Things are winding down with regards to migration, but there are still goodies to find. Some good birds have been found, but unfortunately, I am usually in the wrong place or just do not have the luck others do!
The holiday Monday I went back to Rondeau. More flycatchers were in including lots of Alder. Finally I added Yellow-bellied to the year's list.
Many Canada and Wilson's Warblers were singing in the shrubbery with most unseen.
We spent some time watching the lake. White-winged Scoters have been in unusually high numbers lately. We observed over 60 in the short time we watched.
One lucky birder saw a King Eider just after we departed! Very rare for Rondeau! In all those thousands of mergansers in the fall, we always hoped to see a King Eider. No such luck!
I was busy during the week, but got out to Reid one evening. Four-spotted Skimmers were out and about.
In three weeks, Oak Hairstreaks will be out!
Friday was certainly a washout! Brutal NE winds and rain most of the day kept us at bay. I drove around endlessly for lack of anything else to do. One of my last stops was Erieau, where I watched the beach and lake at Laverne Kelly Memorial Park. Wish I had been there earlier, as there was lots of action!
Dozens of shorebirds were on the sand, scurrying around.
Gulls and terns were on the move including a couple of Little Gulls.
Today, I went down to Rondeau under sunny but cool skies. The wind was still brisk out of the NE. I wanted to get out to the south beach, so I went anyway!
There were fewer shorebirds than previous visits. Knotta Knot! The 31 knots I had over a week ago was actually a record high count for Rondeau. I knew it was significant at the time.
Nothing unusual, but several Least, Semisands, Semiplovers and Dunlin were out there.
More gulls were out there, as expected. I managed to count five Little Gulls in the mix.
Along the trails, lots of Wilson's Warblers were chattering in the shrubbery.
The only other migrant warblers I came across were 3 Magnolia, 3 Canada, a couple of Mourning and a Northern Parula.
The usual mix of flycatchers was evident, most of which were breeding birds.
I saw quite a few dragonflies, including this Painted Skimmer. It did not co-operate for a good photo!
I stopped by Keith McLean Conservation Lands around 1 p.m. I took a good look around and nothing unusual struck my eye. A few common shorebirds were at the back.
The pair of Osprey were busy in nesting mode. Nice to see some finally nesting on that platform!
On to another day...
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