Recent Lakewatches and Things In Between

 This week I attempted some lakewatches at different locations.  It was not a good week with the camera, as I could not get on things to photograph, or the camera simply did not co-operate, lol. Hence, some photos here are from the past!

Tuesday was a rainy day, so the only option was to go to Erieau and stand under the pavilion at Laverne Kelly Memorial Park.  It is an excellent spot on a rainy day when winds are from the east.  One is somewhat protected from the wind and rain!  And there are picnic tables for convenience.

A look at the pier area showed it was not a good place to hang around.

Erieau Pier Area

There were lots of ducks moving, but no standouts.  Highlight was when Steve spotted a Red Phalarope heading east, low at the surf line.  We had good looks to  determine the species.  Perhaps it ended up at the pier area.  It is always nice to see the rarest of our phalaropes. It seems to be a good year for them, as there have been quite a few in southern Ontario reported this past week.

Pelee Bird

Wednesday I did not go too far.  The annual showing of Sandhill Cranes west of Wallaceburg continues.  It is interesting that these creatures come from Michigan every morning, then depart later in the day for the night.  We have had over 100 at times.

The St. Clair River has been extremely quiet this fall any time I have been out there.  One of the few classic lakers left went by Port Lambton one morning.

CSL Tadoussac

Thursday looked good for a lakewatch at Rondeau's dog beach.  Nothing spectacular though.......once again.  Hopefully it will be a decent day on December 17, when the Blenheim/Rondeau CBC takes place.

Checking the campground afterwards, there were quite a few sparrow types and others.  A Blue-grey Gnatcatcher seems to be stuck in the campground, working the north end mostly. We usually get a late one here every year.

I attempted to photograph it, but for whatever reason, the camera would not focus.  Just one of those days!

Ruddy Ducks are hanging out on the east side as they usually do this time of year.  There were close to 1000 when I looked on Thursday.

After leaving the park, I stopped by Keith McLean C. L.  Some Dunlin were still kicking around, and a lone Black-bellied Plover was prancing around the little island.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk at a local property.

Screech owl poking out of this box!

Today, there was a strong NNW wind, so you guessed it, I headed up to Ipperwash.  Upon arrival, the sky was littered with Ring-billed Gulls, perhaps numbering close to 3000!  I attempted a photo with my cell phone, but it is difficult to see the gulls here.

The lakewatch was quite lame with low numbers of ducks moving and not a lot of gulls after the initial movement.  At times, there was nothing to look at!  Difficult to figure out sometimes.

Afterwards, I ventured up to Pinery P.P.  I do not go there that often anymore.  It is just not the same as it used to be, as there are very few birds anymore, or so it seems.  Looking at other's eBird lists, it is the same thing.

I was on the hunt for waxwings, especially Bohemian.  I finally found a big group in Dunes campground.  I only had a brief period of time to sort through, but I did find a couple of Bohemians.  Before I could get a good look, a Sharp-shinned Hawk came through and the flock took off.  Just my typical luck.

At Erieau a few years ago

Other than that, there were very few birds to be found.

I stopped by McKeough CA for a short walk just before getting home.  It too was rather quiet today.  A few juncos were kicking around.