Another Guthrie Watch and Rondeau Area Birding

 Once again on Sunday I went up to Guthrie Park along the St. Clair River.  I first stopped at Cathcart Park, where one could find lots of waterfowl.  Some open water exists here and upriver to the OC outfall.  Much of it is inaccessible so who knows what lurks there.  The female Harlequin Duck was somewhere along there!

There was a cold SW wind on Sunday, so I spent much of the time in the car.  Lots of ducks were in close.

I found that there were more gulls this day.  I saw up to seven Glaucous Gulls.  

A nice adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was far offshore.

Soon after arrival, I spotted the Barrow's Goldeneye.  It moved around quite a bit during the morning, but most people were able to get a view of the bird.  At one point it came in really close!  I was not able to get any photos of it though.

Lots of Redhead and Canvasback were in close.

The Harlequin Duck I found on Friday has not been seen, but it is on the Michigan side!  That is where it hides from us.  It is actually a young male, so nice to have a couple of Harlequin Ducks on the river this winter.

Today, I had an extra free day, so went down Rondeau way.  I wanted to see the Wilson's Snipe, which I did first thing.

There is one guaranteed here every winter.  I think I remember the first Christmas Bird Count I did in the area, and it was one I remember seeing.  The creek never freezes even in the coldest times, as some underground spring feeds it.

Down the road, the three meadowlarks were showing well.

In the park, I did quite a bit of walking just for some fresh air and exercise.  Some Pine Siskins were at maintenance, but they were very high.

I encountered three Fox Sparrows in different locations.

Outside the park, some blackbirds and a Killdeer were found yesterday.  The Killdeer was quite obliging in another spot that never freezes.

I did see the Yellow-headed Blackbird, but some cowbirds, grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds were around.  At least I already saw a Yellow-headed Blackbird this year a couple of weeks ago!

Spring will be here in a few weeks!