Reid CA Strikes Again, And An Early Waterthrush

 Friday was a gorgeous day to be out as it was sunny and calm.  On the cool side though!

I eventually ended up at Reid CA for a long walk, apparently for a total of 4 km!  But, I love it there and it is my "happy place".

Outlet near the south end

Plant life had not changed much, but one of the hepaticas was almost in bloom.

Of course I looked for Harbinger of Spring one more time in several spots.

Looking forward to when more plants pop up.

I walked along the riverbank keeping an eye out for river mussels.  I found the usuals such as Giant Floater, Fragile Papershell, Deertoe and Mapleleaf.

                           Mapleleaf

At one point I found a couple of small ones.  I really had no idea what species, but after posting it on iNaturalist, it was identified as Lilliput (Toxolasma parvum).  A new one for me!

Lilliput is quite uncommon for our area, and is listed as critically imperiled in Ontario.  It is more common in the Hamilton area.

They only grow to 3-4 cm and are found on muddy bottoms more often in slower moving water bodies.  Host fish include sunfish, bluegill and crappie.

Looking at iNaturalist, there is one other in Lambton found in July 2019 somewhere on the north Sydenham watershed.  Another is at Port Franks.  In Chatham-Kent there are a couple of records and then one in Essex.  No doubt there are more that did not make it to iNaturalist.

I was excited to find this one!  Reid CA continues to produce rarities.

There was not much in the way of birds as usual.

A raft of more than 30 Wood Ducks was nice to see on the river.  I could not get close as they would flush.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk at Mitchell's Bay.  It was quite pleasant with no wind!  Some turtles were out sunning in the drain.

Today was a different story with rain, wind and cool temps.  I thought the best option was to head down to Wheatley and watch the lake.  Unfortunately nothing of note crossed my path.  

I drove around a bit afterwards.  A Great Egret was at Hillman.  These are certainly arriving earlier than what we saw in the "old" days.

I was not going to head into Point Pelee since it was raining, however I got word that a Louisiana Waterthrush was at the visitor centre.  Might as well go for it!

I met up with Rick Mayos there and we looked around to no avail.  However, eventually Rick spotted it along the north wall of the VC.  I was unable to get a photo as the bird went around the building to the back.  We looked at the back and found it again.  It was quite active and then went under the heating/cooling unit which seem rather amusing at the time.  It seemed to disappear and while we were about to leave, I spotted it beside the tram stop.

It disappeared again, so I decided that was enough and started to head out.  But, Rick spotted it again!  This time I got some photos as it fed on earthworms.  Not very good photos as it was raining, I was shivering, and the bird was very active!

eating an earthworm

It was apparently seen yesterday, which is fairly early.  However the record early date for the park according to eBird is one found by Alan Wormington 28 March 1989.

It is certainly the earliest one I have seen, but only by one day.  I saw one at Rondeau 31 March 2012.  The earliest date for Rondeau is 13 March 2020 as listed on eBird.  And, one was photographed at O'Neil Nature Reserve (Paxton's Bush) 23 March 2021.

Perhaps there are earlier dates that have not made it to eBird.  

In any case, a good bird for a rotten weather day.  Unfortunately, we may have to wait another week for some decent weather!