November Notes and Novelties

This past Saturday I checked out Dow Wetlands near Sarnia in the morning.  Nothing of note there!

In the afternoon, a Sydenham Field Naturalists outing was held at Honey Locust Homestead (Cornelis farm) just north of Wallaceburg.  Things have changed there over the years, especially since the Ruff showed up in 2006.

Here is the same view at present.  All grown in!

It was a good year there, as a Snowy Egret showed up later in the summer.  Then, there was the Vermilion Flycatcher that delighted many birders in December 2016.

Vermilion Flycatcher on its last day

 This past Sunday I headed towards Rondeau, but ended up taking a detour once I got to New Scotland Line.  A Purple Sandpiper was reported at Erieau on the pier!  Since that species was a sore miss last year, I had to give it a go.

Upon arrival, the subject bird was on the concrete just below the lighthouse.  Unfortunately, it was too far (and lighting bad) for my camera.

It was too risky to walk out the pier that day.

Here is one I found on the pier one November day in the past.  They are most often quite approachable!

After a bit of a lakewatch, I headed over to Rondeau Park and walked out marsh trail to half way point.  It was a nice and clear sunny day for a long walk.  Notable was a late Forster's Tern.

Tuesday it was back to Rondeau.  Another lack-lustre lakewatch started the day.  A flock of Rusty Blackbirds checked out the beach at dog beach.

There were enough birds in the park to keep my interest.

As usual, I stopped at McLean's on the way out.  It was a balmy day, and some butterflies were flying.  Included were three Fiery Skippers.

November 6 was my birthday!  One always hopes to find a "birthday bird", but there was not much around at all.  It was just too nice of a day!  No Sage Thrasher, even though I did check out the south shore nature trail at Mitchell's Bay.  It was  good day to do work around the house.

Today, there was a bit of a change in weather with WNW winds and cooler.  The potential for lots of birds or something good was in the air.  With White-winged Crossbills on the move, it seemed like there should be some around.  Maybe there was, but I did not come across any!

I headed down to Rondeau Park,  and started at south point trail and later other spots.  There were quite a few birds.  Lots of American Goldfinches were on the move, as well as more Pine Siskins, but no other finches (other than Purple and House).

A Cooper's Hawk against the clear sky caught my attention at one point.

As per tradition, I stopped by Keith McLean C. L. again.  Some raptors were moving, but not many.  And, those that were, were well to the north.  I did see a Golden Eagle and some Red-shouldered Hawks among other things.

Just before I left, I received word that a Cattle Egret was at the corner of Bisnett Line and Erieau Road.  Not surprising, as there have been several occurrences over the years at that location.

It had been well over an hour since the bird was seen as I drove towards the site.  Upon arrival, it was not in view, but eventually made its presence known much to my relief.

It appeared quite nervous and flew around quite a bit.  At one point, it flew right overhead and I fired off some shots with the camera.  Luckily, the photos turned out quite well!

That was a nice way to end this day of birding.

Autumn Meadowhawk in autumn