Recent Chilly Birding

 Been slim pickings lately as the "winter" weather continues!  Just like clockwork, the bottom fell out of the thermometer for the weekend, but least we had quite a bit of sun.

Some decent birds have been showing up in the province, but not near me!

It was Rondeau and area on Friday, Point Pelee on Saturday and Rondeau again on Sunday.

Warblers were virtually absent on Friday at Rondeau, but numerous any place else it seemed.  Before going home, I swung around to Mitchell's Bay to walk the trail and a few Yellow-rumped were there.

Saturday was cold but the sun was out at Point Pelee.  Most bird activity was on the east side in the Tip area.  The gale force winds of the previous day probably had the birds retreat to the east side.  Quite a few Yellow-rumped were flitting around, a few Pine Warblers.

An Eastern Bluebird was also soaking up some sun.

I missed a Black-throated Green that had earlier been seen near Sparrow Field.

The novelty for me in the park was a Pileated Woodpecker.  I just happened to be in the right place at the right time (Dunes).  I had just pulled in to eat my lunch, and it flew over!  It was the second one I have seen in the park, the other was in late April 2019.

Pileated Woodpeckers are very rare in the park, and in Essex County in general, so it is always a decent sighting.

I stopped by Hillman shorebird cell as well.  Numerous Dunlin (well over 100) were in, plus some yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers.  Some early Black-bellied Plover were there as well.

At one point, I saw three teal fly in.  One was a Eurasian Green-winged!

This Old World version of our Green-winged Teal is seen in Ontario every year.  I think it is only the second record for Hillman.  I did see the previous one which had been found by Jeremy Bensette in April 2018.

I stopped by Mitchell's Bay once again before going home, but there seemed to be more turtles than birds this time around.

Today was bitterly cold at Rondeau, but the sun was out for the first part of the morning.  I did a long walk.  More Yellow-rumped were in, as well as Hermit Thrushes and kinglets, but nothing of note for me.

I managed to catch sight of the mockingbird which has been frequenting the maintenance yard.

I did not do much else after leaving Rondeau, since I needed to go home and thaw out!

This afternoon I went out to Port Lambton's Brander Park.  Several Yellow-rumped there, and some Cedar Waxwings.  It has been quite some time since I have seen some waxwings.

Teal to Tip

The relentless cold weather has slowed things down, but at least we have had clear skies to be out and about.  This morning I travelled down to Essex County with the first stop being Hillman Marsh.
A couple of days ago, a Eurasian Green-winged Teal (or Common Teal) was found at the shorebird cell.
I arrived just after sunrise and found lots of waterfowl in the cell plus a half dozen Sandhill Cranes.

It did not take long to pick out the European version of our Green-winged Teal.  Among other things, the lack of a vertical stripe is a key feature.

It moved around quite a bit in the early morning sun.

This species has been found here and in the vicinity a few times before in the past.  Whether it is a separate species all together, is up to speculation.

Intergrades have been seen as well.  I saw one of those a few years ago nearby, but I think this is the first Common Teal I have seen.

I soon moved on to Point Pelee and headed straight to the Tip.

The Eroded Tip

There were lots of ducks off the west side and I spent a couple of hours with Kory Renaud sorting through the rafts.  The "afternoon shift" joined us for a while as well.

Mississagi in Pelee Passage

Much to our disappointment, we did not find anything of note.  A few Horned Grebes were around, but we did not spot the recent Eared Grebe.  However, it was fun looking through the mass of ducks.

Lots of scoters were mixed in as well.

A few Common Loons were seen today, so obviously they had just come in.  I had not yet seen one this calendar year.  I saw around seven today.

Minnie the Mink

Land birds were rather scarce, but I did walk De Laurier trail before exiting the park.

A quick stop at Wheatley Harbour revealed a Glaucous Gull among the other gulls.  A few Glaucous are still kicking around.

On the way home, I saw a few Snowy Owls, including this one along Mallard Line.

They are no doubt on their way north, as I did not see one around Wallaceburg this past week.

I stopped at Mitchell's Bay.  A huge iceberg can be seen out in the lake.  It is a mystery how this formed!