C-K into Essex County Sunday

Yesterday I ventured into Essex County.  The last few months I have not been there much, spending most of my time in the Rondeau Birding Area, or locally.
I first stopped at the Jeannette's Creek boat launch--a spot I always like to check in winter.  With the exceptional winter, it was quiet. However, across the river I spotted a large flock of blackbirds.  Most were Red-winged with a lot of grackles and who knows what else.

Most were out of sight or too far away to get details.  The spot of the flock was the Bradley property where it is not unusual to get blackbirds in winter.  In years past we had some on the CBC which included all species!  Perhaps some Brewer's were there as this area is known for winter records.

Next stop was Lighthouse Cove.  It can be quite interesting in January at the mouth of the Thames.  However, it was mostly ice, strange as it may seem for this year, but further out on the lake were hundreds of geese and swans.  Much too far to get details.

Close by, some ducks were present, including the "weird" Mallard-types.

I next headed straight down Essex Rd. 37 and ended up at Hillman Marsh.  I checked (briefly) NE and SE spots.  At the SE spot were some Herring and Ring-billed Gulls on the ice and a few ducks (do not ask me how many!).  I moved on to the National Park.  I only walked Shuster trail, and it was very quiet.  The few birds I had (numbering a half dozen) were very quiet below some of the sumacs, while a Horned Lark or two flew over. On the lake were a few ducks and gulls.
Just before I got off Shuster, I spotted a Hermit Thrush in the underbrush.

My next walk was over at Hillman Marsh. Lots of geese were flying over, but past the boardwalk area, I walked the little trail and came across a Marsh Wren.  It was well-buried in the phragmites, so I could not get a photo.

Wheatley Harbour (C-K side) was interesting.  Lots of gulls were present (mainly Ring-billed) some of which I presume just came in.

A single adult Bonaparte's Gull was flying around the entrance to the harbour.

Out on the lake, far out, were lots of ducks.  Most were Common Goldeneye.  I guess this is where most are since there are very few on the St. Clair River this winter!

Gulls on Ice

???

On the way home, I saw many Northern Harriers among other things.

Birding at the Cove

The sun finally came out today for a very nice day.  I decided to check along the Lake St. Clair shoreline for a change.  First stop was the Jeannette's Creek lookout on the Thames.  Lots of gulls and ducks were visible downriver, as well as 12 Great Blue Herons!
I knew Lighthouse Cove would be good so I headed down there.  Thousands of birds to look at!  Mostly gulls of course.  The lake was mostly ice, but this time of year it can be good for birds, especially gulls.

I sat there for over an hour scoping the forever changing scenery.  For gulls, I think there were over 2000, most of which were Herring.  Scanning several times, I counted as many as 15 Glaucous, 3 Iceland, 1 Lesser Black-backed (first cycle), over 50 Great Black-backed.  No rarities, but I tried!

Three Double-crested Cormorants were sitting on a dead-head.  Various ducks included mostly Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, White-winged Scoter (2), Ring-necked (only one!), Redhead, Hooded Merganser, Black and Mallard.  There were a lot of freaky mallards here.  There have always been those here, but they have multiplied exponentially.  At least over 50 of various colour combinations!

freaky Mallards!

I saw only one American Coot, two Bald Eagles, and another Great Blue Heron.  I looked for Black-crowned Night-Heron, but to no avail.  I would not be surprised if one was around!

Graylag-type goose! (closest I could get to White-fronted)

There is an endless network of canals at Lighthouse Cove, and they were all frozen.  Gulls were all over these as well but I did not check those too carefully.  Most were Ring-billed.

While in the area, I checked Tilbury Lagoon.  It is opening up and geese and ducks were taking advantage.  Notable ducks included several Northern Pintail and American Wigeon.

I stopped at Jeannette's Creek again and got the Belted Kingfisher, a White-throated Sparrow and a Carolina Wren.

Also I stopped at St. Clair NWA and walked the entire centre dike--first time in years!  There is finally a new viewing tower, not quite as high as the old one, but it is very good.

Not much here except a few Red-winged Blackbirds, a couple of Common Grackles and a Swamp Sparrow.  A couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets as well.  In my early years, I came here quite often and was never disappointed.  Things have changed though as the marsh has closed in and Yellow-headed Blackbirds no longer breed.  My first real rarity was the two Tri-colored Herons that were here back in the late 1980's!

Yesterday I birded the Rondeau area in gloomy conditions (it was supposed to be all sun yesterday!!), and came up with a few birds.  The park was quiet, but while scoping the Bay at the ramp on my way out, some birds suddenly appeared.  Included were the five Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Carolina Wren and two Song Sparrows.  The sparrows could possibly be new arrivals.

Northeast of Blenheim at an old pasture, I managed to spot a roosting Short-eared Owl.  While there, a Northern Shrike flew over.  Further down the road, the bird of the day made an appearance-- a Merlin sitting in a corn field.  Just a while earlier, Steve called me to say that they saw a Merlin near Ridgetown.  I assume it to be a different bird due to distance, so two were in the area this day!  Everyone seems to have seen a Merlin or two this winter.  They are becoming more and more common each winter and is not unusual to see one at some point.