Saturday, September 12, 2020

Lakewatches, Passerines, Tower Watch

 With September well underway, migrants have been in good numbers and lake watches have been productive.  Friday morning saw a brisk NE wind so I headed down to Rondeau Park and set up for a lakewatch at dog beach.  I find a brisk NE wind can be good at times, while a direct east wind is not.

Things were slow at first, but then picked up.  Lots of gulls, especially Bonaparte's were moving NE into the wind.  I was joined by Keith Burk shortly after setting up.  Gulls kept coming, unlike last Monday when Common Terns were the bird of the day moving in the opposite direction.

At one point, I spottted a jaeger fairly close, followed by a second.  Obviously Parasitic, but any jaeger at Rondeau is good!  For whatever reason, we do not get many jaegers at Rondeau, and we have seen very few over the years.

I did not think to get record photos at the time as I watched the two moving SW, as opposed to all the gulls moving NE!

Soon after we saw an adult Little Gull which turned out to be the only other notable sighting.  Little Gulls have been scarce the last couple of years at least in the Rondeau birding area.

After three hours, it was time to walk a trail.  There were a few warblers, but vireos were certainly dominant.  I had five species, including the continuing White-eyed on south point trail.

Red-breasted Nuthatches continue to be in big numbers lately.



A check of maintenance area and a little down Harrison added a few more birds, but nothing of note.

Warbler of Cape May

Bay-breasted Warbler

I stopped by Keith McLean C. L. before heading home, but there were few birds there.

Bronze Copper at McLean's


Today, I decided to head to Point Pelee.  I did not arrive too early, but as I headed to the Tip, it was obvious there was a good fallout of passerines.  Many warblers and vireos were all along the way flitting through the trees.  Certainly hundreds were in the park, but many went unidentified.

Black-throated green Warbler


I arrived at the Tip to find Keith, Kory and Jeremy (Hatt) watching the lake.  



There was not too much going on, and soon we hit the trails.  There were lots of birds to look at, including a significant number of vireos.  Red-breasted Nuthatches were all over.



We went up on the observation tower, which was finally opened a few weeks ago, almost two years late!  It was my first time on the tower, and one certainly gets am impressive view.  It was fun picking out birds from above!




One can get a good view of the lake all around, so it will be interesting to see what can be tallied from there.




We walked back up the west side.  Butterflies were almost absent, but it has been a paltry year for them.

Peck's Skipper (not at Pelee!)


Later we walked De Laurier and found lots of birds, including an Olive-sided Flycatcher.



Working my way home, I stopped by Mersea Road 21 fields, where some Black-necked Stilts were hanging out.  A few days ago, Dean Ware reported five there.

I only could see three during my brief visit, but viewing is limited due to the vegetation and distance.



It has been a good year for Black-necked Stilts in the southwest.  Several were at Hillman Marsh in the spring, and one was at Sombra in early May.

Sunday looks like a bit of weather, but we certainly do not need any more rain!  There are still puddles from the last one last weekend!


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