Birds on the Move

I birded the Rondeau area today.  I met up with Jim Burk at first light on South Point Trail.  Like many times this fall we did not find much on the trail.  Songbirds sure cleared out early this year!  Even Yellow-rumped Warblers are difficult to find right now.  In fact I have not seen one in a while.
Pine Siskins are still on the move.  There have been quite a few this fall, but they continue to motor on through. Several went over again this morning.
Perhaps the only interesting bird on south point was an American Woodcock that we scared up.  It would be a nice bird four weeks from now on the CBC!  I also spotted a timid Hermit Thrush that seemed to suddenly disappear.  Also in the thrush category, a few Eastern Bluebirds were present.  These are likely staying a while.
We headed up to the campground as we always do this time of year.  Our luck changed right away.  Many birds were out and about and one of the first was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  It will likely stay there as one or two hang around the campground into winter.  Near it was a male Eastern Towhee--perhaps another bird that will stick around.
Heading into the campground, Jim spotted a flock of 11 small geese flying south.  Snow geese...but wait....one was a little smaller which we assumed to be a Ross's Goose.  There were several Snow Geese of the blue form in this flock.  Surprisingly, these were the first Snow Geese I have seen this year!  Just yesterday I was wondering about this species as I visited Ridgetown lagoons.  I heard that three (3) Ross's Geese were seen at Point Pelee today as well.
At the north end of the campground a bunch of juncos came out of a cottage yard that has an excellent feeder setup.  One appeared to have a distinct hood that I concluded to be a female Oregon type.
Just a few minutes later, Jim and I both heard the distinctive flight calls of White-winged Crossbills passing quickly overhead.  We did not see them, but a minute later, another flock at lower altitude buzzed by.  We saw those and estimated at least 15 White-winged Crossbills on a mission south.
It is only every few years we get crossbills at Rondeau, so this was a treat.
I am including a couple photos of an immature female that I had at my feeder exactly ten years ago.  I thought it was rather unique, as this bird had no fear and was  so intent on eating that I walked right up to it.  It stayed a few days.

Near maintenance, we had a mixed flock of birds--Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers and a pair of Purple Finches.

Several Common Loons were flying over today, as we counted many while in the campground.

Jim and I parted ways for a bit and I went over to Ridgetown Lagoons.  Lots of geese and swans there, and the two Dunlin were still present from yesterday.  I think this was a little before Josh Vandermeulen arrived!

I worked my way back to Erieau and met Jim at the R/R track trail.  Not much was there, so we went to the pier.  Nothing unusual again, but 9 Sanderlings were flying around.  The bonies from yesterday were absent.

I did spot 4 Turkey Vultures over Rondeau Park at this point.

I checked Blenheim Lagoons on the way home and did not add anything new.