Frosty Days and a Pelee Visit

Prior to today, we had some nice, but cold days.  The skies have been clear and mornings frosty.

milkweed pod

Friday I  decided to go to Point Pelee--a fine day to be out.  Very few landbirds around right now, but tens of thousands of ducks were on the lake.  Large numbers of scaup and scoters (white-winged) are around.  The end of Shuster Trail always has lots of Common Goldeneye.  This is where they congregate in big numbers for some reason.  However, walking along the beach would be difficult with all the erosion.

All ponds were frozen due to the cold (as they should be this time of year), as seen along De Laurier trail.

The most interesting thing I noted was the presence of American Pipits.  They were in various places along the main road, trails and in the woods.  Perhaps they were blown in with the strong west wind on Thursday.

While in the area of the Tip, I always check the outside of the washroom walls.  Various bats tend to hang around in the corners.  This day, a Silver-haired Bat was there.

I walked out a bit of Hillman Marsh before heading home.  Several pipits were there as well in the boardwalk area.

Nearer home, there was not much to see as I passed through the old Dover Township, but one field held well over 1000 Tundra Swans.

With the clear skies, astronomy enthusiasts would have attempted to check out the Geminid meteor shower Friday night.  However, the near-full moon was just too bright to see much.

Sunday was the annual Blenheim/Rondeau Christmas Bird Count.  Seems to be a trend as it was ditto to last year with windy conditions and lots of rain. Not much to say about it though, as I did south point trail east.  Hardly a landbird to be found!  Lake was active, especially with White-winged Scoters.  I did not cover as much as I would have liked.  After getting soaked to the bone, and no relief in sight with the rain, I left early.  Very disappointing, as I look forward to this count and spending lots of time there.

Scene of south point trail