'Burg Birder

Sarnia, St. Clair R., Snow, Sycamore

2012-01-29T21:22:00.001-05:00

Little to report today, as it was a bust. The morning started out decent weather wise, but later in the morning snow arrived. We were supposed to get 1-2 cm, but looks like almost 10 cm to me!

The seed ball I portrayed in a previous post is indeed from a Sycamore tree. They are found in areas of high moisture and can grow very large. There are a couple of prize trees just outside of Wallaceburg. In fact, a small but significant woodlot on the SE edge of Wallaceburg is named Sycamore Woods.
The bark is easily recognized by its flaky, irregular appearance that exposes the green, beige or white inner bark. That produces a striking mottled effect. I do not have a photo of an entire tree though.

The aggregate seed balls appear as solitary in American Sycamore, not to be confused with the non-native London Plane-Tree that is very similar. The seed aggregates on that appear in twos or threes.

Today I drove up to Sarnia in hopes of finding some good waterfowl. Some were reported on eBird yesterday and I struck out on most of them! The bulk of the ducks were in Lake Huron off Point Edward, consisting mostly of Long-tailed. I am not sure how many were out there, but at least 800 Long-tailed. An impressive number for location and time of year. A few White-winged Scoters were out there too. A Red-necked Grebe has been reported of late, but I sure as heck cannot find it! Not in the last couple of weeks anyway.
There were very few gulls at Sarnia, but obviously most had moved downriver to the area of Detroit Edison (Recors Point-US side) and off the old Terra plant (that place keeps changing names, so who knows what it is now!).

The only white-winged gull at Sarnia Bay I saw was a first cycle Glaucous.

Off Terra I saw an adult Thayer's Gull. I would speculate it is the same one we had at Point Edward a few weeks ago.

Two Bald Eagles were sitting in a tree at the head of Stag Island.

While viewing ducks at Point Edward, I heard a couple of Common Redpolls go over. Obviously they are on the move right now.

Through the countryside, there was little to see. I saw a few Harriers again today. As I mentioned yesterday lots are around this winter.

I checked my favourite spots along Bickford Line and Moore WMA finally had some birds around the parking lot. That is as far as I could go as the river was running higher than it has in the past few weeks. Four species of woodpeckers including Flicker were here. Flickers are always here in winter, but this is the first one this time. Creepers, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice were around too.

McKellar was a complete bust! Not sure where the birds were.

Lots of Horned Larks going over today, but in ones or twos only.

Wasp nest at McKellar

Absolutely nothing at the feeders today. Where the heck are the birds this winter???

Rondeau and Area Today

2012-01-28T19:07:00.002-05:00

With gale force winds and wet snow, one knew it had to be the weekend. The sun eventually came out in the afternoon, but with brutal winds, birding was a struggle today. I headed down to Rondeau early this morning in hopes of beating some of the snow, but by the time I got there it was coming down quite heavily.
I started at the campground meeting birders Steve, Jim and Craig who had just seen a few White-winged Crossbills at the usual spot.
We came across a few birds at the north end where a feeder is located. A couple of White-throated Sparrows were there among others.

We heard a Common Redpoll or two fly over at that time. Seems redpolls are on the move right now with a few reports in southern Ontario. In fact, I later heard another, then came across a handfull at the east end of New Scotland Line. I had no time to focus or change camera settings, but did get a quick shot.

'polls

At the visitor centre feeders, there was little activity. A pair of Tufted Titmouse was the highlight.

I headed back to the north end, and came across a small sparrow flock including 3 or 4 Field Sparrows near the churches. In the campground I heard a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a couple of crossbills. Could not see them though as visibility was poor.

I toured some back roads which were very muddy and soft. So much for a clean car, AGAIN! So much mud on the wheel rims are causing them to be unbalanced I think. That might explain the vibration at higher speeds! It was bad enough that when I got home I removed all my wheels and cleaned the mud out and rotated them. Seems better now.

Some Ring-necked Ducks were at Shrewsbury and down at Erieau, lots of Coots scattered about. Some were even having a picnic on the lawn!

Lots of Bonaparte's Gulls are around (2-300?) that likely came in with the warm spell. Nothing else unusual to report there.

bonies

I went back to Rondeau since the sun came out. I found more Field Sparrows, and in fact a pure flock of 7-8 along the edge of the beach near the traffic circle. They were rather skittish so I never got a photo.
It was too windy on the Bay side, so the crossbills probably moved to a calmer spot.

Field Sparrow...somewhere.....

Northern Harrier (lots around this winter!)

I went home via Ridgetown. There is actually open water at the lagoons, but only a few Ring-billed Gulls and Mallards. Never saw a Northern Pintail today!

One of these days something of note had to show up such as a Varied Thrush. I heard another was found in the north today at Diamond Lake, Algoma.

Weekend Is Here!

2012-01-27T19:32:00.000-05:00

young male Common Goldeneye

After a dreary and dismal week weatherwise, the sun came out this afternoon for a pleasant day. This bizarre weather (this winter) was really getting to me yesterday as the week came to a close.
The interesting thing this week was the "spring" migration of waterfowl, particularly Northern Pintail. It seems to be an annual event at some point, usually around New Year's when a sudden mild spell spurs ducks from farther south to head north. Pintails always seem to lead the pack.
Although I was working all week, as usual, I read with interest the numerous and multiple reports of waterfowl scattered throughout southern Ontario. Certainly over 500 Northern Pintail were reported, and no doubt others were stuffed in between. Ring-necked Ducks were also in the mix.
Locally I noticed an increase in Mallards, and today after work in the 'nice' weather, there were some plus a couple of Gadwall. Quite often there is an handful of Gadwall on the St. Clair River each winter, but previous to today I knew of none until I saw two today at Sombra.

two Gadwall

Generally this winter, rather few ducks have been on the St. Clair River. Most are Redhead (considerably less than 1000) plus a mix of others. Common Mergansers seem to be the next most numerous species--more than usual compared to an average winter.

After work today, I drove up the river to Sombra then through the back country before the sun set. As mentioned above, the two Gadwall south of Sombra were notable.

evening Red-tailed Hawk

I saw several Red-tailed Hawks--it has been a good winter for them around here, and three Northern Harriers in one field. Down the road from the Harriers, was a group of approximately 20 Tundra Swans in a corn field. No doubt they were influenced by the warm weather this week, as only a few have been wintering on the big river.

Tomorrow I will likely go to Rondeau. White-winged Crossbills have been reported regularly there. There seems to be a good number around the province this winter, and sightings have increased this past week.

The nearby Mountain Bluebird was still being reported yesterday. Many photos have surfaced and a few are on the OFO photo page. The bird shows a little more blue than we normally see, and it has brought up some discussion locally.

Quiz Time: Can you identify this?

Some Observations Today

2012-01-23T20:56:00.004-05:00

Strange weather. Overall it has been an extremely mild winter with some cold spells. Late last week it was cold, but today way above normal with those strong SW winds yet again. Looking at the weather forecast last night, I thought we might see a movement of puddle ducks. Although I was not out looking today, that did happen as Alan Wormington reported some "migrants" at Point Pelee. As usual, Northern Pintail topped the list.
Last year around New Year's a similar thing happened, and again pintails were numerous.
The Mountain Bluebird was not seen today even though Pete Read took a good look. Perhaps the change in weather made it move a little further.

Looking at my chickadee photos from Saturday, I thought it was neat that the camera captured snowflakes. The photo here shows one, while the chickadee was looking up towards another chickadee.

Looking at eBird reports and other sources, quite a few American Pipits have been reported lately. I had one at Erieau yesterday and Steve and Jim had four at Rondeau. Others were reported today as well along Lake Erie. Usually after New Year's they are almost absent.
As well, Turkey Vultures have been frequently reported lately. It is obvious more are wintering in Ontario as they increase in numbers.

Night-Heron Today

2012-01-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

Did some Rondeau area birding today. With the recent snow, some things are more concentrated as expected.
In Rondeau Park, I just walked around the campground. A good number of birds was at the north end as usual. Nothing new really, but you do not know until you try! I found two Yellow-rumped Warblers this time. There were a few Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Purple Finch. No other finches. White-winged Crossbills were reported yesterday, but those things are always on the move.

Outside the park there were lots of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings.

Stefina Line had surprisingly few hawks today. A Northern Flicker was perched on a tree--an expected bird for that area.

Along Bisnett Line, I found the immature Black-crowned Night-heron in the creek. It was found by Jim Burk on Friday. I have not even seen a Great Blue Heron yet this calendar year!
Winter Heron?

Going into Erieau, I spotted 3 Snowy Owls in the fields. They were difficult to find with the snow.

Snowy Owl on snow

Since the Bay is frozen, waterfowl is concentrated at Erieau. Lots to look at! Hundreds of Coots are still around--perhaps 1000, but they are spread out.

Hundreds of Tundra Swans as well that will perhaps stay if it doesn't get too cold.

Almost forgot, I heard an American Pipit fly over while I was scanning the waterfowl bonanza. Steve and Jim had four Pipits at Rondeau today as well. Three were seen in a slough!
They had White-winged Crossbills again today, just to let Dwayne know.

Common Goldeneye

A fair number of gulls too. Even a few Bonaparte's are around.

Bluebirds in Winter

2012-01-21T18:35:00.001-05:00

Today was the first chance I had to go and view the Mountain Bluebird near Shetland. Upon arrival at the scene, I saw two birds flying around. Obviously they were bluebirds--one a female Mountain and the other a female Eastern! They perched right beside the road at times, and dove into a couple of red cedars there. For long periods of time, they perched on corn stubble in the field. Lighting was no good first thing this morning, so photos are very poor.

Dwayne Murphy was also there taking photos.

Several Horned Larks and few Snow Buntings were in the field on the opposite side of the road. Also one Lapland Longspur.

Snow Buntings

Horned Larks

Afterwards, we went over to Shetland CA. It is a small CA, but often harbours Long-eared Owls in the spruces. Last week, White-winged Crossbills were reported there, but it was quiet today.

It is interesting to note that two Mountain Bluebirds are in southern Ontario this winter. In recent years, this species was almost absent for southern Ontario. A few have been in Northern Ontario. Still no record for the Rondeau Birding Area!!
The last Mountain Bluebird I looked at was at Fisher's Glen in the winter of 2000.
This most recent Mountain Bluebird was found by Peter Chapman of Hungry Hollow last Monday. He said that he never intended to go down that road initially! Goes to show what may be lurking out there.
Ironically, Pete had a female Mountain Bluebird winter at his place near Arkona in 1989. I do remember hearing about it, but I was fairly new to birding and never had the chance to go and see it as I was working six days a week at the time.
Allen Woodliffe got an excellent photo of the present bird yesterday, and it will likely be up on the OFO site soon.
On the way home, I wandered through back roads, seeing lots of northbound Horned Larks, some Snow Buntings and hawks.

Rough-legged Hawk doing the hovering thing

On the St. Clair River this afternoon, I noted hundreds of Canada Geese. I did not sort through all of them, so likely there was a Cackler or two amongst them. Also, lots of Common Mergansers this winter. A few small rafts of Redhead were around and a couple of Long-tailed Ducks off Port Lambton. An American Coot was at LGS today.

Mallard with Tundra Swan at Sombra

Also of note, the hermaphrodite Mallard (female) is still swimming around Port Lambton, although mostly alone. This bird has been around about four years!

I did come across another Northern Shrike today. I have seen more shrikes this winter than the last three combined!

Black-capped Chickadee at McKellar (note snowflakes!)

Stats

2012-01-16T20:11:00.001-05:00

Feeling a bit bored tonight, I was looking at the stats and previous posts for this blog. I guess some people are reading this old blog! I do not get many "comments", but it is interesting to see where there is interest.
Blogger provides a place where you can review the stats on your blog. You can look at pageviews for the day, week, etc, and all-time. Also where the most interest is.
For some reason, the all-time high blogpost is the one I did on Browning Island and Lake Muskoka August 14, 2010. I had a nice trip up there and wrote about it. There have been 636 pageviews!
Second is the one entitled Cave Swallow Invasion of October 30, 2010 at 451 pageviews.
Recently, Day of the Owls of December 24 is popular at 136 pageviews.
All-time pageviews is at 35,142. Yesterday there were 89.
It is also possible to see where some of the viewers get the link. It helps when fellow bloggers provide a link, and that shows through referring sites.
I do this blog for a couple of reasons: mainly for fun, but also to get information out. I enjoy reading other blogs from those who have similar interests as well.

Sunday Drive

2012-01-15T18:23:00.002-05:00

Decided to head up to Sarnia along the St. Clair River today. No ice in the river or lake which is highly unusual for this time of year!
The same bunch of Redhead, etc. was just south of Courtright and later drifting downriver across from Detroit Edison.
At LGS, there was a Common Loon, which is likely the same one from around Christmas. I did not know it was still around.

At the Shell Oil Dock, the usual contingent of Hooded Mergansers was present. They are reliably seen here every winter hanging around the pilings. Today there were at least 25.

Mergs (Hooded type)

Sarnia Bay was loaded with gulls, but I only picked out one Glaucous (2nd cycle), one Iceland (adult) and a first cycle Thayer's. There was a reliable report yesterday of a Lesser Black-backed, but I could not find it today. No grebes or coots!

Iceland Gull on Ice

At Point Edward on Lake Huron, just mostly Long-tailed Ducks (~700), which a pretty good number for there. Also 4 White-winged Scoters.

Canada Geese and Mallards at LGS

I only saw a few Snow Buntings today, but I did not roam through the countryside. Yesterday obviously a good movement of them with Longspurs, Horned Larks and also reports of American Pipits.
Talked with Mike Bouman today and he had 4 Great Blue Herons along Wilkesport Line yesterday. With the mild winter, herons have strangely been absent for the most part!

Birds in the Field

2012-01-14T18:22:00.000-05:00

American Tree Sparrow

Its the weekend, so out I went birding! I decided to do some more local birding today. I usually do that this time of year due to weather and road conditions. We finally got some snow yesterday and evening, so birds became more visible it seems. Photos not all that great as the sun did not appear. As usual, the weather forecast was wrong....all week they predicted sun for Saturday!!

I checked out the St. Clair River to Courtright and found very little. Usually it is peak time for ducks and other things, but this has been a strange year all around. A few hundred ducks were off Courtright, mostly Redhead. Only saw one Long-tailed Duck. A few Common and Red-breasted Mergansers were around.

Common Mergs

I drove through the countryside, stopping at a few spots to walk. There was a notable presence of Snow Buntings today, as well as Horned Larks and a few Lapland Longspurs. The spurs were in most of the sizable flocks. Near the end of the afternoon, I encountered a huge cloud of Snow Buntings. They were high and flying away, but I estimated about 1500 birds.

A spur and lark....

Snow Buntings, Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur

A Northern Shrike across from Bickford Oak Woods was making fun of a Rough-legged Hawk. Not able to get a photo though.

At Moore WMA, not a bird to be found! I could not go far as the river was still running high. Down the road at McKellar I found a large flock of Tree Sparrow/Juncos, but just as I was getting on them, a Sharp-shinned Hawk did its thing. Other than that, the Red-breasted Nuthatches were easily found.

A Song and a Swamp Sparrow were at one of the ponds.

Swamp Sparrow

At McKeough, more Tree Sparrows and a couple of Field Sparrows.

No owls today!

Some Wild Turkeys

Lure of the Owl

2012-01-10T21:25:00.001-05:00

The Great Gray Owl near Kingsville has certainly drawn a huge crowd. How many have gone to see it? Probably over 2000! Hard to say, but big crowds seem to appear every day.
While listening to CKLW news at noon today, another segment about it was on the air. The MNR and OPP were concerned as there have been complaints of people not being mindful of safety and also not giving the owl space. You should stay up to 40m from it!
I thought that it was funny as this fearless owl practically land at your feet! While most people would not deliberately approach the owl, this creature will approach humans.
It is true that some people are all over the road and are not mindful of traffic, so safety is a concern. I have seen this before and some people just do not use common sense. Human nature for some I guess.
Maybe it is time for this owl to move on.......and some people should move on once they get a good look. Get your look and go.
I am afraid it would not be me reporting an owl like this on the listserv. It creates too much of a circus--many rarities do anymore. (my opinion).

Owls are very intriguing to people. There is just something about them. Local owl prowls attract dozens of people of all types. It is incredible really, as I heard one local prowl attracted over a 100 people!

I think owls were the first bird I ever remember as a youngster. When I was very young, I recall my parents pointing out owls sitting on the fence posts in the backyard. Obviously they were Screech Owls. I was probably only four years old, but the sight is etched in my mind!
We have always had Screech Owls within Wallaceburg, and even now you may get a glimpse of one. Just this evening, I heard one in the yard giving its tremolo sound! Strangely, this is the first one I have heard in the neighbourhood since last winter. They are getting scarcer as the larger and older trees are disappearing and more lights are up. I think there are too many lights as practically every pole has a street light. Also, some neighbours seem to be afraid of the dark as they have to have their outdoor lights on all night. Seems to serve no purpose except contribute to light pollution and waste energy!

parent owl keeping watch

Years in the past, a family group would show up in the yard in April. Been a while since I have seen that happen. They are amusing to watch. One time I watched the parents catch earthworms and feed them to the youngsters at dusk.

The Youngsters

It is a good owl year for at least Snowy Owls as you know. Actually it is huge invasion year as many areas have reported multiple individuals. It is certainly the best winter I have had for them.
Addendum: Spotted a Snowy Owl today January 11 just west of Wallaceburg on my way home from work.

Maybe this weekend I should go out and look for some owls.....

K.P.-P.P-Nuts-No Dice

2012-01-08T22:01:00.000-05:00

Just a short posting today. I went up to Kettle Point and Pinery today for a change. Another very nice day, but obviously too nice.
I checked out Ipperwash Beach and Kettle Point for Purple Sandpiper. No such shorebird, so no dice. It is probably still present somewhere. The road (Parkway Dr.?) along Ipperwash beach is always interesting because of the coniferous trees. It is a good flyway for small birds and attracts lots of chickadees, nuthatches, finches, etc. Noteworthy was a small flock of Common Redpolls flying off a birch tree.
Ipperwash beach is unique as you can drive your car all along the beach.

I decided to go into Pinery Park and check out some good spots. Usually they are good this time of year, but with this strange weather, birds are spread out. I had heard that the Red-headed Woodpeckers were hanging out on Heritage Trail. Three elusive ones were present today! Nice to get them in winter. We used to get them regular north of Wallaceburg, especially on the CBC but have not for a few years.
The trail along the river at Riverside Campground is usually good as in the past I have had Northern Shrike, Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, etc. Not much today, but had a Robin among other things.
Tufted Titmouse was plentiful as expected. I would have obtained some good photos, but had the wrong setting on the camera since lighting was dull!

bathing Titmouse

On the way home, I stopped at McKellar Tract again and found the pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches right away. I was looking for owls in the pines and I did flush an owl. Not sure what it was though, but it seemed big.

R. B. Nuts

Down the road I stopped at Moore WMA and found a Yellow-rumped Warbler! I could not go far as the river was still running high. This spot harbours the warblers every winter, although last year I could not find any. I have found Yellow-rumped here every winter since at least the mid 1990's.

Coot's Paradise

2012-01-07T18:17:00.002-05:00

I had to call this blog something! Same old stuff today, but it was a beautiful day to be out--unusual for a weekend.
I just birded the Rondeau area this morning. Not many photo opps but birds seemed to be rather skittish today.
The reason I mentioned coots is that Erieau is crawling with them! For the past few weeks many have been around Shrewsbury, but the Bay froze in that area and the Coots moved to Erieau. They were in the channel, marina, harbour, Bay, on the rocks, beach, etc. According to Steve and Jim, they counted about 1900. Must be some sort of record for this time of year.

At Rondeau Park first thing, I started in the campground where you can actually find some birds. Same birds though. Right off I was greeted with a moving flock of kinglets, creepers, chickadees, Tree Sparrows and even a male Purple Finch.

At the usual spot near the north washroom, the sparrow flock was in the shrubbery. At least two Field Sparrows were within.

sparrow in the Field

An American Robin was nearby as well.

South Point Trail was quiet as expected with only a few Tree Sparrows. I tried to photograph a gull in mid flight which actually turned out fairly well.

After Rondeau, I headed over to Erieau. One Snowy Owl was in the field the same as last week. I caught sight of another from the viewing stand along Marsh Trail. Apparently another Snowy was down Lagoon Road. In the marsh were a couple of Swamp Sparrows and a few Tree Sparrows. No sign of Marsh Wren or Common Yellowthroat but I think they are still around.
Few ducks at Erieau, but I did see a Surf Scoter out in the Bay (flying away).
Horned Larks seemed plentiful today as some were flying over and I noticed lots in fields. Some Snow Buntings too.

The lagoons still had some Northern Shovelers.

Bird's Feet in concrete!

Up this way, the female Ruddy Duck was still on the Snye. A rather rare duck here especially in winter.

Another Sunset

2012-01-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

Weather has been pretty good this week and the days are getting longer. Things are looking up.

Nothing new in the way of birds here.

Seven Snowy Owls were recorded on the St. Clair CBC on Sunday (Chatham-Lake St. Clair). An impressive total of 87 species tallied in less than ideal weather conditions. This count always does well in mild weather! Lots of ducks of most species including Blue-winged Teal. Many high counts achieved.

Sunset today over Walpole Island today

Trying to complete a restoration project started in the summer of 2010! Finished the wiring today. Just a few odds and ends to do......

Back to the Grind

2012-01-02T21:57:00.000-05:00

Nothing really new to report here. Winter finally arrived today as I went back to work, so we will see how long that lasts. Looking back on the year, it was certainly interesting. Probably the strangest thing was the weather. Last spring was the wettest I have seen in recent memory and certainly quite cool.

The variety of birds was there if one worked hard, but there was a general lack of birds. That "lack" seemed to continue this fall and early winter! The continuous strong SW winds all fall were appealing for Tip watching at Point Pelee, but not a heck of a lot showed.

Sanderling at Pelee's Tip

It was a good fall for jaegers and some gulls in Ontario though as many "watch spots" recorded good numbers. There were probably three good days at Point Edward this fall, two of which fell on weekends. I managed to get two of those (September 5 and especially October 1). Usually the good days fall on work days!

The spring migration can be remembered for a number of good birds including the influx of Yellow-throated Warblers. I managed one self-found of that species in Rondeau. Another was quite reliable at the McArthur's yard.

Life birds are few and far between for me as I do not usually 'chase' birds unless they are local. It is fun to find your own stuff and one can only hope something of note crosses your path. I remember Dennis Rupert saying that many of the good birds will come your way eventually (in his case, Sarnia). The Ivory Gull I found on the St. Clair River (1995) was the last rare gull he needed for the area.

For life birds this year, the Neotropic Cormorant (found by Brandon Holden) at Wheatley was neat to see, as I got skunked on two attempts of the previous one many years ago. (I have a regular Monday-Friday job to go to!).

The Razorbill at Niagara was the other this fall, as I did not have the opportunity to go after the previous one there.

Some other good self-found birds included the Glossy Ibis at Port Lambton on May 14. It was a surprise and just over a week later I saw two more at Hillman Marsh!

It has been a long time since I have found a mega-rarity in Ontario. I suppose the last good one was the Black-throated Gray Warbler at Rondeau (2nd time!). It is almost a dirt bird now as I have seen three in Ontario without actually 'chasing' any.

Lots of good birds have been found in Ontario in the past year and that can largely be attributed to the number of birdwatchers we have out there. It is a popular and growing activity. And so fun and fascinating!

It was also a pretty good summer and fall for butterflies. Looking for butterflies is as fun and interesting as birdwatching. The Southern (Northern Oak) Hairstreak made a decent showing this year north of Wallaceburg. I guess that is my claim to fame as in 2008 I found the only colony known to Canada. I got lots of good photos of butterflies (just scroll back to previous blogs).

Horace's Duskywing at Pelee

We will see what this year brings......

Last Kick at the Can (2011)

2011-12-31T16:05:00.000-05:00

Today I went as far as Point Pelee. I originally thought I'd go New Year's Day instead, but looking at the weather forecast, it turned me off. It will probably be nice though, as today's forecast was totally wrong (as usual).
It was supposed to be sunny (did anyone see the sun?).
I started at the severely eroded Tip noting quite a few Bonaparte's Gulls.

Walking back along the trail, I caught sight of a red morph Screech Owl. I could not get close, so this photo will have to do. This is only the fourth of this colour morph I have seen. I heard there is another up by Sanctuary Pond, but I have not seen it yet.

Usually this time of year, lots of birds are along Shuster Trail eating the berries. There was a fair number of birds today including White-throated Sparrows, Robins, Cardinals, a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Carolina Wren. Speaking of wrens, I turned up a House Wren here! I heard it first, then it popped up briefly, but I was not able to get a photo before it disappeared. Nothing was responding to pishing today (like all month!).

As I drove by the entrance to the campground, I heard a Robin and other birds. I stopped and got out to find quite a movement of birds. About 15-20 Yellow-rumped Warblers were here with many Robins and a few Golden-crowned Kinglets. They were quickly moving, so I lost sight of them.
More Robins were on Chinquapin Trail.
Absolutely nothing at De Laurier!

On the way out, I drove through the Onion Fields area and could not find the two Snowy Owls I saw earlier on the way in.
I had hopes this weekend of seeing a Black-legged Kittiwake in the area, but that was dashed upon learning that one was found dead yesterday.

I motored on up to Lighthouse Cove and saw lots of gulls. Quite a few Great Black-backed here today. At least 3 Double-crested Cormorants.
At Jeannette's Creek at least 3 Great Blue Herons were along the river, some ducks and a Kingfisher. I could hear tons of ducks over in Bradley's!

Mitchell Bay water tower in background

On the way home, two Snowy Owls were north of Grande Pointe and one just south of Wallaceburg. So, only five Snowy Owls today. No doubt there are more out there. All have been way out in fields. The only one up close was the very first one I saw this month north of Wallaceburg.
More Snowy Owl blobs:

Golden-crowned Kinglets seem to be around as I encountered them in various spots today.

Final Days of 2011

2011-12-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I birded mostly the Rondeau area. Weather was OK to start but quickly turned very windy and with wet snow. As usual, it was windy at Erieau. Seems it has been very windy all fall there and never suitable to walk McGeachy Pond dike.
I started at Ridgetown S. L. where tons of geese and swans are hanging out. Two Ross's Geese were present, but these have been there since at least December 18 the day of the Rondeau Count.

In Rondeau Park, I just checked the campground. Just my luck a Sharp-shinned Hawk was present and small birds were practically non-existent. I did find a small flock of Tree Sparrows with one Field Sparrow. It is not unusual to find a Field Sparrow or two in Rondeau during winter. A couple of years ago, Jim Burk and I found a pure flock of nine Field Sparrows!

Field Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Stopped at Shrewsbury and noted about 1000 American Coots. I think there were more now than on the CBC. Hardly anything else around, but it was neat to see that many coots!

Part of the Coot Convention

Going into Erieau, a Snowy Owl was in a corn field, but that was the only one I found down there.
Very little to look at the docks, but a Horned Grebe and a Double-crested Cormorant were near the Government dock.

cormie

Horny Grebe

After lunch in Chatham, I swung around to Grande Pointe to look for Snowy Owls. Not a one!
Mitchell Bay had no waterfowl in sight even though the water was all open--highly unusual for this time of year.

Stopped at Bear Creek Marsh SW of 'Burg. This is always an excellent spot in early winter, especially for the CBC. Lots of ducks can be found here, including desirable winter species such as Gadwall, Pintail, Ring-necked. I did get a Pintail male this time.
Almost always there are Great Blue Herons (2 today) and Belted Kingfishers.
In the past I have had Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's Snipe (2x) on the CBC.
Today a pure flock of 5 Song Sparrows was in the reeds. In one open spot, 2 Mute Swans and a male Redhead were competing for the open water.

Coming towards Wallaceburg, I found a Snowy Owl where I had one on the 24th. Obviously it hid out of sight for the CBC!

Today I checked out the St. Clair River. It was nice and calm and the sun was out for a while. Virtually nothing on the river--weird or what? Lots of geese and swans were behind Fawn Island, but not too visible. A Belted Kingfisher was on its usual perch off the Greenfield Ethanol Plant.

I drove back inland along Bickford Line and stopped at McKellar Tract. Finally some birds! A large flock of Juncos with Tree Sparrows and Chickadees was present with some woodpeckers (one Flicker). The best species was Red-breasted Nuthatch. Two of them were chattering up a storm and moving around quite a bit. Not sure what had them agitated. These are good for the Wallaceburg area at least on CBC's. Usually there are only one or two at a feeder.

Long-eared Owl at McKellar

I looked around for owls, but found none. I have had Long-eared here in the past, roosting in the White Pines.
At one point I thought I heard a bluebird, but never heard it again. Good spot for one anyway.

Wallaceburg Count Results and News

2011-12-28T14:02:00.001-05:00

Nothing much smew here. Yesterday was the Wallaceburg CBC and as usual the weather was horrible. Monday was beautiful and today is very nice, so go figure.
Total species ended up at 73 with lots of "count week" birds. Looks like the Snowy Owls from Christmas Eve Day left with Santa Claus! With constant wet snow and some fog, visibility was not good for birding yesterday.
There were no real surprises but some notable birds included Northern Shoveler (1 -3rd time on count), Northern Pintail (1), Ruddy Duck (2nd time on count) , Common Loon (not looking well), Peregrine Falcon, Sandhill Crane (4 -2nd time on count), Pileated Woodpecker (6th time since 2003), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (5th time on count), Rusty Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds and Purple Finch (4th time on count).
Ducks were incredibly absent (few Redhead!) and only one Canvasback. Usually we have thousands.
Many species were absent or in very low numbers. No thrushes and Tufted Titmouse was at a low 17 (we usually lead Canada).
We had a new high of 5 Bald Eagles. There is a visible nest where a couple were hanging out yestereday.

All in all, the diehard counters persevered and found some decent birds. Interest seems to be waning for CBC's at least in this area as it is difficult to get a lot of people out anymore.

Bonaparte's Gull (rare for winter here)

Today I took a leisurely drive up the St. Clair and to Point Edward. Since it was the day after the count, weather was nice. At Point Edward, an adult Thayer's Gull was making rounds. I think this is the same one that comes back every year!

Thayer's Gull

Lots of Long-tailed Ducks as usual, but no scoters. The scoters are conspicuously absent in these parts this year so far.

In Sarnia Bay, a 2nd cycle Glaucous Gull and and 1st cycle Iceland Gull were present. Lots of ducks there, especially mergansers. Some coots too.
Wild Turkeys: some seen yesterday

The Count is On

2011-12-26T20:13:00.001-05:00

In less than 24h, the Wallaceburg 2011 CBC (Crazy Birder's Club) will be history. Speaking of history, this count has been held since 1986 (I have been doing it since 1987). I recall 1986, just out of university, but I was working 6 days a week, so could not do it.
Today I just checked out the St. Clair River. It was sure unlike any previous year with lack of ducks and gulls. Such a weird year with few birds anywhere!

weird gull

I started at Brander Park. Just as I was about to leave there, a flock of 12-15 blackbirds came in and briefly alighted in the trees of the woodlot. I never got much of a look, but I certainly heard several Rusty Blackbirds so I am not sure what else was with them.

Up at Lambton Generating Station, the Common Loon was all by itself preening on the water. Not a single other duck in sight!

A twist to yesterday's loon....Steve Charbonneau saw a Red-throated Loon just downriver from LGS. Wanting to see it, I headed up right away but only found a Common Loon in the area, as posted on my blog yesterday.

I will post another photo of my Red-throated from 2005 at the exact same spot! (the one and only I have ever seen on the St. Clair).

Things we will not see tomorrow are rafts of ducks such as Canvasback. I hope they are still up north!

Owls are nice to find at any time, let alone on a count. Snowy is a good bet tomorrow. There were at least 3 in the circle on Saturday, so I hope at least one is found.

Short-eared Owl

Weather does not look all that great for tomorrow. As usual, it looks like the worst day of the week for weather. Last year was not too good either. Never fails!

I wish...!!...

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS !

2011-12-25T16:23:00.000-05:00

Christmas Loon

2011-12-25T13:29:00.000-05:00

This fellow was swimming off Willow Park in front of the Lambton Generating Station this morning.

not so common Common Loon

I managed to get a few photos before it submerged. I never saw it again! How long can loons stay under water? I waited a good 20 minutes and even had a clear view upstream and downstream, but never saw it surface.

This is the exact same spot I had a Red-throated Loon in early winter 2005.

While there, 3 Long-tailed Ducks flew downriver. A Belted Kingfisher was nearby.
Today, there were 7 Sandhill Cranes on Stewart Line!!

I was out doing a bit of scouting for the upcoming CBC. No Snowy Owls today. I guess I overdid it yesterday!
The Great Gray Owl is apparently still present today. As you probably know by now it is the first Essex County record and the southernmost record for Ontario! I think the most southerly one previously was at the Ipperwash Army Camp more than ten years ago as found by Alf Rider.
The White-eyed Vireo is still present at John R. Park Homestead. Jim Burk photographed it this morning!
I hope this is OK to post here. Photo by James T. Burk:

Day of the Owls

2011-12-24T14:54:00.002-05:00

Well, Christmas came a day early. There may be very few passerines around, but owls have arrived en masse.
With the announcement late yesterday of a Great Gray Owl near Kingsville in Essex County, a birder could not pass this one up.
I headed down this morning arriving about 08:45 (just could not get up too early!). Actually I was about to turn onto McCain Rd. to look in the last reported location of the owl, but I saw a number of vehicles ahead on Rd. 2. Undoubtedly this was where the subject owl was perched.

Upon arrival I saw several familiar faces, and the face of a Great Gray Owl. It was some distance into the meadow, but patience paid off and it came right to the road. As is often the case with these denizens of the north, they are somewhat fearless of humans.

Barb Charlton was there because she actually need this one for her big year list! I forgot to ask her what she was at but I think it is around 321.

After looking at this for a while, I headed down McCain Rd. where a Snowy Owl was seen, then to the Pelee Onion Fields. Two Snowy Owls so far!

Near Hillman Marsh was the first of four Bald Eagles I saw today.

On the way to Erieau, I sighted a Northern Mockingbird on a wire near Port Alma.

Northern Mockingbird

At Erieau, I found three Snowy Owls on the rocks. I think there were five on Sunday. All heavily-barred individuals. A Double-crested Cormorant was still hanging around on the rocks.
Snowy Owl blobs:

I walked the R/R track trail and not surprisingly, no small birds. On the way out I sighted a Great Horned Owl along the shoreline in a willow. Another "great" owl.

Thinking there had to be some Snowy Owls near Grande Pointe, I swung around by that way and spotted two north of the village in a usual spot near Marsh Line. Much too far for photos.

Still not done, I took back roads to Wallaceburg SW of town and sighted yet another Snowy Owl. Very distant, but this one will hopefully be found on Tuesday for our CBC. Way too far away for a photo!
So, an eight Snowy day--most I have seen in one single day!
I heard there was another Snowy Owl just outside town, so I went for that too! Chalk up nine.

On more thing. I headed over to Stewart Line and was delighted to find two Sandhill Cranes. None had been sighted since Josh Bouman's report of 30 last Sunday. Another species required for Tuesday.

Maybe I should look for Short-eared Owls in a couple of hours......

Christmas Birding?

2011-12-23T18:30:00.000-05:00

With the longest days of the year now behind us, things will be getting better (I hope!). There was no time for birding during the week recently as the days were too short. Although I had an unexpected day off on Tuesday, there just is not much around. Today I was off after lunch and drove around a bit, finding nothing. For small birds, finding two Horned Larks and a flock of starlings in an hour is just plain silly!

Looks like the Snowy Owls and Sandhill Cranes have left the area as I have kept an eye out this week. Maybe more will show. Our CBC is on Tuesday, so I sure hope some birds come in.

Late this afternoon the sun came out so I just went out to Port Lambton to look around. It was a nice view along the Snye at MacDonald Park, but not a single bird anywhere! A Common Goldeneye was up the river across from the old orchard, but that has been around a few days.

I will head out somewhere tomorrow, but it will be down to Lake Erie. Perhaps Erieau, or even to look for that Great Gray Owl near Kingsville!

Horrific Day

2011-12-20T17:54:00.001-05:00

As I drove to work this morning, I heard on the news that there was a massive fire at a marina in Port Lambton. I was behind a line of spruce trees, so could not see in that direction. My heart sank as I could see a huge plume of black smoke from just outside Wallaceburg. Here we go again I thought. A big fire in March 1992 destroyed 29 boats and our antique speedboat.

As usual, the news on the radio was not clear, so I had no idea what building was involved as I raced to the scene. Upon arrival I could see the west end of storage building 2 in flames. There was no stopping this blaze with close to 70 boats and several fancy cars inside. It is still burning as I write this at 5 p.m.
Apparently the blaze started around 7 a.m. I heard what the likely cause was, but I will refrain from mentioning it here (a freak accident?). With some boats within worth over a million each, you can imagine the terrific cost of damage here.
Remarkably, an identical building only twenty feet beside it was saved by the hard-working firefighters. It was amazing it did not go up with the tremendous heat involved.
Naturally, I could not get to my work building, so for the first couple of hours I stayed at friend's place down the road. We had some ongoing work in the building, so there is a loss there. Things are very tough right now as it is.
The smoke could be seen from long distances. Even residents across Lake St. Clair around Belle River could see the plume.

My work building at far right....

I did not have my camera this morning, although I almost brought it today. I came back later to snap some photos. Afterwards, I drove upriver and into the back country looking for birds. As this incredible lack of birds 'trend' continues, I found practically nothing!

Submitted photos:

A link to a news story:
http://m.torontosun.com/2011/12/20/marina-fire-causes-millions-in-damage-air-quality-concerns

Kaye E. Barker near Courtright

(note smoke at far left)

Tundra Swans near Sombra

Another Count in the Bag

2011-12-18T21:29:00.001-05:00

Today was Rondeau/Blenheim CBC. I have been doing this one since 1989, mostly in Rondeau Park. The trend continues with fewer birds overall, especially in the park. One would think it would level off, but the downward spiral was here again this year. The bizarre weather late this fall certainly did not help.
A bit of snow fell overnight.

I arrived early to listen for owls. I heard a Great Horned right off, but only briefly. I managed to call in a Screech Owl. It came right in and flew around me for a bit. With the little light, I could see that it was a red morph! Only the third one of those I have seen.

Maris Apse helped me in the south part of the park, then later in the campground. The south Point trail was terribly quiet and we did not see much until we got back on the old Dillon Trail. Even that was not much. Actually we could not do the Dillon due to high water. It was just like a wet spring! Unbelievable. The Dillon used to be a driveable road across the park, but high water in the early '70's made it impassable. It goes across a large slough in the middle of the park which is sometimes good for birds. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrows, Winter Wrens and others come to mind from past years.

Walking up Harrison, we manged to hear the token Pileated Woodpecker for the count. Phew!

Notable on the lake was an incredible number of Red-breasted Mergansers. I think the entire count ended up over 8000 birds which smashed the previous record.

There was absolutely nothing around the visitor centre when we walked through. We sat there for lunch, and still nothing, but a Crow flew over to get us excited. Later a few birds came in, but like all feeders in the is area, they are not being used. I have never seen things so quiet around feeders by this time of year.
Up at the campground, we did find some birds. We chased around a large flock of Tree Sparrows/Juncos for a long time. We managed to pick out 3 Field Sparrows (there were actually six according to an earlier counter). A Yellow-rumped Warbler was following these around as well. First warbler I have heard of in the campground this winter.
Four Purple Finches were working the campground. Turns out these were the only ones for the count.
Other noteworthy birds that others found were 10 Snow and 2 Ross's Geese at Ridgetown, a flock of 17 Eastern Meadowlarks (!) near Blenheim, Sandhill Crane at the landfill, 5 or 6 Snowy Owls, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red-headed Woodpecker, Double-crested Cormorant (2 at Erieau), Northern Goshawk, several Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow and a couple of White-winged Crossbills.

Preliminary species total was 101.

Off the east side of Rondeau, we observed an interesting formation of sand. A spit is forming! With all the weird wind this fall, sand is getting moved around.

Arkona Birds

2011-12-17T18:02:00.003-05:00

Scene along the Ausable north of Rock Glen

Just got back from a nice day of birding around Arkona. It snowed all morning! Something about Arkona as it always gets snow. Anyplace else can be dry and/or clear!
As expected numbers of birds were low. Best bird was an adult Golden Eagle over the Ausable River at Rock Glen (told you so yesterday!). For some reason it is reliable almost every year.
I like Rock Glen and used to specifically do the whole place first thing in the morning for the count. The above photo shows an outcropping at a scenic spot quite a ways downriver from the falls. Lots of Hemlock trees there.
When I was young, we went up there to hunt for fossils. The area is well picked over now, but some still are found. Today I found a brachiopod and a couple other types.

The Ausable River was running high and very turbid, so nothing on it. We did find 3 Common Mergansers at a gravel pit pond at the end of the day.
Up near Joany's Woods, we found a 'flock' of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Nice to see at least 15. I think that is the most I have seen in one spot in winter, and certainly on a Christmas Count. I've had up to ten or so at my secret winter spot north of Wilkesport one winter.
Sparrows were virtually absent, but usually are scarce on this count. Steve and I managed to find a White-throated under some Norway Spruce on a property we look at. We had a few Song Sparrows and only a few Tree Sparrows.
Juncos were around and we managed to find a nice male 'Oregon' at a feeder. We quite often find one on this count (I mentioned that one also yesterday!). A male Eastern Towhee was a nice find near the north end. Pete Chapman found this one yesterday while scouting.

A Northern Shrike along Arkona Rd. N. was a nice

find too.
Harriers were numerous, which was unusual for this count. We had five or six which is a new high for our area.
Owls were scarce, but Pete had 8 Screech while checking early this morning.

We had all the usual 5 species of woodpecker, including two Pileated in a reliable spot.
Finches were scarce but we had a few Pine Siskins.

I will try and find out tomorrow final total for this count.
Just got word of a nice winter bird near Cedar Beach (west of Kingsville). Jim Burk found a White-eyed Vireo on the Cedar Creek CBC today.

NOTE: photos here do not apply to today!
More later.

Tis the Season

2011-12-16T18:50:00.000-05:00

Here we are in the midst of Christmas Bird Counts (CBC's) already. Difficult to get in the mood as we have had mild temperatures, virtually no snow and record amounts of rain. A year ago there was a record amount of snow east of Sarnia and up Arkona way. I suppose Hamilton birders are excited though with the unbelievable sightings there lately!

The first count I participate in is the Kettle Point. I always join Pete Chapman in his home area around Arkona. Last year we had limited walking due to the tremendous amount of snow, but we did find some birds.
Rock Glen CA, known for fossils, is at Arkona and in the past I did that in morning. It is an interesting place and I recorded some interesting birds. The trusty Ruffed Grouse was always there, but in recent years has vanished. Quite often I would see a Golden Eagle soaring over the Ausable River.
Nearby one year, we found a couple of Savannah Sparrows at a roadside scrape (Seems to be a reliable habitat for that species in winter!)along with an "Oregon" Junco.
Last year Pete had the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at his feeder. It finally vanished December 30.

The Kettle Point count is always followed by the Rondeau/Blenheim, so it is a tiring weekend. At Rondeau I am on my feet all day, doing the south half of the park and looking for species that others missed at the north end (!). We always seem to find something. There used to be Ruffed Grouse in Rondeau, but not sure if that is true now.
I never had anything really spectacular there, but some things like Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Towhee, Brown Thrasher, American Pipit, Eastern Bluebird were notables in the past.

The windy year!

Hopefully wind will not be an issue on the Rondeau count. Some years in the past we have had brutal winds! One year I had to cover the south beach, and I could only go so far due to lack of beach and gale force winds.

Ruddy Ducks on St. Clair River

(rare for this area in winter!)

Wallaceburg CBC seems to like the 27th. Colder weather is always better for this one. I have been doing this one since I got into this birdwatching nonsense back in 1987. I did not know what the heck I was doing, but came up with some pretty good birds I do recall.

Happy Counters at Duthill (1987)

(My photo was too horrible to post here)

The next couple of years I had some excellent birds in the yard. In 1988 a Yellow-headed Blackbird came to the feeder. The next year, as bizarre as this was, a Northern Shrike was hanging around the neighbourhood. Unusual for within town. Also in 1988 an American Coot was on the Sydenham within town (first for the count) and it hung around for a month.

This year, it will be interesting to see what we get. Snowy Owls should be in the mix. There have been at least three within the Wallaceburg circle lately. We have only had one Sandhill Crane (2009). The recent ones I have been reporting on, I have not seen since Monday. Maybe they will show up on Walpole Island.

Speaking of that place, what about Northern Bobwhite? We have not seen them in years. the one year I did Walpole, I recall that Steve and I found a covey of them, not far from that Saw-whet Owl we almost walked by in open deciduous woods! I heard that there are still some Bobwhite towards the south end of the island, but difficult to find. Walpole is really the only spot left in Ontario that "wild" Northern Bobwhite still exist. Occasionally I used to see them off the island as well, but not in many years.

Rondeau South Point

Weather looks fairly decent for this weekend. A little breezy perhaps, but it has been windy all fall!

Some Recent Observations

2011-12-11T18:04:00.001-05:00

Got out today and ended up doing much more driving that I wanted to. With the lack of birds around, one has to roam around! I ended up at Rondeau again first thing, checking the campground, then around the visitor centre. I wanted to go out Marsh Trail, but AS USUAL strong SW winds again today, so it would have been unbearable. I guess we will have to live them!

I found the Chipping Sparrow again but not most of the other birds from yesterday. A Purple Finch near maintenance and a Robin were different. The visitor centre feeders became active after the local Cooper's Hawk had left. I think there were up to five Tufted Titmouse, so likely a family group.

Outside the park, I stopped south of Morpeth to scope the lake. Very few ducks still and no scoters. Usually there are some scoter, but I do not know where they are this fall. I noticed at least four Horned Grebes as well. John Lamey came along and the discussion was lack of birds lately. In fact he does not recall things so lack-lustre down this way.

Hey You!

I continued up to Ridgetown lagoons which were mostly frozen like most other still bodies of water this weekend. Nothing new there from yesterday.

I did some touring north of Wallaceburg and some walking but saw few birds. I did come across a Field Sparrow at McKeough CA accompanying a Song Sparrow and a couple of Tree Sparrows. Along the floodway, I noted 8 Red-tailed Hawks while I stood in one spot. It seems that there are lots of those everywhere right now. Only one Rough-legged today. Numerous Kestrels.

Late this afternoon, I again headed north of Wallaceburg, travelling along the St. Clair River first. Some ducks are in including lots of Bufflehead. A female Green-winged Teal looked out of place among Mallards at the Sombra ferry dock.
I sat for a while at my favourite park -Seager (Ivory Gull spot!). A surprise was a Horned Grebe floating downriver with the current. They are rather uncommon on the river, but it was not one I was expecting while sitting there today.

I wanted to check for Sandhill Cranes, so I timed myself heading south on back roads. I was delighted to find a young Northern Shrike since it was the first in a year!! Rather distant.

imm. Northern Shrike!

Farther down near Sombra, I was surprised to find what appeared to be a Bald Eagle nest in a woodlot. Had no idea it was there! Location will remain a bit fuzzy here.

Still farther down, I saw a white bump in a field which I knew had to be a Snowy Owl. This looked like a female, but different from the one near Becher.

Snowy Owl

At Stewart Line, I noticed flocks of Sandhill Cranes circling around and it appeared the 70 are still with us. However, they headed over to Walpole Island just north of the bridge. I did find half a dozen along Stewart Line though. It will be interesting to see how long they linger around. Sixteen days I hope!

Sandhill Cranes in the Sunset

Crossbills, Chippie, Cranes Today

2011-12-10T16:05:00.001-05:00

I started out at Rondeau's campground first thing this morning. It was a clear crisp day for birding. The campground seems to be the best spot around for a variety of things, and I was not disappointed. First off I heard a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at the south end. I never did see it though. Near the north end, where most birds are, I milled about for a good half hour. Best species was White-winged Crossbill. A flock of about a dozen came into a spruce tree, then a cedar tree in front of me.

White-winged Crossbills!

A number of juncos were feeding on weed seeds. Amongst them was a Chipping Sparrow. While watching those, likely another sapsucker came in which at least I got a good look at. It was making quite a bit of noise before I saw it. As I was just about to leave the spot, a Fox Sparrow came in out of nowhere to join the group.
Also seen were Brown Creepers, Golden-crowned Kinglets and Tree Sparrows. Lots of Blue Jays were around this morning as well. Yellow-rumped Warblers seem to be absent again this winter.
South Point Trail was very quiet, but I did get a good look at a Pileated Woodpecker--something I need to see next Sunday!
As I left the park, I heard a Pine Siskin at the gate, but did not pursue it.

I drove some back roads including Sinclair's Line and Stefina Line not seeing much. Steve Charbonneau had a female Eastern Towhee at Sinclair's Bush. Also he had a Wilson's Snipe near Blenheim.
I looked for Snipe at the usual Stefina spot, but came up empty. A cow was also looking for snipe it seems.

Snipe Hunting

Erieau was rather quiet but just outside the village a pair of Sandhill Cranes was in a field.

Hardly a thing at the R/R and McGeachy. Only a few Tree Sparrows, a Swamp Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow.

Ridgetown Waterfowl Festival

I decided to swing by Ridgetown Lagoons. It was quite impressive with waterfowl in the back pond with hundreds of Canada Geese, Tundra Swans and ducks. A Green-winged Teal was the only notable duck among Mallard, Black, Shoveler, Bufflehead and Hooded Merganser.

Shoeless Joe's shoes??

Seventy Sandhills

2011-12-08T18:12:00.001-05:00

A nice day today, so with the little light left after work, I toured around looking for "S" birds (Sandhill Cranes, Snowy Owls, Short-eared Owls). Well, I could not find the Snowy Owl I found a week ago, but it is still there somewhere. Dave Skinner Photographed it yesterday: Dave's blog

Short-eared Owls were certainly a long-shot and I had no luck. With loss of habitat, they are declining, and this area is no exception. I would likely have to drive considerable distance to find some, or just get lucky as I did a year ago seeing one hunting roadside as I drove home.

Just before it got dark, I checked for Sandhill Cranes, and was happy to find the congregation of 70 or so on Stewart Line. I thought they had left, as I had not seen them since Saturday. I think this is the latest I have seen them around Wallaceburg and certainly an impressive number.

With the days so short, it is frustrating, going to work in the dark, and coming home as it gets dark! Each morning I stop at Port Lambton dock to check the river. Little to see at that early hour, but some ducks and geese are around. Yesterday something was flying around and set down on the water in front of me. I could only speculate that it may have been a Red-necked Grebe. The profile fit anyway! Oh well, it is nice to dream.

Winter listing continues and birds are being added to the Ontario winter list: Ontario Winter List

Josh Vandermeulen is doing a good job of keeping track.

Wi Fi Birds

2011-12-06T19:49:00.001-05:00

More Owls and Gulls

2011-12-04T16:03:00.001-05:00

Ventured down to Point Pelee today as a strong SW wind drew me to the Tip. I did not see much, but afterall it is December! Lots of Red-breasted Mergansers still going by. Other ducks included White-winged and Surf Scoters and a single Black Scoter. Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Mallard and a single Long-tailed. Also three male American Wigeon flew by about 10 a.m.

Montrealais in Pelee Passage

A shorebird caught my eye, but it was just a Sanderling. Fairly late though!
The only loon I saw was a very distant Common. About 6 Horned Grebes were around.
Richard Carr joined me after a while and he said that he had just seen a Snowy Owl out on Concession E. Yesterday, he also saw the Black-legged Kittiwake on Concession D.
I checked a couple of trails in the park, only noting Purple Finch, Golden-crowned Kinglet and a Fox Sparrow among others.
Out of the park, I found lots of gulls and had no problem finding the Snowy Owl.

On D, there were hundreds of gulls (also E!). I spent some time looking for the kittiwake, but then moved to Mersea Rd. 19 and found it right away. It was in the water, but soon got up and flew around. A good bird for December and in a field!
Blackbirds, including Rusty were out there. Didn't look close enough for Brewer's though.

Black-legged Kittiwake

Also stopped in at Sturgeon Creek Marina. I eventually saw the Franklin's Gull. Also there were lots of Canada Geese including 8 Cacklers and one "Blue" Snow Goose.

On the way home, I checked out the old Dover Township knowing that there had to be Snowy Owls. In a reliable locale, I spotted 3. This is near the corner of Marsh Line and Winter Line. One on each corner! This is a guaranteed spot for Snowy Owls in any given winter, especially invasion years. I have seen owls here going back to the early 1990's.
With the Snowy Owl north of Wallaceburg, that makes at least six that I have seen since Friday!

Many Tundra Swans today!

south of Wallaceburg

A Snowy Day +

2011-12-03T14:26:00.001-05:00

Actually temps were above seasonal AGAIN, and strong south winds AGAIN for the weekend. Are these winds ever going to cease?
Nevertheless, I checked out Rondeau and area this morning. I met up with Jim Burk on south point trail and it was rather quiet. I hope things pick up for the CBC in two weeks, or it will be hopeless.

Things were better up at the campground as usual. On the way there, I encountered a small flock including a Carolina Wren, some Chickadees and a Tufted Titmouse.

Right off, we found a group of winter birds including kinglets, chickadees, creepers, White-breasted Nuthatch., but there was little else.
Out of the park near the gas plant at New Scotland Line and McKinley Rd., a number of birds were in field including at least 12 Killdeer, American Pipits (~30) and Horned Larks.

I drove Sinclair and Stefina Lines and noted quite a few Red-tailed Hawks. Also a couple Harrier and a Kestrel. An Eastern Meadowlark was in the pasture on Stefina--usually they winter there anyway.
Down near Erieau, a Double-crested Cormorant was in the small pond on the west side of Erieau Rd. I checked Erieau pier area and nothing of note there. Water is very high and waves were rolling over the breakwall.

At the R/R track trail, there was at least one Marsh Wren, perhaps two. Jim had two a week ago.

Also heard a Common Yellowthroat, which is not unusual for that location in early winter.
An immature White-crowned Sparrow was also hanging around there. First one I have seen a quite a while. They were incredibly scarce this fall!

Just by accident, I came across a Snowy Owl on Old Street Line between Erieau and Lagoon Roads. I did not intend to take that route, and to boot, I drove by the "white" spot thinking it was garbage! The female owl was hunkered down. Jim thinks it is the same one as last week seen near the R/R.

I called fellow blogger Dwayne and he had just seen the Snowy Owl that I found yesterday up near Wallaceburg. He was looking for one, so I had to check with him.

Nothing noteworthy at the lagoons, except quite a few Northern Shovelers.

On another hunch, I swung around near Grande Pointe on the way home and sure enough I found another Snowy Owl near Marsh Line. This is another spot, that for some reason, Snowy Owls always hang out. This one was too distant to photograph.

No doubt there are other Snowies around waiting to be found!

Addendum to today's post. I went out late this afternoon and watched for Sandhill Cranes. They started coming in about 4:15 and more were arriving when I left Stewart Line. They go out to feed somewhere during the day, then return for the night to the same location. I had 60 today.

Cranes to Owl

2011-12-02T19:32:00.001-05:00

With a bit of daylight left after work today, I drove some back roads on the way home. One spot I checked was for Sandhill Cranes. This time I counted 71 along Stewart Line west of Wallaceburg. Some were quite close to the road, so I had a good look at them.
At this spot also were hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls. I could not pick out anything different. The gulls are having fun with all the water around!
On a hunch, I decided to check an area where quite often a Snowy Owl shows up during invasion years. I did not see anything on my first pass, but I went over one sideroad and back a concession road to the south. In the sunset, I could see a large bid atop at hydro pole. I knew it had to be a Snowy Owl, and sure enough as I got closer, it was true. I stopped directly below and we had eye to eye contact.
Here is a link Becher Snowy Owl to a beautiful photo of this owl by Dwayne Murphy.
It is interesting how from year to year, birds show up at the same spot. There are other spots like this around as well.
I never did see a Snowy last year, so this hunch paid off today.
Looks like an invasion year. Numerous reports starting coming in about a week ago, and many now have been reported. One was at Erieau last Sunday as reported by Jim Burk. I suspect one or more are there at present.
I will be out looking tomorrow.....
Photo of one many years ago.....Once again I did not have my camera today--lesson not learned from two days ago yet!

Winter Birds

2011-12-01T20:25:00.001-05:00

Red-throated Loon St. Clair River

Today, December 1 started out on a cold, but sunny note. From December 1 to the end of February is considered the winter birding season. Some birdwatchers attempt to keep a list of all birds heard or seen during that period.
Last year, at least 198 species were recorded in Ontario. A tally is kept at Blake Maybank's site (which I do not have the link at this time!), and Josh Vandermeulen will be keeping tabs on the Ontario birds. I will also keep track of what is being seen as I write the Winter Report for North American Birds (NAB). It is a good way to know what is going on in Ontario with regards to birds.
There are some good birds around right now, such as the ones at Niagara. The Razorbill is still present, as well as some of the gulls and jaegers. The White Pelican at Niagara-on-the-Lake was seen again, but perhaps it may have finally decided to leave!
Alan Wormington photographed a Black-legged Kittiwake in a field on Concession D at Point Pelee this morning! A bit odd to find one in a field!
On the way to work this morning, I came across a group of about 60 Sandhill Cranes in a field west of Wallaceburg. That is a decent number for this late, at least in these parts. In recent years, it is not uncommon to find flocks of Sandhills around here late in the fall, but for those to be here in December is nice to see.

White-winged Crossbills (in my yard winter 2009)

There was not much at Brander Park this morning. Yesterday's Red Crossbill was certainly a novelty--something I did not expect to find there. I have not even seen a White-winged Crossbill at that location!
The recent heavy rainfall has flooded many fields and will attract water birds to the temporary lakes, such as a kittiwake.
Some roads were still flooded today around Wallaceburg, as the river levels rose overnight. The Snye appeared to have reversed its flow today as all the water inland tried to escape. I have never seen it so muddy brown! A couple of Pied-billed Grebes were taking refuge in the marina this afternoon.
With the mild fall, there should be some good lingering birds that are waiting to be found.

Lunchtime Surprise

2011-11-30T18:35:00.001-05:00

What a storm! Yesterday we had record amounts of rain, and new bodies of water were visible today. I was a bit late getting to work this morning due to flooded roads so I did not get my morning walk in. I would have needed boots anyway.
The sun came out in the morning for a beautiful day and since Wednesday is my day to go out for lunch, I stopped at Brander Park, Port Lambton. I went for a bit of a walk, not noting many birds. A few Tundra Swans came off the lagoons and a couple of juncos and blue jays were in the park.

I walked over to the edge of the field where I had the Glossy Ibis last spring, then started walking back. I heard a finch type call coming from somewhere. I heard it several times and concluded that it was coming from a large Norway Spruce. I could not see the bird, but that sure as heck sounded like a crossbill. I was thinking Red Crossbill! Certainly not a White-winged I concluded. I have only heard Red Crossbill a couple of times at Rondeau in the past, but this was obvious.

I walked up to the tree and still could not see the bird, but pished as a last resort and the bird popped out briefly. I did not even have binoculars, but there was a red bird. Obviously a male. As dumb as this may sound, I did not put on my binoculars for this walk, and only had the small lens in my camera as I was trying to look for scenery shots.
Goes to show that one should carry binoculars at all times, and that you never know what to find with regards to birds. This is bird 202 for the location.

I took some back roads home just looking at all the flooded fields and overflowing ditches. I often take back roads home in hopes of finding some kind of owl or other bird.

Looking towards Port Lambton lagoons (the "ibis" spot!)

Gulls in one of the Flooded Fields

With all the reports of Snowy Owls lately, I check on key spots they have been in the past. Also, a year ago I encountered a Short-eared Owl working a roadside.
Weather looks good this weekend-sunny but cold, so birding could be interesting.

Dusk at Chicken Island (NE Wallaceburg)

A Balmy Gull Extravaganza

2011-11-27T17:49:00.001-05:00

This weekend was the one I chose to head up to the Niagara River to check out the gulls and other birds. It turned out to be an excellent time! A good number of gulls were on the river...and birders too! The weather was balmy--certainly the warmest I have experienced there for this time of year. I met lots of familiar people and even three fellow Bloggers!
No photos, as I gave the camera a rest this weekend. Birds were too distant to photograph anyway, but he scenery was nice. Actually for a brief period this morning, there was a nice sunrise.
I left Wallaceburg at 05:30 Saturday morning to get an early start. I was going to check on that suspicious pelican on the way to Niagara-on-the-Lake, but missed the turn somehow. I got it on the way home this afternoon.
Upon arrival at the mouth of the Niagara River, Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway pulled into the parking lot in front of me, and others I knew were already there looking at the Razorbill. This alcid was visible right away! It was undoubtedly my target bird for the weekend, and the others were just nice to see. It appears that this bird is likely a first year bird.
I followed other birders upriver including Mark Peck, Barb Charlton, Tyler Hoar et al to the Queenston docks. From there we could see two adult Little Gulls.
On the way to Adam Beck, we checked for roosting Black Vultures, but to no avail. Turns out this was the only day there were not seen! (not surprising to me). Today, Brandon Holden and Jenn Bock spotted 5 well over New York soil before lunch.
At Adam Beck yesterday, the Franklin's Gull was well seen, and later sitting on the "roosting rock" upriver. We also had at least 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (one a 2nd cycle-not often seen), 2 Thayer's (1 adult, 1 first cycle), perhaps 4 Iceland plus the usuals. Glaucous was absent, as it has not come in with numbers yet.
Very few Bonaparte's here, but lots at the roosting rocks and whirlpool

I heard that there was a Black-legged Kittiwake at the Whirlpool, so I went up there to find it. Brad Carlson helped me find it swimming on the water. There was also a first cycle Little Gull there.
At the Falls with the Mark Peck party, we only found a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. No Purples yet!
I spent the rest of the afternoon at Adam Beck and "apparently", left just a few minutes before the California Gull was spotted! Oh well, you cannot be everywhere all the time. I had to go eat supper, and if anyone knows me, I don't miss meals! It was one that Barb Charlton was after, making an impressive 315 for her Ontario list this year.

Early this morning I started at the Whirlpool. However, I checked the north side which is actually quite good for viewing gulls. Birders less often go to the viewing spot it seems. I saw hundreds of bonies, but nothing unusual.
I then spent some time at Adam Beck seeing all the usuals. Bored with that, I headed down to NOTL to get another look at the Razorbill. Brandon and Jenn were there among others. Just before I left Queen's Royal Park, I spotted an adult Little Gull among the bonies.
Not done for the morning, I went back up to Adam Beck. I walked up the trail to view the roosting rocks spot. While I was there a Northern Mockingbird perched for quite some time, and a few Eastern Bluebirds were feeding on berries. Also there was a Yellow-rumped Warbler (first one in quite some time!), and chickadees.
Back to Adam Beck, a bonus bird came upriver and worked the area. A Pomarine Jaeger (juv)! It is the first jaeger I have seen there. Likely the same one seen downriver earlier.
Almost forgot to mention, I had some Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins flying over Adam Beck early this morning. First redpolls I have encountered this fall!
By this time it was raining quite heavily, so I headed homeward. I made a brief stop to see that pelican, then booked it home in the rainy, windy weather. A long, crappy drive......!
Next weekend will likely be good as well since it is supposed to get colder this week.

Niagara Birding

2011-11-24T18:20:00.001-05:00

A Row of Glaucous Gulls!

This is the time of year birders flock to the Niagara River to look at gulls, waterfowl and any other birds of note. Some excellent birds have been reported there this year, including the Razorbill at the mouth of the river, and the Black Vultures near Queenston. They were once again reported today, and hopefully will be present for the weekend.

I plan on heading up there after a few year's absence! I used to go every year, but have held off in recent times. I first went back in the 1990's to join field trips led by Martin Parker. By doing that, I got a feel for the river and what to expect. Certain spots are good vantage points for gulls and other birds.

A good starting point is the mouth of the river at Niagara-on-the-Lake at the park there. It is an excellent spot to see grebes and loons and perhaps a Razorbill!
Other points include the Queenston docks where you can get right down to river level. A little ways upriver, the Adam Beck overlook is a famous spot to see many species of gulls, including the annual California Gull.

Upriver from that, if you want to get warm and take a break, go into the Butterfly Conservatory.

The Whirlpool area is a good spot to look down on the gulls for species such as Black-legged Kittiwake. I once saw a Franklin's Gull here.
There are various spots to look on the river, but above the falls you can look for other gulls and ducks. Here you can also look for Purple Sandpiper on the slimy rocks. I have not heard of any reports yet this year, but some should be there by now.
Beside the Enginerium building is a good outlook spot. Keep your eyes open for other birds. Back in 1995 I found a Yellow Warbler in the trees there that was apparently record late at the time.

Along the way, you meet other birders and you can exchange information as to what has been seen. I always meet people I know, so that is helpful.
Weather looks fairly warm this weekend, unusual for this time of year. I found it was always cold and windy almost every time I went in the past.
It is a long, crappy drive to get there, and perhaps that is why I do not go as often as I used to, but it should be an interesting weekend. I know I will probably meet at least one birder there who reads this blog!

Brrrrr!

Birds on the Move

2011-11-20T17:33:00.001-05:00

I birded the Rondeau area today. I met up with Jim Burk at first light on South Point Trail. Like many times this fall we did not find much on the trail. Songbirds sure cleared out early this year! Even Yellow-rumped Warblers are difficult to find right now. In fact I have not seen one in a while.
Pine Siskins are still on the move. There have been quite a few this fall, but they continue to motor on through. Several went over again this morning.
Perhaps the only interesting bird on south point was an American Woodcock that we scared up. It would be a nice bird four weeks from now on the CBC! I also spotted a timid Hermit Thrush that seemed to suddenly disappear. Also in the thrush category, a few Eastern Bluebirds were present. These are likely staying a while.
We headed up to the campground as we always do this time of year. Our luck changed right away. Many birds were out and about and one of the first was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It will likely stay there as one or two hang around the campground into winter. Near it was a male Eastern Towhee--perhaps another bird that will stick around.
Heading into the campground, Jim spotted a flock of 11 small geese flying south. Snow geese...but wait....one was a little smaller which we assumed to be a Ross's Goose. There were several Snow Geese of the blue form in this flock. Surprisingly, these were the first Snow Geese I have seen this year! Just yesterday I was wondering about this species as I visited Ridgetown lagoons. I heard that three (3) Ross's Geese were seen at Point Pelee today as well.
At the north end of the campground a bunch of juncos came out of a cottage yard that has an excellent feeder setup. One appeared to have a distinct hood that I concluded to be a female Oregon type.
Just a few minutes later, Jim and I both heard the distinctive flight calls of White-winged Crossbills passing quickly overhead. We did not see them, but a minute later, another flock at lower altitude buzzed by. We saw those and estimated at least 15 White-winged Crossbills on a mission south.
It is only every few years we get crossbills at Rondeau, so this was a treat.
I am including a couple photos of an immature female that I had at my feeder exactly ten years ago. I thought it was rather unique, as this bird had no fear and was so intent on eating that I walked right up to it. It stayed a few days.

Near maintenance, we had a mixed flock of birds--Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers and a pair of Purple Finches.

Several Common Loons were flying over today, as we counted many while in the campground.

Jim and I parted ways for a bit and I went over to Ridgetown Lagoons. Lots of geese and swans there, and the two Dunlin were still present from yesterday. I think this was a little before Josh Vandermeulen arrived!

I worked my way back to Erieau and met Jim at the R/R track trail. Not much was there, so we went to the pier. Nothing unusual again, but 9 Sanderlings were flying around. The bonies from yesterday were absent.

I did spot 4 Turkey Vultures over Rondeau Park at this point.

I checked Blenheim Lagoons on the way home and did not add anything new.

Another Big Blow...and Bust

2011-11-19T17:40:00.001-05:00

With these relentless SW winds this fall, I have been going to the Tip of Point Pelee quite often in hopes of seeing some good birds. Little has been seen, and today was no exception. Although there were thousands of birds, most were Red-breasted Mergansers as usual. It was a fairly big day for movement of mergansers. I never tried to count, but I am sure there were well over 30,000.

Other ducks were mixed in including a few scoters (all three species), lots of Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Black Duck, Ruddy Duck, Long-tailed, etc. Several Common Loons and Horned Grebes went by as well.
I spent the whole day birding, watching the sunrise at the Tip, then ending up at Ridgetown Lagoons.

A few birds were attempting to fly off the Tip including goldfish (aka Goldfinches) American Pipits, but no Cave Swallows. It appears none have been reported in Ontario yet, but a couple were in Ohio yesterday.

Highlight of the day was a first cycle Franklin's Gull at the marina in Sturgeon Creek. It had been seen by Kevin McLaughlin on Thursday, and perhaps it was there earlier. A number of Franklin's Gulls have been reported lately--not surprisingly with the westerly winds. We usually see an increase in sightings when the winds are strong from the west.
I found the Franklin's immediately upon my arrival at the marina. It was sleeping on a dock with a Ring-billed and a Bonaparte's Gull. It was directly in the sun, so photographing it was not ideal.

Bonaparte's Gull

Lots of Canada Geese in the creek, and I only picked out one Cackler just quickly scanning with binoculars. Kevin said there were up to 8 at one point.

At Wheatley, there were lots of gulls to look at, but nothing unusual. Horned Grebes were in the cut.

At Erieau, another good bunch of gulls, including Bonaparte's.

Horny Grebe

bonies

Several Double-crested Cormorants were around (at least seven), some of which will possibly stay through the CBC as in the past.

At the R/R track trail, a few Dunlin got up near the viewing platform and went out to the edge where there was probably mud. I also had two Dunlin at Ridgetown.

Blenheim Lagoons were somewhat quiet, but the most numerous duck was Northern Shoveler. Perhaps 90 were there--a pretty good number for now.

Ridgetown, as usual, had lots of Canada Geese, but no other goose species. I hit the right time, as hundreds of Tundra Swans were coming in, as well as ducks. I estimated about 800 swans all over the place. This lagoon usually has Snow Geese, but strangley I have not seen one yet this fall. Once in a while a Ross's Goose will appear there as well.

One butterfly today included a Red Admiral on the east side at the Tip. One bat included a Little Brown on the Tip washroom wall, as usual!

Tomorrow the winds switch to the NW, but still very strong. The previous forecast has SW winds, so I am glad I went to Pelee today. However, with my luck, something good will be found tomorrow!

November Notes

2011-11-17T19:02:00.001-05:00

It has been a long week it seems, but Friday is almost here. We had more seasonable weather today (high of 1 degree C), but the SW winds are kicking in again tomorrow to drive up the temperature.

We will try again at the "Tip" this weekend, as we are overdue for some decent birds! With the strong SW winds, the odds are with us that something of note will appear.

Dunlin at Pelee's icy Tip in December

This is the time of year many check out the Niagara River for gulls and other birds. A Razorbill has been at the mouth for some time now, and many of the usual gulls are being reported. The old standby California Gull has already been reported at the Adam Beck overlook.

Adam Beck overlook in November

The days are too short this time of year for us working folk to do much birding during the weekdays. I have a bit of time at the beginning of the day, but that is quickly fading as December approaches. I check out Port Lambton's Brander Park and the St. Clair River there. Monday was birdy, with perhaps 3 dozen Juncos, a Purple Finch, Hermit Thrush and American Robins among others. A Brown Creeper has been creeping around the park every day this week.

The St. Clair River has been slow, but I have been seeing Bonaparte's Gulls every day, cruising around. Ducks have been scarce, but in recent years we do not see many until late December.

I have here a photo of the King Eider at the Tip of Point Pelee from last Sunday as taken by Steve Pike. The bird was a bit distant, but some detail can be seen.

King Eider at Point Pelee Tip 13 Nov 2011 (photo be Stephen T. Pike)

My other hobby of ships and boats always gets a plug on this blog once in a while. I have some followers that enjoy this type of thing as well.

Tomorrow is the 53rd anniversary of the sinking of the Carl D. Bradley in Lake Michigan. It broke in two on one of those famous " last trip " of the season. Only two men survived.

Donald and Dorothy Langridge

It has special interest to me because my dad's cousin (Dorothy) was married to

a sailor in that fleet who at one time sailed on the Bradley.

I have several on board photos.

Dorothy died last spring just a few months short of her 100th birthday. The Mann's tend to live well into their 80's or 90's, and she has the distinction of living the longest. (My grandfather made it to just short of 97).

I hope I am not crazy enough to still be birding when I get old!

Eider Down

2011-11-13T20:27:00.001-05:00

I had to call this blog post something! Very few birds yet again today, but the highlight was a young male King Eider at the Tip of Point Pelee. We (Marianne Balkwill, Steve Pike, Alan Wormington, myself) saw a large duck flying down the east side and luckily it set down on the water. For some reason we had to look at it for some time to decide it was a King.
I have not had much experience with eiders but have only seen King Eiders (either young males or females) at Point Edward, Point Pelee, near Rondeau and at Etobicoke (CSS Park). I think females are tougher to ID between King and Common, but males are not all that difficult really if you get a good view.
Today's bird stayed for some time before taking off. It is not often we see this species down our way.

Not a King Eider

The relentless strong south winds continued today, hopefully pushing some rarities up our way. There are lots of things over in Wisconsin and Minnesota and some in northern Michigan, but not here. As in the past, when it finally gets cold, there should be some good birding!

The Niagara River looked decent today, however I hate spending most of my time driving highways to get to places. Niagara is a 7 hour round-trip from Wallaceburg! Perhaps I will spend a weekend there soon. I used to go every year just for the experience. I think the best I have done is 11 or 12 species of gulls plus the other things there.

I left Pelee earlier than I had hoped today, as there simply was not much to see. By the time I got to Tilbury, Steve Pike called me to say he located a Black-legged Kittiwake at Sturgeon Creek.

Kittiwake at Erieau a few years ago

I would have gone to look if I had been in the area, but I had already seen one this fall.

Not a Kittiwake

Lots of Pipits and Horned Larks were out in the onion fields. Pipits were even sitting on hydro wires. I had to give a second take with the first one I looked at as I did not expect a Pipit on a wire!

Odds are we will get some good birds out of these weird winds, but this week is still supposed to be warm. Something to look forward to, I guess.....
Regarding yesterday's incredible discovery of a Lucy's Warbler in Michigan, photos and story on Karl Overman's site:
http://web.me.com/karloverman/Site/North_AmericaN_Birds_III/Pages/Lucys_Warbler.html

Good Birds in Ontario Soon?

2011-11-12T19:10:00.001-05:00

With all these south winds lately, one would think Ontario would get a mega rarity. The weather sure has been wacky this fall, but good birds have been showing up all around Ontario--especially west. Late today a Lucy's Warbler was reported by Brad Murphy up at Whitefish Point in the UP of Michigan! Some decent flycatchers have been seen in Minnesota and Wisconsin lately as well. Soon...???!!!

Many tundra Swans Today!

I was out again today and the weather was just too nice yet again! Birding was somewhat dull, just like it has been most of the fall. Lots and lots of Pine Siskins were moving or flying around. Best bird of the day was an Evening Grosbeak flying over the campground of Rondeau Park. I recognized it by its distinctive call note. Not one we get every year at Rondeau! Near maintenance I am quite sure I had three White-winged Crossbills flyover also.

Fox Sparrows were around, with a group of six in the campground and a couple of others elsewhere.

Fox Sparrow

On South Point Trail, only one good pocket of birds included many Yellow-rumped Warblers, an Eastern Phoebe and others.

I checked Blenheim Lagoons but nothing noteworthy other than about 75 American Coots were there.

At Erieau's R/R track trail, I met up with Steve Charbonneau and we came across at least one Common Yellowthroat in the reeds among many sparrows. Steve had just checked the harbour area for Cave Swallows to no avail. Where are the Cave Swallows? Maybe tomorrow!
Lots of American Pipits were moving today, especially at Erieau.
Three species of butterflies today including Monarch (2), Orange Sulphur (6) and Clouded Sulphur (1).

November Winds and a Time to Remember

2011-11-10T17:46:00.001-05:00

Lots of winds lately, but little to show for it in the way of birds. With the exception of the odd good day this fall, birding has been dull in SW Ontario. Lots of things have been reported all around and even in eastern Ontario, but time after time I have seen very little.
Over in Minnesota and Wisconsin, many "good" birds have been sighted. A good summary is on Michael Butler's blog Northshorenature today.
Today was no exception. With things slow at work before we get into winter work, I took the day off and headed to the Tip. Strong westerly winds again today, but not a good bird to be found! Quite often it is being in the right place at the right time, as was the case last Sunday when Cherise Charron (link)
photographed at Black-legged Kittiwake at the Tip parking lot around noon. We had been at the Tip most of the morning!
I met the usual crew today for the Tip "love fest" plus a surprise. Jeremy Hatt was down from Toronto.
We watched for a few hours and looked at lots of Bonaparte's Gulls, but no Franklin's or others. Perhaps some Franklin's will show in the next day or two as a result of these strong west winds.

The Tip has severely eroded recently and there was little ground to stand upon. The Tip lifering went for a swim as seen in the above photo!

Very few landbirds. I found a few Fox and White-throated Sparrows plus the usual Robins and Waxwings near White Pine.
Several hawks were on the move, mostly Red-tailed.

It was thought Cave Swallows would show today, but I guess there is still hope in the next few days. Now that they are off the Ontario Review List, maybe none will appear this year!

Strong winds are still forecast in the next few days, so hopefully something interesting will appear.

November is not only the time to honour and remember war veterans, but a time when many on the Great Lakes remember ships and sailors that have perished in storms. Today is the 36th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and loss of its entire crew of 29 men. It was something that many believed unfathomable at the time, but it did happen.

Me, examining the Fitzgerald's lifeboat up at the Soo, summer 1978

A Bittersweet Day?

2011-11-06T15:52:00.001-05:00

I don't know what to call today's blog. It was my birthday today and I was hoping for a good bird to top it off. With this strange weather continuing, not much was around. I went to Point Pelee again on the strong south wind.
I met some of the usual birders there, and we checked out what was moving. It was a decent loon day with over 250 Common Loons on the move. No other loon species though. Not much else to mention really.
While there, a fresh American Painted Lady stopped by, and even set down on my pant leg. It is quite late for this species and perhaps record late for there.

American Painted Lady

I found another, rather worn, up West Beach Trail.
The same butterfly species were around as yesterday, but not quite in the number.
A large flock of starlings was swirling around the Tip area first thing this morning. Has anyone seen that video Murmuration of Starlings that has been on the internet the last couple of days? That was taken in Ireland and quite an impressive sight.
Starling Video

It looks like a windy week and unseasonably mild (yet again!) to start. Wednesday looks like an excellent day to be at the Tip of Pelee. As usual it will be a weekday.....

Another Pelee Tip Watch

2011-11-05T16:41:00.003-04:00

Since there was a strong SE wind, I decided the best bet was Point Pelee for today. I arrived shortly before 08:00 and was soon joined by Alan. Most the birds were made up of Red-breasted Mergansers. Probably 15 duck species in total for the day. Not many gulls today. Shorebirds included a single Sanderling and a distant flock of about 20 Dunlin. A total of 22 Common Loons was seen by myself. A single Red-throated was spotted by Alan.

Merganser Mess

A fair number of raptors were moving. I later saw two Golden Eagles (juv) and a perched Peregrine Falcon.

Strangely I never came across a warbler! Very few passerines today. A good sized flock of sparrows was at the south end of NW Beach--mainly Juncos. An Eastern Phoebe was here also.

One Snow Bunting was flying around as I walked down West Beach Trail south of the VC. I was mainly looking for butterflies and some were to be found. I had 7 species today! Most common was Buckeye.

Totals included:
Common Sulphur --3 NW Beach (south of P. L.)
Orange Sulphur --1 West Beach Trail, 4 NW Beach

Question Mark --1 NW Beach
Eastern Comma --4 WBT, 2 NW Beach
Red Admiral --1 WBT
Common Buckeye --12 WBT, 7 NWB
Monarch --1 WBT, 1 NWB

Maybe Shoeless Joe's had some Fiery Skippers, but I did not have time to go and look.

Still some possibilities Sunday as strong south winds are predicted.

Orange Sulphur

Do you recognize this mug?

November Birding

2011-11-03T21:24:00.004-04:00

TIP WATCH (photo by S. T. Pike)

Even though most birds have left the province, November is an interesting time for birding. One will look for late records or rarities. Lake watches can still be quite exciting such as the Tip of Point Pelee or up at Point Edward on Lake Huron.
It has been somewhat quiet lately as we are experiencing unseasonably mild temperatures. The days are too short this time of year, so those like myself that have day jobs during the week, see little in the way of birds on weekdays.
Sandhill Cranes are moving in numbers this week. I have seen a few this week, including a flock of 20 heading off Walpole Island late this afternoon as I drove home.
Usually we have heard of the first Cave Swallows by now, but there have not been any really good weather systems to bring them in.

Cave Swallow & Barn Swallow Erieau Nov. 2007

It is always exciting to look for late warblers in places such as Rondeau Park and Point Pelee. Even rarites such as the Black-throated Gray Warbler that James Burk and I discovered in Rondeau 23 November 2008.

We occasionally see November records of Northern Parula, Cape May, Tennessee, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue and Yellow Warblers. A year ago we had a Black-throated Blue at Rondeau 7 November.
Some vireos (beside Blue-headed) can be late such as White-eyed and Warbling. Last year Jim and I found a Warbling at Rondeau Park 31 October. A White-eyed was at McGeachy Pond dike 6 November and a Red-eyed 7 November at Rondeau last year as well, so it was a good fall for vireos.

White-eyed Vireo (Erieau)

Jaegers, gulls and other waterbirds at fun to find at a lakewatch point. 22 November 2008 was interesting at Point Pelee when we (Alan Wormington, Kevin McLaughlin, myself) saw a tight flock of 22 Franklin's Gulls! Cave Swallows (8) were also seen, among hundreds of other birds.

Even a Sabine's Gull is still possible as I saw one at Point Edward 17 November 2005.

Franklin's Gull (Erieau Nov. 2007)

The weather forecast for this Sunday looks excellent for Point Pelee as S-SW winds are likely up to 40 km/h. Time will tell, but forecasts are so iffy anymore, one never knows! Perhaps a birthday bird is in order, as Sunday is my birthday. (Not going to tell you my age!)

Halloween Birding

2011-10-30T16:33:00.000-04:00

I decided to go to Point Pelee today, as Rondeau was somewhat disappointing yesterday and I did not foresee much change. Ran into some terribly dense ice fog this morning south of Wallaceburg which lasted until almost Pain Court. Must have come off Lake St. Clair. Good thing it ended as I was tempted to just sit at Pain Court!

Lots of stuff was at the Tip first thing, but it dropped off very quickly. A good number of
Bonaparte's Gulls, but that was it. A few Horned Grebes and Common Loons were swimming around, but no rarities. Things were desperate enough we tried to make one Horned into a Western!
The only warbler was a Blackpoll at the Tip. (Yellow-rumped farther up the park).

I was with Marianne and Alan, so we went up to De Laurier to watch for flyovers. More Pine
Siskins and Purple Finches. Lots of Cedar Waxwings today.

Nothing much really, but later I went back down to West Beach Trail to look for...whatever.
I managed to find six species of butterflies--ones you would expect this time of year. Buckeye was most numerous (~10).
A few Giant Green Darners were flying plus one Autumn (?) Meadowhawk dragonfly.

Along the way I watched for hawks, and they seemed to have started to move. There were quite a few, mostly Red-tailed plus Red-shouldered, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned. I even saw one juv Golden Eagle.

I decided to go back to De Laurier since there were hawks. More Red-tailed plus a Rough-legged. I also went down to the old maintenance area and looked for sparrows. While there I had a Northern Goshawk (imm.) fly over among other things. Eastern Bluebirds were around plus Blue-headed Vireo.

On the way home, I stopped at Tilbury Lagoon just for curiosity. Just ducks and grebes (1 Horned and 3 Pied-billed) plus 2 Great Blue Herons.

Near the mouth of Baptiste Creek there was a Great Egret. Most have left as it was the first one I have seen in a while.

It is going to be warm for a few days, so not much movement with regards to birds. Perhaps some rare flycatcher will pop up this week. We need some good birds down this way rather than at Hamilton or Ottawa!! (not for lack of trying).

Birding Today

2011-10-29T17:57:00.000-04:00

A rather slow day for birding around Rondeau today. The last couple of days have seen considerably few birds around here. Weather turned out decent most of the day as the weather forecast fooled us yet again.
I checked out Rondeau first thing and noted a large number of Ruby-crowned Kinglets. They were in bunches. Hardly any sparrows as compared to a week ago. The most common one seemed to be Field! All the White-throated Sparrows have left save for a few, and I never saw a White-crowned today.
Warblers included singletons of Blackpoll, Orange-crowned and Nashville plus scattered Yellow-rumped. Only a couple of Blue-headed Vireos today. Still lots of Pine Siskins flying around.

The lake was fairly active for a change. Hundreds of Red-breasted Mergansers flew by. Quite a few Common Loons were moving as well as Horned Grebes.

A couple groups of Sanderlings went by south point.

At Erieau's Marsh Trail (aka R/R tracks), I found a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher among kinglets and Yellow-rumps.

At Blenheim Lagoons a fair number of birds were in. Most were Ruddy Ducks again, but lots of Bonaparte's Gulls. In fact there seems to be more hanging out there than on the lake! No sign of the Red-necked Phalarope, as it would have been record late by now.

Shorebirds included a late Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper (with bad leg), 2 Dunlin and both Yellowlegs.

Dunlin

I caught sight of a kettle of buteos--all being Red-tailed except for one Red-shouldered within.
American Pipits were in small numbers every place.

Butterflies included a single Buckeye and several sulphurs (both species). Also a single damselfly.

I decided to check Ridgetown Lagoons for a change (have not been there in many weeks!). Water is high, but lots of Canada Geese as usual. Surprisingly, no Cackling as this is a reliable spot for them.

Fringed Earthstar

Stick Together!

2011-10-23T17:54:00.002-04:00

Gray Catbird

As I expected, there was only a fraction of the birds from yesterday. It was a clear night and many birds took advantage. I met Jim Burk at Rondeau Park for some birding at first light.
There were still lots of birds to look at. There seemed to be more Pine Siskins and Purple Finches flying around. The only different warbler from yesterday was a Black-throated Green, but we only saw Yellow-rumped, Nashville and Orange-crowned today. Perhaps 4 O-C's.

Different birds from yesterday included a juv Red-headed Woodpecker and 2 Indigo Buntings. The latest I have seen IB's at Rondeau is October 24, so getting late!

We split up after the park and I went to Erieau, while Jim went to Blenheim Lagoons. As Jim walked up the bank, he caught sight of a juv Sabine's Gull! He said it flew off right away though.Yah right!! Heard that before.... After a cell phone call, I arrived within ten minutes, but it was nowhere to be found. Others arrived and we watched for over an hour to no avail. As it often happens, when you split up, your friend will see something good.
This will be only the second Rondeau area record. One was seen off Erie Beach 15 Nov 2007 by S. R. Charbonneau.
Bonaparte's Gulls were hap-hazard all over the place flying in every direction and many on the lagoons. However, not as many as yesterday. There were far fewer Ruddy Ducks as well.
Several hawks went over including an immature Bald Eagle and an Osprey.
The Red-necked Phalarope was still present. Perhaps it will mimic the Wilson's from a year ago and stay a while!?! The latest Red-necked date for the Rondeau area is 28 Oct 1966 by Keith Burk.
In other news, a Dickcissel was observed at Charing Cross yesterday by Dale Wurker. A late Yellow-billed Cuckoo was on Rondeau's SPT yesterday just after I left!

Some butterflies were out today. Lots of Buckeye with the deep red undersides.

Monarchs, Eastern Commas, both sulphurs and a lady species at the lagoons. Likely an American Lady, as I had one at Port Lambton this afternoon.

Also at Port Lambton was Red Admiral and a rather late female Fiery Skipper (latest I have seen one).

Cave Swallows next weekend?

Autumn Splendour

2011-10-22T19:26:00.000-04:00

The day started out rather cloudy, but eventually the sun came out for a fine day of birding. Yesterday I decided I would hit Rondeau Park on Saturday, as things were looking up for a large number of birds to be around. I was not disappointed.
As I drove into Rondeau Park early this morning, hundreds of sparrows (mainly White-throated) and many Hermit Thrushes lined the roads. As I started walking south point trail, birds greeted me right off, and they were all the way along. I spent 4.5 hours on SPT alone if that tells you anything! No rarities, but the sheer number of birds was nice to experience.

Needless to say, White-throated Sparrows were the most numerous and dozens of Dark-eyed Juncos were present as well. I had all the usual sparrow types plus Vesper. Even towhees were present in a respectable number.

Warblers totalled nine species. I saw 2 Tennessee (getting late-Nov. 1 is the latest I think), 1 Black-throated Blue male, 1 Pine plus other expected species. I had perhaps 9 Orange-crowned Warblers and just as many Nashvilles.

Three vireo species, including 1 Red-eyed (latest is 7 Nov last year), 1 Philadelphia (rather late-not sure latest date!), and perhaps 9 Blue-headed.

Red-eyed Vireo

Philadelphia Vireo that did not co-operate!

There were a few Purple Finches eating ash seeds, and a few Pine Siskins flying around.
At one point I heard an early Snow Bunting flying over. I looked up and saw a flock of birds which were likely American Pipits as I heard them at the same time as well.
Also I briefly saw a Northern Mockingbird along the dune area of SPT.
Hawks were moving as were TV's (lots!). At one point I saw a nice Red-shouldered and a rather light young Red-tailed.

Eastern Bluebirds were around--been quite a while since I have seen any.
And, Eastern Phoebes were plentiful--up to 15 on SPT?

Several Common Loons few over this morning but no Red-throated. I have only seen 2 Reds ever at Rondeau!

Over at Blenheim Lagoon, a huge number of birds were present. Right away I noticed a phalarope in lagoon 1, but it's bill told me it was a Red-necked. Not sure of the late date for that one here. A latish Barn Swallow was flying around with Tree Swallows. Three Horned Grebes were in pond 3.

Over in the sprinkler cells, 22 shorebirds were warily feeding. Included were a Long-billed Dowitcher, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 1 Pectoral, 2 Dunlin, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs and the rest being big yellowlegs.
Ruddy ducks have dominated the lagoons recently. Perhaps 800 today?

A few butterflies were out including a couple of the rosa form of Buckeye at the lagoons.

Birds were quite skittish today and it was difficult to get any photos.

Bird Survey....1954!

2011-10-20T22:34:00.001-04:00

On this rainy and dreary day, I was looking at some old material I have on my bookshelf.

Another one of my finds at a used book store was a Bird Survey of the Detroit Region (1954), published by the Detroit Audubon Society. Back then a survey was conducted annually from lower Lake Huron to northern Lake Erie, comprising the five counties in Michigan and three in Ontario.
I found this booklet interesting as many sightings are from the local area and some familiar names are included. Back then, the Carscallen brothers of Wallaceburg were very active birders and provided much information. There were four brothers. One brother, James, is still living in Toronto I believe.
A young birder, by the name of Dennis F. Rupert who lived in Wallaceburg at the time, tagged along with them. I suspect this is where Dennis gained much his knowledge of birds in the beginning. I heard many stories of the Carscallen's and Rupert's from my father.
Going through the booklet, it is interesting to note what was seen in 1954. One of the most noted spots of bird sightings was the Bradley Marsh at the mouth of the Thames River. Those were the days when access was unlimited and it was a popular destination for bird watchers.
One of the sightings there included Snowy Egret April 17 by the Carscallen's and Ross Brown. It was believed to be Ontario's 5th record. (Ross Brown of Tupperville is better know for his work with native orchids).
Nearby at St. Luke's Marsh, a Glossy Ibis was seen May 22 (Dr Miles Pirnie et al).

Other highlights included:
Blue Goose and Snow Goose were considered separate species back then.
Northern Bobwhite were widespread.
Migrant (Loggerhead) Shrikes were numerous as indicated by up to 11 records in Lambton Co. from June through August.
Prairie Warblers were numerous from Port Franks to Grand Bend.
Western Meadowlark was found June 12 at Ipperwash (Ralph A. O'Reilly, Harriet Wolfenden ) and in Sombra Twp. July 16 (Carscallen).
Dickcissels made an appearance at Point Pelee as W. W. H. Gunn noted 10 flying off the Tip May 8, and two were at the parking lot May 13.

There is also a hawk migration report, bird banding report and nesting report contained within the booklet.
Interesting reading, but too much to detail here!

Another Tip.....Watch

2011-10-16T18:54:00.002-04:00

The tip is, do not believe weather forecasts. They are consistently wrong! Well, it was close today. The wind was supposed to be out of the SW at 45 km/h for Point Pelee. It was not quite that strong and more to the west. We tried anyway.

I met the usual crew down there plus Josh Vandermeulen (hope I spelled it right!). Lots of gulls including the usual four species plus Lesser Black-backed. More ducks today as well. I guess the best bird was a flyby Red-necked Phalarope (still no Red!).
More passerines were in the woods today. I did not spend much time looking, but most were Yellow-rumped plus Palm, Black-throated Blue and Nashville.
I stopped at Wheatley on the way out and looked at gulls. Two Lesser black-backed there. One was an adult.

I also decided to head up to Comber to check out the muddy field with shorebirds. As usual, things are constantly changing there. Totally different from Josh's list yesterday. Lighting was terrible plus the peeps were working amongst the mud clumps.
Kevin McLaughlin was there when I arrived. Best viewing is to go to the back of the AGRIS property (they do not mind) and walk into the field. It was quite muddy today because of the rain. Apparently this field is flooded just from rainwater.
If I remember numbers correctly, there were 11 Hudsonian Godwits, 14 Long-billed Dowitchers and 8 Stilt Sandpipers. (or a combination thereof) Several other species were present, but I could not pick out a Western Sandpiper. It could have been there, just not very visible. Pipits were flying over as well.

I noticed several shorebirds with sore, broken or bad legs! Not unusual. One Hudsonian, or Hudwit as some call them, had a bad leg. Just wondering, do we call a Marbled Godwit a "Marwit"?

There was not really anything to photograph today. On the way home I found a nice Great Blue Heron along Belle Rose Line.

Tip Birding

2011-10-15T15:34:00.001-04:00

Windswept Tip

One of the most interesting spots to watch birds this time of year is Point Pelee's Tip. If you get the right wind it can be exciting. Of course the birds need to co-operate as well. The wind was very strong from the NNW--it was supposed to W or even WSW, but you do not know until you get there. Not the most ideal wind for the Tip.
Getting there was a bit delayed as the gate attendant was late yet again. Seems to be quite regular lately!

I met Alan, Marianne and Kevin for a Tip watch. Steve Pike also came along and had fun with a ridiculously tame Sanderling.

This Sanderling was right up close along the beach and walking among the rocks.

Nothing special showed up but there were lots of Bonaparte's Gulls. A few Horned Grebes and a few species of ducks went by.
A few Tree Swallows showed up as well as a couple of Chimney Swifts. In the falcon department, there were at least two Peregrines and 3 or 4 Merlins.

Land birds were scarce and hunkered down. I did see a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and one Black-and-White and 2 Black-throated Blues among other things.

I stopped at Wheatley on the way home and noticed about 200 Tree Swallows around the mouth of the harbour. Two Great Egrets were in Muddy Creek.
I also checked Tilbury and along the Thames and out in the old Dover Township, but came up empty.

Nutty Photographer

Things have been slow lately with little in the way of northern birds. Little in the way of Pipits, Horned Larks, ducks and other things. No Sabine's Gull for Point Pelee yet this fall, nor Red Phalarope (?).

BTW, Kevin McLaughlin had a Dickcissel yesterday near the Tip, and a Long-tailed Jaeger a couple of days ago.

Baby Waterspout

Feeling a Little Blue

2011-10-11T20:28:00.001-04:00

Actually the last day or so I have not been up to snuff. Must have been that camping experience at Pelee on the weekend! Lots 'o fun though, especially around the campfire. BTW, can someone offer a plausible explanation for that "explosion" sound (in threes) we always hear at Point Pelee coming from the direction of Pelee Island? Nobody has come to a concrete conclusion! That was one of the discussions around the campfire Saturday eve and apparently they discuss it every year! This year's (silly) explanation was that a Canadian Naval submarine keeps hitting that concrete light structure out in Pelee Passage (!).

Anyway, Sunday's sighting of that heron at Lighthouse Cove was a bit of a learning experience. I had never seen a Snowy Egret in that particular plumage, but it does exist. It looks remarkably like a Little Blue Heron from a distance and it sure had me fooled for a bit. The bill was a very similar colour to that of a Little Blue. It even had a darkish, but not solid tip. Note distinctive yellow lores. Oh, maybe it is a hybrid.....!

I have only seen one juv Little Blue Heron in Ontario and that is one I personally discovered just outside Rondeau Park in August 2000. It stayed quite a while (August 26-September 14) for many to view. I was just leaving the park after a morning of birding and noticed a white heron in Bate's Marsh. Better check that out! Yep.

This is a photo of the bird (by Alfred H. Rider):

Two or three Little Blues show up in Ontario each year it seems. Two were seen this past spring: One at Wheatley 6 May (Lance and Faye Allin) and one at Erie View, Norfolk 27 May (Scott D. McIntosh, Susan M. McIntosh, Jason S. McIntosh).
Maybe another one will show up soon!

More Photos from Pelee

2011-10-10T19:33:00.003-04:00

Although birding was very slow this weekend, some birds were plentiful such as Blue Jays and Double-crested Cormorants. Thousands of jays were attempting to head off the Tip.

Cormorants were coming in droves. Sunday morning a big feeding frenzy was off East Beach.

Black Walnut trees are producing a bumper crop this year. In the campground all you could hear were walnuts hitting the shelter roofs or the ground.

Some more butterflies:
Silver-spotted Skipper

white female form of Orange Sulphur

Today, I just went for a walk at Rondeau and then checked the lagoons. Again things were quiet, but at least there were some passerines to look at (compared to Pelee). A few Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll were around, and a single Black-throated Green and two female Black-throated Blues. The lone vireo was a Blue-headed. Lots of Brown Creepers and both kinglets were in.

At Blenheim I found the lagoons full of Ruddy Ducks. Perhaps 450? A few yellowlegs were in the sprinkler cells.

Butterflies included a worn Viceroy (getting late) a Bronze Copper, a couple of Fiery Skippers and numerous Buckeyes. Many of those were the dark form, or Rosa form. The underside is reddish. These were very active and would not pose for photos!

Beautiful Weather, but......

2011-10-09T18:27:00.000-04:00

Sunrise off the Tip October 9

I spent Saturday and Sunday at Point Pelee, camping overnight with a great group of people from Michigan. I got involved through Steve Pike, and these people have been doing this for many years in both spring and fall. One of the people there was Kathy Watson, a former park naturalist now living in Calgary.

Just my luck, there were practically no birds! The weather was way too nice and no winds lately to move anything. Even the butterflies had vacated the place! Almost anyways. In any event I had a good time.

Mornings always started at the Tip to watch the sunrise.

colours were beautiful this morning!

There was a fair bit of activity yesterday first thing, but nothing unusual. Lots of Horned Grebes went by (20+), and Bonaparte's Gulls.
Warblers and vireos were absent yesterday (I only saw one Yellow-rumped and one Blackpoll!!). However, lots of hawks were moving, especially Sharp-shinned.

I checked for butterflies and found very few. The only skipper was a Silver-spotted. I met Bob Yukich and his wife Karen several times, and they found it terribly slow as well. I decided to go up to Shoeless Joe's field to find Common-checkered Skippers and Fiery Skippers.
At least they were numerous. Also present were two singles of Black Swallowtails, which are getting late in this season.

Common Checkered-Skipper

Fiery Skipper at Shoeless Joe's

Early evening we could hear Great-horned and Screech Owls calling near the campground. Good conversations were held around the evening campfire. Sarah Rupert even stopped by to say hello. She mentioned the Snowy Egret (adult) up at Lighthouse Cove that she and Steve Kolbe saw in the afternoon.

A beautiful sunrise greeted us at the Tip this morning. Best bird was a Tufted Titmouse that appeared and sat in a tree for a while. A titmouse is rather rare in Point Pelee for those who do not know!

I wandered off and checked for butterflies later. I managed to find a Gray Hairstreak and a Wild Indigo Duskywing. The duskywing is fairly late, as there is not a record after mid October to my knowledge.

Wild Indigo Duskywing

Gray Hairstreak

After a quick lunch, I headed up to north of Comber where the shorebirds were reported. It is next to a cannin g factory and the field has been flooded. It was an incredible sight to behold with well over 1000 shorebirds. Most were Golden Plover, but others mixed in including Hudsonian Godwits.
I motored on to Lighthouse Cove in hopes of finding a good heron. Immediately upon arrival I saw a smallish heron (Great Egret next to it for comparison) that I thought was a Little Blue. (Last Wednesday a Little Blue was reported!). I was sure of it, but something just bothered me about it.

"The" heron

The bill was grayish and more thin and pointy than what you would see in Little Blue. As well the yellow lores were obvious. Legs were all greenish yellow, and in certain positions, the feet were a bit more yellow. On second thought, I realized it was a juv Snowy.

After doing some research at home and hearing from a couple of people, it was undoubtedly a fresh juvenile Snowy Egret. Indeed a colour combination I have not seen before!
I have seen several Snowy Egrets in the past (found four myself!), but not like this. It has been quite a few years since I have even seen a Snowy!

Almost forgot.... I encountered a young Fox Snake on the road yesterday in the park. I pulled it off the road since it was certain to get smushed. Park staff were asking motorists to go only 20 km/h this weekend in hopes of making people aware of moving Fox Snakes. BTW, Kathy Watson studied Fox Snakes in PPNP so she was jealous I saw one!

Reflections

2011-10-03T20:38:00.001-04:00

Just a little filler piece tonight.
This coming weekend will mark the fourth year I have been doing this blog. It has been fun all the way. It is an excellent way to share nature sightings and information insights, and some of my photos.
Initially I had thought of setting up a website, but I discovered Blogger! Friends Marianne Reid and Jeremy Hatt had started a blog, so why not me.

Sunrise at Rondeau

Blogging was not anywhere as near popular then as it is today. So many people have a blog now from friends to fellow birders or nature enthusiasts. It is such a good way to get information out.
Back in August 2002 I started writing a weekly internet-based nature column to share nature-related news, mainly for Chatham-Kent and southwestern Ontario. I am still writing it today! Although I miss the odd week, I have written just about 400 columns to date. They appear Tuesday evenings at: Nature Link

There is always some overlap between that and my blog.
It is fun to share trips, outings, etc. on the blog.....!

Long Point Tip July 2007

Another Windy Day

2011-10-02T18:29:00.001-04:00

Question Mark at Rondeau

I decided to head down to Rondeau this morning. The early morning was fairly calm and the night had been clear, so some movement of birds occurred. Looks like many things left!
Yesterday Jim Burk had lots of birds in Rondeau. Along the south point beach he had an American Avocet, Parasitic Jaeger. He counted 21 species of warblers among other things.
Today was different. Fewer birds--about 12 species of warblers, but there was a changeover. Many more Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Juncos, etc. Signs of fall! Eastern Phoebe was present in big numbers.
The wind picked up as the day went on and probably reached 35 clicks at least. I braved the Blenheim Lagoons. That place is windy even on a calm day. Lots of shorebirds in the sprinklers, but nothing really new. A few Dunlin were in, but mostly Lesser Yellowlegs, big yellowlegs, a few Stilt Sandpipers and even a Wilson's Snipe. At least 4 Horned Grebes were present (Jim had 8? yesterday).
Back at Rondeau, Jim and I encountered an albino American Robin. It was a partial albino of course, but I had to do a double take when I saw a white bird at the top of a dead tree!

Almost forgot to mention, lots of Pine Siskins flying over or working south point this morning. These are the first for the fall!

It was still a good wind for Point Edward today (40 k), so I wonder what was up there.
I hate sitting in one spot for hours. Usually you don't get two good days in a row anyway.

Gulls were hunkered down today!

It will get warmer this week, and likely I will head straight to the Tip next Saturday. Pelee that is.

North Wind + Lakewatch=Jaegers and Gulls

2011-10-01T19:24:00.000-04:00

Well, today certainly panned out. All week strong northerly winds were predicted for the weekend. In the fall I hope for northerly winds on weekends to check out the mouth of Lake Huron at Point Edward for birds. Usually the winds occur during week days, so today was a novelty.
I woke up early (too early!) so I headed up to the Point Edward lakewatch location. Too dark to see anything, but I could see lots of gulls out there just as it was getting light.
Funny thing, I was sure I had a Sabine's Gull in that darkness, but how could you tell? Sure enough, one appeared after it got light.
It was one of the best jaeger days I had there, although many did not come very close. I suppose October 25, 2005 was better when we had upwards of 15 birds and all three species. Many of those flew right overhead at low altitude.
As usual, patience is required and there are long periods of time when little is seen. I spent almost 7 hours there! Where else would one go for birding on a windy day like this anyway?
Using a scope today was hopeless in that wind!
There were only six other birders there (one briefly), and four of those from Michigan. More eyes help though. Sometimes I have been there by myself and wondered what I had seen or missed!

Below is my posting to Ontbirds, which sums up the day's sightings:

It was one of the better gull/jaeger days I have ever had at Point Edward,
and one of the strongest NNE winds I have experienced there.
I arrived before first light and noticed a large number of gulls (too dark!)
either exiting the St. Clair River or at the mouth of the lake. Just as it
was getting light I had a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE (juv). A bit earlier I was
sure I saw a SABINE'S GULL, but it was too dark out still!
Turns out one juv SABINE'S appeared about 08:50. It hung around at the
entrance to the river for over an hour.

Sabine's Gull!

Horned Grebes

Parasitic Jaeger

I stayed longer than other observers, and estimated at least 15 jaegers
today.
Many were unidentifiable as most did not come close. Some were obvious
"returnees" throughout the morning. At least three were identifiable as juv
PARASITIC.
Just after others left, Steve Charbonneau and I saw two LONG-TAILED JAEGERS
come in. One was an obvious adult with long tail streamers and the other
possibly a sub-adult.I had five more jaegers after everyone left! A duo was PARASITIC and another group of three was rather distant. Two of those I suspected were POMARINE about 12:30.

Some other birds included two Phalaropes which I saw at first light, and
several times throughout the morning. I think they were RED-NECKED as the
last time I got a closer look.
several SANDERLINGS
7 Surf Scoters
~25 HORNED GREBES
1 RED-THROATED LOON
1 COMMON LOON
~50+ COMMON TERNS
+ Ruddy, Redhead, Lesser Scaup ducks

Directions to Point Edward Lakewatch: Find Front St. in Sarnia (along
river in downtown) and follow it north to St. Clair St. just past the 402
overpass. Turn left on St. Clair St. and follow it to its very north end in
Point Edward past Michigan Ave. Turn left on Victoria Ave. and go less than
two blocks to Fort St. Turn right onto Fort St. and go to the parking lot
at the lake.

Birds of Kent County--A. A. Wood

2011-09-29T20:21:00.000-04:00

Things have been very slow with birds this week.

Some migrant Sandhill Cranes were at Port Lambton on Tuesday, and more Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Stagnant weather all week, but tomorrow(Friday) things will change. Strongnortherly winds are forecast, so that will stir it up.

Recently I was given a re-typed copy of an unpublishedmanuscript by A. A. Wood. It is entitledBirds of KentCounty (1949). It is actually quitecomprehensive and contains a wealth of information about bird life in Kent up untilthat time.

Albert Alexander Wood (2 May 1885-2 April 1963) was awell-rounded naturalist. He specializedin entomology and worked out of Strathroy at the Dominion EntomologicalLaboratory. While there he preparedexhibits and developed a knack for displaying insects. Throughout his life he also prepared mammaland bird skins.

In those days, birds were shot and collected. Wood, over his lifetime, prepared hundreds ofbird skins and later on he donated over 600 to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).

He also did quite a bit of writing, including many articlesfor The Canadian Field Naturalist (Ottawa).

At some point he decided to write a document about the birds ofKent County. According to some reading I did, it arose as a result of discussions among a number people in the Kent Nature Club. (The Kent Nature Club held its first meeting November 27, 1930 at the Chatham Public Library. The club eventually became one of the charter members of the Ontario Federation of Naturalists which was formed in May 1931. The Kent Nature Club existed until interest dwindled in the early 1980's).
The information came about from Wood's own observations as well as manyother ornithologists/"birdwatchers" of the day. It made use of research collections, mounted specimens, field notes,diaries and publications. For example, Rev. Francis William Sandys of Chathamhad quite a collection of mounted birds that were useful.

The book contained an annotated list of 271 species plus 22additional hypothetical species known to occur in Kent County.

Wood also touched on previous ornithological work in Kent County,including London native Dr. W. E. Saunders (Iwrote about him last winter), James L. Baillie (studied nests at Rondeau), andDr. George Thomas McKeough of Chathamwho wrote A List of Birds of Kent County (1924).

[I have a copy (reprint) of McKeough’s work that waspublished by the Kent Historical Society. An original, from my Dad’s collection went to the local museum.]

A. A. Wood’s work included a list of nesting birds in Kent. Another list was of the spring migration ofbirds giving the number of years observed, average date of arrival and earliestdate.

After Wood’s death a brief biography was written late in1964 by H. B. Wressel in The Canadian Field Naturalist. Wressel was a keen naturalist living in Chatham and frequentedPoint Pelee. By the way, past issues ofThe Canadian Field Naturalist can be viewed online!

It is unfortunate that the 100 page manuscript was neveractually published as it paints an accurate picture of bird life in

Kent

up until the 1940’s.

Just for interest, the accompanying photo shows somehandwriting on the inside cover of a booklet I picked up years ago at a usedbook store. I am not sure the origin ofit. The book is a ROM publication entitled No. 11: BAIRD’S SPARROW, by B. W. Cartwright, T. M.Shortt and R. D. Harris (1937).

Quiet Day

2011-09-25T17:29:00.002-04:00

A short blog today--little bird activity in these parts! Rondeau was terribly slow for birds this cloudy morning. The few birds around were buried in the dogwoods avoiding falcons and accipiters. A nice Peregrine Falcon was swooping around Rondeau's south point trail first thing.
I checked out Ridgetown lagoon but little was there also. As usual, lighting was horrible there for viewing. I did see a dowitcher species among Lesser Yellowlegs.

Blenheim was still good for shorebirds at the sprinklers, but just as I arrived, a Peregrine Falcon swooped in and scattered the birds. Maybe it got that Red Knot from Thursday!
I waited patiently and eventually the birds came back. Actually some never left as the sprinklers were on and they sort of hid under the water streams. However, they were frozen stiff from fear.

The wary Lesser Yellowlegs

There were fewer yellowlegs than yesterday, but I counted 9 Stilt Sandpipers plus two dowitchers today. The Wilson's Phalarope was still there as was a White-rumped Sandpiper and only one Pectoral. The water was much higher today, and when the birds came back in, the Pectoral was practicing its swimming skills.

I could not locate the Horned Grebe, so perhaps it finally left.

Touring Around

2011-09-24T19:42:00.000-04:00

Turned out to be a very nice day (i.e. the weather forecast was totally wrong...again). I just kept going all day. I found nothing noteworthy as usual, but it was nice to be out.
Starting at Rondeau, I found some good pockets of warblers and other birds. It was somewhat quiet overall, but OK. The first few White-throated Sparrows were in. Flycatchers were scarce, but I did see an Olive-sided at the south end of Harrison.
A Pileated Woodpecker was pounding away on SPT and a pair of Tufted Titmice were just south of maintenance. Two target birds of last Sunday that did not materialize! When you want those, they never show, but any other time they are just there!

Up at Blenheim Lagoons, about 100 shorebirds were in the sprinkler cells. Mostly Lesser Yellowlegs (~75) with some Greaters and 7 Stilt Sandpipers, 1 White-rumped, a Long-billed Dowitcher and the Wilson's Phalarope.

A nice butterfly included a Bronze Copper.

I headed over to Tilbury Lagoon, but it was somewhat quiet. A couple of White-rumped Sandpipers and others.

Master's Dart moth

Might as well go to Point Pelee! Some butterflies were out on this coolish day.

I had about 25 Fiery Skippers, 1 Gray Hairstreak, lots of Buckeye, 1 Giant Swallowtail and a few Spicebush Swallowtails.

Fiery Skipper (look at that tongue!)

Gray Hairstreak

Snout Butterfly

A few warblers were seen, plus the first Junco of the season for me and several raptors were moving. Highlight was a juv Golden Eagle. Several imm. Bald Eagles and Broad-winged Hawks were lazily moving over the park. Also a group of 20 Turkey Vultures that endlessly circled over the park.

S*N*A*K*E!!!

This Week

2011-09-23T21:05:00.001-04:00

It was back to work this week. We spent the week cutting up a 33' boat. Hard work doing that and filling a 20' X 8' X 8' dumpster. The days of burning are long gone!

Each day I checked Brander Park before and after work. Lots of warblers were there, and on the nice days, butterflies (as in the previous post) were out in the afternoon.

Peck's Skipper

Late today I headed down to Blenheim. Lots of shorebirds in, but I could not find a Red Knot as posted by Garry Sadler yesterday. An adult Wilson's Phalarope in basic plumage was in the sprinkler cell--something not reported recently.

A couple of Stilt Sandpipers among lots of yellowlegs (~80 birds total) were present.

In pond 3, the long-staying Horned Grebe was associating with the ducks. More Ring-necked Ducks were in, and a definite female Lesser Scaup!
Down at Erieau there were tons 'o gulls. About 100 Sanderling were on the pier, beach or rocks. Always running around, I could not focus on them! Lighting bad too.

Tomorrow looks good for some Rondeau birding.....

Late Afternoon Butterflies and Birds

2011-09-20T20:14:00.002-04:00

It was such a nice day today I stopped at Brander Park, Port Lambton after work. As I expected, Fiery and Peck's Skippers were in the flower garden area.

Fiery Skipper

I usually see Tawny-edged as well this time of year, but not today.

Peck's Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper

Some warblers were in the park as well including a pair of Northern Parula, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped...

Bay-breasted Warbler

Northern Parula

I saw another Philadelphia Vireo there as well. Seems to be lots of them in this fall migration.

Philadelphia Vireo

Rondeau-Blenheim OFO Field Trip and Checklists

2011-09-18T16:59:00.004-04:00

Today I led the traditional Rondeau Park/Blenheim Sewage Lagoon trip for the OFO Convention. I was a bit worried with the lack of birds and east wind (not good for Rondeau!), but the people were happy with what was found and of course the weather. Our list ended up at 88 species for a somewhat quiet day.

We started at the visitor centre and saw a couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers and a few warblers. I also spotted a Yellow-throated Vireo. After checking the lake, we headed down to South Point Trail. A few warblers and woodpeckers were along the trail. We added Hairy and Red-bellied to the OFO list, but never did get the ever-elusive Pileated! Sapsucker, Downy and Flicker were also spotted.

Another Philadelphia Vireo!

The group spread out a bit and some lagged behind. Maris Apse observed a Prairie Warbler, so many did not get to see it. It was a nice find for the fall!

We never did find a Tufted Titmouse. Any other time you may see four or five! Never fails!
After lunch at Blenheim Lagoons, we spent two hours there and came up with a good number of species. If you stay long enough, things do appear.

I was pleased that a Red-necked Phalarope was in pond 3. Although not reported for a couple of days, it can easily be missed. Also in the pond was the Horned Grebe which has changed in appearance since a few days ago.
Some Ruddy Ducks, Mallards and a controversial female Ring-necked Duck were seen. Ron Tozer wanted Lesser Scaup for the OFO list, but after much debate (I never had doubts!) it became a Ring-necked. Not sure why it was a problem, but it was not a textbook example. Shovelers were present and a female Pintail flew in with some Mallards.

While heading towards the sprinkler cells, a large flock of Bonaparte's Gulls suddenly came in and we instantly spotted an adult Little Gull. Another surprise! There was a huge flock of gulls in a distant field from which they came.
Over at the shorebird hangout, we added Stilt Sandpiper to the list and looked at many other common shorebirds.

While at the lagoons, an Osprey flew over, as well as a Merlin. Black-crowned Night-Heron (imm.) and a Green Heron were also briefly seen.
During the day with random discussions, it turns out a few species seen by individuals/parties yesterday were not added to the OFO Convention Checklist. For example, we had two Scarlet Tanagers at Blue Heron! Next year plans are to take a different approach at the dinner to find out what was seen during the day. With Ron Tozer along, we tallied up the current total of OFO Convention species at the end and it stood at 170. The record is 176 for a Pelee convention. More will be added no doubt!

Point Pelee 17 September

2011-09-17T23:36:00.001-04:00

OFO Convention was at Point Pelee today. I spent the day birding/butterflying with Jeremy Hatt, Marianne Balkwill and Mark Field. We had some good pockets of warblers and other birds and some decent butterflies.
Apparently we had the only Great-crested Flycatcher, White-crowned Sparrow and Yellow-billed Cuckoo for the day. I later had a White-throated Sparrow which strangely was the only one reported today!
Just before lunch, we headed over to NW Beach Parking lot to look for birds and butterflies. A good selection of warblers was at the south end in the old parking area.
Here we found two Common Checkered-Skippers which were the first ones I had seen in the park this year. Apparently this was the first day they had been recorded within the park according to Bill Lamond's post on Google Butterflies.
Thinking things would be good for butterflies, we headed to West Beach Trail south of West Beach P. L.
We found two more Checkered Skippers (and I found another later bringing the total to 5).
We also saw 5 Gray Hairstreaks.
I estimated about 20 Fiery Skippers in the knapweed closer to the south end.
Turned out to be a pretty good day.
(No camera today!)

More Stuff

2011-09-16T17:04:00.000-04:00

I finally got out in my boat this morning even though it was cold. It was a nice ride though up to Sombra and back. I had not been out in it for almost a month!

A good selection of warblers at Port Lambton this morning. Blackpolls Warblers in big numbers.

This afternoon I decided to check out Tilbury Lagoon. At least there is water back in the favourite spot for shorebirds. Nothing special in it though. Some Pectoral Sandpipers dropped in for a few minutes, but then took off.

Butterflies included about a half dozen Fiery Skippers and the surprise of the day, a Bronze Copper. I never got a photo of the Bronze.

Fiery Skipper at Tilbury

Chickweed Geometer

Some more photos of the recent Georgian Bay trip:

Fringed Gentian (common at MacGregor Point)

Cardinal Flower

Pennsylvania Leather-wing

?Canada Darner (f)

T. V.

sailboat off Giant's Tomb Island

Rondeau Area Today

2011-09-15T19:43:00.001-04:00

I stopped at some usual haunts today in and around Rondeau. First was Ridgetown Lagoon which has good shorebird habitat. Nothing unusual, but the same birds were present as yesterday including 8 Short-billed Dowitchers.

Cape May Warbler

At Rondeau, although it was noon, I was pleased to
find a large number of warblers working the dogwoods on South Point Trail. Usually early morning is best, so I suspect earlier was even better! I spent considerable time just looking as there was so many all along. Huge number of American Redstarts.

I finally saw a pair of Northern Parula--something absent from my recent trip. Still no Canada Warbler this week--a sign?

I have been seeing lots of Philadelphia Vireos recently. Many on my trip and a few today. It is my favourite vireo.

Also of note was the sheer number of Monarch butterflies.

Frankly it is the most I have seen at Rondeau. In the two or so hours on SPT, I estimated 700+ migrating. I did find a significant roost at one point.

Other butterflies included Gray Hairstreak and American Snout (neglected to post those on the listserve!) among other common ones.

Over at Erieau's McGeachy Pond many more Monarchs and Buckeyes plus a Fiery Skipper.

American Snout (uncommon for Rondeau)

At Blenheim Lagoons, I saw 4 more Fiery Skippers plus many Buckeyes.

Birds included two Red-necked Phalaropes, Horned Grebe and other shorebirds in the sprinkler cells.

Georgian Bay Tour

2011-09-14T21:02:00.005-04:00

Just got back from a few days of camping in Georgian Bay country, primarily for some fresh air and scenery. I visited some spots I had not been to in a long time! I took in what ever came along and had a good time. The weather was actually perfect the whole trip save for a heavy thunderstorm at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. I did not take a lot of photos, but did get some good shots.

The first day, I was at MacGregor Point Provincial Park near Port Elgin. It is one of my favourite parks that is good for birding. I watched for butterflies and lots of White Admirals were out this time. At this place you can see the extremes in this species. Some look like Red-spotted Purple, while others are full White Admiral.

At night the calls of Screech and Great Horned Owls could be heard.

Next day was up on the Bruce Peninsula with the first stop at Cabot Head. As mentioned before, this is a favourite spot and the bird observatory had an open house on Saturday. It is within a Nature Preserve, so this was the only opportunity for the public to get in. White Admirals were flying here too (two years ago they were not).

I also late visited Dorcas Bay, another one of my favourite spots. Things were quiet here though. I was hoping to find Massasauga Rattlesnakes here ( I have seen a few in the past) or at some point on this trip, but it never happened. It is a good birding spot. I have even seen Great Gray Owl here in July! (Hi Steve!).

Wingfield Basin, Cabot Head
wreck of the Gargantua

Due to certain reasons, I cut my visit the to the Bruce short and headed over to Awenda Provincial Park north of Penetanguishene. I always thought this was a nice park since my first visit in 1995 (I also camped there in 2006). It is an odd place to get to, but has good shoreline scenery and a couple of nice trails to walk.

Giant's Tomb Island

Barred Owls are regular here, and this trip was no exception as they called at dusk both nights and other times during the night. The nights were clear!

Early Sunday morning I found a large pocket of warblers along Kettles Lake. I stood at one spot for a long time just looking at them!

Blackpoll Warbler

South of here is Tiny Marsh Wildlife Area. I stopped here last in 1995! It was rather quiet on Sunday, but if you want to see Pied-billed Grebes in big numbers, check this place.

Tiny Marsh

Next stop was Killbear Provincial Park north of Parry Sound. I have been there three times before, the last being 1995! It is also sort of an out-of-the-way in location, but a nice park with fabulous natural sand beaches among the rock outcroppings. It has a couple of nice trails to walk. A fairly new visitor centre rivals the one at Algonquin Park.

Lookout Point Trail has a beautiful bluff to look out over the Bay.
It is slightly open there after you walk through the forest. I was surprised to find a Common Buckeye butterfly at that point since there is little habitat for them around, especially at that northern location. The Buckeye does stray north at times though!

Common Buckeye at Killbear!

The nicest trail, fairly short, is Two Peaks. It had nice scenery.

At one point I saw two Black Bears crossing the road when I looked in my rear view mirror. Bears are regular at Killbear, and I am sure I heard one in the campground at night!

darner species (will look up!)

On the way south and back to more familiar country, I stopped at West Perth Wetlands at Mitchell. This is undoubtedly the premier spot for shorebirds lately. Hundreds were there, although mostly yellowlegs and Black-bellied/Golden Plovers. Hard to keep track of numbers, but there were at least 8 White-rumped Sandpipers present, probably more. Nothing unusual that I could see, but nice to see the numbers. (lighting was horrible!)

Yellowlegs Convention!

Last night was at Pinery Provincial Park. The wind was howling all day from the NW off the lake, so it was noisy. However, it was the nicest night for sleeping as it cooled off. It was quite warm the whole trip.
There were good pockets of warblers in the park, especially along Riverside Trail.
I watched the lake for quite a bit, as it was active with gulls and terns. Lots of stuff way out and I am pretty sure I had a Black-legged Kittiwake at one point. Sanderling were moving along the beach.

This afternoon I checked out Blenheim Lagoons. It is better! They have turned on one sprinkler cell and naturally shorebirds were attracted to it. Lots of Yellowlegs plus other including 3 Stilt Sandpipers.
Another Horned Grebe is in pond 3 along with about 15 Redhead and others.

Common Buckeye were abundant, and I saw one very worn Fiery Skipper.

mess of Buckeyes!

Sunset at MacGregor Point

An Update

2011-09-08T21:44:00.000-04:00

Warblers were in good numbers this morning. About a dozen species were at Brander Park, Port Lambton and I heard lots flying overhead. Too bad it was a weekday. It was crappy weather, but birds were around.
I noticed a bunch more Sandhill Cranes in the fields yesterday.
I never heard if anyone checked out Point Edward this week. Winds were more NE, not the best for there, but still decent. I look forward to getting up there more this fall. A Red Knot was at Kettle Point a couple of days ago. Seems to be a few around. A couple were found on Belle Isle on the Detroit River today--a first for there!

This weekend I will be visiting the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory up at Cabot Head. It is such a fabulous spot. (The former header photo for this blog was taken there)

I first stayed at the place back in August 2002 for a volunteering weekend. I sort of fell in love with the place. There is an open house on Saturday in which visitors can check out the place.
It is a good spot to find Massasauga Rattlesnakes! On one of our hikes we found a couple.

We were following one of the original trails of the Bruce Trail. The area is now a Nature Reserve, so the trail was relocated.

After Saturday I will be travelling around, so no more posts on this blog for a while!

Time for Jaegers and other Seabirds

2011-09-05T15:41:00.002-04:00

Algomarine

Another strong northerly wind on the weekend! Hope this trend continues unlike previous years.
When a strong north wind is "predicted" (does not always come true) in the fall I always head up to Point Edward on Lake Huron, at least on weekends. Today was perfect. It is early in the season and not a lot is moving, but some jaegers decided to fly. Forecast was for 30 K winds, but it got close to 40 K.
After an hour and three quarters of sitting I finally spotted a group of three jaegers coming from the east. It was nice to see one was an adult. Two of them circled close right overhead as they sometimes do there. Others followed.
Below is a copy of my posting to Ontbirds:

About 07:45 a group of 3 jaegers appeared just offshore from the east. All
appeared to be Parasitic. Two were intermediate morph juveniles with one
being a fine adult. One juvie broke away and headed up the US shoreline,
while the other two headed overland at Sarnia just after passing close
overhead.
About ten minutes later, I noticed an adult heading up the US shoreline (not
sure if it was another bird or not).

A short while later I spotted a jaeger fairly distant that was likely a
juvenile Long-tailed. It came from the east and headed up the US shoreline.

About 10:35, a very dark juvie appeared very close to shore from the east.
Paul D. Pratt also spotted this one. It continued up the US shoreline.

Other birds of note included two Osprey and a group of 4 Red-necked
Phalaropes.

Weather was miserable (lots of rain) but that is when it is good.

Impossible to take photographs in poor light, gale force winds and birds that were dipsy doodling all over!

This week strong NE winds are predicted all along, so more should show up. However, who is going to look? Some of us have a job to go to!