With east winds, we stayed on the west side of the park, starting at the Marsh Trail entrance. Since the trail is a thing of the past, we stood at the trail gate to watch for birds streaming. Often on east winds, birds hit the west side of the park at the marsh and decide to stream out of the park. We have had some awesome days in the past, but one has to be quick on the draw to ID birds!
This day, it was the swallows that came from their roost in the marsh and headed in a northerly direction. In about 25 minutes, Steve, Craig and I estimated about 21,000 swallows went by. It was an incredible sight!
After the swallows thinned out and there was no real evidence of streaming, we headed to the cars. However we were delayed as a sparrow was spotted beside the parking lot. Turned out to be a Grasshoppper Sparrow!
I could not get a good photo as it lurked through the long grass.
It was then time to head down to Spicebush Trail. Upon arrival, many birds were evident including a singing Golden-winged Warbler. Although seen well, it was not co-operative for the camera as it checked out dead leavesin the slough. There have been good numbers reported this spring.
We had just set foot on the boardwalk bridge, when an alert was sent out. Back to the cars! Reuven and his girlfriend found a Spotted Towhee in the campground.
By the time we arrived on site, the bird had moved considerably north into dense brush. After about ten minutes, it was "spotted" lurking on the ground. I managed to get some crude photos which were enough to ID the bird.
It was a new Rondeau bird for me as well as others. The last record was in May 2005 when one spent several days in the park. I could never catch up with that one!
The only other park record was 6 November 1979 where one was reported by Allen Woodliffe.
Another Rondeau area record was 17 December 1989 at Erieau when Alan Wormington found one on the Christmas Bird Count.
After that exercise, we headed back to Spicebush trail and area. A fair number of birds were found, keeping us busy.
Later, we headed down the west section of south point trail. We were greeted at the parking area by a singing Cerulean Warbler.
Many more birds kept us busy along the trail, but nothing notable. Memories of this area were brought up as Steve and I recalled our first Sydenham Field Naturalists outing here in May 1988 (LOL!). It was my first birding experience in Rondeau Park and luckily it happened to be a fallout day. We tallied several lifers including a Kentucky Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, etc. Those were the days when one could walk all the way around on a trail. Now, several hundred feet of shoreline have disappeared leaving no trail!
After parting ways, I checked out some areas before leaving before I got too tired to drive! With the situation this spring, I though I would not get to look for Showy Orchis as I annually do. However, with the park open, I found some. They are not yet in bloom though.
I ended up with 25 species of warblers, and here is the day's list for just the 'west' side of the park:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S69224304
Today, was another day of brisk east winds and rain. Luckily, the rain held off for the first part of the morning as I wanted to check out Reid Conservation Area north of home. The rain overnight flooded everything yet again!
However, I stuck it out for 3.5h there before the rain got too heavy at the end. It was worth it as there were lots of birds to sort through.
I found most of the warblers in the SW corner of the property where it is very wet and many trees are down as the above photo shows.
I stood in one spot for about an hour sorting through all the warblers. It was quite entertaining! This area is where the old oxbow flows out to the Sydenham River.
I counted twenty species of warblers, including a FOY Blackpoll.
I did walk the whole property tallying over sixty species for the outing, including twenty warblers. There were some high numbers of Northern Parula, Blackburnian and Nashville Warblers and good numbers of others. It was a treat as I really have never spent much time here in peak migration season.
Here is the list for Reid today:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S69262387
This afternoon the rain let up a bit and I headed to the local hotspot of Peers Wetland. The "Chicken Island" area was hopping with birds, including another Blackpoll. Here is the list:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S69281193
Still lots of birds to come, but they will be on the move!
 |
| Ovenbird in the Garden |
No comments:
Post a Comment