Monday was another rainy day, so I stayed around home getting some things done. However, Tuesday was a nicer day so I went down to Rondeau Park to some walking. It was nice not to have rain! I am still in disbelief of the ridiculous weather we had on Sunday for the Christmas Bird Count. Since my area consists mostly of walking, it was not enjoyable and to the point it was the worst count (weatherwise and lack of birds) in the 35 years I have been doing them. It put me off, so I feel that I will not be doing anymore counts this season!
Despite the weather, the count did fairly well breaking 100 species.
Yesterday one of my walks was up Harrison Trail. It was one area I did not get to on Sunday, but I do not think I missed much. It is a quiet winter for birds, and there were very few.
I looked at things trailside and photographed some interesting sights. Some trees were deformed due to vines twisting up their trunks.
Here is another smaller one.
This tree took an abrupt turn at one point in its life!
It was quite covered in lichens. One of the most common lichens is Common Greenshield.
Another type I found, I believe is Smooth-footed Powderhorn.
Another common one is Hoary Rosette. (though this one was not at Rondeau)
There were lots of mosses, including this Delicate Fern. Looks a bit like cedar leaves.
Regarding birds, it was quiet of course. I did see three Red-throated Loons and one Common Loon on the lake. I managed to see the only Red-throated Loon the CBC on Sunday. I was very lucky just to get that, as I easily could have missed it in flight.
The campground was fairly birdy though. There was a nice group of birds at the south end, and another at the north end. A few Ruby-crowned Kinglets were around. They were very flighty this day, so I had difficulty getting on them.
Each group of birds had a Yellow-rumped Warbler. They were AWOL on Sunday apparently!
Some White-throated Sparrows were around as well.
Today, I did some wandering around without much luck.
I wandered out towards Mitchell's Bay. I finally saw my first Snowy Owl of the fall. Not many have been around so far. As usual it was way out in a field.
II walked the south shore nature trail. Very quiet for birds. There were quite a few juncos though. This one had a more distinct hood. They are so variable though.
This Great Blue Heron was resting in a tree.
I took a short walk at Reid CA this afternoon. Here is another tree on the twist theme. Looks like it was twisted its whole life!
Lots of Shagbark Hickory trees are at Reid. This one had a knot between its trunks.
Various mushrooms and fungi are quite visible. Common at Reid is Splitgill Mushroom.
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