Birding To Bluebells

 I have been at Rondeau Park this past week camping and birding, with the exception of today.  It was slim pickings for the most part, and very cold due to the constant east winds.  Thursday it started to warm up and by Saturday we finally had a good number of birds flitting through the forest.

Bird radar looked good for some days later in the week, but one could not find much.  Essentially, the birds were motoring on through!  The favourite activity this week with the prevailing east winds, was to watch them fly right over on the west side of the park, at either the marsh trail entrance or at the store.  It is a fun experience, but you have to be quick!  Thursday was the best day, with hundreds of migrants zipping by.  One can only hope for a Blue Grosbeak, Western Tanager, Western Kingbird (some tried!), or anything else.

On Thursday and Friday evenings, I walked out marsh trail to Long Pond, a 10 km round trip.  Thursday was the best day as it was warm and calm.  Rails, bitterns and marsh birds were the theme.

I did get both Sora and Virginia Rail, as well as a King Rail.  The king of rails does nest out there, so one has to be keen on at least hearing one.

At the very end of my walk, I capped it off with a FOY Common Nighthawk!

Friday was windier, but there were more warblers working the low trees and shrubs.

I stayed away from the east side of south point trail for the most part because of the east winds, and spent quit a bit of time on the west side, which I normally do not do.  Most birds were at the far end, so it was a long walk!  It was interesting though.

Osprey out marsh trail

I saw several species of snakes during the week, including this watersnake slithering alongside the trail.

Saturday it was steady, and near the start of south point west, the usual Acadian Flycatchers were on territory.

Various warblers included Mourning, Wilson's and Canada.  The Canada is always a treat to see.

Scarlet Tanagers were numerous on Saturday, but no Hepatic at Rondeau!

Magnolia Warblers were numerous everywhere, as they often are.

The beach accesses to the north of the park were active by mid afternoon, so I went there, avoiding the crowds of birders aimlessly searching other trails.  Nothing special, but a couple of Mourning Warblers were working the tangles.

I was bored by late afternoon Friday, so went outside the park to the Erieau Marsh trail (rail trail).  It was good, as it often is, with warblers and vireos.  I got my first Blackpoll Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo of the year there.

Turtles were also enjoying themselves.  Some Map Turtles were showing well.

Lots of Red-headed Woodpeckers have been in the park.  One day I saw at least eight.  Most do not stay though.

I am sure there are lots of birds yet to come, as we have not seen big numbers this year.

Today, was a change of pace.  Ontario Nature recently acquired another chunk of land at Sydenham River Nature Reserve  in Middlesex County.  The reserve is also in Lambton, but today's event was at the end of Buttonwood Road in Middlesex.

I was a fun affair, with many familiar faces.  The attraction was the official opening of the new section.

We took a tour of the area, and I noted some birds along the way.  Along the road and within the area were numerous Tennessee Warblers, which was an indication of how the migration is going.  We usually get lots of them later in migration!

The "retired" field

Scene past the terminus of Buttonwood

One of my highlights was seeing Virginia Bluebells in bloom.  It is a rare plant and very stunning.

The only butterflies I saw were Juvenal's Duskywing, Cabbage White, Eastern Comma and a FOY Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Juvenal's Duskywing

I was hoping to see some odes, but I only saw one go past me and I never determined what it was!  There are some notable ones there, so perhaps later on I will check it out.

Scene in one the many deep ravines

North Lambton Stuff to South Beach Stuff

Friday I decided to head up to north Lambton to look around.  It is the season to look for insects more than birds.  However, there was a brisk and cool north wind which did not help in that regard.
In any case, I started at Rock Glen Conservation Area early and had the place to myself.
I was interested in looking along the river at the outlet of the falls ravine where one could find some odonates.  It was really too early in the morning, but as things warmed up, I spotted a couple of American Rubyspots.

There were a few birds, but nothing of note.  Earlier in the week, some Louisiana Waterthrushes were noted there.  There is somewhat decent habitat in the area, but at the "Glen", there are too many people that would disturb their activities.  It is a popular spot for tourists and when I went back in the afternoon, it was packed!  The birds likely vacated the area after having the place to themselves earlier when the place was closed.

Midland Clubtail

I walked the two main trails at Ipperwash Forested Dunes and Swales as well.  I thought it was once again rather quiet for birds just like last year.  There really should be more birds there!  Of note, was a singing male Canada Warbler which is probably on territory.  It was at the exact same spot I had one two (?) years ago.

One can find Pink Ladies Slipper here, among other things.

Tufted Loostrife

Usually Sandhill Cranes nest in the area, and stumbled upon a family with one colt.  However, I did not get a decent photo.

Along Cedar Trail, I saw this Northern Watersnake slithering through the wetland.

After this "long" walk, I slipped over to the "MNR" parking lot to take a quick look around.  I noted perhaps eight Dusted Skippers.  These bandits are now declining for the year and will soon be gone.

I came across this Spiderwort plant which I thought was neat.  Not often I see these.  The flowers usually just bloom for one day.

With all the walking this day, I headed home to rest!

Today, Sunday, I had no idea what to do.  I just pointed the car towards Rondeau and ended up there.  I did not even know where I wanted to walk there, but started at south point and walked along the edge of the woods.

A pair of Northern Mockingbirds has been in the area.  I saw them today, and it was interesting to watch the one bird going back and forth.  It was also entertaining to listen to the mimicry.

I met up with "M.B." and he was heading out to south beach.  I was game for that so on we went.  It is always an intersting walk and one never knows what to encounter.  Part way out, Steve came along, so  we had more eyes to look at things.

There are usually lots of gulls out there, and today was no exception.

We spotted a couple of young Little Gulls among about 350 Bonaparte's and others.

It is a good time of year for Black-headed Gull, but one never materialized. I have seen two at Point Pelee around this time.

Some Common Terns were out there, including this youger one.

A bleached out Herring Gull (assuming pure Herring) stood out.

Heading back, we spotted another Little Gull which was more advanced in plumage sporting almost a full hood.  However, I did not get a decent photo.

Four Sandhill Cranes were spotted.

After getting back to the car, I headed home, as this is all I wanted to do today!

More Holiday Weekend Birding

Sunday was a decent day for birds at Rondeau Park.  There was a good influx of various warblers such as Tennessee, Canada, Wilson's and Mourning, as well as various flycatchers.  The holiday weekend in May often sees a good showing of flycatchers, especially Willow, Alder, Acadian and more of the others.  Interestingly, I did not find any Acadian, despite looking in the appropriate spots.  Hopefully more are to come in.

Eastern Kingbird

I did a long walk from maintenance area down Rondeau Road, across Bennett and back up Harrison.  I found a good variety of warblers including several Canada and Wilson's.
I heard that south point trail was good, so I headed there next.  It was slow going due to the deep water, but worth the effort.  Perhaps two dozen species of warblers were seen, plus lots of flycatchers.  Alders and Willows were calling, and more Leasts were in.  However, I never came across my favourite, the Olive-sided.  Other birders reported it though. ( I did finally find one at Peers Wetland in the evening!).

Indigo Bunting

After many hours in the park, I headed west along the lake shore hoping to see some Whimbrel.  The holiday weekend always seems to be the peak time for them.  After a brief stop at Wheatley Harbour where there were no Whimbrel, I moved over to Hillman Marsh shorebird cell.  Mostly Dunlin were in, but 4 Short-billed Dowitchers, some Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers and a single of both yellowlegs rounded out the shorebirds.
Perhaps just as I was leaving, a Stilt Sandpiper came in, going by the reports.  This species is rare in spring migration in our area.

I stopped by Wheatley Harbour once more and lucked out with Whimbrel.  Far to the east I spotted a flock coming in.

It circled a few times, landed on the beach, circled again, landed again, and took off.

Whimbrel often seem to be nervous and in a hurry during spring migration.

This flock was difficult to count, but I thought there were 58.  Interestingly, Deryl Nethercott reported the same number at Erieau less than two hours previous.  That flock headed west, so likely it was the same group!

Today I headed back to Rondeau for a more leisurely birding time.  The park had very few people--unprecedented for the Victoria Day holiday.  The closure of the campground, likely the first in its history, cut down on the number of people in the park.  Birders loved this situation!

Warbler of Canada

I started on south point first thing.  I had the trail to myself.  It was obvious that there were fewer birds today, but that is expected at this point.  The migrants will move very quickly at this time of the month.

Blackpoll Warbler female

There was good variety and I ended up with about 21 species of warblers.

Cape May Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

I went as far as the "washout" area where there has been severe erosion over the past few years.  The trail used to be way out in the lake here!

Layers of Time

There were still lots of Swainson's Thrushes.  I had close to 40 today.  It has been a banner year for them in migration.

Later, I checked out maintenance area, then Bennett.
I walked the maintenance loop "extension", a trail we used to do often many years ago.

A few birds were back in, including several Canada Warblers.

On the way home, I stopped by Blenheim Lagoons.  Water was high in the sprinklers, but there were lots of small shorebirds on the pipes.

Perhaps over 300 birds were present, the bulk of which were Dunlin, with some Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers and at least 4 White-rumped.

A male Wilson's Phalarope was in the back.

There will still be some birds moving through in the next ten days, but the bulk of them have gone north.

Rondeau Remnants