Brutal Birding

Needless to say, the weather has been the issue the last couple of days.  After a beautiful day on Wednesday (clear, calm, warm and sunny) things went down the drain Thursday morning signalling the approach of the weekend. At least the rain was light in our area compared to other parts of the province.  It has been enough though to significantly raise water levels and flood fields.
Wednesday afternoon I took advantage of the nice day and went for a walk at Reid CA.  As I have mentioned before, it is a great place to walk through the forest--a real treasure.
I saw the first of year Juvenal's Duskywings along the trail.

Reid is not a place for any concentration of birds, but of course it is fabulous for butterflies (I have well over 50 species there).

Thursday morning dawned cool and cloudy, but we got a couple hours birding in before the rain started.  I was there early enough to hear a few Eastern Whip-poor-wills and many American Woodcocks.
Birding was tough throughout the morning as the rain increased and the wind picked up.  A couple of Yellow-breasted Chats have been frequenting south point trail the last few days.  One can only hope they stay to nest.
The lake was rather quiet, but we did see a Long-tailed Duck and a pair of Surf Scoters, fairly decent for May here.
My checklist for the day:
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist/S36543114

Today, Friday, had brutal weather with rain, strong north winds and cold temps.  There was no sense in going to Rondeau, so I checked out Canatara Park in Sarnia.  It is a significant migrant trap and great for birding, right in the city! At times it has more variety of birds per area compared to Rondeau.
Conditions were brutal, but Mike Bouman and I checked out the Lake Chipican area.  Birds were desperately trying to find food as the kept circling the little lake in quick fashion.  The only FOY bird was a Cape May Warbler.
Here is my checklist for the day:
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist/S36562890

Sombra sewage lagoons has a bit of habitat for shorebirds.  This afternoon a dowitcher was present which no doubt a Long-billed.  A dowitcher in the first few days of May is more likely a Long-billed.  They are rather uncommon in spring migration.
I did not carry the camera the past couple of days due to the rainy conditions.  Here is a point and shoot camera shot though.

Hopefully some birds will move in starting this weekend as there has been little movement lately. Mind you, some excellent birds have been found in the province, but numbers have not yet materialized.