A King Visits Rondeau and Other Notes

 On Tuesday, I ventured down to Rondeau Park.  It was one of those rare calm mornings where there was no wind.  The lake was calm, Rondeau Bay was like glass, and one could hear for long distances.

I started at dog beach, intending to do just a short lakewatch, as not much was moving.  A large raft of Red-breasted Mergansers (~2000) was just offshore south of dog beach.  Other species were mixed in, but the vast majority were mergansers.

I scoped through the raft, hoping to see something different or novel, such as a King Eider.  An eider is very rare at Rondeau, and in fact I have only seen one in the area in all my years of birding.  Every fall we hope for one, but it never materializes.  We were certainly due for one!

I scanned many times, but one time something caught my eye.  It was an adult male King Eider!!  I could not believe it, as just the day before much to my envy, Cam Chevalier saw one at the Tip of Point Pelee. (It is possible this is the very same bird, moving east).

It was too far for photos, but I put out the word about this novelty.

Craig Anderson arrived first, as he was not too far away.  I had moved closer to the raft by that time, but had lost sight of the eider.  Craig managed to spot it again.  It kept drifting out, and almost too far to see at times.  This is all I could get.

Eventually others arrived, and it was still too far out to spot.  I left to take a walk on south point trail, but meanwhile, the King Eider came in closer for a flyby.  Garry Sadler managed a decent photo, as seen here:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S155820956

I was glad others got to see it!

It was the first ever adult male King Eider I have seen.  I have seen many females or young males, but the adult is quite a stunning duck.

The lake was calm, and off south point were several Red-throated Loons.

The campground was somewhat quiet, but the 'annual' Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was lurking around.

There was not much to note on Wednesday.  I took a long walk at Reid CA, as it was another nice day.

Thursday, I went back to Rondeau on a windy day.  Nothing really of note on the lake, and the trails were quiet for birds. I certainly hope things pick up for the Christmas Bird Count on the 17th.

I checked the campground, and south of maintenance.  It was south of maintenance that seemed the most busy for birds.

White-throated Sparrow

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Some Yellow-rumped Warblers are around as usual, and I think that Audubon's is somewhere around too.  I only got two 'Myrtles' this visit.

There are lots of Northern Cardinals around, except one will not spend the winter here.  I found this fresh head at one point!

Friday started out clear, but breezy.  I just drove along the St. Clair River, walked at Dow Wetlands and Nicholl's Memorial Forest and Wetland at Wilkesport.

Dow was somewhat dead for birds, as well as Northern Short-tailed Shrews.

A large flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds was along the Sydenham at Wilkesport.

No sign of any owls in my travels lately.  It may be a quiet winter for them too!

Natural History and the Decline of Some Species

Pointe aux Pins spring 2007

I recently read a paper by H. B. Wressell of Chatham that was written for the Kent Historical Society sometime around 1960. I do not know much about H. B. Wressell, but he was a keen naturalist and historian and was quite well known in the area.
The article I read was entitled Flora, Fauna and Naturalists in Kent. It is quite interesting since he described the natural history of Kent County and how it has changed. Many species have been extirpated from the area or have declined drastically. This theme fits in nicely as this week both myself and Jeremy Hatt have been talking about some declining birds on our blogs.

As an aside, a number of years ago I picked up a copy of the Spring Birds of Point Pelee (1960) in a used book store that obviously belonged to Harry Wressell. His name was scribed on the cover and he had inserted some of his own notes in the book.
Mr. Wressell made a notation about a Pinewoods Sparrow they observed on May 14, 1961 near Post House in Point Pelee. Names of observers, among others, included Don Young, Fred Bodsworth (of “Last of the Curlews” fame), and Ron Scovell. Ron is still quite active as a birder, as I met him at Niagara this past November.

Anyway, this sparrow is now called the Bachman’s Sparrow and is a declining species where it is normally found farther south. When was the last time one of these was in Ontario? (I have no idea!)
Back to the article at hand, Wressell talks about many things and I will mention a few. He starts with trees, and describes “Pointe aux Pins”, which is really Rondeau Park. The park has (or had) a significant stand of White Pine, unique to Kent County. They are presently declining and not being replenished due to things like deer browsing.
Kent was extensively covered in dense forest except for prairie in the present Dover area and small patches elsewhere. Dominant trees were black walnut, butternut various species of hickory, elm, maple, ash and oak.
He talks briefly about herbaceous flowering plants, fungi, and mosses.
Mammals in Kent included the elk, black bear, wolves, fisher and marten. These are no longer anywhere near here! Beaver were also more plentiful, then declined, and in recent years they have seem to have increased in numbers.
Regarding birds, Wild Turkey were quite numerous. We all know they were eventually extirpated at some point. Reintroduction of this species has made it a fairly common sight nowadays. Perhaps it is getting too common and causing problems with the species it preys upon!
With the large forest cover, Kent had lots of Pileated Woodpeckers. They require large stands of forest for survival, so obviously we do not have many left in Kent today.
Cardinals were once not found in Ontario, but are now very common. Probably the first of that species ever taken in Canada were two at Chatham in May 1849 by Rev. Sandys who had an extensive collection of stuffed birds.
Birds were killed and collected, rather than “watched” in those days. Many famous naturalists like Dr. W. E. Saunders of London spent much time in Rondeau.
Grassland birds thrived in the prairie areas of Kent. Perhaps, initially, they took advantage of agriculture when areas were cleared for pastures.
Nowadays, most fields are devoted to cash crops, not conducive to bird life. This type of farming has created a "monoculture" that is not healthy to the natural world, especially birds. UPLAND SANDPIPER 1997 (pasture no longer exists)
Pastures have disappeared at an alarming rate over the last twenty years since I have been birding. This type of land has been converted to the “monoculture” of cash crops. So many species have simply been “killed off” when the pasture disappears. They have nowhere to go. Essentially, there is no vacancy elsewhere.

Things like meadow crayfish just disappear, as well as the reptiles and amphibians from the wetter areas. There is no food for birds, so this seems like a domino effect.

Wressell went on to describe the formation of the Kent Nature Club that came about in late 1930. It was formed by naturalists of the area who were dedicated to the study of natural history.
Shortly afterwards, a group of naturalists, particularly in Toronto, decided to form a provincial group in May 1931. That was the beginning of the Federation of Ontario Naturalists which exists today as Ontario Nature. The Kent Nature Club was a charter member of that group, but eventually dwindled to non-existence sometimes in the 1980’s.
There are many things contributing to the decline of species that I did not cover in this article, but it interesting to see how things have changed for better or worse. Mostly worse it seems!

BLUE-WINGED TEAL (a declining species)