Labour Day Weekend Wanderings

For Sunday, I had a hunch that birding would be good at Rondeau Park, so that was my destination.
Upon arrival at south point trail, things started off nicely with a Connecticut Warbler.  Jim Burk had just staked it out right at the start of the trail.  On the opposite side of the trail was a Mourning Warbler!

Chestnut-sided Warbler blending in

Not far into the trail, we encountered a multitude of warblers which kept us busy for some time.  However, we had to make a dash to the cars since it started raining.  There was no rain in the forecast for Sunday all week, but what can you do?  It was quite gloomy for the first part of the morning, but no matter, since there were lots of birds.

The lake was not too active since the winds had shifted.



I saw quite a few species of birds that I did not encounter the day before, so it was obvious that many had dropped in overnight.

After south point, we went to the north end of Harrison Trail where there was another good crop of birds.  Near the pony barn, we found dozens of warblers which kept us busy sorting through.

At one point, I spotted a multi-coloured Scarlet Tanager high in a tree.

At the end of the day, I tallied 20 species of warblers, among the other migrants.

Sunday afternoon was so nice, I went for a walk up at Reid CA.  It was quite enjoyable.

Although Reid is not usually known for concentrations of birds, I did find quite a large pocket of warblers to sort through.  They were moving quickly though.
Some curious Black-capped Chickadees were mixed in.

Some darners were flying about, including this one.

Shadow Darner (?)

Holiday Monday has strong SW winds forecast, so I decided to give Point Pelee a try.  I arrived at the Tip and found Kory Renaud already set up.  We watched for some time, but it was not too productive.  It is still early in the season, so there will be lots of opportunities to come.

We walked up the beach to Sparrow Field, giving some Sanderlings a workout.

A few warblers were at Sparrow Field.
I continued up west beach trail, but it was rather windy.  The only butterfly of note was a Common Checkered-Skipper.

A number of warblers were on De Laurier, but I did not spend much time. Still too many tourists!

A stop at Hillman Marsh shorebird cell area revealed numerous checkered-skippers.  I counted about 40 in less than a hour.

The most notable thing was Common Gray-Hairstreak.  It has been at least two years since I have seen one!

Another summer has virtually come to an end, but there are good days ahead.  Fall is my favourite time of year for birding!

Eastern Amberwing