Final Days of 2011

Yesterday I birded mostly the Rondeau area.  Weather was OK to start but quickly turned very windy and with wet snow.  As usual, it was windy at Erieau.  Seems it has been very windy all fall there and never suitable to walk McGeachy Pond dike.
I started at Ridgetown S. L. where tons of geese and swans are hanging out.  Two Ross's Geese were present, but these have been there since at least December 18 the day of the Rondeau Count.

In Rondeau Park, I just checked the campground.  Just my luck a Sharp-shinned Hawk was present and small birds were practically non-existent.  I did find a small flock of Tree Sparrows with one Field Sparrow.  It is not unusual to find a Field Sparrow or two in Rondeau during winter.  A couple of years ago, Jim Burk and I found a pure flock of nine Field Sparrows!

Field Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Stopped at Shrewsbury and noted about 1000 American Coots.  I think there were more now than on the CBC.  Hardly anything else around, but it was neat to see that many coots!

Part of the Coot Convention

Going into Erieau, a Snowy Owl was in a corn field, but that was the only one I found down there.
Very little to look at the docks, but a Horned Grebe and a Double-crested Cormorant were near the Government dock.

cormie

Horny Grebe

After lunch in Chatham, I swung around to Grande Pointe to look for Snowy Owls.  Not a one!
Mitchell Bay had no waterfowl in sight even though the water was all open--highly unusual for this time of year.

Stopped at Bear Creek Marsh SW of 'Burg.  This is always an excellent spot in early winter, especially for the CBC.  Lots of ducks can be found here, including desirable winter species such as Gadwall, Pintail, Ring-necked.  I did get a Pintail male this time.
Almost always there are Great Blue Herons (2 today) and Belted Kingfishers.
In the past I have had Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's Snipe (2x) on the CBC.
Today a pure flock of 5 Song Sparrows was in the reeds. In one open spot, 2 Mute Swans and a male Redhead were competing for the open water.

Coming towards Wallaceburg, I found a Snowy Owl where I had one on the 24th.  Obviously it hid out of sight for the CBC!

Today I checked out the St. Clair River.  It was nice and calm and the sun was out for a while.  Virtually nothing on the river--weird or what?  Lots of geese and swans were behind Fawn Island, but not too visible.  A Belted Kingfisher was on its usual perch off the Greenfield Ethanol Plant.

I drove back inland along Bickford Line and stopped at McKellar Tract.  Finally some birds!  A large flock of Juncos with Tree Sparrows and Chickadees was present with some woodpeckers (one Flicker).  The best species was Red-breasted Nuthatch.  Two of them were chattering up a storm and moving around quite a bit.  Not sure what had them agitated. These are good for the Wallaceburg area at least on CBC's.  Usually there are only one or two at a feeder.

Long-eared Owl at McKellar

I looked around for owls, but found none.  I have had Long-eared here in the past, roosting in the White Pines.
At one point I thought I heard a bluebird, but never heard it again.  Good spot for one anyway.