Mid May Things

 Looks like the weather has finally smartened up!  We still had winds with an easterly component until yesterday, but it was SE.  It was warm for a change!

Been making trips to Rondeau every couple of days.  This is the first year since I cannot remember that I have not camped at Rondeau during May.  The weather has been the pits, and it has just not been convenient to do so.

Monday was a nice but cool day at Rondeau.  

There was a good variety of birds and was quite birdy in some spots.  I ended up with 95 species.

Blackburnian Warbler

I did get some first-of-year birds including Olive-sided Flycatcher (my favourite flycatcher) and Mourning Warbler.

Along the trails, I check out known spots for rare plants such as Goldenseal.

In the evening while relaxing on the back porch, some birds came in to the yard including a nice Canada Warbler (a FOY!).  My camera has been malfunctioning on occasion lately, and this was one of those times!

Tuesday, I stayed close to home and it was not too productive birdwise.

Wednesday it was back to Rondeau and we found an excellent variety of birds.  It was good in some areas of the park.

I opted to check out marsh trail first thing and went all the way to log pond.  Unfortunately, it sprinkled rain most of the time, and was not as birdy as I had hoped.  I needed the exercise in any case!

It is always worth a check though.  Sparrows along the way included Savannah and White-crowned working the trail.

By the time I finished, the sun was coming out for a gorgeous day.  I did a lot of walking again, and birds did not disappoint.

Magnolia Warbler

Saw my first Philadelphia Vireos of the year.  They are my favourite vireo.

It was nice to talk to familiar faces along the way.  Some we only see during the May birding season!

This time of year I always keep an eye out for Showy Orchis in a known location.

Today it was a change in scenery.  I wanted to check out some grassland birds towards Strathroy.  One has to travel some distance anymore to see these birds on territory in numbers.

I first went to a spot that had both Clay-colored Sparrow and Grasshopper Sparrow among the other grassland species.

The clay was a bit far as it sang atop a tree.

Next target was Upland Sandpiper (now rare in Ontario), and two were visible right away upon arrival in typical pose at a known location.  Unfortunately, I was looking towards the sun, so they were terribly backlit.

They used to be easy to find in the pastures in south Lambton north of Wallaceburg, but farming practices have changed all that.

With those out of the way, I headed down to Skunk's Misery since it is on the way home.  Seems many birds have yet to arrive as it was somewhat quiet.  However, it was quite pleasant there even though a few mosquitoes are now out.

Flowering Dogwood (imperiled in Canada) was obvious in many spots.

First walk was Sittler (no relation to Darryl) Woods, where I checked off Acadian Flycatcher singing for pizza (!).  Hooded Warblers were also there, but I never came across a Cerulean Warbler.

Cinnamon Fern in the woods

After driving some roads, I walked a familiar trail off Sassafras Road.  A fair number of birds were there.

Juvenal's Duskywings are out in full force now.

Last stop was Wardsville Woods, which was not too productive.  I did see a Giant Swallowtail for the first time this year, but it kept going!

I will be looking forward to many stops there later on in search for insects.

This afternoon I needed a walk at Reid CA.  Juvenal's Duskywings were plentiful.  In fact, it is the best crop I have seen in many years there.  Did not bother to photograph any.

Silver-spotted Skippers were even more plentiful, as I had more than 25.  Very flighty though.

A Grey Comma was in the field and not too photogenic.  

I saw my first Monarchs of the year at Reid today.  They were even less photogenic!

lol

I was just not successful in photographing any butterflies today!

With the holiday weekend approaching, we should see the greatest variety of birds along the trails.

Winding Down As June Approaches

 The bulk of migrants have gone through, but still lots to see and potential for good birds or rarities. Other things to look at soon!

This past Thursday, I started at Erieau and saw nothing of note (again).  The stiff east wind did not help matters though.  Seems to be better later in the day there!

I then headed over to Wheatley Harbour where some shorebirds were on the beach.  An oddity was amongst them!  A Ruddy Turnstone hybrid had been seen the last couple of days in the area.  Speculation it is the result of an encounter with a White-rumped Sandpiper, but I have no idea.  Stood out among the crowd in any case.

Gull numbers have been skimpy lately, but a long-staying Iceland Gull was on the beach.  This bird has been around since early spring.  Some have mistakenly called it a Glaucous due to its superficial appearance and size, but it is an Iceland approaching 3rd cycle.

I then decided to go into Point Pelee.  There was nothing of note (again) to my eyes.  Seems that I pick the wrong day every time to go there.  I have better luck at Rondeau!

While there, I noticed the Cuyahoga anchored off Kingsville.  The day before, it suffered an engine room fire and they actually called out a May-Day request. Fortunately it was not that bad, but has probably ended the career of this vessel.  It is (or was) the oldest operating laker left, built in 1943.

It is currently lingering in Kingsville awaiting its fate.

Friday it down to Rondeau for probably the last time in a while.  I wanted to walk out south beach with Red Knot as the target bird.  There were lots of shorebirds out there in the distance, but by the time I got to the best location, they had thinned out.

Quite a few Whimbrel made a brief appearance.

At one point I thought I saw a flock of Red Knots, but it was too distant.  Never saw it again, but I did see at least one Red Knot.  At one point, it flew right in front of me, then I saw it again at a distance.  Unable to get a photo though, but goal achieved!

A Greater Yellowlegs was also out there.

Always kept an eye out for mussels, but I saw only the usual types.  Mostly quite worn.

Fatmucket

There were still a few migrants along the trail.

Thrush with Grey cheeks

Was hoping to get on an Olive-sided Flycatcher, but they too seen scarce so far this year.  Not many reported.

Another Blanding's Turtle caught my eye in one of the sloughs.

Afterwards, I wandered over to Clear Creek to see what was going on.  Not a good time of day, and I got skunked on birds.

Skunk Cabbage

Yesterday, I stayed fairly local and went for a walk at Reid CA first thing.  A few migrants still trickling through.

Just as I ended my walk, I noticed blackbirds chasing a raptor along the river about a kilometre away.  As far as I could tell, it was a Red-tailed Hawk, but all white!  Too bad it did not come closer.

Later, I went out to Mitchell's Bay for a walk.  Always potential there at some point.  These turtles were putting themselves on the map by sheer numbers.

Today it was NE towards Strathroy.  I wanted to see Upland Sandpiper, but got skunked on that too.  They certainly seem scarcer this year.  They are are almost a guarantee in that area, but obviously there are not many around this year.  Not a good sign.

I then headed down to Skunk's Misery where I found some birds.  Usual ones though.  Lots of Hooded Warblers (~10 singing males) and a couple of Acadian Flycatchers.

At one point, I noticed a female Scarlet Tanager building a nest.

Some trees/shrubs in the area:

American Chestnut

Flowering Dogwood

Alternate-leaved Dogwood

Thames Talbot Trust Tree Tour

 Yesterday afternoon I joined in another Thames Talbot Land Trust outing.  This one was to Sitler Woods in the Skunk's Misery complex.  Sitler Woods was acquired in 2019, securing a significant piece (20 hectares) of rich woodland.  There is a great diversity of species including plants, trees and birds.  Acadian Flycatcher and Hooded Warbler are quite reliable here each year.

Some plants include American Chestnut, Spicebush, Maple-leaved Viburnum, Buttonbush, Wingstem, Sessile-leaved Bellwort, Poke Milkweed and Cancer-root.

The tour lasted over two hours and was ably led by Donald Craig, retired forester of St. Clair Region Conservation Authority.  The theme of the outing was forest health, and various aspects of that were discussed and observed.

The property was previously owned by the Sitler family who used it for hunting and a nature retreat.  The remains of the old shack can be seen.

Donald pointed out that there are five species of dogwood on the property.  Some of those included are Alternate, Round-leaved and Flowering.  Flowering Dogwood is quite plentiful on the property.

flowering dogwood

I did not have much opportunity to take photos (or proper ones), so perhaps next year I can visit the site for a closer look.

The property has a good variety of trees.  Perhaps one of the more siginificant is American Chestnut, which as we know, was almost wiped out mainly from chestnut blight a long time ago.  There are some decent sized trees, and some young ones that can be found.

Lots of Black Cherry are on the site as well.

Black Ash is here too.  Here is a young one.

No big ash trees are left of course, thanks to the Emerald Ash Borer.  Hopefully these young trees will survive and the borer does not make another visit.

I found the tour quite interesting and informative, and look forward to another visit in the future!

Buttonbush swamp