A King Visits Rondeau and Other Notes

 On Tuesday, I ventured down to Rondeau Park.  It was one of those rare calm mornings where there was no wind.  The lake was calm, Rondeau Bay was like glass, and one could hear for long distances.

I started at dog beach, intending to do just a short lakewatch, as not much was moving.  A large raft of Red-breasted Mergansers (~2000) was just offshore south of dog beach.  Other species were mixed in, but the vast majority were mergansers.

I scoped through the raft, hoping to see something different or novel, such as a King Eider.  An eider is very rare at Rondeau, and in fact I have only seen one in the area in all my years of birding.  Every fall we hope for one, but it never materializes.  We were certainly due for one!

I scanned many times, but one time something caught my eye.  It was an adult male King Eider!!  I could not believe it, as just the day before much to my envy, Cam Chevalier saw one at the Tip of Point Pelee. (It is possible this is the very same bird, moving east).

It was too far for photos, but I put out the word about this novelty.

Craig Anderson arrived first, as he was not too far away.  I had moved closer to the raft by that time, but had lost sight of the eider.  Craig managed to spot it again.  It kept drifting out, and almost too far to see at times.  This is all I could get.

Eventually others arrived, and it was still too far out to spot.  I left to take a walk on south point trail, but meanwhile, the King Eider came in closer for a flyby.  Garry Sadler managed a decent photo, as seen here:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S155820956

I was glad others got to see it!

It was the first ever adult male King Eider I have seen.  I have seen many females or young males, but the adult is quite a stunning duck.

The lake was calm, and off south point were several Red-throated Loons.

The campground was somewhat quiet, but the 'annual' Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was lurking around.

There was not much to note on Wednesday.  I took a long walk at Reid CA, as it was another nice day.

Thursday, I went back to Rondeau on a windy day.  Nothing really of note on the lake, and the trails were quiet for birds. I certainly hope things pick up for the Christmas Bird Count on the 17th.

I checked the campground, and south of maintenance.  It was south of maintenance that seemed the most busy for birds.

White-throated Sparrow

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Some Yellow-rumped Warblers are around as usual, and I think that Audubon's is somewhere around too.  I only got two 'Myrtles' this visit.

There are lots of Northern Cardinals around, except one will not spend the winter here.  I found this fresh head at one point!

Friday started out clear, but breezy.  I just drove along the St. Clair River, walked at Dow Wetlands and Nicholl's Memorial Forest and Wetland at Wilkesport.

Dow was somewhat dead for birds, as well as Northern Short-tailed Shrews.

A large flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds was along the Sydenham at Wilkesport.

No sign of any owls in my travels lately.  It may be a quiet winter for them too!