Friday, I wanted to go into Elgin County but with the crappy weather I mostly did some endless driving around. A first stop was at Ernie Warwick CA. This place is getting smaller with the eroding shoreline! There used to be a viewing tower here, but the location is now in the rubble that has eroded into the lake.
A couple of Eastern Towhees were the highlight here.
Next stop was John E Pearce PP where I walked the Storey Wetland trail. No owl this day!
I continued on to Port Stanley, where I spent some time at the pier looking at gulls. There were a lot! Visibility was limited due to the dense fog, but well over 1000 Herring Gulls were present.
I also picked out four Glaucous and one Lesser Black-backed. Possibly something else was here, but conditons were horrible. I recall once going to look for a Slaty-backed Gulls here.
There was no point in going any farther and I had to get away from the lakeshore due to the dense fog. I worked my way back and ended up on the St. Clair River! I seem to have no luck in finding anything with all that driving. One would think a Mountain Bluebird is out there somewhere!
I looked at the gulls at Corunna. Highlight was a "Nelson's Gull", I guess!
Saturday was just driving due to the endless rain. Not good! We are in a bad situation with water levels now.
I went to Sarnia on a hunch that the north wind might produce something at the mouth of Lake Huron lakewatch. Many gulls were present at first light. Lighting was horrible, but at least eight Glaucous Gulls and an Iceland were visible. Probably more present, but the lighting was brutal.
I could not see the 3 Harlequin Ducks from that vantage point, so I went under the bridge to spot them.
Lots of gulls were along the Sarnia waterfront, but nothing stood out. Nothing new at Corunna either!
Today, Sunday, promised better weather and I wanted to take in the OFO outing on the Detroit River led by Jeremy Hatt and Kory Renaud. I rarely get down that way, so it was a good opportunity for a change of scenery.
Lots of gulls were at Lakeview Marina, and many ducks along Peche Island.
The best gull was an Iceland that many got to see.
A male Wood Duck is once again hanging around.
Nearby was a Mallard X Black hybrid.
While there, something caught my eye. It was the remains of the Bob-Lo steamer Ste. Claire! If you boatnerds recall, it burned a couple of years ago, and I wrote about it.
We next walked the Little River Corridor park, a place I have never been to. A good variety of birds were here by the sewage treatment plant.
We also went up to the big pond at the north side.
At one point, we noticed many large flocks of Canvasback heading downriver off the lake. Well over 3000 were counted at that point.
The Detroit River is a prime wintering area for Canvasback, just like the St. Clair River used (?) to be. We do not seem to get many Canvasbacks anymore on the St. Clair.
After lunch, we headed to the base of the Ambassador Bridge to look for Peregrine Falcons. After some time, I managed to spot one way over on the US side tower!
We thought that was it until one came zooming in with lunch in its talons. We had good long looks at this one.
Next stop was the west end of Sprucewood Road where some White-crowned Sparrows were hanging out. Quite a few were here. They are scarce this winter, like many other birds.
While here, I spotted another Peregrine Falcon atop a nearby building. It eventually chased some Mourning Doves, but unsuccessfully.
A few Wild Turkeys were here as well.
Last stop was Ojibway nature area to observe feeder birds. Several Tufted Titmice were here. These, along with White-breated Nuthatches, and Black-capped Chickadees were not afraid to snatch seeds out of our hands.
Today was a nice outing after a nasty two days. Looks like good weather tomorrow as well, but yes, the weekend is over.
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| Nuthatch in a Hole |
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