November Notes-Birds, Mussels and Trees

Saturday morning dawned clear, calm and crisp.  I headed down to Rondeau Park and walked south point trail first thing.  I like these type of mornings for birding.

Lots of Pine Siskins are around right now, and lesser numbers of Purple Finches. They were everywhere on this particular morning.

Speaking of finches, one wonders if we will get some redpolls this winter.  Usually they show up by now.  I doubt we will get big numbers, if any, but these creatures of the north are always nice to see.  Speaking of redpolls, the Common Redpoll I had last week at St. Clair NWA was the only one recorded in the county this calendar year (according to eBird).

Lots of Fox Sparrows are around right now as well.

A few Yellow-rumped Warblers are kicking around Rondeau, likely ones that will attempt to winter.

After checking out the park, I started heading out and received word that the Eurasian Wigeon was seen at Erieau.  As I had not seen one yet this calendar year, I stopped by the firehall to scope the raft of ducks.  Lots out there!  It took a while, but I did manage to see the male European version of wigeon. (And a hybrid as well!).

As usually is the case with these, it was too distant to photograph.  Here is a photo from the past in a similar situation.

It was quite warm by this time, so I walked the marsh (rail) trail briefly.  A Red Admiral, perhaps the last one I will see this year, was along the trail.

Sunday, we had a northerly wind so I headed north!  I first went to Sarnia, but there was not much moving there.  An Iceland Gull was patrolling the shoreline, which is likely one of the same birds that is here every winter.

I became a bit bored, so headed up towards Kettle Point.  The wind was quite brisk out of the north there, but surprisingly, not much was moving.  Quite a few Red-throated Loons were moving though.

A Black-legged Kittiwake was seen at both Grand Bend and Ipperwash to make things interesting for birders.  

I briefly stopped at Ipperwash as well.  Not long after I left there, another kittiwake was seen!  I was not far from Highland Glen CA when the alert went out, so I pulled into the place to watch the lake.  One gets a fairly good view of the lake there.  Not long after my arrival, I spotted a kittiwake moving down the lake!  Perhaps it was the previously-reported one from Ipperwash.

I was unable to get a photo as it was well out, but here is a photo of this attractive gull from a past experience.

There were three of these reported at Ipperwash.  Perhaps some of these along the lake involved the same individual moving down the shoreline.

One last walk before getting home was at Wilkesport.  Fairly warm, so Autumn Meadowhawks were flying.

Today, we woke up to another nice day.  I had no intentions of going anywhere, so just went for a long walk at Reid CA.

Along the riverbank, I found a few mussels--usual ones for the location.  Mapleleaf and Deertoe are considered vulnerable in Ontario, but quite regular along the north Sydenham.

DEERTOE

MAPLELEAF

GIANT FLOATER

I looked at trees as well.  Blue Ash is fairly abundant here, but I found this small tree in a spot of the property I had not seen one before.  This species is easily identified by the squarish stems and twigs.

Lots of impressive big old trees on the property.  Here are a couple of scenes.

The tree with the large side branch is a Chinquapin Oak

large Burr Oak

There are a couple of old wire fences one has to watch for while walking through the woods.  I have tripped on them a couple of times!  Today, I noticed this section growing right into a tree trunk.  Shows how long this fence has been there!

Rainy tomorrow......

Woodlot Walk

We have had some nice weather days this week, albeit a bit crisp.  With activities limited, I have been going to places locally that I can be by myself.
Thursday I went for a long walk at Reid CA north of here, as well as some other smaller spots.
I spent considerable time on the property, covering most areas which took the better part of two hours.
Since some of it is floodplain, it was still quite wet.

I have always liked this property for a number of reasons, including the wide array of plant life and impressive trees.

I spent some time looking at trees, finding a good number of Blue Ash for example.  The younger trees can easily be examined and one can see the squarish stems.

It is relatively common along the north branch of the Sydenham, and some larger trees actually survived the ash borer.  The Blue Ash, although not totally resistant to the borer, has been a little more resiliant to the pest.
The tree photographed here last year, I saw yesterday as well.

I did find a small Hackberry tree, which is not common on the property.  In fact, it is the only one I have found.  It is quite common at Moore WMA though.  Photo does not do it justice, but the bark is distinctive.

There are some impressive oaks and walnuts and others on the property.

Even a large gnarly Silver Maple was interesting.

Forest floor plants are just starting to peak though, including the common Trout Lilly and others.  I found a couple patches of Wide Leek (Allium tricoccum var. tricoccum) which is similar to the Wild Leek.

Reid is not the best place for lots of birds, but various birds were working through the forest.  Lots of kinglets and nuthatches and woodpeckers were throughout, and a migrant Hermit Thrush made its presence known.
Some Yellow-rumped Warblers are starting to show up, but I have not encountered any new migrants yet.

I stopped by Nicholl's Memorial Forest grounds near Wilkesport as well.  On the west side, some coniferous trees are coming along well.  Soon we might look for owls there in the winter!

Water levels have subsided somewhat in recent days, as I noticed at Moore WMA.

I stopped by Peers Wetland briefly yesterday, but one needs a good pair of boots there.  It was quite muddy and wet still.

Stay safe folks, and we will somehow get to the other end of this mess.

Sunday Lakewatch

Lake Huron and the Sarnia Lakewatch was my destination early Sunday morning.  There was a moderate NW wind blowing, but not the greatest for a lakewatch at that location.  It died quickly.  However, I had to try since we do not seem to get good winds (let alone good weather) on weekends.

I met up with Sean Jenniskens before first light.  We were soon joined by Darrell Parsons and Scott Connop, two longtime Sarnia birders. It was actually fun talking about old times and birders from the past such as Dennis Rupert who was a fixture at this location.
Back in 2013, I wrote an article in OFO News about the Sarnia Lakewatch and referred to Dennis quite a bit.
Blog Post--Sarnia Lakewatch

There was enough activity to keep us interested, including several loons (two species), some grebes (inc. Red-necked) and many ducks.  Highlight was a young Little Gull, the first I had seen this calendar year.
Another highlight was the flyover of a Common Redpoll, first for the season.

All three species of scoter were seen.

Black Scoters riding the waves

Some early Tundra Swans flew over as well.

Here is our list:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist?subID=S49348530

After almost five hours, things died down quite a bit, and I moved east to Perch Creek Habitat.

At Perch Creek, I had another Common Redpoll fly over.  No doubt this was a sign of things to come in the way of finches this fall and winter.

Orange-crowned Warbler

On the way home, I stopped by Reid CA where the Sydenham Field Naturalists had a fall walk.  It was led by Larry Cornelis, and I assisted by talking about the butterflies that can be seen at this location.  I have had at least 54 species on the property, which is rather impressive.

We looked at trees and plants, or whatever was along the way.

Heart-leaved Aster

There is much Blue Ash here, which was somewhat resilient to the Emerald Ash Borer.  Several trees have survived so far, including some larger ones.

Blue Ash

Blue Ash is found all along the river corridor, but not far from the riverbanks.