Blenheim Blunders to River Rubyspots

It was another fine day as I headed down to Blenheim early this morning.  There was still a good selection of shorebirds, but nothing spectacular that I could find.  A nice-looking Baird's Sandpiper was near the start, but a bit out of range for the camera.

the one behind the yellowlegs!

One must examine the shorebirds carefully, as last Sunday there was a Western Sandpiper present.  On my way out, I photographed a shorebird in the one corner which suspiciously looked like a Western.  I thought no more of it, and even posted the photo on my blog last Sunday in case anyone noticed.  I sort of expected a comment on it!


Garry Sadler got a nice photo of the bird, as shown on his eBird list of August 20.





More ducks had come in, including a large number of Blue-winged Teal.  The crazy Ring-necked Duck was still in the same spot.

I had not been down to Erieau all summer, so I first stopped at the rail trail.  A decent array of warblers was working the trees along the trail.  However, they were not easy to photograph.

Northern Waterthrush

Blackburnian Warbler

And some flycatcher...

Great-crested Flycatcher

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

I also walked McGeachy Pond dike where a few more warblers were seen.  There was also a Yellow-throated Vireo that eluded the lens. A chestnut-sided Warbler was co-operative though.

The tip of Rondeau at Erieau had lots of birds, but no Laughing or Franklin's that I could find! In due time.
A quick stop at Ridgetown revealed an odd-looking goose.

I wanted to check on the rubyspots at Thamesville again, so that was my last stop.  There were not as many American Rubyspots as last week, but more Smokey Rubyspots were along the steep riverbank of the Thames.

American Rubyspot

There was a unique-looking clubtail patrolling the edge, but of course never landed.  I wonder what it was....one can only speculate.