December 19 was the annual Blenheim/Rondeau Christmas Bird Count. Weather was fairly decent although we did not get as much sun as forecast.
I did my usual route on the east side of the park south of the visitor centre, starting with a lakewatch at dog beach. I did not take many photos as birds were flighty or too distant.
I have been doing this route since the early 1990's (I did outside the park previously), so know it well. We have had all kinds of weather, and every year is different.
There was not a lot moving on the lake and it took a while to see some Red-throated Loons. In recent years, this species has become quite common in late fall/early winter at Rondeau and it is the default loon.
I saw quite a few before I left the post, so was happy with that. However, later on off south point trail, it was loon mania! Large flocks were heading west, getting up off the lake. Some groups numbered 50-70.
I ended up with 217, but I know I missed a lot as I was not watching the lake the entire time. There were probably upwards of 300 around this day! Indeed a record high for the area.
Birds were somewhat scarce on my route. Some notables included Ruby-crowned Kinglet (several on the count overall), two Eastern Towhees, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird (flyover..wondering if it was the same one Quinten had farther up the park!), and lots of redpolls flying over.
Probably the most interesting walk was along the old Dillon trail back to the big slough. I had not done it in few years. The Dillon used to be a drivable road between the two south point trails. One used to be able to detect where it went, but it has grown in now but I was able to follow it back to the big slough, then lost the point where it crossed. A number of years ago I used to be able to see where it crossed, but water and growth has taken over.
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| Scene near the big slough |
Swamp Sparrows were the dominant species along the sloughs! A few Song Sparrows and Winter Wrens were mixed in as well. I found them in the more open/grassy parts of the slough. I found upwards of 40. One of the towhees was near the end of the big slough which was a surprise.
I decided to follow the slough down to the lake. For the most part it was an easy walk but a couple of spots got thick and it was dicey near the end.
Obviously there are birds back in the sloughs, so if one is ambitious, they should be checked!
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| Winter Wren (in winter) |
After that long walk I was too tired to do much more, so did a quick look at the campground before I left. The gnatcatcher was easily found, but near the south end of the grounds. It is well-travelled as it looks for food. It will likely perish once winter really sets in.
Overall, at time of this writing, species tally for the entire count stands at an incredible 123...a new high! Some highlights were the Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Nelson's Sparrow, Least Sandpiper, House Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, Greater White-fronted Goose. The gnatcatcher and sandpiper were of course 'new' for the count history and record-late. Goes to show what is out there when dedicated birders scour the area!
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