Calm After the Storm: Some Birding at Rondeau Park

Rondeau Park was on the radar today.  We finally got a sunny day without wind!  Yippie!

First target bird was the White-winged Dove along Lakeshore Road.  I was away the weekend it was discovered and last weekend was a lost cause.

It was doing its usual thing atop a shiny chimney arranging sticks.  This is the fourth year in a row it has taken summer vacation at Rondeau Provincial Park.

I met up with Steve Charbonneau at south point trail.  Boots are essential on this trail as many parts are still flooded. 
The ducks love it though!

Wood Ducks on the trail

We even saw a Red-breasted Merganser, of all things, swimming on the trail, but I was not quick enough with the camera.

There was severe erosion on the south beach last weekend.  The trail essentially ends here!

I remember when the shoreline was way out from here.  Amazing how large trees completely disappear!

Many trees came down in the storm.

Winter Wrens, Fox Sparrows and Brown Creepers were in plentiful supply today.

Sparrow of the Swamp

Yellow-rumped Warblers were difficult to find, but I ended up with eight.  No other warblers have been reported yet in the park!

Kinglets were fairly plentiful.

The lake was calm, but lots of Horned Grebes were still around.  This week has seen a remarkable number.  Steve had at least 483 the other day!

Not many loons were around today.

Near the visitor centre, Mike Irwin and I were surprised to see a Virginia Rail a the start of the Tulip Tree trail.  It was at the "Swainson's Stop" (where I found the Swainson's Warbler way back in 1995).
It was well-hidden.

I continued down Harrison until it became flooded.  I came across a Mourning Cloak.

It was not until yesterday that I came across my first butterfly of the year, an Eastern Comma at Port Lambton.  Probably latest date to get the FOY butterfly.

Later on, I walked a little ways out the marsh trail.  At the start, I came across a Northern Mockingbird--first for the year.  Seems these birds are harder to find than they used to be, at least in these parts.

I did check Ridgetown Lagoons on the way home, but nothing of note was there.

Lonely Tree Swallow

Creeping Around Rondeau & Area

On Sunday I checked out Rondeau, Erieau and Blenheim. Some creepers and kinglets were new spring arrivals, but there was not too much else in Rondeau yet.  I did not come across any of the Eastern Phoebes while there.
It was rather cold after a warm week.

Lots of ducks were on the Bay as one would expect this time of year.

Green-winged Teal

Bufflehead were plentiful along marsh trail.

Sandhill Cranes are likely nesting again this year out Rondeau's marsh trail.

Erieau was rather quiet for ducks when I arrived, but it was very windy.  I did not see the pair of Harlequin Ducks found the previous day by Bev and Dennis Rock.  However, Jim Burk did find them later in the day.

Erieau's marsh trail revealed a couple of Fox Sparrows, obviously recent arrivals.

Blenheim Lagoons were full of ducks, but nothing unusual.

Black Duck

A large group of gulls was in the field at the back, consisting of the usual four species, while a lone Tundra Swan seemed lost way out in the field.

Hopefully we are not in for a cold spring after a warm winter!

Winter Warblers at Pointe aux Pins

I headed down to Rondeau (aka Pointe aux Pins) this morning where I knew there were some birds to look at.  There is not much to see around Wallaceburg and go for a long walk at the same time, so Rondeau was a good choice.
As usual, I started in the campground.  I found two groups of birds, each in a familiar spot.  The northerly group contained an Orange-crowned of which I got fleeting glimpses.  Several Golden-crowned Kinglets, creepers and nuthatches were the others.

I decided to move on, and on my way to south point, I noticed a flock of  Am. Tree Sparrows/Juncos at the churches.  I thought I saw a different bird amongst them, and sure enough a Field Sparrow revealed itself.  They are often regular at Rondeau in winter with Tree Sparrows, but this year they are certainly scarce.  I do not think one was found on the CBC!

Down at south point trail, it is pretty bleak for birds this time of year, but I came across more nuthatches, creepers and kinglets as well as chickadees.

Brown Creepers are in no shortage this winter which blend in well with the tree bark.

I took a look at the east beach area off the light beacon and spotted 5 White-winged Scoters right away.  Not too much was moving in this brisk westerly wind.

Rough Waters

I decided to give the campground another go on my way out.  It turned out to be rather fruitful.  I found the southerly group of birds easily and watched them for a while.  A couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets were sticking together as they did a few days ago here.

I soon heard the familiar chip of an Orange-crowned Warbler and it took some time to locate it.  As usual, it was rapidly moving from tree to tree and difficult to follow.  It is certainly a more difficult bird to photograph! I managed a few record shots.

It is likely a different bird that earlier as there have been 2 or 3 Orange-crowned in the campground this winter.
After watching these birds for some time in the biting cold, I headed back to the car.....almost.  As I approached the gate area, some bird flitted to my right. Uncertain as to what it was, I had to pursue it. I soon saw some bright yellow, but I thought, could this be a Nashville Warbler?
The pursuit was on.  Like the Orange-crowned Warblers, it moved quickly from conifer to conifer, but I soon got a decent look to reveal a Nashville Warbler.

It also was difficult to photograph, but I got some diagnostic shots.

These birds are attempting to winter, so the Nashville was likely around somewhere all this time. This is not the latest I have seen one in Rondeau.  On January 11, 1998 I found one at the start of south point trail.  It stuck around for at least ten days.  That one suggested the ridgwayi subspecies, but that may never be proven.

With the recent cold weather all still water has frozen, and a good portion of Rondeau Bay has refrozen.  It is more seasonable!

Dark-eyed Junco in leaf litter

Sunday Scenes

The wind finally died down and it was a calm, clear, crisp day. Down at Rondeau Park, the usual birds were working the campground.

Downy Woodpecker

There were ten plus Juncos and these birds were among the ones mobbing a Screech Owl. I never did see the owl, but there was a hole in a tree where numerous birds were flying about and making noise. I had no doubt that an owl was in there!
The Yellow-rumped Warblers were near the south end of the campground along with the usual contingent of birds.
Several woodpeckers were busy working the trees, including the Downy in the photo above. I did not see the sapsucker though. Several Red-bellied Woodpeckers were calling in the morning sun.
It was such a nice day that even a male Cardinal was singing. It was the first one I have heard this year.

Ice Chunk

Since it was calm, I decided to check out south point trail. It has been birdless this winter, and today was no exception. However, I did come across a few birds along the shoreline. It was warm, sunny and calm there. I caught sight of an American Robin flying by--never did see where it went. Other birds included four Tree Sparrows, a Brown Creeper and a couple of chickadees. Numerous ducks were out on the lake.
Along Lakeshore Road, I came across a sizable flock of birds including Chickadees, nuthatches, Cardinals, Tree Sparrows, Juncos, etc. No doubt a feeder was nearby.
On the way home, I finally saw a number of hawks. These were along Stefina Line, including a Northern Harrier, 3 Red-tailed, 1 Rough-legged and a Kestrel. Still did not see a shrike!

Harrier


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