Days are getting too short and I have little to report this week. With the time change, there is some light at the start of the day before I head into the workplace so I take advantage of that.
We have had up and down weather this week, but mostly warm. South winds are dominant anymore, unlike in the past when this time of year north winds were standard!
One morning this week was quite foggy so I went for a walk at Roberta Stewart Wetland. The rising sun created an interesting scene.
I could hear the usual Sandhill Cranes calling nearby overhead.
Today it was down to Rondeau again for mainly a lakewatch at dog beach on a strong SW wind. Still nothing of note! A good variety of ducks was seen and a fair number of gulls.
Very few landbirds today, so nothing to report on that front.
I wanted to get another look at the 'celebrity' bird at Mitchell's Bay. Perhaps a couple hundred or more people have seen the bird by now. Many of those tallied it as a 'lifer'. It frequents a small area along the trail, and usually patience is required as it hides well.
It took a while to see the bird today, but it did pop up.
There are lots of berry-type foods for it along this trail, including multi-flora rose, olive, bittersweet and others. In its native habitat it prefers ants and beetles but will eat berries and grapes when available.
The Sage Thrasher is generally a solitary bird, more wary than other thrashers. Our thrasher is certainly solitary!
The "Mountain Mockingbird" is a partial migrant from its breeding range in the west. Its habitat is predominately where Big Sagebrush is found. It is a regular vagrant over much of eastern North America with records around the Great Lakes area and the eastern seaboard and down to Florida and Texas.
As mentioned before, Ontario has had at least 19 records, with a remarkable three in Chatham-Kent. One in Wallaceburg, while Rondeau has had two documented records!
It will be interesting to see how long the Mitchell's Bay bird persists, and hopefully it survives to move on. However, these out-of-place birds sometimes perish.
Thanks for finding this little gem. I had brief looks last Sunday, then my buddy from Hamilton came on Tuesday and got a lifer. Not a lifer for me since I had seen one in St. Catharines years ago, but I got some great photos!
ReplyDeleteGlad you and others were able to come and see the bird.
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