More May Meanderings in NE Winds

 Birds continue to trickle in, but these relentless NE winds every day continue to make it uncomfortable at times.

Thursday was a decent day at Rondeau where I tallied 93 species.  The centre of the park seemed the best at times.  Later in the morning, Bennett Avenue was excellent for warblers with a good variety.  Some first-of-year warblers included Bay-breasted and Prothonotary.

Early in the morning I walked the length of south point trail west to keep out of the cold wind.  It was steady with birds at times.  Nothing out of the ordinary though.

Fatmucket mussel on the beach

The lake was not too active, but some Red-throated Loons were around, albeit distant.

Friday morning was cold and windy (again!), but the winds had switched a bit to the west.  I checked out Mitchell's Bay and places locally.  Nothing to photograph though!

Saturday I headed down to Rondeau and the winds were still out of the NE, needless to say.  I wanted to walk out marsh trail, but it was just too windy. Just as well, since others who did, saw very little!

Sunrise at Rondeau

I opted to check out south point trail east and other places on the east side.  Not a lot of birds, but some things came in.  A Hooded Warbler near the tennis courts was a FOY.

It eventually got to the point where I was finding very little, and there were more people than birds.  So I left!

In the afternoon it got quite nice and warm, so I went for a walk at Reid CA.  I was looking more for insects.  

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

Juvenal's Duskywings were finally out.

And, a couple of Eastern Tailed-Blues were interacting at one point.

The first dragonfly of the year, besides Green Darner, was a female Common Whitetail.

Here are some other scenes.

I walked by the Twinleaf patch at one point. Note Harbinger of Spring at base.

Today, I did something different and went down to the Hillman Marsh first thing.  It was in the chance that something of interest would show, but this time it did not happen.  Cannot get 'em all!

I then headed back east and ended up at Blenheim lagoons.  Some shorebirds were along the edges, including three Wilson's Phalaropes.  They were too skittish to get close for photos though.

Lots of Dunlin and Least Sandpipers were present.

Afterwards, I decided to check out Sinclair's Bush since I had not been there yet this year.  There were actually quite a few birds, but with almost full leafout, it was difficult to see them.

This  area used to be a hotspot in the "old days" when I first started birding.  I recall some good days there for birds!  Summer Tanager, White-eyed Vireo, Cerulean Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush....

In the history department, the little passenger ship Ossifrage was a frequent visitor to Wallaceburg and Chatham.  She was launched at West Bay City, Michigan 11 May 1888.

Here she is in Wallaceburg 30 May 1918.

It had been rebuilt several times, but in September 1919 while being towed in Northumberland Strait, she struck a shoal and sank.

On A Hunch

 Yesterday (Monday) I headed down to Rondeau Park early to do some birding.  I was there early enough to hear some Whip-poor-wills!  No Chuck-wills-widow of course, but we are certainly overdue for one at Rondeau.  Point Pelee had one though!  Many even got to see that one, let alone hear it sing.

The "chuck" is one bird I recall in my early years of birding, where there was a pair on south point trail that we saw. Very rare for Ontario.

There were not a lot of birds, but it was steady with a good variety.  Ovenbirds were plenty for one thing

While I was there, JB saw 13 American Avocets fly past the east side of the park.  As this species is my favourite shorebird, I was disappointed that I was not in the right place at the right time to see them. That is birding though.  Later, they were reported passing the west side of Erieau, so obviously heading west.

After I was done birding at Rondeau, I decided to head west to Wheatley and Hillman Marsh.  I thought there was a good chance some Avocets might show up there.  And, if the Rondeau ones kept moving, they should show up at Hillman.

After a quick look at Wheatley Harbour, I headed over to Hillman Marsh shorebird cell.  Not much was there, but the place is always hit and miss, and things are constantly changing there.  Just as I was leaving the parking lot, a report came in that 13 American Avocets set down on the sandbar along the lake at Hillman Marsh.  It was only a five minute drive, so I headed over to a good position and saw the 13 Avocets!  They eventually took flight, but settled back down.

Obviously, these were the same birds that passed by Rondeau a few hours earlier! My hunch paid off!

Thirty-two Willets were also present.  Willets seems to be quite plentiful anymore, and big flocks can be seen.

The previous day, I did not go far.  Had things to do anyway.  Peers Wetland had a good variety of birds.  There were several Cape May Warblers (my favourite warbler).

The Common Gallinule was still around.  Perhaps it may nest there, so I will be keeping tabs.

A number of years ago, this species did nest there producing four young. Would be nice to see that happen again, and record it for the bird atlas's last season of data-gathering.

Cliff Swallow gathering mud

Later in the morning I went out to Mitchell's Bay.  A good variety of birds was present to sort through, but nothing of note.  That place always has potential for something good, so I keep trying!

old snapper

Today, I went out to Mitchell's Bay again at sunrise.  It was quite calm and pleasant for a change, but not as many birds as I had hoped for.  Hundreds of gulls still around, but I never seem to pick out anything different.

Common Gallinule

Black-crowned Night Heron

White-crowned Sparrows are in good numbers right now.  One of these days, I hope for one with a golden crown!

Later in the morning, I went for a long walk at Reid CA.  It was quite pleasant and I looked at plants more than anything.

one of the yellow violets

one of the purple violets

                             Dwarf Ginseng

Swamp Buttercup

one of the old oaks, possibly Shumard

Weekend Walks In Nature

 As this wacky weather continues (and yes, east winds!), I did some different things this weekend.  On Saturday, CK Nature (formerly Sydenham Field Naturalists) held a walk at Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods.

This 11 acre site is a gem of essentially old growth forest on the southwest edge of Wallaceburg.  It was never logged, but the property was once used for cattle grazing at one point.

In 2006 it was saved after the original family sold the property to a local farmer who was going to clear the woods.  The farmer offered it to a buyer that could come up with the required money.  The municipality and Sydenham Field Naturalists came through.  It was a one of a kind natural setting that had to be preserved at any cost.

It is called Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods  since there are a number of Sycamore trees (some quite large) within.

There are also some very large oaks, including Shumard.  One can get a sense of the size from this photo!  Shumard is quite uncommon in this neck of the woods.

There are other species, including Swamp White Oak.  This one is the largest, probably at least 150 years old.

Note the "balding" at the base, which is a sign of old growth.

And of course, American Beech, Black Cherry, ashes and others.

Even "Soft" Maple.  This one at the entrance is very old.  It could be Freeman's Maple, which is a hybrid of Silver and Red.

The weather was less than ideal with a stiff cold east wind, but we made the best of it under the able leadership of Larry Cornelis with one group and another led by Tom Chatterton.

There were some birds, including warblers, but the highlight was a family of Great Horned Owls.  Two young were huddled high in a tree, as momma was harassed by crows nearby.

Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods is a nature reserve that is land-locked with no real public access.  That is a good thing!  From time to time, special tours are held.

Saturday's was in celebration of Wallaceburg's 150th anniversary, where a number of event are going to be held this year.

Today, under similar weather conditions (must be the weekend!), Ontario Nature put on an event at the Sydenham River Nature Reserve near Alvinston.  The reserve it not really open to the public, but there are ways to get in.  Special events or surveys are held throughout the year, and one can join in.

View of a portion of the Sydenham

A large number of people attended today's event, where several groups were led on different themes.

The Sydenham River winds through SRNR for about 2 km, and likely the most ecologically rich river in North America.

There are some impressive deep gullies that drain into the river.

I would have liked to join in all of the groups, but I joined the birding group.  We did manage find a number of birds under gloomy skies. I am sure there would have been more if the weather had been warm and sunny!

I tallied 29 species, including some migrants such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Black-and-white Warbler, Palm Warbler, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, as well as Lincoln's Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows.

Palm Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

The trusty Blue-winged Warbler was in his usual area putting on a show for our group.  Without fail, this one is at its spot each time I am on the property!

A Yellow-throated Vireo was a nice find as it sang its hoarse song.  This one will likely nest here.

One cannot fail to notice the Virginia Bluebells here, which are quite abundant at SRNR.  This is a stunning plant that is in bloom in early May.

Although the weather could have been better, it was an interesting weekend.