was delighted to spot a kittiwake entering the river with some Bonaparte's Gulls.  It was only a brief view before it disappeared.  These gulls seemed to keep going downriver.

A fair number of ducks were seen, including all three scoter species.

About 08:30, I spotted four gulls coming in from the east fairly close.  A view in the scope revealed that three were Bonaparte's and one was a Black-legged Kittiwake!

They headed into the river, but the kitty gull came back out and slowly worked its way up the Michigan shoreline.
It is quite possible this was was a second individual.

A couple of local birder friends joined me and eventually things got somewhat quiet.
After over three hours there, I headed up the coast.

I first stopped at Highland Glen CA where Sean Jenniskens had been stationed earlier.  He saw over 1000 Dunlin and about 68 Brant among other things.  I did not stay long so my list there was short.

I continued on up to Ipperwash Beach where I stationed myself at the lookout that I was at last Sunday.  I find it a good viewing spot!  It was quite cold and windy there, so this cell phone photo leaves a lot to be desired.

Looking towards Kettle Point

By this time, the wind was quite strong and onshore.  There was a lot of movement, especially ducks.  I did see quite a few Dunlin and finally, two Brant!  They were a bit too far for photos though.

White-winged Scoters

Brant is quite rare in Lambton County these days, but in the past they were apparently more regularly seen in big numbers.  It brought back memories though, of the Hurricane Sandy event in 2013 when we saw over 250 grounded at the Sarnia lakewatch.

Here is my eBird list for Ipperwash today:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61097090

Before leaving, I walked around the big parking lot, but not much was seen.  James Holdsworth came along and we had a good chat about various things.  He had also seen over 1000 Dunlin, so there was a mass exodus of them today!

On the way back, I stopped by Forest Lagoons where there was an abundance of waterfowl.  Six Greater Yellowlegs were the only shorebirds, but the cells have much water in them now.

Here is my eBird list for that location:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61093983

One last walk was at Perch Creek Habitat to round out the day.

This is always an exciting time of year, especially for lake watching!