More Filler Than Anything!

 Winter has definitely set in, and bird life has dropped off quite a bit.  The recent cold weather has gotten rid of a lot of birds it seems!  Even the Fox Sparrow coming to my feeder appears to have left.  I have not seen it since Wednesday.  I did have an influx of Dark-eyed Juncos one day, but most of them only stayed that one day.  I think the Fox Sparrow left with them.

I have not found anything of note this past week despite checking out various places.  My camera collected a lot of dust!

I decided to check out the St. Clair River on Wednesday.  Some waterfowl has come in, but we will not see much until we get some ice to concentrate things.

Friday I went down to Rondeau Park.  It was relatively quiet, but a stiff wind did not help.  I wanted to walk out marsh trail, but it was just too windy and cold.

I took a brief look at the beach off the light beacon.  Two cold Killdeer were working the beach. Not the Purple Sandpiper I was hoping for!

Saturday was another windy day, but I checked out Mitchell's Bay in any case.  Ice has formed, and even some ice fishermen were already venturing out!  Not sure how they could stand the stiff cold west wind out there.  I could not, even standing on the shore.  There were lots of geese and swans far out on the ice.  Lots of blackbirds were moving quickly along the shoreline.

Today, I went up along the St. Clair River to Corunna.  Much quieter with regards to waterfowl compared to the previous visit.  There were more decoys than actual ducks! 

However, there was a lot of activity at Guthrie Park.  Well over 100 American Herring Gulls, and lots of Long-tailed Ducks.  Nothing appeared out of the ordinary though.

This afternoon, I needed a good walk, so went up to Reid C. L.  Only thing of note was a huge flock of Snow Buntings in the distance.  Lots of them showing up lately.

Scene at the high point of Reid

Just to put some filler in this post, here is something of historical interest:

In 1919, the wooden tug Gargantua was built in Marine City, Michigan.  It served its purpose until 1952 when it was towed out of Collingwood on December 4.  A storm came up, and the tow retreated into Wingfield Basin at Cabot Head.

The tug was intentionally sunk so that it did not break up on the rocks.  The idea was to come back the next spring to salvage the vessel.  That never happened.

The hulk still remains today!  I have seen it four times, as I visited Cabot Head some years ago.

It is just off the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory property at Cabot Head.

This year is almost coming to an end.  Christmas Bird Counts start this coming Sunday already.

Some people head to warmer climes for vacation, or take cruises.  Not for me though, I do not travel!  Did in the past though.  Here is a photo from the archives when my father and I took a cruise on the Norway. It was formally the ss France which was the longest cruise ship at the time.  It was an interesting adventure!