On A Hunch

 Yesterday (Monday) I headed down to Rondeau Park early to do some birding.  I was there early enough to hear some Whip-poor-wills!  No Chuck-wills-widow of course, but we are certainly overdue for one at Rondeau.  Point Pelee had one though!  Many even got to see that one, let alone hear it sing.

The "chuck" is one bird I recall in my early years of birding, where there was a pair on south point trail that we saw. Very rare for Ontario.

There were not a lot of birds, but it was steady with a good variety.  Ovenbirds were plenty for one thing

While I was there, JB saw 13 American Avocets fly past the east side of the park.  As this species is my favourite shorebird, I was disappointed that I was not in the right place at the right time to see them. That is birding though.  Later, they were reported passing the west side of Erieau, so obviously heading west.

After I was done birding at Rondeau, I decided to head west to Wheatley and Hillman Marsh.  I thought there was a good chance some Avocets might show up there.  And, if the Rondeau ones kept moving, they should show up at Hillman.

After a quick look at Wheatley Harbour, I headed over to Hillman Marsh shorebird cell.  Not much was there, but the place is always hit and miss, and things are constantly changing there.  Just as I was leaving the parking lot, a report came in that 13 American Avocets set down on the sandbar along the lake at Hillman Marsh.  It was only a five minute drive, so I headed over to a good position and saw the 13 Avocets!  They eventually took flight, but settled back down.

Obviously, these were the same birds that passed by Rondeau a few hours earlier! My hunch paid off!

Thirty-two Willets were also present.  Willets seems to be quite plentiful anymore, and big flocks can be seen.

The previous day, I did not go far.  Had things to do anyway.  Peers Wetland had a good variety of birds.  There were several Cape May Warblers (my favourite warbler).

The Common Gallinule was still around.  Perhaps it may nest there, so I will be keeping tabs.

A number of years ago, this species did nest there producing four young. Would be nice to see that happen again, and record it for the bird atlas's last season of data-gathering.

Cliff Swallow gathering mud

Later in the morning I went out to Mitchell's Bay.  A good variety of birds was present to sort through, but nothing of note.  That place always has potential for something good, so I keep trying!

old snapper

Today, I went out to Mitchell's Bay again at sunrise.  It was quite calm and pleasant for a change, but not as many birds as I had hoped for.  Hundreds of gulls still around, but I never seem to pick out anything different.

Common Gallinule

Black-crowned Night Heron

White-crowned Sparrows are in good numbers right now.  One of these days, I hope for one with a golden crown!

Later in the morning, I went for a long walk at Reid CA.  It was quite pleasant and I looked at plants more than anything.

one of the yellow violets

one of the purple violets

                             Dwarf Ginseng

Swamp Buttercup

one of the old oaks, possibly Shumard

Weekend Walks In Nature

 As this wacky weather continues (and yes, east winds!), I did some different things this weekend.  On Saturday, CK Nature (formerly Sydenham Field Naturalists) held a walk at Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods.

This 11 acre site is a gem of essentially old growth forest on the southwest edge of Wallaceburg.  It was never logged, but the property was once used for cattle grazing at one point.

In 2006 it was saved after the original family sold the property to a local farmer who was going to clear the woods.  The farmer offered it to a buyer that could come up with the required money.  The municipality and Sydenham Field Naturalists came through.  It was a one of a kind natural setting that had to be preserved at any cost.

It is called Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods  since there are a number of Sycamore trees (some quite large) within.

There are also some very large oaks, including Shumard.  One can get a sense of the size from this photo!  Shumard is quite uncommon in this neck of the woods.

There are other species, including Swamp White Oak.  This one is the largest, probably at least 150 years old.

Note the "balding" at the base, which is a sign of old growth.

And of course, American Beech, Black Cherry, ashes and others.

Even "Soft" Maple.  This one at the entrance is very old.  It could be Freeman's Maple, which is a hybrid of Silver and Red.

The weather was less than ideal with a stiff cold east wind, but we made the best of it under the able leadership of Larry Cornelis with one group and another led by Tom Chatterton.

There were some birds, including warblers, but the highlight was a family of Great Horned Owls.  Two young were huddled high in a tree, as momma was harassed by crows nearby.

Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods is a nature reserve that is land-locked with no real public access.  That is a good thing!  From time to time, special tours are held.

Saturday's was in celebration of Wallaceburg's 150th anniversary, where a number of event are going to be held this year.

Today, under similar weather conditions (must be the weekend!), Ontario Nature put on an event at the Sydenham River Nature Reserve near Alvinston.  The reserve it not really open to the public, but there are ways to get in.  Special events or surveys are held throughout the year, and one can join in.

View of a portion of the Sydenham

A large number of people attended today's event, where several groups were led on different themes.

The Sydenham River winds through SRNR for about 2 km, and likely the most ecologically rich river in North America.

There are some impressive deep gullies that drain into the river.

I would have liked to join in all of the groups, but I joined the birding group.  We did manage find a number of birds under gloomy skies. I am sure there would have been more if the weather had been warm and sunny!

I tallied 29 species, including some migrants such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Black-and-white Warbler, Palm Warbler, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, as well as Lincoln's Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows.

Palm Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

The trusty Blue-winged Warbler was in his usual area putting on a show for our group.  Without fail, this one is at its spot each time I am on the property!

A Yellow-throated Vireo was a nice find as it sang its hoarse song.  This one will likely nest here.

One cannot fail to notice the Virginia Bluebells here, which are quite abundant at SRNR.  This is a stunning plant that is in bloom in early May.

Although the weather could have been better, it was an interesting weekend.

Sometimes It Works Out !

 Although I enjoy being outdoors as much as I can, birding or looking at other things, it is nice to see some decent birds along the way.  It is the thrill of the hunt that intrigues many birders.  One often goes to a particular location in the hope of seeing an interesting bird, or a rarity.

Today, I went back to Rondeau.  Weather was less than ideal with a strong east wind under cloudy skies.  And yes, the usual prevailing east wind for this time of year!

Although it is only May 1, there were not a lot of birds to keep up one's interest.  I decided to leave at one point and try my luck elsewhere.  Ten Willets were reported at Wheatley Harbour, so I headed in that direction.  Upon arrival, they were still there huddled up in the wind.

A couple of early Ruddy Turnstones were on the beach as well.  Here is one.

Since I was that far west, I decided to head into Point Pelee National Park.  I did not expect to see much, and birding was a bit slow.  However, there were some quality birds around, and that coupled with the meeting of old friends made the visit worthwhile.

I parked at White Pine, and walked in to the trails and down to Tilden Woods.  There were not many birds, but already this day, people had seen Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and early Magnolia Warbler and an early Wilson's Warbler.

The Cerulean was at ground level, feeding.  One of the brighter ones I have seen!

With some effort, I managed to see the warblers, but not the Chat.  As you know, chats are good at hiding even though they may be 'within reach'.

At least three Yellow-breasted Chats had been reported this day.  Another was on Redbud trail, so I headed in that direction.  After some waiting, the Chat was very briefly seen after making some characteristic chatters.

At this site, an early Cape May Warbler (male) and another White-eyed Vireo were nice to see.

I then headed back towards the VC, when a message came through that the "afternoon shift" (Richard Carr) had discovered a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at the Tip.  I was not far from the tram, so I waited till it arrived and hopped on board with the mob.

Luckily, the long-tailed creature was still at the Tip catching insects!  I was not a position for a good photo, but who cares.

While there, a number of gulls were on the long Tip.  Someone spotted a Franklin's Gull among them!  Rather distant, but a nice bird for this time of year.

The gull was indeed a bonus!

It was then time to head home after a long day.  Ending up at Point Pelee today certainly worked out!

Earlier this week, Tuesday had looked like a promising day for birds.  There were lots of new birds and some rarities reported, but it did not pan out as most had expected.  The numbers just did not arrive.  I stayed fairly local, checking out Mitchell's Bay, Port Lambton and Peers Wetland.  It was not as productive as I had hoped.

Osprey at Peers

shy Black-and-white at Mitchell's bay

A Lark Sparrow was found at the north end of Rondeau Park, which later ended up at Keith McLean Conservation Lands.  This happened at least once before!  

I was not going to rush down for it though.

Wednesday I was at Rondeau first thing.  I wanted to get there early enough for Whip-poor-wills, but I slept in about 15 minutes too late!  Lots of time for them this month.

Although a nice day, there were not many birds.  Some first-of-year birds were added though.  I left the park before 08:30, if that tells you anything!

I then decided to check out McLean's in case the Lark Sparrow was still around.  I spent some time there, and eventually I spotted it!

first observance

It was nice that it stayed another day.  Actually it was still there today.

I moved on from there and went to the marsh trail at Erieau, and McGeachy Pond.  Some new birds included this Bobolink.

Bobolinks must have come in overnight as they were in multiple locations on Wednesday.

I then went to the Blenheim lagoons.  A large number of Lesser Yellowlegs was still present.  I counted over 120, which is the most I have seen at this location.

While walking I noticed some insects in the grasses.  Here is a Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, which I do not think I had photographed before.

While in that neck of the county, I decided to try for the wacky Whimbrel near Erie Beach.  It had arrived a couple of days earlier, and in fact probably the same bird at the same location from last year!  It is incredibly early for a Whimbrel, but these things happen.  It was another bird that Jim Burk spotted for his "tractor" list.

Thanks to Jim for directing me up the laneway of the field to see this bird.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of heat haze this day and I could not focus.

The month of May is now here.........!!  (And I already have Whimbrel on my list!)