End of March Findings at the Usual Haunts

 As March quickly approaches its end, things are ramping up.  More birds have arrived, and other flora and fauna are awakening.

A couple of days ago, it was a nice day to walk out Rondeau's marsh trail to burn off some winter fat.  There were still lots of ducks to sort through on Rondeau Bay.  There were not too many passerines along the trail, but an Eastern Phoebe was among the new arrivals.

I saw only a single Dark-eyed Junco way out that seemed lost!

My first flock of Double-crested Cormorants of the year was high overhead.

The next day we had rain in the morning, but it stopped for a walk in the afternoon at Reid CA, locally.  It had been quite cool the last few days, so plant life had not changed significantly.  I checked  for the seldom-seen Harbinger of Spring. I saw the usual colonies, but found another.  I am sure there are other spots, but this little plant can easily be overlooked.

I always admire the very large trees at Reid.  Here is one of the White Oaks.

Common Hackberry is rare at Reid too.  I know of only four small trees on the property.

Other scenes along the way, included this one in the old river channel.

Scenes at the high point of the property:

Scene in the middle of the woods:

Great Horned Owl is nesting on the property this year.  I finally found the nest!

While there, a pair of Common Ravens was circling around.  I was in the woods, so could not get any photos of the pair.  They are likely nesting the vicinity.

Yesterday, I went for a walk at Mitchell's Bay first thing.  It was quite windy off Lake St. Clair, but I noticed my first Great Egret of the year in the distance off Ticky-Tacky Point.

Another first-of-year species was Greater Yellowlegs.  Three were on the mudflats, but I was looking through trees and shrubs, unable to capture with the camera.

Today was a fine day under clear skies and bright sun at Rondeau Park.  A good day to put on sunglasses!

Nothing was moving on the lake though, as Steve and I checked that out first thing.  We then walked south point trail which seemed to be littered with Eastern Phoebes.  Throughout the morning we tallied about 20 in total during our rounds.  Too flighty for photos though!

A few Cedar Waxwings were along the trail.

Lots of Fox Sparrows had come in as well, among other things.  A newly-arrived Brown Thrasher was singing on south point too. The only Yellow-bellied Sapsucker encountered was at Spicebush trail.

After parting ways, I creeped around the campground the maintenance areas.

I always keep an eye out for plants and trees.  The other day, I was informed about another Common Hackberry in the campground.  Unlike Point Pelee and other areas, the hackberry is rare in Rondeau.  A few years ago, I found one hackberry in the campground near the north washroom, so I now know of two in the campgrounds.  I am sure that there may be more unseen in the vicinity though.  This one was not far from the south washroom.

My last walk in the park was on the maintenance loop.  While standing in one spot, I noticed another hackberry!  I have walked past this spot hundreds of times over the years, but never noticed it.  The unique bark is a dead give-away.

After leaving the park, I checked out Keith McLean C. L.  The usuals were in, but I noticed a couple of American Crows chasing a Common Raven to the north.  Ravens are becoming more and more frequent, when a few years ago they were a rarity in Chatham-Kent.

Later, I headed over to Erieau and caught sight of the early Osprey on the communications tower north of McGeachy.  I believe they nested on the structure last year.  Ospreys seem to arrive much earlier than what we were used to from many years ago.

I checked out the Erieau marsh trail, but nothing of note caught my eye.  Some Midland Painted Turtles were out catching some rays.

Before leaving south C-K, I made a quick check of the windy Blenheim lagoons.  No Eared Grebe in yet!

North Lambton Birding November 18

It was northward bound today, as I headed up to Ipperwash and Pinery.  This is a good time of year to check things out in north Lambton.  I was hoping to find some finches, but there were not many. All these finch-type birds coming from the north are motoring right on through.  Very few are staying in SW Ontario.

I first checked Ipperwash Dunes and Swales.  There are several trails, but the best choice today was the Dunes trail which is more open and has lots of Pines and Spruces.  It also leads back out to the main road and the big parking lot.

Things were rather quiet. As I mentioned, the finches and all those chickadees did not stick around here.  I did have a couple of Pine Siskins and Purple Finches fly over, as well as a single Common Redpoll.

Bald Eagle

There were no waxwings on this walk.  I have seen Bohemian in the big parking lot in past years, so that is why I checked it out.

remains of old cabin along Dunes trail

After a look on the quiet lake, I headed up to Pinery Provincial Park.  Parts of the park are  now closed for the winter, so the only spots to check out are at the visitor centre, along the river beside the campground or P9 beach parking lot.
My first stop was Cedar trail beside the VC.  It is good for birds this time of year.
Not far in, I heard a ruckous of chickadees and nuthatches and knew they had an owl.  Here is what I found just a few steps off the trail

Upon arrival at the viewing deck along the river, I heard a curious bird sound, which turned out to be an Eastern Phoebe.  It did not come out for good looks though.

The VC feeders were somewhat busy with common birds, but certainly no northern finches.

I then went to P9 and walked out to the lake.  A Red-throated Loon was fairly close, but otherwise not much was on the calm lake.

My next walk was along the river beside Riverside Campground.  This is often an excellent spot in winter time for birds.
Another Eastern Phoebe started things off.

Some American Robins and Eastern Bluebirds were briefly seen.

At the far end of the campground, another Eastern Phoebe was making its rounds.

At one point, I had a Common Redpoll fly over.

I went back to the VC to check the feeders, and added Cedar Waxwings to the day list.

Before leaving the park, I stopped by the store and canoe rental place beside the river to have a snack.  I noticed some birds across the river, so I got out and walked around.  There were several American Robins and other birds.
At one point I heard a unique bird call, which I determined to be Pine Grosbeak.  Although I heard it several times, I could never get a visual on the bird.  It was one of the target birds I had hoped to see today.

I walked onto the bridge and watched the robins and other birds feeding nearby.  At one point I saw another (or perhaps the second Eastern Phoebe I saw nearby earlier).

Far to the east, I heard Sandhill Cranes migrating south.  I counted at least 90, but they were distant and through the trees.

One more walk for the day was at Ausable River Cut CA south of Pinery. I had never been here before and actually never knew about it until recently.  It is a neat little place beside the river cut.

My walk started off with yet another Eastern Phoebe!

There is nice scenery along the river cut, and I will be checking out this place more often in the future.

Hopefully some of these northern finches will stop soon and unpack their bags to stay a while!

Good Friday Events

With the holiday upon us, I ventured down to the Rondeau Birding Area today.  New arrivals appear every day, so it can be interesting.



At the causeway outside Rondeau Park, I noticed quite a few ducks in the creek.  Included was a pair of Blue-winged Teal (my first of year).  Several have come in the last few days.

Within the park, I saw the first Eastern Phoebe of the day at the spicebush trail parking lot.  However, it was lying on road, dead.  I checked it out and the body was still warm, so whatever happened to it was very recent.




My first walk was along south point trail.  Lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets were along the trail as expected at this date.  The lake was fairly active and I spent some time watching.  One good vantage point is the foundation of an old vault toilet that stands out prominently.

Along the lakeshore, I found several newly-arrived Eastern Phoebes working the shoreline.  I counted at least eight, but there could have been ten as they moved around.

One of the resident Bald Eagles was having fun along the shoreline.

Later, I walked tulip tree trail just for the heck of it.  Soon we will have a Louisiana Waterthrush somewhere along the sloughs.

PAW's favourite TTT scene

I met up with Steve Charbonneau, and we walked the campground.  Nothing special was there but my FOY Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at the north end.  I missed one on south point earlier.




Over at Erieau, I tried for the Harlequin pair.  After some time, I finally spotted them far out off Rondeau's south beach.  I saw a couple of ducks with my bins that I thought were the Harlequins, but had to get out the scope to make sure.
Double-crested Cormorants are now showing up, and a single was off the pier today.





McGeachy Pond was full of ducks and a few Horned Grebes were out on the lake.  One can only hope for a Red-necked or even a Western!

I saw three Snowy Owls today--one off Erieau Road and two down Lagoon Road.

Blenheim Lagoons was full of ducks--too many to try and count!  Northern Shovelers were numerous with around 200 of them.  Some teal were there as well.

I even checked Ridgetown Lagoons, but could not find the Greater White-fronted Geese.  However, they showed up about an hour later.....apparently!

This evening, I went for a walk at Peers Wetland, Wallaceburg.  It was fairly productive with several ducks, a Wilson's Snipe, Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, 3 Eastern Phoebes, etc.

March of the Early Birds

Yet another week has blown by, literally.  It was very windy all week.  Some warm SW winds brought some early migrants to Ontario.  As expected Eastern Phoebes showed up, as well as some other birds.  Very warm temps are predicted for later this weekend, so be on the lookout!

Surprises do occur in March, and the Smew at Long Point yesterday was interesting.  Looks like it is a different bird than than the previous Lake Ontario one.  I only hope it works its way down to Rondeau area!
Early birds are neat to find, such as the record-early Le Conte's Sparrow I saw at Erieau March 10, 2007.  Exactly five years ago! It was a good spring for Ammodramus sparrows as a week later, Adam Pinch found a record-early Henslow's at Point Pelee.  Coincidentally, I was driving through the park when Adam found it.  As I approached the Tip parking lot, I saw Adam peddling his bicycle up the road at a rapid pace.  He assumed I would think he was crazy when he told me about the sparrow.  He took me to the spot, and there was a Henslow's Sparrow on West Beach Trail.  Snow was still on the ground.  Photos were taken.
A Pelee record-early Le Conte's was found that week as well I do recall.

Cans

Lots of Tundra Swans were around today.  Robins were everywhere and quite a few Northern Harriers were moving around.  Something good has to be out there, in this neck of the woods.  Someone just has to find it!  (It will not  be me) LOL.

Sunset along the St. Clair today

McKeough Floodway