The Hunt Was On!

 Sunday turned out fairly well in the weather department, unlike Saturday.  I had it on my mind to find a Eurasian Wigeon since we had been searching in vain at Rondeau.  There had to be one somewhere!

I started at St. Clair NWA, and was surprised to find very few ducks.  Two years ago I found a Eurasian Wigeon there just before the COVID Pandemic really took hold.

There was not too much there, oddly enough.  A Marsh Wren, which I am sure was a winter leftover was singing in the cattails--the only highlight.

From there, it was on to Hillman Marsh.  One of those Euro ducks often shows up there this time of year as well.  I also saw one there two years ago in late April.  I was the only birder there for some time at the shorebird cell, but in short order, I spotted one of those red-headed rascals!  Mission accomplished!

As with most of these European imports, it was some distance away.  I have never actually seen one really close!  It was too distant for a decent photo unless one tried to digiscope.  

I put out the word and stayed another hour, but nobody showed up from the local birding fraternity.  When I left, the subject bird was at the far edge of the shorebird cell, difficult to spot.

Once birders started to arrive, the duck was nowhere to be seen!  Luckily, it showed up late in the afternoon for those seeking the star of the show.  It was a lifer for some, a tick for Essex birders, and Big Year birders too.

Gadwall were the dominant duck in the cell and the adjacent areas, numbering almost 500.

A few Green-winged Teal were present as well, and I even had thoughts of finding a Eurasian Teal.  The only one I have seen was there a few years ago.  Also,  I have seen a hybrid of those at Mersea 21 fields.

Eurasian Wigeon also hybridizes with its American cousin.  I have seen a couple of those, including one on Rondeau Bay.

I have seen lots of the European version of the wigeon over the years in various counties.  I recall my lifer at Lee Brown's Pond, Long Point.  It used to show up there every year!

A regular at Hillman is the Trumpeter Swan.  It too came in during my visit.  Not rare anymore!

Lo and behold, the next day on Monday, a Eurasian Wigeon was finally spotted on Rondeau Bay.  There had to be one out there somewhere!  They are annual, with at least one in the spring and fall.  I remember seeing two on Rondeau Bay once.

Also on my mind, Sunday, was Black Vulture.  I had no intentions of going into Point Pelee that day, but maybe I should have done so.  On my way home, the Turkey's cousin showed up at Point Pelee!

A Pelee Black Vulture from the past

Rondeau Surprise April 10

 Finally, something of note showed up today at Rondeau while I was there.  A Black Vulture!  I happened to bump into Ian Richards and his wife and he mentioned that a Black Vulture was on the beach.  I headed in that direction and sure enough it was in company with  four Turkey Vultures.

Some beach walkers came along so the vultures moved a bit down the beach and perched in a tree.

The Turkey Vultures eventually took off but the Black stuck around for some time.

As other birders arrived, it decided to take flight.  It was eventually found on Rondeau Road and perched there for a while for several local birders.

It was my first for the park....long overdue!

Things were still a bit slow, but birds are trickling in.  A Pine Warbler was found today.  Still very few Yellow-rumped!  The end of this coming week should be considerably better for variety.

More things like Brown Thrashers were in.

No sign of the White-winged Dove yet.  Should be here by now if it is coming this year.  However, it may not have survived, or it finally gave up!

I was at Rondeau yesterday as well, but found very little.  Just too quiet!  However it is nice to be out and thankfully parks are open during this shutdown.

Colt's-Foot at Rondeau (non-native plant)

This afternoon I went for a short stroll at McKeough CA in a spot not often walked.  This whole area had the white version of Trout Lilly.

Will be out tomorrow checking for things!

Rondeau Rambles, Pi and Elgin Birding

We had some fine weather this weekend, except Saturday when it was cloudy (not in the forecast) from late morning and all afternoon.  Not too much to report as some migrants are trickling in.  Lots of waterfowl to sort through though here and there.

Friday, I ventured down to Rondeau Park on a stiff west wind.  There was an obvious influx of Song Sparrows, blackbirds and American Robins as one would expect at this time.
I started at south point trail where waterproof footwear is recommended.  I made it through with hiking shoes though, but if we get any amount of rain, the trail will be flooded again this spring.

I walked back the dune area along the east beach.  An Eastern Meadowlark was one highlight there.
Just as I finished up the walk, I spotted an Eastern Phoebe at the last cottage.  It did not co-operate for the camera.

The wind was quite strong out of the west, so the east side was a good option.  The Bay was too rough to look at ducks.  The campground was a bit quiet once again.

Later in the day while at home I happened to look out my window and noticed an early Tree Swallow flipping by.  Some had been reported down in Essex County for the first time this year on this day, so it is that time of year again!

Saturday I got up a bit earlier and headed back to Rondeau Park on a nice clear morning.

It was Pi Day, something I had never heard about.  I am familiar with Pi (3.14....) from my math studies back in the 'old' days, but I did not know there was a day to celebrate Pi.

I wanted to listen for American Woodcocks for the first time this year.  I came up with six peents in short order (saw one).
Waiting for some more light, I checked out the lake opposite the VC.  A nice sunrise was developing.

I walked spicebush trail after the sun came up.  The day previous, a Louisiana Waterthrush had been reported on the trail.  That is an incredibly early date, and they have not even been in Ohio yet to my knowledge.  We have seen them at the end of March though, so it is not far off.
No dice on that bird for anyone else who looked.  A strange occurrence indeed.

I then met up with SRC and we went down to Tulip Tree trail and then south point.  Nothing really of note on that walk, except we did find an early Eastern Phoebe scouting territory on TTT.

Later, I walked the campground before leaving the park, which, as you might have guessed, was rather quiet.  An unco-operative Eastern Towhee was one of the better birds.

After stocking up on groceries in Blenheim I headed home.  While in the store, I received word that Dwayne Murphy wanted to make an attempt for the Purple Sandpiper out south beach.  I guided him along via cell phone photos he sent periodically since he had never been out there.  Dwayne actually found the bird, which I am sure was quite a relief.  See his blog for details.

Sunday, I had an urge to go into Elgin County for a change.  On Saturday, a Black Vulture was reported at Port Stanley, so that was a good target to shoot for.  Been a while since I have seen one.

It was a crisp clear morning, perfect for birding.  My first stop was the lagoons which were well-stocked with ducks.  A good variety and number kept me interested.  I have seen some good birds there over the years, including a pair of Whooper Swans (not that they can be counted!).

After finishing there, I headed took the short drive down to the Port Stanley waterfront.  I immediately saw some Turkey Vultures, but no black one.  I headed back up Carlow Street and saw a suspicious shape in the sky.  The Black Vulture was soaring!  It only took less than ten minutes for me to see the bird after arrival.
I was in an awkward spot and angle, so did not get good photos.  But, at least I saw the bird.

Elgin County is a good birding district, but this was far enough for today.  I headed back and first stopped at Southwold Earthworks, as I usually do.  Not much in the way of birds today, but I always like to stop here as it brings back memories of one day when I was younger (my dad and I stopped here once out of curiosity).

I had things to do in the afternoon, so I basically headed back home.  I did stop for a walk at Wardsville Woods (a TTLT property), and drove through part of Skunk's Misery.  I met up with Don Pye (not Pi)  in the Misery, and he said that the Golden Eagle was still hanging around.  I did not see it of course, as usual, nothing new.

On to another week.....

Point Pelee: Quality Not Quantity

Point Pelee was today's destination where a couple of quality birds made up for lack of migrants.  The cold ENE wind early this morning did not help matters for expecting new migrants.

Firstly, I stopped briefly at De Laurier to watch birds flying overhead.  A couple of Common Loons made an appearance among other things.  It is sometimes a nice spot to stop and look first thing in the morning.

Some of us headed to the Tip.  Finally I saw a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher for this year.

After seeing very little at the Tip, I walked north with Mike Tate and Bob Cermak through the centre up to Woodland Trail. A bit after the first bridge, Mike spotted a Yellow-throated Warbler above the slough.  It was moving fast, but I did get decent looks at it.  Impossible to get a photo though!  We never saw it again after it kept moving north.

Adam Pinch joined us for a walk up to the campground and back west beach parking lot.  It was virtually birdless!  Still lots of snow on the west side and you can see all the shrubs and trees broken off due to the weight of the snow.

After a warm-up in the VC, Adam Pinch and I walked Tilden's Wood's and north to Chinquapin.  No tanagers or parts thereof were found.  Along Chinquapin, we met Josh and Kory who had just seen a Black Vulture about ten minutes previous.  It was heading south, so it was bound to head back north.  That area has been all cleared out and a few birds were around including Eastern Bluebirds.  Actually a nice spot.  

We waited, and sure enough about 20 minutes later we saw the subject vulture towards the west.

The bright morning sun made it stick out quite nicely.

Heading back south through Tilden's (another Louisiana Waterthrush was at the boardwalk area), we ended up at the VC parking lot for lunch.  Bob Cermak managed to spot the Black Vulture heading south once again.

I stopped at De Laurier after lunch and walked the small loop.  As far as I know the Henslow's Sparrow was not found today despite several people looking. It was certainly a very bright one!

On the way home, I drove by Hillman shorebird cell and spotted an immature Glaucous Gull high over the road.  There were lots of large gulls in the cell, so it may have come out of there.

Nothing else of note....I hope things improve soon!

Birding Update

Rondeau's LAUGHING GULL MAY 6 Photo by Alfred H. Rider

I have been away birding the last few days, so it is time for an update. It has been interesting, and I managed to get two more life birds! I got wonderful views of the Mottled Duck at Hillman Marsh on Sunday afternoon. Although nothing exciting to look at, that was one life bird. The next day I birded Point Pelee and finally saw a Black Vulture. For those of you who know me, that has been my nemesis bird forever. Even if I was in the same vicinity as a Black Vulture, I would never see it. Birding was on the slow side at Pelee, but that life bird made up for it by a long shot.
Back to the weekend at Rondeau... I did my annual Baillie Birdathon and came up with 142 species. Highlights included two American White Pelicans, two Marbled Godwits, and a Worm-eating Warbler. Actually, the warbler was my last bird! Rather nice to end a Big Day with an uncommon bird.
Of course, lots of year birds were added to my list, including a number of warblers.
Other notables included a Cooper's Hawk on nest. I mentioned this nest in a post a while back, with a photo. Pileated Woodpecker in two spots was nice--not always a guarantee on a Big Day. Great Horned Owls were not difficult. We heard one from the marsh trail Saturday evening. However, early Sunday I came across one accidentally. One was directly over my head on a branch and I didn't even know it. It knocked a piece of bark down that nearly hit me on the head. I looked up to see what it was, and there was an owl! Clay-colored Sparrow was another good one that is not always encountered. It was heard only.
A walk out marsh trail Saturday evening is a traditional thing. We got the usual marsh things including Sora and Virginia Rails, Sedge Wrens, some ducks, and Whip-poor-wills.
It seems like there are a lot more birds to come. Nobody has seen large numbers yets.

I did not see the Laughing Gull depicted in the above photo, but Alf Rider was kind enough to send it out to me.