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.

More May Birding

 I spent the last few days at Rondeau Park.  Initially, the weather did not look good for the week, but  needed to go anyway.  As usual, the forecast was almost 100% wrong!  Weather was quite pleasant except for today (Friday).

Birds were not in large numbers.  In fact, I have not seen a day yet this spring with a nice big fallout.  Maybe those days are a thing of the past.  Variety was there, if one worked for them.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Tuesday I birded around the park, and went out marsh trail in the evening.  I ended up with 121 species.  Mourning, Hooded and Blackpoll were first-of-year warblers.

Quite a few of the expected shorebirds were along the east beaches.

Least Sandpiper

This time of year, we see Showy Orchis in bloom.  I had a difficult time finding just one plant in a usual area.  Not as many as there used to be it seems.

Next day I was up early, as usual.  Birds were scarce, so I did not do as well as the previous day.

An Eastern Screech-owl has been sleeping out in the open of late, providing good photo ops for photographers.

In the afternoon, I had the urge to walk out south beach.  Not really worth it, but one has to satisfy one's curiosity!  There were some of the common shorebirds, including Least Sandpipers.

Still finding lots of Fatmucket mussels along the shoreline.

I spent the last part of the day at the entrance to the marsh trail hoping for Common Nighthawk.  Not!

Earlier, an Osprey was in the sky.

The night was clear as the waxing gibbous moon shone in the sky.

Thursday was a decent day, but I worked for the birds to tally 122 species.  I decided to do an early morning run of the marsh trail.  A couple of Willow Flycatchers were finally in.  Seems flycatchers are a bit late this year, as obviously there are a lot more to come.

I heard both Sora and Virginia Rails.  As a bonus, a King Rail was making itself known by making its characteristic calls deep in the marsh.  It remained unseen.

Interestingly, a King Rail was seen the previous day at the Erieau marsh trail, and again this day, delighting birder from far and wide.

Later in the day, I checked out the shorebirds on the east beaches.

Sanderling

Least Sandpiper

Dunlin

another Sanderling

A couple of Common Loons were far out, and three Long-tailed Ducks were resting on the beach.  Something about those that they like sitting on the beach!  Did not bother to take photos though.

Friday, the weather came!  This time they were right for a change.  I awoke about 04:15, and luckily I heard a Common Nighthawk overhead.  Nicer to see them, but the distinctive call was obvious and will have to do.

I packed up the tent early before the rain came and then drove around the park.  I was a bit late, and only got four Whip-poor-wills.  Seems there are not as many as in previous years.  I could not find any at the north end the month.

I got a walk in on south point trail before some rain came.  A Blue-winged Warbler was singing in the thick of things and remained unseen for us.  However, it was later seen and confirmed by another birder.

Rain started, so I parked at dog beach for a while.  After it stopped, I checked a few shorebirds, including this Greater Yellowlegs.

The rain stopped enough to go for a walk in the visitor centre area and down Harrison trail a bit.  Highlight was a singing Prairie Warbler.  A singing Canada Warbler was nice to see as well.

Rain came again, and I headed up to Bennett and Harrison.  It stopped again, so I went for a walk to the defunct group campground.  By the time I got back, it stared pouring.

That ended my birding in the park as it was going to be a long rain.  Then I was homebound!

Sunset May 16 Rondeau Park

Some Long Walks at Rondeau Park

 The last three days I have been afoot at Rondeau Park!  Friday, it was a long walk out south beach to see what was around.  This time of year is the most interesting, especially with shorebirds.  Highlight was the Piping Plover(s).

Two were indeed discovered last weekend!

This was exciting news since it was a male and female pair, creating a potential for nesting.  Piping Plover has not nested at Rondeau since the 1940's!

Both were born last year (2021), but in different locations.  One was from Presqu'ile, Pennsylvania, the other from Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.

Weather was not the greatest on Friday morning, but three of us made the long trek out to south beach.  We almost got to the end, and did not see a Piping Plover, but after turning around, one flew in from way over the Bay.

On the way back, much farther east, we found it, or another quietly feeding on the beach.

Lots of shorebirds were around, including some Whimbrel.

A couple of young Little Gulls have been hanging around south beach.

Saturday was nice and sunny, and three of us walked the entire marsh trail.  A long, tiring walk, more than 14 km round trip.  Nothing spectacular was seen, but it was something we needed to do.

Common Gallinule

Great Egret

Marsh Wrens are plentiful this year.  I recorded 68, just along the trail itself.

The trail ends, just short of south beach.

Just after we turned around, word was out that a Worm-eating Warbler was on Tulip tree trail.  We got back as fast as we could, but missed the little guy by a few minutes!  Never fails....

While looking for the Worm-eating, I "spotted" this baby turtle.  Turned out to be a Spotted Turtle, an endangered species that I have not seen in a long time!  Cute creature!

I looked around for a couple more hours in the park.  I thought I would miss seeing Showy Orchis this year, but I did find a couple of plants.

A good number of shorebirds were at Keith McLean C. L. later, but nothing of note.  There were several White-rumped Sandpipers, tripping the eBird filter!

Today, I made the long walk out south beach by myself.  It was the last time I would get out there this spring, so I had to go.  Lots of shorebirds farther out.

Shorebird turning stones

I did find one Piping Plover today.  Hopefully the other is still nearby....

I was home just after noon today, but the weather was too nice to resist.  I went for a walk up at Reid CA.  I saw the first Giant Swallowtail of the year.

In just under three weeks, I will be looking for Oak Hairstreaks....again!