Some Autumn Birding and an Asian Visitor Stirs Thing Up

 This past Friday I went down to Rondeau Park early to check things out.  I figured there should be lots of birds.  And there was!  It was a cool and crisp morning, just the way I like it.

I mainly walked south point trail (east) and ended up spending quite a bit of time since there were so many birds.  Mind you, most were Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Between SPT and the north end of Harrison trail, I ended up with over 300 butterbutts!

Other warblers included Blackpoll which tripped the filter early on.  I ended up with 12.  

There was also Tennessee, Nashville, Magnolia and Black-throated Blue.  Five Northern Parula was also a good number.

Lots of sparrows too, but I could not turn up anything out of the ordinary in that department.

A lot of birds were streaming west along the lakeshore, and noticeably at the washout area.

A quick look at Keith McLean C. L. did not turn up anything of note.  A couple of Fiery Skippers were along the trail.

Saturday was quite boring and I did not go far.  Some meadowlarks along Meadowvale Line caught my attention for a bit.  Seemed appropriate with the "meadow" name!

Eastern Comma along the way

Sunday I needed a change in scenery and went to Point Pelee.  It was not too interesting!

Purple Finches seemed to have come in at various locations in the last few days.

I stopped by Hillman marsh for a walk around the shorebird cell, looking for butterflies.  Part of the conservation area is closed to activities, as an aggressive non-native water plant was found recently.

Common checkered-skippers were the butterfly of the day.  I counted over 40 around the cell.

Some Fiery Skippers were flitting around as well and did not really want to be photographed.

Needless to say, some Common Buckeyes were around.

And, a Common Painted-Lady.

As well as, Bronze Copper which was very fresh.

There are not many flowers this time of year, but some goldenrod is still blooming which attracts a few insects.

Oblique Streaktail

Bramble Mason Wasp

The non-native Common Drone Fly was quite abundant.

Another non-native insect was this Chinese Mantid.

Today, for lack of any other ideas (birding has been slow for the most part recently!), I went up to Forest lagoons.  There were not as many birds as the last visit.  I was hoping to turn up a LeConte's Sparrow, but that was not to be.  We have had them there in the past.

Quite a bit of waterfowl, including three early Tundra Swans.

I headed back towards home, and stopped by Marthaville Habitat as per usual.  While there, I got word that a Black-tailed Gull was at Port Glasgow on Lake Erie.  Good grief, here we go again!  I always go in the opposite direction when something of note decides show up.  I was not going to miss this one, so I zig-zagged my way down to Port Glasgow.

Luckily, the bird was still in position when I arrived.  Not real close, but enough to get details.

This bird was present a couple of days earlier, but mis-identified at the time.  Luckily, someone noticed the photo and a correction was made.

The Black-tailed Gull is a resident of eastern Asia, especially Japan.  There is one other record for Ontario, and ironically it was just up the shoreline at Port Burwell a number of years ago.  I tried to see that one the next day after it was reported, but it never showed (of course).

As always, these rarities draw many birders and familiar faces.  The social atmosphere is always nice!

Very pleasant weather today, so it was nice to be out and about.

Some Early Autumn Sightings

 There really has not been much of interest lately as autumn is upon us.  Seems like it was all downhill since my week-long trip!  As I write this today, summer is back!  Way too nice and warm for this time of year, so bird activity will be slow.

In the last week, I have been to Rondeau Park three times.  Been a bit slow, but the last time, Steve and I did a flight watch first thing in the morning on Saturday.  A fair number of birds were moving. Most warblers were Blackpoll as expected.   Several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were on the move as well.  It is always interesting to seen what flies over.  One of these days, we may get a rarity!

We have been checking Keith McLean C. L. for Nelson's Sparrows,  but have not had any luck, strange enough.  There is not as much ideal habitat this year compared to last though, but they will appear soon!

I walked out marsh trail the first two visits to Rondeau.  Seemed like the best thing to do!  Lots of Sora still calling.  Not many ducks have yet come in, likely due to the mild weather.  

South Point trail was very quiet on Saturday.  Here are a couple of insects photographed.

Bramble Mason Wasp

Eastern Hornet Fly

Yesterday I went to Point Pelee for a change, and afterwards walked around the shorebird cell at Hillman.  It was disappointingly quiet for everything!  There was not much to photograph, even in the insect world.  Here are a couple of things I photographed.

Oblique-banded Pond Fly

Common Drone Fly (alien!)

Common Checkered Skippers are quite common right now.

American White Pelicans are a regular sighting in the Pelee area anymore.  There were around 24 at the Tip first thing, but I did see a single bird way out off the west side.  Pretty obvious, even at that distance.

This IS a pelican!

Raptors are heading south this time of year.  I have not done any watching yet, but this young Red-tailed was over Point Pelee.

The garden is dying off as one would expect, so there are not many nectaring sources.  I did capture a few things with the camera this week.

One-spotted Stinkbug

Marmorated Stinkbug

Scythris sinensis (moth)

Silky Striped Sweatbee

Eupeodes americanus

Yellow-legged Flowerfly

genus Ectemnius (?)

Locally, Peers Wetland is getting a makeover.  Some dead cottonwoods have been cut down, and the trail is getting "paved".

I heard that eventually the parking lot will be moved to a more suitable location.