This Week's Finds

 Last Wednesday I needed a long walk, so ventured out Rondeau's marsh trail.  Since it is a very quiet winter for birds, I did not expect to see much, but the exercise was needed!

With the unseasonable (or unreasonable?) mild weather there was open water everywhere.  Some ducks were hanging around in the marsh, and even Sandhill Cranes were taking advantage of the unfrozen marsh.

Farther out, a Northern Shrike was working the area.  Seems there is one out there every winter!  It was rather distant though.

There are no Marsh Wrens or Common Yellowthroats around this winter, at least in any numbers like some years.  If there were, they probably died in that storm around Christmas!  There are still lots of thick drifts in some areas, and indeed out marsh trail.

I have been looking at the St. Clair River a bit lately, despite lack of gulls and ducks.  The other day I found a small raft of Redhead at Sombra.  Looking a little closer, I noticed that one of our hybrids is back.  A male Ring-necked X Redhead was trying to hide in the group!  Lighting was horrible due to the crappy weather (again) and it was a bit distant.

We get at least one, and often two or three of these each year on the river.  Here are some photos from the past.  Perhaps  one of these is the same bird as this year's.

Other hybrids have been seen such as Ring-necked X scaup (probably both scaup species).  This one had a greenish sheen to the head.

We have also seen Redhead X Canvasback, and last year that weird one found by Mike Bouman at Corunna, an apparent Canvasback X Ruddy Duck.

Friday was yet another gloomy day (seems like the gloomiest winter on record!), and I roamed around aimlessly.  I managed to come across one of the wintering Golden Eagles at Skunk's Misery.  I failed to get a decent photo though.  Crappy weather did not help.  They probably wander quite a bit, some some are east of Newbury, and north of Newbury, among other places.  Sometimes they can be found right away, while you can wander around for hours and not see one!

Here is photo of one I found along Smith's Falls Road a couple of winters ago.  Somewhat similar to the one I saw the other day.

There has been a Common Loon hanging around Sombra lately.  Yesterday it was in fairly close.

It was there again today, but I did not spend much time out and about as more crappy weather came in.  Snow got fairly heavy at one point.

Maybe one of these days we see some sun, assuming it still exists.....