Mid-March Marsh Meander and Other Observations

Friday I was up for a long walk and Rondeau's marsh trail was the best bet.  I like going out there this time of year.  Waterfowl is abundant and other early spring migrants are showing up.  I ended up walking the whole thing....a 14 km round trip!

End of the Line

There were lots of ducks to watch, but nothing unusual caught my eye.  Ring-necked Ducks were in a good number.

Strangely, there was not a single Swamp Sparrow.  The birds from late January were not evident (Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat) either.  Perhaps they left or perished in the cold weather.  Song Sparrows had come in of course.

I initially intended to walk to Long Pond and back, but by the time I got to that location, I was up for a longer walk.  At that time, I caught sight of a shrike which had me intrigued.  Loggerhead is not out of the realm of possibility this time of year, but it ended up being a Northern.  Too distant for a proper photo though.

I also saw an Eastern Meadowlark (FOY) at the Long Pond junction which spurred my on.

There was nothing of note the rest of the walk, but several Sandhill Cranes were around, some paired up.

Afterwards, I drove around the park.  I saw the famous Eastern Screech-Owl.....finally.

Saturday I checked out Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee.  I was hoping for some Euro ducks at Hillman, but that was not to be.  The pair of Trumpeter Swans showed nicely though, but I neglected to take a photo!

Pelee was uneventful, but I added a few FOY birds.  Ducks were too far out this day.  Perhaps a King Eider was out there.  There was one two weeks ago!

Today, I went back to Rondeau for lack of a better idea.  It was a nice day once again, but cool.  The only FOY was a Horned Grebe on the lake.  I was hoping for an early Eastern Phoebe, but never found one.  Must be one or two somewhere by now!

There were plenty of ducks on the Bay, so I checked them out.  Nothing unusual though!

The owl was home again today.

We will see what this week brings....