Sarnia Skulkers

I spent today birding in Sarnia and area for a change.  With a half decent north wind forecast (ha, they were right!) I started at the lakewatch at the mouth of Lake Huron first thing.  It was a bust!  It was not a day for anything of note to be seen.  With climate change, we do not get as many good north winds there in the fall anymore and things have certainly changed over the years when we would get many good days at Lake Huron.
Dark clouds were to the east.  At one point a funnel cloud was trying to form.

After a couple of hours, I moved over to Canatara Park.  I spent most of the time in the meadow area where lots of sparrows and skulky warblers were flitting about.  It was certainly a day for Orange-crowned Warblers as I tallied at least a dozen there.  Lots of Nashville Warblers as well.  It was not a day for photos as the skies were gloomy and drizzly (just like last week!) and the birds were quickly moving.  I have to use some photos from the past here.

It was difficult to get an accurate number of the birds, but there were lots.  I had Nelson's Sparrow on my mind today.  At least one has been seen in the meadow in recent years.  I did not find one today though.

I then moved over to Wawanosh Wetlands.  There were some birds along the edges including several more Orange-crowned Warblers, Nashville, and other sparrows.  No Nelson's Sparrow here either, but I am sure some were around.

Next stop was Dow Wetlands, but on the way I found some shorebirds along Telfer Road including a Long-billed Dowitcher.

Right out of the gate, there were dozens of birds at Dow along the edges.  More Orange-crowned and Nashville with a few others mixed in.  Sparrows were the bird of the day, but once again they were quickly moving.  I could not get on 90% of them!
On top of the "hill" I stopped in my tracks when I spotted an Ammodramus sparrow.  A LeConte's!  I had solid looks and made sure it was not Nelson's or any other similar sparrow. Like the others, it disappeared into the weeds.
After putting out the alert, some Sarnia birders came along and we spent some time looking around.  Apparently, it was not spotted again.
The LeConte's was a new Lambton bird for me, probably long overdue!
It looked something like this:

I continued on my own and found some more birds at the north end in the treed area.  Included was a Scarlet Tanager, Tennesse Warbler, more Orange-crowned and Nashville etc.

Warbler of Tennesee

Here is my eBird list for Dow today:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S60343568

I came home via the river road and stopped by "Cath's Cart" (Cathcart) Park north of Sombra.  M.B. had reported some shorebirds on the flooded island (which is off limits this year as it flooded all summer).  Included were a couple of Long-billed Dowitchers.

The wrong kind of egret was on the breakwall.

One last stop at Reid CA was very quiet for birds.

Tomorrow, Nelson's Sparrow is on the radar!

Muggy Monday Meanderings

I did not go far on holiday Monday.  By noon the heat and humidity did me in!  We had some thunderstorms by mid afternoon anyway.
I headed up to Dow Wetlands south of Sarnia first thing.  A few Boblinks were moving around in the grasslands.

There were several dragonflies in the ponds, including Slaty Skimmers.

I then decided to walk at Perch Creek.  I went to look for Broad-winged Skippers, and did find one that never stayed still.  I was hoping for some early Leonard's Skippers, but that may have to wait until next week.
There were few butterflies (the trend this summer), but I did come across a lingering Striped Hairstreak.

There is lots of Culvers Root and Spiked Blazing Star in one area.

Some non-native species such as Elecampane are present as well.

Some common tiny moths that are easily overlooked include the White-striped Black.  I have seen many of these lately.

On the way home, I stopped by Wilkesport and a Royal River Cruiser decided to pose nicely.

Royal Rivers are actually quite common along the north branch of the Sydenham.

Over the pond, an Osprey was making some rounds.

A female Mallard seemed to be taking over duties of looking after the young Hooded Mergansers.

Dickcissels, Dunes and Swales, Dickcissels

Today I headed in a northerly direction towards Ipperwash.  I took some back roads on the way up.  Two spots along Forest Road had Dickcissels not reported previously.
Weather was quite pleasant with a northerly breeze today as I walked through Ipperwash Dunes and Swales.

Several Pine Warblers were seen or heard, as they are common in the area.

Best warbler was a Magnolia, which occasionally breeds in the area.

Along Beach trail, there was a lot of Butterfly Weed, but nothing on it.  Once again, butterflies were scarce.  There were a few including this Delaware Skipper.

I took a tour around Kettle Point before leaving the area.  Water level is very high, and there is no point!  I recall when we used to be able to walk quite a ways out.

I went into Sarnia on the way back and checked out Logan's Pond.  A waste of time!  It is another very poor year for dragonflies in these parts.
Dow Wetlands was on the list next.  Dickcissels were quite co-operative.

They seem to hang around where there are patches of  teasel or thistle.

Female Dickcissel

I came across another Dickcissel at the corner of Moore Line and Highway 40, as well as one at Lambton Generating Station which I discovered a few days ago.

After lunch (I recommend stopping at the burger stand in Courtright!), I headed back into the countryside.

I stopped at Moore WMA and went for a long walk.  It is getting quite grown-in where I used to find lots of butterflies.  The prairie plantings have not been maintained.

Compass Plant

I did find a couple of Edwards' Hairstreaks.

The river level was finally way down so one can get across the crossing to check out the "back 40".

Long Dash (?)

A final stop at Reid CA did not reveal any Dukes' Skippers yet.

Delaware Skipper

Banded Hairstreak

Highlight there was a family of Eastern Screech-Owls.  I heard some noise in the back corner of the meadow area and caught a glimpse of several owls.  I was not able to get any photos.

Sunday is the Rondeau butterfly count, so we will see what turns up! (Hopefully a Pipevine Swallowtail or two).

Holiday Weekend Birding

Although the north winds persist (and soon to change!), birding was decent so far this weekend.

Friday after work, I headed up to Dow Wetlands at the south end of Sarnia. It is one of the more reliable places nearby to find Upland Sandpipers. They used to be no problem in the pastures north of Wallaceburg, but the pastures no longer exist!
I did find one Upland, but I hope more are around Dow Wetlands.


On Saturday, birding was a bit slow at Rondeau Park and I left by noon.  Earlier, there was a good diversity of warblers, etc. on south point trail first thing in the morning.  Tennessee Warblers were quite vocal all over the park.

Along the beach, a lone Whimbrel was nice to see as a FOY.  It had been at Dog Beach earlier in the day, but moved down a bit.

Around noon, I headed over to Hillman Marsh shorebird cell.  Birds are constantly coming and going there, and you never know what you might find.  There was nothing special, but lots of Black-bellied Plover were present there and in nearby fields.  A single American Golden-Plover was among them in the cell.

Early in the day, Josh Vandermeulen reported a Clay-colored Sparrow near the green pump house.  It was still present but mostly remained out of sight.  Its characteristic buzzy song was obvious.

Today, I took a change of pace and headed up to Pinery/Port Franks.  Birding was good today with lots of warblers early in the day.  I briefly stopped at Karner Blue Sanctuary before going into Pinery and found a good selection of warblers.

Bay-breasted Warbler

The best birding trail in Pinery is Riverside Trail, which is where I always start.

Larry Cornelis was leading a large group of people, so I went on ahead.  Along the Ausable River a nice pocket of warblers was found and kept me busy.

Red-headed Woodpeckers nest in Pinery and it was no problem finding those.

Quite often I find Olive-sided Flycatcher along Riverside Trail this time of year, but today it eluded me.  I see that another party did report one around the same time, but somehow it was not evident when I was present.
Here is my list today for Pinery:
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S29840905

I walked several trails, also looking for butterflies.  It was a bit cool in the morning with a stiff north wind, so I did not find too many.  A number of Juvenal's Duskywings were seen.

Just before lunch, I checked out Karner Blue Sanctuary again but birds were scarce as one would expect at that time of day.
The Wild Lupine is starting to bloom.

Dwayne Murphy was lurking around the sanctuary also looking for things!

Quite a few Juvenal's Duskywings were present, but I found no other duskywings.

Nearby, I headed into the County Forest near the Community Centre.

This is an excellent spot for birding as well as searching for duskywings.  By that time of day, birds were rather quiet, but I did find a couple of Acadian Flycatchers and Hooded Warblers which are common there.  They remained too far out of sight for the camera.
One spot had a nice pocket of birds.

Several Yellow-throated Vireos were present

I did find a few duskywings.  Beside Juvenal's, there were Sleepy and Dreamy as well.  Most remained difficult to photograph.  Sleepy and Dreamy can be similar at times, but they have none of the "glassy" spots.
Some selected photos:

Sleepy Duskywing

I think this one is a Dreamy...!

Although many birders seemed to have hung up their binoculars at this time, more birds are to come!