November Notes-Birds, Mussels and Trees

Saturday morning dawned clear, calm and crisp.  I headed down to Rondeau Park and walked south point trail first thing.  I like these type of mornings for birding.

Lots of Pine Siskins are around right now, and lesser numbers of Purple Finches. They were everywhere on this particular morning.

Speaking of finches, one wonders if we will get some redpolls this winter.  Usually they show up by now.  I doubt we will get big numbers, if any, but these creatures of the north are always nice to see.  Speaking of redpolls, the Common Redpoll I had last week at St. Clair NWA was the only one recorded in the county this calendar year (according to eBird).

Lots of Fox Sparrows are around right now as well.

A few Yellow-rumped Warblers are kicking around Rondeau, likely ones that will attempt to winter.

After checking out the park, I started heading out and received word that the Eurasian Wigeon was seen at Erieau.  As I had not seen one yet this calendar year, I stopped by the firehall to scope the raft of ducks.  Lots out there!  It took a while, but I did manage to see the male European version of wigeon. (And a hybrid as well!).

As usually is the case with these, it was too distant to photograph.  Here is a photo from the past in a similar situation.

It was quite warm by this time, so I walked the marsh (rail) trail briefly.  A Red Admiral, perhaps the last one I will see this year, was along the trail.

Sunday, we had a northerly wind so I headed north!  I first went to Sarnia, but there was not much moving there.  An Iceland Gull was patrolling the shoreline, which is likely one of the same birds that is here every winter.

I became a bit bored, so headed up towards Kettle Point.  The wind was quite brisk out of the north there, but surprisingly, not much was moving.  Quite a few Red-throated Loons were moving though.

A Black-legged Kittiwake was seen at both Grand Bend and Ipperwash to make things interesting for birders.  

I briefly stopped at Ipperwash as well.  Not long after I left there, another kittiwake was seen!  I was not far from Highland Glen CA when the alert went out, so I pulled into the place to watch the lake.  One gets a fairly good view of the lake there.  Not long after my arrival, I spotted a kittiwake moving down the lake!  Perhaps it was the previously-reported one from Ipperwash.

I was unable to get a photo as it was well out, but here is a photo of this attractive gull from a past experience.

There were three of these reported at Ipperwash.  Perhaps some of these along the lake involved the same individual moving down the shoreline.

One last walk before getting home was at Wilkesport.  Fairly warm, so Autumn Meadowhawks were flying.

Today, we woke up to another nice day.  I had no intentions of going anywhere, so just went for a long walk at Reid CA.

Along the riverbank, I found a few mussels--usual ones for the location.  Mapleleaf and Deertoe are considered vulnerable in Ontario, but quite regular along the north Sydenham.

DEERTOE

MAPLELEAF

GIANT FLOATER

I looked at trees as well.  Blue Ash is fairly abundant here, but I found this small tree in a spot of the property I had not seen one before.  This species is easily identified by the squarish stems and twigs.

Lots of impressive big old trees on the property.  Here are a couple of scenes.

The tree with the large side branch is a Chinquapin Oak

large Burr Oak

There are a couple of old wire fences one has to watch for while walking through the woods.  I have tripped on them a couple of times!  Today, I noticed this section growing right into a tree trunk.  Shows how long this fence has been there!

Rainy tomorrow......