More May Meanderings in NE Winds

 Birds continue to trickle in, but these relentless NE winds every day continue to make it uncomfortable at times.

Thursday was a decent day at Rondeau where I tallied 93 species.  The centre of the park seemed the best at times.  Later in the morning, Bennett Avenue was excellent for warblers with a good variety.  Some first-of-year warblers included Bay-breasted and Prothonotary.

Early in the morning I walked the length of south point trail west to keep out of the cold wind.  It was steady with birds at times.  Nothing out of the ordinary though.

Fatmucket mussel on the beach

The lake was not too active, but some Red-throated Loons were around, albeit distant.

Friday morning was cold and windy (again!), but the winds had switched a bit to the west.  I checked out Mitchell's Bay and places locally.  Nothing to photograph though!

Saturday I headed down to Rondeau and the winds were still out of the NE, needless to say.  I wanted to walk out marsh trail, but it was just too windy. Just as well, since others who did, saw very little!

Sunrise at Rondeau

I opted to check out south point trail east and other places on the east side.  Not a lot of birds, but some things came in.  A Hooded Warbler near the tennis courts was a FOY.

It eventually got to the point where I was finding very little, and there were more people than birds.  So I left!

In the afternoon it got quite nice and warm, so I went for a walk at Reid CA.  I was looking more for insects.  

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

Juvenal's Duskywings were finally out.

And, a couple of Eastern Tailed-Blues were interacting at one point.

The first dragonfly of the year, besides Green Darner, was a female Common Whitetail.

Here are some other scenes.

I walked by the Twinleaf patch at one point. Note Harbinger of Spring at base.

Today, I did something different and went down to the Hillman Marsh first thing.  It was in the chance that something of interest would show, but this time it did not happen.  Cannot get 'em all!

I then headed back east and ended up at Blenheim lagoons.  Some shorebirds were along the edges, including three Wilson's Phalaropes.  They were too skittish to get close for photos though.

Lots of Dunlin and Least Sandpipers were present.

Afterwards, I decided to check out Sinclair's Bush since I had not been there yet this year.  There were actually quite a few birds, but with almost full leafout, it was difficult to see them.

This  area used to be a hotspot in the "old days" when I first started birding.  I recall some good days there for birds!  Summer Tanager, White-eyed Vireo, Cerulean Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush....

In the history department, the little passenger ship Ossifrage was a frequent visitor to Wallaceburg and Chatham.  She was launched at West Bay City, Michigan 11 May 1888.

Here she is in Wallaceburg 30 May 1918.

It had been rebuilt several times, but in September 1919 while being towed in Northumberland Strait, she struck a shoal and sank.

Finishing Out April: Some Nice Birds

 It was down to Rondeau again on Sunday where I added some more first-of-year birds.  However, the weather left something to be desired.  Lots of rain!  In fact, it was certainly more than the forecast called for.  

Later on, Steve and I started out on Spicebush trail and the floodgates (not the bird kind) opened up when we were less than half way around.  Needless to say, we headed home after that!

Solitary Sandpiper

Monday was a nicer day, and I was back to Rondeau to make up for lost time.  After walking Spicebush trail, I did the long walk down Rondeau Road along Gardiner and back up Harrison.  Not a lot of birds, but enough to keep one interested.  Some first-of-year were added.

Included were two Whip-poor-wills.  They happened to be trailside as I walked by, and they flushed.  The one did not go far, so I was able to get a photo.

While I was in group campground, an alert came out that a Summer Tanager was near Tulip Tree trail (TTT).  Since I completely missed that species last year, I HAD to go for it.

It took a while to get there, since I had to get back to the car and drive down that way.  It was soon found on TTT, alerted to us by its singing.  Unfortunately, I could not get on it with the camera, but we had good looks.

The only thing I could photograph there was this Pileated Woodpecker on the ground.

Next walk was down the west side of south point trail with Kevin.  Just a smattering of birds here and there, but lots of Wood Thrushes had come in.  

This one posed for us quite nicely.

Of course, the invasion of American Painted-Lady and Red Admiral continues.

At one point we encountered this small snapping turtle.

Lots of plants coming up, and for whatever reason, I photographed this Rattlesnake Fern.

Today, I intended not to go too far, but as fate had it, I did!  I started at the south shore nature trail at Mitchell's Bay, thinking there would be lots to see.  There was not.  The only new for the year was a Least Flycatcher.

The Snowy Egret that I found and reported on the 27th was still around.  I first saw it way off in the distance in a tree, as this little white dot in the photo shows.

It later came closer, but still not the best position.

After finishing the trail, I pondered what to do.  The Glossy Ibis was again seen near Hillman Marsh, so I decided to go for it.  While on the way, a Harris's Sparrow was reported within Point Pelee.  So, you guessed it, I ended up at Point Pelee too!

The ibis was in its place when I arrived, but a little distant.

It took flight at one point.

Ibis silhouette

I then checked out Hillman shorebird cell but nothing of note was there. It is always a crapshoot, but at least they finally drained some of the water.

Upon arrival at the VC in Point Pelee, I headed to the parking lot where the subject sparrow was being seen.  It was still there.

The rest of the morning was all walking.

Red-headed Woodpeckers are quite plentiful right now.  One wonders where they all go!

Lots of American Ladies and Red Admirals again.

And, Juvenal's Duskywings are having a good year in Pelee for whatever reason.  I counted eight on west beach trail between Dunes and NW Beach.

Quite a few Questionable Marks too.

Last highlight of the day were the 24 Willets on the beach at Wheatley Harbour.

Then it was time to head home, viewing flooded fields.  Down that way, there was a tremendous amount of rain....again!

Sloughs, Swales, Dunes and Duskywings

I took Friday off since the weekend weather was soon to come.  The day was nice and sunny except for the prevailing east winds (not good for Rondeau!).
I visited Rondeau Park, but birds were rather few.  As I mentioned earlier, I believe that many birds overshot the Lake Erie shoreline this year and birding has been better farther inland or farther north.

The park remains flooded in many areas with the only trails that one can wear shoes are Spicebush and the maintenance loop.  South Point trail is completely flooded on the east side and ordinary rubber boots will not cut it!  Hip waders would do nicely.
The sloughs are overflowing!

Friday morning I parked at maintenance and walked down Rondeau Road across Bennett and back up Harrison.  The Eastern Screech-owl was back on Water Street at its leafy hideout.

No doubt more birds are yet to come as many breeding birds were not present in numbers.  There were very few Red-eyed Vireos.  Among other things, I have not yet seen a cuckoo!  Unprecedented for this date for me.
Some flycatchers are in, but no doubt more are to show.

Eastern Wood-Peewee

I found a variety of warblers in my walk, but not in any numbers.  I did come across 4 different Prothonotary Warblers, one being way up Harrison north of the VC.  This one has been there over a week.
Black-throated Greens I have found scarce this year.

An American Woodcock was along Harrison Trail.

Being rather discouraged, I left the park well before noon and headed over to Hillman Marsh.  Things are always changing there, so it is worth a try.  Unfortunately I did not see anything of note.  The Little Gull and Wilson's Phalarope that were there in the morning were not to be seen in the shorebird cell.

Today, just like clockwork, it was cloudy and rainy.  (I just copy and paste this phrase each week).  I needed a change of scenery so I headed up to Ipperwash and Port Franks.  It was far more productive than a visit to Rondeau!  My first walk was at Ipperwash Dunes and Swales, a truly unique natural area.

The series of dune ridges and low swales create a nice habitat.

I found a good variety of warblers there, plus other birds.  Sandhill Cranes nest here, and fresh colt was accompanying its parents.  I was not able to get a clear photo though.

The best warbler here was a singing Connecticut in a thick area.  Despite some effort, it did not show its face with bold eye-ring!
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was here and likely nests.

It was an enjoyable walk despite the cloudy skies.

Usually an Acadian Flycatcher here!

Next, I moved over to the Lambton Heritage Forest at Port Franks.  This is one of my favourite spots as it is a large tract of forest.  I was not disappointed here.
Acadian Flycatchers breed here and I found at least 3 this day.  They tend to be around concentrations of hemlock trees for some reason.
Hooded Warblers are regular here and I heard at least two.  Normally there are more though.
I found a good variety of warblers, and in good numbers.  Many were migrants, but a singing male Cerulean was likely a resident.
I got quite a ways down the trail when it started to pour rain.  I found a large hemlock tree to stand under until the rain passed.
Red-eyed Vireos were quite numerous today.  Yellow-throated Vireos nest here and I found at least five individuals.
It was a joy to spend a couple of hours here looking for birds despite putting up with weekend weather.

The third walk was at L-Lake trail.  At the start, a singing male Hooded Warbler greeted me.  Much farther along the NCC trail, there was another singing male.

Where the second Hooded was, an Acadian Flycatcher was present--in the same spot as last year.

One needs to know bird songs and calls to seek these things out!

The NCC trail parallels part of the trail system at the Heritage Forest along a meandering creek.

old oxbow

A couple of benches are along the way, including this one.  I remember Delmar Ellis from my earlier days in Lambton Wildlife.

By this time, there were breaks of sun, so I headed over to the Karner Blue Sanctuary.  Here we have  one of the best spots to find duskywings.  It was not an ideal day, but I did find a few including Juvenal's, Dreamy and Sleepy.
At one point I likely had an elfin, but it got a way on me.

Sleepy Duskywing

Juvenal's Duskywing

Also, there were a couple of dragonflies, including Springtime Darner (our earliest mosaic darner).

Despite the weather, it was quite an enjoyable day in one of my (many) favourite natural areas.

Forster's (not Forester's) Tern