Harlequin In Our Midst and Other Recent Sightings

 Not much happening of late, and birds have been scarce! So, lack of subject matter here.

A treat for Sarnia area birders appeared just over a week ago, as a male Harlequin Duck was frequenting the area of the mouth of Lake Huron, and the entrance to the St. Clair River (not the "mouth" of the river as some mistakenly call it).  An adult male Harlequin is a very attractive duck not often seen in our area.  A week ago today, I ventured up to Sarnia to see it.  It was visible as soon as I arrived at the "lakewatch" spot in front of the water treatment plant.

We have seen a few Harlequins here in the past.  The present bird was quite co-operative, being seen close to shore in the general area.

There has not been much to see along the St. Clair River yet (unless you like Mute Swans!).  A few wintering Tundra Swans have been around as well, but a few days ago a pair of Trumpeter Swans were mixed in off Cathcart Park.  The day I went, the pair was seen taking flight just as I arrived, so not a good photo from quite a distance.

The feeders have been quite busy with common birds.  One stuck out this past Friday when a Common Grackle showed up in the yard for the afternoon.

Blackbirds left long ago and it was the first I had seen in some time.  No doubt some are likely around the Lake St. Clair/Walpole Island area.  Perhaps some will be tallied on the Wallaceburg CBC on January 4, which will be revived after a two year absence.

Saturday I went to Wheatley and Hillman to see what was around.  I did a lakewatch at Wheatley Harbour for the first hour.  Most ducks were Common Goldeneye.  There is an exceptional number around the area this year.  Must be a Barrow's Goldeneye out there somewhere.....

Hillman was all frozen of course but there were still some Sandhill Cranes standing around on this gloomy (and windy) morning.

On the way home I went through Tilbury, and north of there, I came across a decent flock of blackbirds (mostly Common Grackle) at Jeanneatte's Creek wetlands.  I did not detect a Yellowheaded though!  It was the first "flock" of blackbirds I had seen in some time.

The next day, I went the other direction up to Pinery and Ipperwash.  There was a stiff WNW wind making it very cold and uncomfortable.  Not sure what I was thinking, but there were hardly any birds.  I was aiming for Bohemian Waxwings but saw none at Pinery.  Perhaps if it was calmer day, I would have had better luck.

The usual "spoiled" birds were at P9 where people feed them.  They follow you around hoping for handouts!

After Pinery, I stopped by Ipperwash.  Same deal with the wind, but I lucked out with four Bohemian Waxwings.  Unfortunately, I came upon them all of a sudden and they flushed.  Oh well...

Some places of late, I see more squirrels than birds!  This backyard bandit was feeding in a soft maple.

Today was very mild and calm for a change and I did not do much.  My early morning walk was at Mitchell's Bay.  Not much in the way of birds of course.  Lot of geese were way out on the ice, so who knows what was amongst them.

In the history department, on this day in 1976, the sandsucker Charles Dick was retired for scrap.  It was a frequent visitor to Wallaceburg, as seen in this photo.

A recent scene at Port Lambton one morning:

Alpena (and a rusty Calumet in background)

No more posts until after Christmas, so Merry Christmas to all....!

Recent Observations and a Trek Out Rondeau South Beach

 I have been checking out the St. Clair River lately, but very little is out there!  Certainly a far cry from what it used to be.  With climate change, it is just too warm with no ice, and no concentration of birds.  Very discouraging!  Last winter was the worst I have ever seen for birds.

Lately, a Northern Pintail male has been hanging out with the Mallards at the old Sombra ferry dock.  Always nice to see in winter, but hopefully it will be seen on the 27th during the Wallaceburg CBC.

Just outside of town, Bald Eagles are busy making a new nest.  I guess they gave up on last year's nest!

Today, there was light rain, so with nothing else to do I drove up to Corunna along the river.  Very little to see, needless to say.  The pintail was still present at Sombra though.

Lots of gulls have been off Guthrie Park at Corunna, but not today!  I think I saw four gulls, lol.  Some Hooded Mergansers were swimming offshore.

A couple of days ago, there was a window of opportunity to walk out Rondeau's south beach.  I was hoping to come across the Purple Sandpiper that was discovered on the CBC last Sunday.  Despite a thorough look, it was not to be found.  There is excellent habitat for it on the Bay side for more than a kilometre.

A few years ago, there was a rare spring record Purple Sandpiper in this same location.

Here is another view looking at the terminus of the marsh trail.  I remember one autumn it was dry enough to walk across!

I do not go out there as often as I used to, but it is forever changing.  There used to be quite a bit of wooded area, but that is all gone due to the high water a few years ago.  There were even times, there was no sand to walk on.  It was quite narrow a couple of years ago, as seen in the following photos.

As always, I look for mussel shells to photograph.  There were lots, but most seemed to be Fatmucket.

One was an Eastern Pondmussel, which is now an imperiled species.

Another I found on the Bayside, remains unidentified.  Not the best specimen, but it is suggested that it is a Plain Pocket-book (or Pocketbook).

After that long walk, I was too tired to check the campground.  Along the way, the trusty Eastern Screech-owl was showing in its usual cavity.

In other notes, the Limpkin was still being seen on December 22 at Wheatley Provincial Park.  Apparently it was looking well.

The Limpkin is truly a unique bird.  Something like a large rail, it is in a class of its own.  It is not all that common to begin with, but several records in Ontario this year, it is amazing.

Today in the history department, the sandsucker Charles Dick was scrapped in 1976.  It was  frequent visitor to Wallaceburg back in the day.

1949