Earth Day Birding and Reid Plant Tour

 Today was one of the better weather days so far this spring.  I headed down to Rondeau Park, but it was rather quiet for birds.....again!  Yes, it is early, but one always expects more.

A couple of first-of-year birds included a Red-headed Woodpecker along Lakeshore Road, and a Blue-headed Vireo on south point trail.

Butterflies were enjoying the warmth.

American Painted-Lady

While in the park, I heard reports of Marbled Godwits, Willets and American Avocets at points farther west.  It was one of those days that those types of shorebirds show up in numbers!

I left the park and headed towards Erieau.  Spent some time at McGeachy and the marsh trail there.

A single Willet was reported on the tip of Rondeau, as seen from the Erieau pier area.  I managed to see that one, but it was too distant to even try for a photo.

American Avocets were reported at Hillman Marsh.  I had not intended to go that far today, but since the avocet is my favourite shorebird, I had to go!

I went straight to the Hillman shorebird cell where there were lots of shorebirds.  There were big numbers of Dunlin and Pectoral Sandpipers, but in the distance I picked out four dowitchers as well.

Long-billed Dowitchers are the default dowitcher species this time of year, so no confusion with Short-billed need arise.

No Avocets were present upon my arrival, but while there, eight popped in!  My target bird was then checked off.  The dowitchers were just a bonus, which are somewhat uncommon in spring.

Lighting was horrible, but I attempted photos anyway.

One of the continuing Cattle Egrets was present as well.

Two days ago, I started at Rondeau, but it was disappointing, so I went to Hillman to see two reported Cattle Egrets.

My camera malfunctioned (which is happening too often lately!), so photos were crap.

Often we do not get some until fall migration.

Yesterday morning I started at Mitchell's Bay.  Nothing of note in the way of birds, but I keep trying.  It was uncomfortably cold first thing.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

The afternoon was quite pleasant, so I went for a walk at Reid Conservation Lands.  I had not been there in two weeks, so I wanted to check out the plant life.

Harbinger of Spring is about done for another year, but I did find a couple of plants with remnants of flowers.

Nearby, I found the patch of Twinleaf, one of my favourite plants.  It was not very far advanced compared to previous years.

Lots of trout lilies are blooming, including the white version.

Large-flowered Bellwort is just coming into bloom.

Dutchman's Breeches is past its prime, but some were in bloom.

Note the ginger, which is abundant at Reid

I think I finally found its cousin, Squirrel Corn.  I know it is there, but it is extremely scarce.  It is yet to be confirmed (or rejected) for some strange reason.

Bloodroot is not all that common at Reid, but some were in bloom.

Trilliums are just coming into bloom.

I found one with the virus. The abnormal greening of plant parts (virescence) is a symptom of a plant disease caused by bacterial organisms called phytoplasmas.

Various insects were flying about.

Black and Yellow Nomad Bee (?)

Greater Bee Fly

Birds will really start arriving, possibly tomorrow!  Stay tuned.

Cattle Egret Duo

This evening I headed out towards St. Clair NWA.  A few days ago, 2 Cattle Egrets were reported along Townline Road by Tim Arthur.  Not knowing exactly where to look, I headed down Maple Line towards Townline.  There atop the bridge were the two Cattle Egrets showing nicely!

They were not skittish and I practically pulled up right beside them.  I was not able to get the whole bird in the frame!

They then moved towards a small tree beside the drainage ditch.

In recent years, Cattle Egrets have become more regular.  These were perhaps the two that were photographed at Mitchell's Bay June 23 (they do have the same plumage).  But then, who knows!

While in the area I decided to walk at St. Clair NWA rather than sit around all evening.  There was not much to see there, but it was  a nice evening for a walk.

Common Painted-Lady

Along Maple Line there were also 3 Sandhill Cranes.

The Sandhills west of Wallaceburg seem to be increasing, as I saw about 30 early this morning.

Early November Novelties

The weather has been much too nice this week and not too many birds have been around or on the move as a result.
I checked out Rondeau and area and beyond, today and the list was rather low.

It was almost a year ago that we had several late or record late warblers at Rondeau, but this year even Yellow-rumped are scarce!

Blackburnian Warbler 7 Nov 2015

There was an Orange-crowned on south point this morning among a couple of Yellow-rumped.

Lots of ducks are around though.  The lakewatch at Dog Beach this morning revealed good numbers of many species.  It was apparently the most active day this week. Seven Common Loons were seen in one hour also.

Of course, Rondeau Bay is full of ducks.  At least two Eurasian Wigeons are around and possibly more given the number of wigeon. I did not look for them today.
Two Cattle Egrets were at Blenheim this week, but only one this morning.

Steve and I checked out part of McGeachy Pond dike as well.  At the parking lot, 2 Eastern Commas were flitting about.  One was extremely fresh!

Earlier this week, Jim Burk had a Yellow Warbler along the dike, but it was rather quiet today for birds in the wind.
Perhaps things will change if the weather ever gets more seasonal!

Being only mid-day at this point, I wandered west and looked at the Cattle Egret along Mersea Rd. 21.  It had smudging on its right face, but not on the left.

I recall seeing one here a couple of years ago.  It is always worthwhile to check any paddock or pasture where horses or cattle are present.
Four, discovered by Sharon Nethercott, were at Lucasville east of Sarnia earlier this week as well!

I checked out Hillman Marsh shorebird cell while in the area.  A total of 18 Wilson's Snipe were in the weeds.  A Killdeer, 6 Dunlin  and a Greater Yellowlegs rounded out the shorebird numbers.

During the day, there were lots of Orange Sulphurs, a couple of Clouded Sulpurs and Cabbage White, as well as a couple of Monarchs.  One Monarch was at Hillman, while the other was at Rondeau.

Then There Were Three

I headed down to Rondeau and area early this morning to check out the sights.  It turned out to be rather soggy a better part of the morning (yes, it is the weekend!), but some good birds were around.
There was a break in the rain, so Steve Charbonneau and I scoped the massive number of ducks on Rondeau Bay (20,000?), at the old pier area.  I had just started scoping and I put myself right on a male Eurasian Wigeon!

Usually Steve finds these things each year, but my ducks were aligned today (pun intended!).  Lighting was not the best at times, but there were thousands of ducks to sort through.
While there, we noticed lots of birds streaming north along the shoreline (most were juncos), so we thought a walk out marsh trail was in order.  Just after we got out of the cars, it started raining again....so much for that idea!


It looked like a long rain, so we headed our separate ways outside the park.  I went over to Ridgetown Lagoons and saw the Cattle Egret that Jeremy Hatt reported on Friday.  It was as far away as it could possibly be!

This IS a Cattle Egret!

Next stop was Erieau where the pier area seemed rather dead.  I did not get out to scope the rocks though, but I see that Steve "spotted" a sandpiper.  Also a Ruddy Turnstone.

I walked the rail trail to the viewing stand and some birds were present including a Gray Catbird and a Marsh Wren.  The wrens often are present on the CBC in December, so it may stay.

Blenheim Lagoons was on the agenda next.  Right away, I saw two Cattle Egrets on the main berm.

Along the edge of the middle pond, were three Wilson's Snipe and about 100 Dunlin.

I also picked out a single Pectoral associating with the Dunlin.

Over at the sprinkler cells, were a few more Dunlin, 11 Greater Yellowlegs and 4 Lesser Yellowlegs.

On the way back, the two Cattle Egrets had cloned another.  There were three!

The number of Cattle Egrets seem to fluctuate, so who knows how many are actually around.

Down along Stefina Line, I saw an adult Golden Eagle heading west over the pasture.

Feeling shortchanged from the morning, I went back to Rondeau and walked out marsh trail.  I saw some different birds from the morning including Vesper Sparrow perched in the Willow tree along the marsh boardwalk.  Seemed like an odd spot for one!
I also had a Marsh Wren near the tower.

I did not try to look at ducks as they were farther out than in the morning.

It was a good weekend and certainly a very exciting Saturday at Point Pelee (see previous blog post).

Birding By Ear

While there are some areas to spot birds, the last couple of days have been tough due to leaf-out.  For those who do not know bird songs....go home!
Things have been stagnant for a couple of days with little in the way of new arrivals and some of the same birds sticking around.  I have noticed the same birds at Rondeau since Wednesday!  The east side of south point trail has been good for numbers and variety, but the rest of the park has virtually been dead.  A few birds are here and there, but you can go long distances without finding a warbler.
Wednesday, May 9 I drummed up 24 species of warblers, mostly on south point trail. Late in the day at the start of marsh trail, I saw a Mourning Warbler bathing in a puddle to add to the day's total.  The afternoon was a washout due to unforeseen thunderstorms.  Not many birds anyway.  Just before the storm hit I was at Blenheim Lagoons.  Two Ruddy Turnstones were among the many Dunlin.

Turnstones on Concrete

Late in the day I went back to south point and still found a good number of birds.  I pished in 12 species of warblers while standing in one spot.  Pishing is allowed in Rondeau Park!!

Veery

I listened for Whip-poor-wills at the VC.  The first one started at 8:44 p.m.  No Chuck.  Would have been nice since it has been a few years since we have had one.

The next morning was excellent on south point trail where I got 25 species of warblers, including a Prairie.  Two Orange-crowned Warblers were in the mix.  Most of these were still found today, May 11.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Just as I was coming off the trail, I got word from a friend that he found two Cattle Egrets south of Morpeth early in the day.  I hurried over and saw them.  Apparently they left shortly afterward to parts unknown.

2 Cattle Egrets

I also took a look at at one of the Yellow-throated Warblers near the VC on Thursday.

A Long-tailed Duck was along the shore in the afternoon off south point.  We always seem to get at least one this time of year!

In the afternoon I went to the lagoons.  Not much variety.  Lots of Dunlin.

There were a lot of swallows today and all of the regulars were at the lagoons.
Again, I went back to south point trail in the evening and found lots of warblers.  A Mourning was working the top of a Pine tree, to add to the day's total.

Magnolia Warblers were very plentiful Thursday.

The day's species total was a decent 140--rather good for little effort!  Several obvious misses too.

Today, was similar on south point trail, but perhaps two Golden-winged Warblers were present.  I heard one singing constantly, while others up ahead were watching it.  I never did see it.  Later, I found one myself in another location.  Due to leaf cover, I did not get long looks at it.  It did not want to pose for a photo either!

this is a Golden-winged Warbler!

There have been lots of Bonaparte's Gulls this spring, but absolutely nothing with them.  Yesterday, the bonies were mobbing a Bald Eagle off south point trail.

Things were very slow elsewhere in the park, so I left for home in mid afternoon.

Showy Orchis