River Runs and Other Findings

 I have not gone far lately, spending quite a bit of time along the St. Clair River and other places locally.  With more seasonal weather (for a change!), there has been more waterfowl on the St. Clair River.

Monday I found quite a few swans at the head of Fawn Island.  Most were Mutes unfortunately, but there were some Tundras.  One stood out though as a Trumpeter Swan, which has been increasingly more regular on the river.  It was still present today!

Long-tailed Ducks are the more common ducks along the river anymore.  I recall when it was a big deal to see one on the river!

And, a fair number of Common Goldeneye.

Afterwards, I drove some backroads and went for a short walk at Reid CA.  An immature Northern Shrike was along the road.  As usual, I was not in a position to get a decent photo.

Evidence of Pileated Woodpecker at Reid CA

Tuesday, I headed down Rondeau way for lack of any other idea.  It was too cold to do much walking, so it was mostly driving.  There was not much around, and some snow falling did not help.

Along Stefina Line, I saw the two Eastern Meadowlarks again, but as usual, they did refused to co-operate for any photo attempts.  I see them ahead, but then they fly behind me!

whatever!

Wednesday, it out the St. Clair River again.  It was clear when I headed out, and that old moon was shining bright.

There were even more swans at Fawn Island.  At least were 70 were Mutes unfortunately, but most were sleeping.  The Trumpeter was no doubt there, but I could not tell for sure with the sleeping swans.

Later in the afternoon, a Cooper's Hawk visited the backyard.  Hope it was hunting House Sparrows!

This photo I took very quickly through window glass, but it turned out quite well.

Today, it back out the river once again.  We had some snow and it was windy, so I did not want to venture far.

I stopped by Port Lambton first thing.  I noticed quite a few Redhead on the move or swimming.  No doubt the winter weather has put them into the river (the way we used to have it!).  Some Canvasback were amongst them as well.

A stope at Cathcart Park was worthwhile.  It seems to be one of the better spots of late.  I noticed a Glaucous Gull flying around, so I got out to get closer.

There have been very few white-winged gulls this year.

While scanning, I picked up on a Red-necked Grebe!  This species is quite rare at any time around here, let along this time of year.  It was a bit distant, but discernable by photo.

As luck would have it, a couple of seasoned Sarnia birders were only five minutes away.  They eventually got on the grebe.

I continued on up to Corunna.  Hundreds of Long-tailed Ducks at Mooretown as usual, but not much else.  There have not been many gulls along the river yet this winter.  I miss the days of hundreds of gulls!  It may happen yet.  Most are at Sarnia Bay it seems.

Later on and during one walk, I came across a cute little creature.  I came upon it suddenly, so maybe it was surprised to see me.

There was not much else the rest of my outing.  I drove back roads on the way home and barely saw a bird!  Stopped by Moore WMA and never saw a bird.  Usually this place is good in winter.  Goes to show how quiet things are this winter.

Debris Pile!

Some Recent Sightings and Finds

 Where has winter gone already?  Checking out the St. Clair River lately has certainly been a waste of time.  In the past I always looked forward to birding along the river at this time of year.  I must say last few days have been the "quietest" I have seen the river for this time of year.   What ice we had, is mostly gone already, along with the few birds.

We need extended cold weather and ice to concentrate ducks and gulls.

I am sure the Double-crested Cormorants near Corunna are not minding the mild weather.

There is, however, lots of activity on the lakes at key watching points.  Good numbers of gulls and ducks can be seen.  Some Black-legged Kittiwakes seemed to have stuck around (eg. Ipperwash, Goderich).  Usually we do not see any in early January!

A good showing of ducks and loons can be had at Rondeau Park.  This morning, a few of us checked out the lake at dog beach.  Hundreds of White-winged Scoters are still around.  Dozens of Red-throated Loons can be seen feeding on the lake.

As alluded to some time ago, they used to be quite uncommon, but in recent years are the default loon by a longshot in early winter.

Several Horned Grebes were also seen today.

The highlight was a distant Short-eared Owl coming in off the lake.  We have seen this often, both here and up on Lake Huron.  I guess they have second thoughts once they are out over the lake, and make a beeline for shore!  Nice to get that one out of the way in the first week of January, rather than wait till later in the fall!

This past Wednesday was the Skunk's Misery CBC.  We were skunked with the weather (too foggy), and birds were not all that numerous.  I did my usual area around Thamesville.  I guess my highlight was a Belted Kingfisher at the bridge site, the only one on the count.  

There were some obvious misses, and Golden Eagles are not around this year.  Usually several are on that count!  A few highs though (eg. Tufted Titmouse at 15 and Fox Sparrow at 3).  Total species was only 53, below average.

View along the Thames, which was running high

Yesterday, I ventured well into Essex County.  Usually I do not go past Point Pelee, but Holiday Beach was beckoning me!  It is an hour and 45 minute drive from Wallaceburg, so I rarely get down that way.  A Boreal Chickadee was found on December 27 at the Memorial Forest.  A real novelty for Essex County, or even southwest Ontario for that matter.

It took about twenty minutes before I spotted the brown-capped creature.  It was feeding on dogwood berries quite actively.  It would grab a berry, than take off and eat it in a spruce tree, as chickadees typically do with their food.

It was difficult to get a photos, especially under the dark, dreary, drizzly skies.

This fall, it was obvious there was a bit of a movement of chickadees heading south, and as often is the case, the odd Boreal Chickadee can be mixed in.

There have been "invasions" in the past such as was the case in the early 1980's and other times when many were found in southwest Ontario.

To my recollection, I have only seen Boreal Chickadee in Algonquin Park, so it was a real treat to get this one.  I missed it last September for the first time. The species it getting more and more difficult to find even in Algonquin anymore it seems.

On the way back home, I stopped by Hillman Marsh for a quick look.  I managed to get a bonus bird!  A Northern Saw-whet Owl was present!

Today, the sun finally came out for a bit this afternoon which was nice to see.  We have had so little sun in the last month it was getting depressing.  Hopefully sunny days will be a trend in the next week, but who knows (weather forecasts are not helpful!).

Past Weekend Travels and Finds

 Not much on my end to report from the past weekend, but Friday was spent at Rondeau and area.  The usual lakewatch started the day.  Lots of ducks were moving, and Red-breasted Mergansers were increasing in numbers.

On south point, a Chestnut-sided Warbler was the highlight, but I was unable to get a photo.  A Palm Warbler was at the north end of the park.

I then went to Keith McLean C. L.  A Hudsonian Godwit was still present albeit at the far side.

A number of shorebirds were in, including two late Least Sandpipers.

Highlight was a Northern Saw-whet Owl.  As often is the case, kinglets revealed the location!  Well hidden, as they usually are.

I stopped by Ridgetown lagoons.  Ring-necked Ducks were in crazy numbers, well over 1000.  A Snow Goose was close by.

Saturday, I needed a change in scenery and went up to Ipperwash.  Evening Grosbeaks are on the move this year, and I had a number flying overhead.  I spent some time around the "MNR" parking lot area.

I passed through Kettle Point on the way back south to Forest lagoons.

Long-tailed Duck

Sparrows were numerous at the lagoons, as expected.  I came across a LeConte's at one point, but unable to get a photo.

photo from another time

Some Evening Grosbeaks flew over here as well!

Before getting home, I stopped at a couple of places for a walk.  Not on the radar for this day, was a Baltimore Oriole at Nicholl's Memrial Forest at Wilkesport!

A number of chickadees were here too.  There is a southward movement afoot of Black-capped Chickadees this fall.  More to come.  Keep an eye out for Boreal, as they have been known to get mixed in!

It was quite warm, and I saw a number of Eastern Commas out and about.

Sunday I went back to Rondeau for lack of anything else to do.  I opted to walk out marsh trail to Long Pond for a change.  

Nothing earth-shattering was encountered, unfortunately!  An American Bittern was the "rarest" bird.

There were lots of Greater Yellowlegs on the mudflats near Long Pond.

Fox Sparrows have finally arrived in numbers.

A final stop for the day was at McLean's.  It was consdierably quieter than Friday, but the Hudsonian Godwit was still present.

Frigid Friday Frolicks

 I had not been down to the Rondeau area for a while, so I headed there today.  We finally got some "winter" weather with cold temps and a northerly wind with a bit of snow.  I braved the elements, ecstatic to see the sun!

Birds will be more concentrated, and perhaps some more will come from the north.

I started with a brief look at the lake at dog beach with Steve Charbonneau, then we moved up to the campground and spent quite a bit of time there.  There was a good number of birds, but one has to keep walking around looking for the "flocks".

The usual Yellow-rumped Warblers were quite co-operative at one point, numbering about 15.

Perhaps some other warbler will come out of the woodwork with this cold weather one of these days.  We did see a Kentucky Warbler coming to a feeder...nice to get that one out of the way early!

Some of the other usual campground creatures were in the mix.

Brown Creeper

I wanted to check into Keith McLean C. L., despite the cold wind.  It was not too bad actually, and we did see lots of sparrows.

At least eight Savannah Sparrows are wintering there, and we saw those.

The star of the show was the wintering Nelson's Sparrow, which we did see on several occasions, but it was not co-operative for a photo today.  Good to get that one on the year list early!

Another stop later on revealed a Northern Saw-whet Owl which was hiding quite well.

I moved on to Erieau, but things had frozen up quite a bit, so I did not look too hard.  The House Wren was still along the trail, attempting to winter.  Not too much else!

Roaming around today, there were lots of Northern Harriers.  Closer to home, some Pied-billed Grebes were still on the Chenal Ecarte, but will soon leave if the frozen weather continues.

Nothing new at my feeders.  I never seem to get anything decent anymore!  However, one must keep looking.