Recent Observations As May Marches On

 The days are quickly passing!  Most migrants have moved through, but there were still lots this past week.

I was at Rondeau on Tuesday for a long walk.  I started at south point trail (west) and continued a ways out the south beach.  It was not overly productive, but that was what I wanted to do.

It was windy yet again, and there was not much out the beach.

As always, I look down once in a while.  An easily recognizable mussel shell was an Eastern Pondshell.

Before leaving, I checked around maintenance. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was showing nicely.

I then decided to head west in hopes of seeing Hudsonian Whimbrel.  I completely struck out!  Typical luck.

There were a few warblers along the Erieau marsh trail, including this Canada which was moving too much to focus on.

There was not much at Wheatley Harbour.  This duskywing was likely a Columbine.

I stopped in at Hillman Marsh.  The long-staying White-faced Ibis was still present.

Wednesday was not overly productive around the home area.

Thursday I made an early morning run to Mitchell's Bay before going to the museum.

I did finally see some very distant Hudsonian Whimbrel over Ticky-Tacky Point.

Friday it was back to Rondeau.  Yet again, very windy!  I had been itching to make the long walk out south beach for some time, but I went out anyway despite the wind.  It was somewhat disappointing birdwise.

I was focusing on shorebirds, and had hopes of seeing Red Knots (Knot!).  There were other common species out there.

Dunlin

Least Sandiper

more Dunlin

There were some warbler on the way back, but many were silent foraging in the treetops.  Good thing I looked up once in a while!

I looked at plants as well.

White Bear Sedge

Maidenhair Fern

Smooth Carrion Flower

I managed to see Showy Orchis as well.  Unfortunately, I was late this year in getting it in fresh flowering mode.

I always like to find this orchid each spring.  Seems more difficult these days, as I have not found them lately in spots I had them in the past.

More American Redstarts were finally in, as well as Philadelphia Vireos.

Saturday was a complete washout as everyone knows!  Must be the weekend......

Today was finally a calm, but cloudy day.  Fairly warm as well.  I went out to Mitchell's Bay first thing.

Quite a few birds had come in overnight.  There were many in the yard when I got up, so I had high hopes for the south trail at the Bay.

There were indeed more birds along the way, but certainly not big numbers.  Highlight was a  singing Connecticut Warbler.  It is a regular migrant, but often difficult to find, let alone see. It was singing up a storm, but true to its nature, I did not even see it.  It was only about 3m away at one point!

I attempted a recording. (never mind the feet!).  You can hear it once.

A few Wilson's Warblers were among the crowd.

At one point I heard a Yellow-headed Blackbird, but it remained unseen.  Not really unusual out that way.

A Grey-cheeked Thrush made an appearance on the trail.

Back near home, I checked out Peers Wetland, then decided to head up along Marthaville Road where there are some pastures.

Upland Sandpiper, difficult to find anymore, are here every year.  It took a while, but two finally popped up on their tyical perch (wooden fence posts).

That was enough for today!

Mid May Report: Many Birds Have Arrived!

 We have finally seen good numbers of birds while the weather has turned around to more seasonal.

This past Friday, I went to Rondeau Park to get in on the action.  Lots of birds and some good ones!

I did a long walk around the north central block, including a stint down to the old group campground.

The group campground can be quite productive, as it is a large open space in the middle of park.  It has not been used in at least six years.

It was fairly steady along the way.  In one slough, a long-staying Solitary Sandpiper made a showing.  I kept missing it on previous visits!

A few flycatchers had arrived, including Eastern Wood-Peewees and Great-crested Flycatchers.

I checked the beach off dog beach.  A lone Long-tailed Duck was beached!  I have seen this many times before.

At one point, I got word that a Lark Sparrow was working the lawn south of the Park Store.  Although quite co-operative, it was difficult to see at times.

In the same area, a Clay-colored Sparrow got in on the action.

Some butterflies were taking advantage of the warm sun, including this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Next day I headed down to Hillman Marsh, as I wanted to see the White-faced Ibis.  It has been around for some time, which is unusal for an ibis.  It was still present today.

I headed back along Talbot Trail and checked out the old rail trail and McGeachy.  There was not muct at all!

Then it was up to Blenheim lagoons before the rain started.  Among a few shorebirds, a large number of Wilson's Phalaropes were present.  Up to 17 have been counted,  but I only stayed long enough to count 11.  The impending storm shortened my stay.

Yesterday, I was close to home, but there were surprisingly few migrants to be found.  One of my stops was Mitchell's Bay.

The "south" trail just has not been producing yet this year.

In the afternoon, I took a short walk at Reid C. L.  I had not been there in two weeks or so!  Some Juvenal's Duskywings and Silver-spotted Skippers were flying, but they were completely unco-operative.  Too much flying around!

Today, I headed down to Rondeau quite early. It was very warm for a change.  I had almost forgotten what warm weather was like!

It was a fabulous day, as birds had finally arrived in numbers.  Lots of first-of-year birds were tallied.

New warblers included Mourning, Blackpoll, Wilson's, while some flycatchers included Yellow-bellied and Acadian.

I had no luck with photography today but I tried to get the Acadian.

Some birders managed to spot a roosting Common Nighthawk at maintenance.  Many of us went to view this bird, seen high in a tree.

Although I did not catch up with more rare birds such as Yellow-breasted Chat, it was nice to finally see or hear lots of birds today.

Mid May Already: Things Are Finally Picking Up!

 Although there have been some good birds around, migration has certainly been behind what we have been used to in the last few years.  The weather has been unseasonably cold, but tomorrow the days will start to warm up.  In the last day or so, things have finally picked up.  

Tuesday I went to Rondeau on a sunny but cool day.  There was good activity around the Bennett and Harrison area.

Walking down Harrison with some birding friends, we encountered an active Summer Tanager.

Many birders were in the area and managed to get a glimpse of this handsome bird.

Seems there are good numbers of Summer Tanagers around this spring, unlike last year.  I completely missed the species last year!

Wednesday I was back to Rondeau bright and early.

I was up for a long walk.....all the way to the end of the marsh trail!  About a 14+ kilometre round-trip trek for those keeping track.

There was not a huge number of birds, and many that should be around already, were not present.

I only heard one bittern, that of an American, off in the distance.

It was a fine day for a walk.

The End!

A lone Trumpeter Swan was near the end.  Perhaps a female was on a nest somewhere?  We can only speculate at this point.

Noticed this odd tree near the trail.

A mink was hunting for breakfast at one point.

After that long walk, I drove around the park a bit, but did not encounter much.  So, it was westward bound!

I stopped by Wheatley Harbour to check the beach. All shorebirds were Ruddy Turnstones (save for one Dunlin).  Well over 100.

Hillman Marsh shorebird cell is a must stop at this time of year.  Things are constantly changing there.  I did not bring a camera in, but birds were a bit distant anyway.

I lucked out in spotting the adult Black-headed Gull at one point.  It had been hanging around the area for some time. Somewhat mis-named, the gull's hood is actually a very dark brown.

Also present were six Willets.  These large shorebirds are always a treat to observe.

On the way home, I stopped by the Zion Road bluff for a looksee.

Too bad I was not there there next day, as there were thousands of birds moving, including some good rarities!

Yesterday, I stayed fairly close to home. It was a windy, cloudy and very cold day anyway after early morning.  The temperature actually dropped during the day.

I did check out Port Lambton and Peers Wetland first thing, before going to a friend's place near Bridgen.

Magnolia Warbler

Late in the day, a hummingbird finally visited the nectar feeder, while a Swainson's Thrush scurried around the garden.

Today was volunteer day at the museum, but first-thing I did get some birding done at the south shore trail at Mitchell's Bay.  There were a few warblers present, but not like it should be.

Some other birds included:

Great-crested Flycatcher (not Ash-throated!)

Scarlet Tanager

Sparrow with a White Crown

At home this afternoon, I noticed a bright spot at the bird bath in the form of a male Scarlet Tanager.

The bird bath is well-used each day.  It has been around a long time, as it was my grandmother's back in the 1960's!

With warm weather setting in and southwest winds, this weekend should bring in the backlog of birds.  Birdcast radar looks awesome for Friday night!

some young birds are already out!