Some Sightings This Week As October Ends

 Some warm weather descended upon us this past week.  Then we experienced strong winds!  It will be interesting to see if anything of interest shows up as a result.

Some lingering butterflies enjoyed the warm weather.  This past Monday, I found a rather late Pearl Crescent at Reid CA.  On average, these are done by this date.

Tuesday, I did a lakewatch at Rondeau, but had to leave early.  As usual, nothing of note showed up, but it was active.  Lots of Dunlin lately.

Of course, well after I left, a Pacific Loon went by!

I went back on Wednesday since I had more time.  Just my luck (again), it was a slower day.  

The day started with another nice sunrise.

I stopped by Keith McLean C. L. after visiting the park.  A lot of Dunlin were in taking advantage of the mud.

A Common Painted-Lady was along the dike.

As well, I noted a couple of Fiery Skippers.

With all the mud, Wilson's Snipe were taking advantage.

Thursday was not a birding day for me for various reasons.  The afternoon was spent gathering up leaves in the yard!

Today, the only option was to check out Rondeau again.  With the change in weather, it looked promising for some activity.

Another lake watch was in order to start.  A good amount of activity, but as usual, nothing of note showed.  These lakewatches are getting quite discouraging!

Afterwards, I walked various spots in the park.  Lots of kinglets and other things.

Of interest, a large flock of Eastern Bluebirds was working south point trail area.  I could not see every bird, but there were at least 40.  One of the largest flocks of bluebirds I have ever seen at once.

As per usual, I stopped by Keith McLean C. L.  I was not going to stay long, but there was a fair bit of bird activity, so I stayed a while.

What peaked my interest, was the passage of three Golden Eagles just after I arrived.  All three seemed to be travelling together.  I ended up seeing a total of six during my stay.  Unfortunately, lighting was absolutely horrible!

As well, my camera was not co-operating.  For some reason it completely seized up! No explanation.

Water levels are very low right now.  Lots of mud exposed at McLean's.  Possibly the lowest I have seen it here.

Lots of birds were in the air including gulls, blackbirds and American Pipits.  Well over 100 pipits were around.

On the way home, I saw another Golden Eagle at Rushton's Corners.  Seems Golden Eagles have been in good numbers this year.

This month should bring us some things of interest.

Pelee Birding, Rondeau Birding and a Western Grebe!

 Saturday it was an Essex County day for me.  I attended the Essex County Field Naturalists annual banquet in the evening, but I spent the day at Point Pelee.  It was a fairly decent day of birding, as I ended up with 80 species in the park.  Pretty good for the date, even though I missed some species others saw during the day.

I did not take many photos (it was a gloomy day, despite the forecast calling for some sun).  

I first walked De Laurier, then went to the Tip.  Several birders were already present, so I joined them for a while in the Tip area.

There were lots of Common Loons swimming off the east side of the Tip, and a large number of gulls around.  No rarities though!  Some scoters too.

Sparrow Field had lots of birds, including a Blue-headed Vireo, a large number of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and others.

Along the road, we spotted a moth that had been hit by a car.  It was still alive though.

Herald Moth

Later, I birded the north end of the park.  Notable was a late Black-throated Blue Warbler along Sanctuary trails.  It was quite busy for birds along the trails!  Especially American Robins.

During the day, several small flocks of Dunlin were seen.  This weekend there was a very big movement of Dunlin through southern Ontario.  Many locales reported large numbers of Dunlin.

Sunday, I went down to Rondeau to see what was around.  First off, I joined Steve at dog beach for a lakewatch. I was a bit late, since I got in late the night before, and there was dense fog around Wallaceburg.

The previous day, Steve found a Western Grebe off dog beach.  A while after I arrived on Sunday, we spotted it again!  It was always too distant for a proper photo.

It was the second Western Grebe I have seen at Rondeau, the first being in June 2013 off the south beach.

It was certainly a balmy day, and butterflies were out.  Several Eastern Commas were on south point trail.

An Orange Sulphur was near the yacht club.

Monday, I stayed close to home, and as usual, did not find anything of note!  It was supposed to be rainy, but as usual we never had a drop and had quite a bit of sun!

Today, I went back to Rondeau.  Winds were not ideal for a good lakewatch, but I did one anyway.  A few loons and grebes were moving.  No Western Grebe, but I did see a Red-necked Grebe.

I checked out south point trail again.  A late Blue-headed Vireo was singing at the start.  I did not find any late warblers, and only a few Yellow-rumped Warblers.

A couple of Green Darners were flying in the warmth.

Pine Siskins were in big numbers, as well as Cedar Waxwings.  I tried scrutinizing for Bohemian, but to no avail.

Before leaving the park, I walked the north end of the campground.  More Cedar Waxwings and Robins.  The Red Cedars are loaded this fall, keeping these birds happy.

A Merlin was standing watch nearby.

Next stop was Keith McLean C. L., which turned out to be quite birdy.  Shorebirds included over 400 Dunlin, a Greater Yellowlegs, seven Killdeer, and a single Semipalmated Sandpiper with one leg.

Many of the Dunlin were up the creek!  Water levels are quite low now.

Early on, raptor movement was good.  Among other things, I saw three Golden Eagles and three Red-shouldered Hawks.  Pretty sure I saw a American Goshawk, but lighting was very poor at that time.

This spot can be quite good for raptor watching on the right wind, as you have a big expanse of sky to watch.

Also sighted was a Tree Swallow and a late Barn Swallow.

A grey Catbird is still in the tangles at the pond.

I actually ended up with more species at McLean's than in the park today!

Supposedly will rain tomorrow, but likely will be sunny....

A Western Visitor and A Kittygull

 Friday I ventured down to Rondeau way, and started with a lakewatch.  Nothing of note, but lots of Red-throated Loons appeared, as we now expect this time of year.  Numbers will likely build, and hopefully lots will be around for the Christmas Bird Count in two weeks.  Last year, we had a crazy record number!

"Land" birds are very scarce now, and a walk through the campground in the park and maintenance area revealed very little.

It was then over to Erieau to look for the "Western" Sandpiper.  On Thursday, Steve Charbonneau photographed a sandpiper which was obviously a Western.  Although almost a look-alike to the Semipalmated, Western is expected or default species this time of year.

The "peep" we saw there a week ago was undoubtedly the Western Sandpiper.  (We were too lazy to go back for a scope, lol).

The subject bird had been seen earlier in the morning, but disappeared over the edge for some time.  We were almost ready to give up after a long wait yesterday, but soon it appeared  with three Dunlin.

Others had better cameras than mine on site, so you can view those photos on eBird.

This is not the latest we have had around here.  I recall one in 2016 at Blenheim lagoons.  It stayed for several weeks well into December, till freeze-up!  One can see ice on its feet in one of my photos.

Lots of this species have been recorded over the years around the Rondeau birding area.

There were four species of shorebirds at Erieau's Marsh trail yesterday.  At least 25 Killdeer, 3 Dunlin, and 3 Wilson's Snipe!

Today, weather was the pits first thing (yep, it is the weekend!).  I went up to Sarnia for a lakewatch, which seemed to be the best thing to do in the rain.  My goal was to see a Black-legged Kittiwake. 

One these kitties seemed to be hanging around the last few days at the mouth of Lake Huron, but it was a longshot that I would see it.  Just after 08:30, I caught sight of it!  It quickly disappeared into the river, but there was no chance for a photo in the driving rain.  Mission accomplished.

A photo of one just over a year ago will have to suffice here:

There were two Iceland Gulls.  

The other bird of note was a Nelson's Gull (Herring X Glaucous).

From there I went up to Ipperwash for a brief lakewatch.  It was not productive for me!  And, landbirds were missing in action.

Some ships went to anchor on Lake Huron probably due to the wind.  I noticed the Mesabi Miner, Algoma Intrepid, an Algoma tanker and the Radcliffe Latimer.  The Latimer went upbound while I was watching the lake.

Some Holiday Weekend Highlights

 Weather was fairly decent over the holiday weekend for birding.  Bird radar looked good for Friday and Saturday, but there were not may birds to be found!  On Sunday, the radar did not look all that good, but there were lots of birds!  Goes to show one cannot draw conclusions from the bird radar.....

Friday, I checked out Rondeau in the morning, then headed into Erieau. I was just about to walk the "rail" trail, when word got out about a Laughing Gull on Rondeau's south beach.  I had not seen a Laughing Gull in a long time, so I thought I would get out the scope at the Erieau channel and hope for the best.

After a bit of looking, we finally spotted it.  This dark gull stood out like a sore thumb among the other gulls, even though very distant.

Also seen were three young Little Gulls.

With lack of other ideas for the day, I headed west to Wheatley and Hillman Marsh.  A quick stop at Wheatley Harbour revealed a few Whimbrel flying by.

Hillman shorebird cell had a good variety of shorebirds, including White-rumped Sandpiper.  Things are very fluid there, so the numbers and species keep changing during one's visit.

Dunlin

Saturday was not all that productive at Rondeau either.  Later, I stopped by Blenheim sewage lagoons to see if the three Red-necked Phalaropes from the previous day were still present.  They were, but only two out of three!

These tiny shorebirds were a bit distant and difficult to photograph.

We rarely see them in spring migration, but are a treat to see in breeding plumage.  Been a long time since I have seen them in spring.

Their larger cousin, a Wilson's Phalarope was nearby.

I was home by noon(!), so in the afternoon I took a long walk up at Reid CA.  Some FOY butterflies:

Spicebush Swallowtail

Silver-spotted Skipper

Sunday, I needed a change in scenery, so went to Point Pelee.  Weather was iffy with a cool northerly wind and damp conditions, but it was quite birdy.  Highlight was an unseen Connecticut Warbler.

I heard that Rondeau was very good as well....just my luck for the one day I stay away!  They even had a Piping Plover out south beach, which seems to be an annual event.

On my way home, I stopped by Mitchell's Bay (south shore nature trail), as I often do.  It paid off again!  Although not a mega, I spotted a couple of American White Pelicans!  These big creatures are often seen at Mitchell's Bay.

Distant, cropped photo

I usually have to go to Point Pelee in early June to list them.  They regularly show up at Pelee in late May to early June.

Some Map Turtles were sunning themselves along the trail.

Monday, I went back to Rondeau, and walked out to south beach.  It was something I wanted to do for some time, but conditions were better this day.  This time of year usually reveals lots of shorebirds.  Last year I managed to see a number of Red Knots, but none have been reported to this date this year.

Indeed, there were lots of shorebirds, mainly Dunlin.

Oops!  Some other shorebird got in the way.

A Piping Plover was still present, which was my main target for the day.

After returning from my long walk, I did some lazy birding around maintenance to pony barn area.  One or two Cerulean Warblers were singing in the area.

I came across a Painted Skimmer at one point.

Still more birds to come, and hopefully some rarities!