Passerine Mania at Rondeau Park!

 The last two mornings I went birding at Rondeau Park.  It turned out to be a good choice as there were hundreds of passerines both days!  These were the best fall birding days I have had in a long time even though there was no "mega" found.  I did not take many photos, as they were fast moving and I was too focused on the birds.

Friday, I started with a lakewatch at dog beach along with Steve.  There was quite a bit of activity, and many passerines were coming in off the lake.  Looking behind us, we could see lots of activity, so we knew the woods would be active.  Savannah Sparrows were quite numerous for one thing.

Hitting the trail, we found lots of birds to keep us busy.  Warblers were everywhere, and farther down the trail, we were amazed at the "streaming" numbering in the hundreds.  They just kept coming!  Most were Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll as expected. Lots of Palm Warblers as well.

At the parking lot before we left south point, we heard a familiar, but uncommon call for Rondeau.  It was of an Evening Grosbeak which we never did get a visual before it took off.  Seems a bit odd, but they will show up in singles this time of year.  Also, the fact that none have been reported anywhere of this declining species.  However, there are always exceptions to the norm!

I tallied 88 species in the park on this day.

After warbler neck set in, we headed out of the park and stopped by Keith McLean C. L.  The day before, Steve reported a pair of Long-billed Dowitchers, expected at this time of year.  I wanted to see those and whatever else was around.  For some reason, I did not bother to get photos of the dowitchers!

We checked for Nelson's Sparrows and found two in their usual habitat.

I went back to Rondeau today and knew there was a different mix of birds that had come in as I drove towards south point.  Yesterday there were few sparrows and almost no kinglets, but today there were lots.  Winter Wrens had also come in, as we had none the previous day.

I started on south point with Keith Burk and the woods were alive.  As we continued down south point trail, more birds were evident.  Numbers were building as the warblers kept streaming by, basically following the shoreline.  By the time we got close to the "S-curve", it was astounding the number of warblers streaming through.  It was a continuous flow, something similar to the phenonema we observe sometimes at the start of marsh trail in the spring.  One has to be quick on the draw in these situations, but most were Yellow-rumped, followed by Blackpoll.

It was difficult to ascertain the number of birds, but it was something to behold.  Other species were mixed in including Eastern Phoebes.  There were quite a few of those.

More vireos, especially Philadelphia.  My favourite vireo!

Pine Siskins were in bigger numbers today as well, plus some Purple Finches.

Some 'latish' warblers seen today included Ovenbird, Black-and-White, Yellow and Wilson's.  Warbler species tallied was 19.  I estimated close to 700 Yellow-rumped and 300 Blackpoll, but certainly far more than that were "in" the park.

Not a Hermit Warbler!

Species total for mainly south point today was 86 to my eyes.

Today a McLean's another Red-necked Phalarope was in.  Certainly has been a banner year for them!   A single Long-billed Dowitcher still remained, among other shorebirds.  Nelson's Sparrow numbers are increasing, as one would expect.

Rain tomorrow, so things will be different!