Wanderings For FOY Birds

As the wacky weather continues, I have been doing some wandering.  I would like to go farther afield some weekend, but every single weekend the weather goes inot the dumps.  I would rather have sunny weather for travelling, so I guess I should schedule for a weekday!

Friday, I decided to check out Fanshawe CA at the NE corner of London.  Seeds are always put out at the start of Tamarack trail and that attracts many birds.

A year ago, we had the Evening Grosbeak there as a highlight.  Nothing like that this winter, but a Chipping Sparrow decided stick around.  I saw it for a FOY (first of year), among other birds as soon as I got out of the car.

A White-crowned Sparrow was also in the mix, along with numerous American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos.

The Black-capped Chickadees are quite used to people and they will even attempt to land on you.  So, you better have some sunflower seeds on hand!

I walked around a bit after observing the "feeder" birds, including through the Tamarack tree area.  I was reminded of the Black-backed Woodpecker that was somewhere around these parts back in the early 1990's.

Red Squirrel

Scene at Fanshawe

At least the rain held off by this time, but as I headed back west of London, it started up, signalling the start of the weekend.

I had the intention of touring around Skunk's Misery and north of Newbury looking for raptors, especially Golden Eagles, but it was too miserable to do much.  I did, however, encounter one eagle in the Misery, FOY.

By this time, fuel was getting low (lol), so I stopped by Thamesville to fill up, then headed towards Rondeau.  Some decent wintering birds have been in the area recently, including the annual Wilson's Snipe on Stefina, and a couple of Double-crested Cormorants at the 'Eau.

The snipe was barely visible in the pouring rain.  At Erieau, it was downright nasty, but I did see one cormorant on the rocks.  Both FOY.

At one point, I caught sight of a White-winged Scoter in the channel, a FOY.

A male Canvasback was looking lonely in the Marina.

Today, the weather was a little better, but it did rain a bit as I headed down to Wheatley and Hillman Marsh.
Five Bonaparte's Gulls were FOY at the harbour.

Hillman Marsh turned out to be fairly interesting.  The sun even came out for a while, which was certainly a novelty for a Saturday.
I ended up seeing about six Great Blue Herons, FOY.

More bonies were around, totalling about 25. Lots of Ring-billed Gulls were around today.

As I walked towards the shorebird cell, a Northern Shrike caught my eye...a FOY.

At the boardwalk, I managed to hear the Marsh Wren for a FOY.  One seems to be in this area each winter.  One cannot get close as the area is too flooded.

The main area of the marsh is totally open to the lake now.  There were lots of geese and gulls.  I half expected a white-fronted goose, but they were all regular Canadas.

Point Pelee park was open today, for the first time since the deer cull.  It was quite busy with people.
I walked Shuster Trail first thing.  Over 1000 Common Goldeneye were out on the lake.  So that is where they all are!

I did not have a scope on hand, so likely I missed a Barrow's.

While walking back the trail, an Amerian Pipit flew over, a FOY.
At the VC, a Common Grackle flew overhead, not a FOY.

I next headed to the Tip and met up with Jeremy Bensette.  There was not much activity, but a couple of White-winged Scoters flew by (SOY...lol).  Another single bonie flew by, so I suspect some have come in lately.

We headed to Sparrow Field, and along the way, a flock of kinglets and creepers was seen.  A single Ruby was among them, not a FOY,

Sparrow Field had a number of Northern Cardinals, and singing Song Sparrow.

Later, I checked Cactus Field and came across the only three Black-capped Chickadees of the day.

On the way home, I checked out Lighthouse Cove.  A number of gulls were way out on the lake.  The strange Mallard-type ducks were still around.  Some nice colour combinations!

Through Dover Township, there were well over 1000 Tundra Swans.

Mitchell's Bay revealed nothing of note. 

Weekend Washout Wanderings

Saturday morning I headed down to Rondeau Park.  It was not raining when I went out the door, but starting pouring soon after.  However, by the time I got to the park, it stopped!  Thankfully it stayed dry for a few hours to walk around.

It was evident that there was a sparrow fallout this week.  Hundreds of sparrows, including juncos littered the roads and trails.

chippie (dozens of those!)

At key areas like the yacht club and tennis court, there were several Vesper and Savannah Sparrows.

Juncos were in big numbers, but I did not see any Oregon, Pink-sided, White-winged,
Gray-headed or intergrades.

I first walked south point trail, which was surprisingly out of the wind.  Some Brown Thrashers were singing and a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers were flitting about.  The Yellow-rumped were scattered about the park, and I probably came across about 20.
It is interesting to look back on past records to see what we have seen by this date.  Several warbler species, vireos, etc. have all appeared.  This year migration is very held back.

I added several FOY birds though.

The White-winged Dove had not been seen in several days.  One wonders if it is still nearby or what.  Mel's Diner has not been open yet, unlike last year.

After the park, I checked the lakeshore south of Morpeth, where the lake was very angry.

Ruddy Duck riding the waves!

The water levels were very high, especially at Erieau.

Back near home, a Snowy Owl was still along Langstaff Line.

Today, the mind-boggling weather was even worse.  Freezing rain coated everything, but I headed out to the St. Clair River.
There was a fair number of things to see, including the lingering male King Eider at Sombra.  It was exactly where I found it Friday morning.

A White-winged Scoter was in Sombra Bay, among other ducks.

Ring-necked Ducks

Several Common Loons were along the river, as well as a couple of Horned Grebes.

I drove some back roads, and came across a large group of Savannah Sparrows along Pretty Road.  They were probably looking for the pastures that were here 20+ years ago!

Tomorrow will be much nicer (but cold) once the weekend is over.....as usual!

Another Frosty Morning

Although very cold, it was a nice morning to drive to work.  The sun was just popping up as I headed out Water Street.

Some of the open spots on the St. Clair River had lots of mist rising early this morning.  Made for an interesting sight.

One spot near shore had a few ducks including two White-winged Scoters.

scooter!

I had lunch at the local restaurant and afterwards decided to check that open spot.  The two scoters were easy to see, but an oddity was amongst them.  A Red-necked Grebe!  I could not do much with my Powershot camera though.

We have often had these grebes show up before in early to mid February as they move around.  Sometimes these wintering birds get frozen out of their hangouts and search for other feeding areas.  Quite a few Red-necked Grebes have been reported around southern Ontario lately.  Even Red-throated Loons in London.  What a novelty!

By the way, I did not see a Snowy Owl today.  I drove all along Langstaff Line late today.  I am pretty sure they were on the move on the weekend with all those birds that were not around the vicinity previously.

"Who gives a hoot?"

Christmas Birding

Christmas Eve day I was off work just after lunch.  I took advantage of the rare sunny day!  It was quite windy and very bright on the St. Clair River but little was on the river to look at anyway.  Earlier in the day I caught sight of a White-winged Scoter flying north just off Port Lambton.  Although they are annual in the winter on the river, it is a nice bird to see.
I headed inland but could not come up with any owls.  I even checked some coniferous trees at McKeough for Long-eared, but there was no evidence of them.  Just after I came out into the open, a large dark bird caught my attention high in the sky.  TV or eagle?  The bright sun did not help matters, but then I thought eagle.  Expecting nothing other than a Bald, I kept looking and it turned out to be a Golden!  An adult Golden Eagle was working its way westward.  A new bird for the area. My position was not good for photography, but here is a "silhouette".

After I got home, I took a look at the feeder setup and a Red-breasted Nuthatch came in.  For some reason very few birds are at the feeder this year, but this nuthatch was new.  A good bird for here.

This morning I took my usual Christmas jaunt up the St. Clair River.  We now have LOTS of ice in the river.  Perhaps a good thing as it will concentrate birds, especially gulls.  Still not many ducks on the river (lots of Long-tailed though), but certainly more gulls.
The best spot for birds was at Cathcart Park.  A variety of things were there and I sat in the car for some time.  I saw a White-winged Scoter working its way downriver, so I got out and walked over to the breakwall.
Just as I got there, a Double-crested Cormorant flew by!  Would be an excellent bird for the CBC on Saturday.  Another silhouette!

The scoter took off downriver.

I looked downriver, and there was a Horned Grebe!  Another good bird for the river this time of year.  It came in fairly close.

Most of the gulls were off OC Industries, including an adult Glaucous.  I would think gulls will build in numbers from now on.

Inland, I found the Snowy Owl at the Sombra solar farm.  It was on the ground, so could easily be missed.

Not much else of note as I headed home.  A good-sized flock of Snow Buntings was near Becher, and at least one Lapland Longspur was amongst them.

Leading up to the Wallaceburg CBC this Saturday, I will do some checking around.
Christmas nuts:

More St. Clair River Scenes and Owls

No wind and clear skies today!  The river was jammed with ice all the way to the south end of Sombra this morning, but later in the day the ice was moving and some clear areas were found.  Not many ducks were to be seen early this morning even though I went as far as Shell.

The busiest spot as usual was at LGS, so I sat there for some time.  Nothing new except yet another apparent "Nelson's" Gull.  This time a first cycle, so now we have had an adult, a second cycle and this one today.

I only picked out two Lesser Black-backed Gulls today, but there were fewer gulls to choose from.

Still lots of Glaucous of course in the area--up to 20 perhaps.

And no Kumlien's Iceland today that I could find.
A couple of male Gadwall swam by at one point, and a White-winged Scoter drifted dowriver later.

Lots of swans in the area of Cathcart Park including the two Trumpeters.

Inland, I went for a walk at McKellar on Bickford Line and found 7 Long-eared Owls. All were bunched in one pine tree, but flushed before I got anywhere near them!

Later I flushed another owl unexpectedly, and I have no idea what it was.  It was fairly large though so it may well have been a Great-Horned.
In the vicinity I found a pile of Wild Turkey feathers!  There were signs of a struggle, but obviously some big raptor took it down.  Maybe the Great-Horned?  Marks in the snow were fresh so it could have happened during the night.