Some Weekend Birding

On Saturday I was at Rondeau Park first thing in the morning.  Nothing notable was found, but it is always worth checking.  Next Sunday is the Christmas Bird Count so I wanted to get an idea what was around.  Things may change considerably this week with the predicted weather though.
Golden-crowned Kinglets seemed to be in good number all over.  As well, quite a few Brown Creepers were working up the trees.

A single Yellow-rumped Warbler was still on south point trail and no doubt others are around.  We did not find the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on south point, but could certainly still be there.  Many birds were down low in the tangles and sloughs.
A couple of Field Sparrows were associating with American Tree Sparrows as they often do this time of year.  It is always worth checking these flocks during a CBC!  Usually we do get them on each CBC.
An Eastern Towhee is frequenting the visitor centre feeder area again this year.

The campground is always good to check.  There are at least two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers hanging around.  I came across a single White-crowned Sparrow at the south end.  They were certainly scarce this fall.

My next stop was McGeachy Pond dike and the Rail Trail.  I finally saw the Orange-crowned Warbler.  It does stand out this time of year!  I had several good looks at it as it moved around quite a bit.  It was never still enough to take a photo though.
A Gray Catbird is also being elusive in the tangles.
While on the rail trail, I did see a Snowy Owl in the distance.

This morning I checked out the St. Clair River and Sarnia.  As usual, there is not much to see yet on the river, but I noticed a good number of gulls.  Perhaps we will get a good gull showing this year.

Docks covered with gulls today

A Double-crested Cormorant flew by the marina area at one point.

I drove back roads going home due to the snow and stopped at Moore WMA on Bickford Line, one of my favourite winter stops.

There was a good number of Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees there.  I saw no sign of Yellow-rumped Warblers which usually winter at the location.  Always good for woodpecker, including Northern Flicker.

A last stop was Peers Wetland.  It is normally quite quiet there once the cold weather arrives.  The snow certainly concentrates birds as we all know, and I found a bunch of sparrows in one area.  Included were at least 8 Swamp Sparrows.

Lots of White-tailed Deer were roaming the fields today!

Some upcoming Christmas bird counts include Kettle Point December 17, Cedar Creek December 17, Blenheim (Rondeau) December 18, Wallaceburg December 27, St. Clair NWA January 1 (I assume!), Skunk's Misery January 2.