Birding in the Wind, Shorebirds, and Glenlyon

 Not much to report the last couple of days, which were quite windy.  Yesterday, I spent some time at Keith McLean C. L. in the early morning.  There is always lots to see there, and a high potential for something of interest.

Some late shorebirds have been moving through and there is some good mud at McLean.  About 150 Dunlin were there yesterday, plus a Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper and a pair of Semipalmated Sandpipers.

There is also good mud at Erieau marsh trail.  It was a bit too windy yesterday for good birding there, but a Pectoral Sandpiper and a Lesser Yellowlegs were on the mud.

Pec

Some sparrows were hunkering down out of the wind.

American Tree Sparrow

I did make one trip to Mitchell's Bay south shore trail one afternoon this week.  It was just about two years ago I found the Sage Thrasher there, so I have been optimistic about finding something else good there!  Not on this visit though.  A Golden-crowned Sparrow would work, but I could only find ones with white crowns (or at least when they grow up).

I have seen Eastern Phoebes in several spots this week.  Here is another at Peers Wetland.

Some new signs have been put up at Peers this week.

The south end (not really on Peers property) has some mud, so I have been keeping an eye on that.  This afternoon, three Dunlin were there.

This morning I had some business in Chatham, so took a walk at O'Neil Nature Reserve (aka Paxton's Bush).  It is pretty neat to see the large trees there, and the good variety of Carolinian-type trees.

In the history corner, it was 99 years ago this week the Glenlyon foundered on Lake Superior. This vessel was a visitor to Wallaceburg in 1915 and 1921.  Here are some photos of its attempt to turn at downtown Wallaceburg (1921)!

The following link has some information on the vessel:

https://iri.forest.mtu.edu/Shipwrecks/Pages/Glenlyon.htm

April Showers and Spring Rambles

 Today started out surprisingly nice under cloudless skies and with no wind.  Overnight we had heavy rain, and everything was flooded.  By noon today, the heavy rain came again!  April showers!

I managed to get out for a walk this morning at Reid CA.  It was the wettest I have seen it in two years!  It was touch and go for walking in some areas, but I carried on.  Rubber boots are a must this time of year.

Typical Scene

For something to do, I took some photos of the more impressive trees of Black Walnut, Oaks, maples, etc.

Red Oaks

Some nice Black Walnuts here too!

This one has a dbh of more than 4'.  Burr Oak I believe.

Here is another scene at Reid CA along the river at the highest point of land on the property, taken a few days ago.  In what is affectionately called the Lilly Bush, there is a different variety of trees here with more American Beech and Black Cherry.  More spring wildflowers are here as well.

Reid is never a place to find a lot of birds, but a couple of Eastern Phoebes were present as well as Fox Sparrows.  I finally saw my first Eastern Phoebe of the year at Erieau the other day.

A Pileated Woodpecker was calling this morning, so I guess they are still working the area.  I last saw them in early January, but they seemed to have been absent till this past week.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have been arriving in various locations, and I managed to get a glimpse of one at Rondeau on Thursday.

Other things will certainly be showing up in numbers this week.

Horned Grebe at Erieau

Spring plants are starting to pop up.  Reid CA is a nice place to look for plants early in the spring.

Wide Leek

Some remain visible all winter, such as this Sharp-lobed Hepatica.

Monday I did some birding in the Sarnia area before I went to a meeting in the evening.  Some Iceland Gulls were still patrolling the mouth of Lake Huron.  One was even a Thayer's type, but the other two were the usual Kumlien's type.

Some ships are still in winter layup at the north slip.  A far cry from the old days, when the harbour was chocked full of ships!

Kaministiqua, Michipicoten in the North Slip

North Slip 1974

Another Reid Scene April 1

Christmas Bird Count and Purple Prizes

 Christmas season is upon us (already!) and so are the Christmas Bird Counts.  Some have already taken place, but my first one will be tomorrow (December 18) at Rondeau.  

On Friday, I went down to the park to see what was going on (or lack thereof), starting with a lakewatch at dog beach.

Dog beach is where I will start on Sunday to catch anything moving on the lake.  Several Red-throated Loons are still around.

Last year we had a crazy number on the count!

I thought I would be alone for the watch, but Steve Charbonneau soon joined me.  At one point, I caught sight of a shorebird.  A dark one!  It could only be a Purple Sandpiper.  It was motoring southwest nonstop, so I did not even try to take a record photo.  A bit unexpected, but nice to have that tick on the yearlist.

By coincidence, Keith Burk was out south beach and we alerted him to keep watch for a Purple Sandpiper.  Sure enough a while later, he found one feeding on the Bay side.  Although not guaranteed, this is likely the same bird.

It would be nice to get that one on the CBC.  It has happened before!  Back on 14 December 2014, Josh Bouman and I found one near dog beach.  As often is the case, Purple Sandpipers are quite approachable, and this one was no exception.

Just a few days ago, I changed the header photo of this blog showing a Purple Sandpiper.  A premonition of things to come, or just coincidence?

That photo shows a rare spring bird out south beach of Rondeau 8 March 2020.

They are most often found in the fall migration.  An exceptionally early one I found was at Mitchell's Bay  21 September 2013.  I was actually looking for something else (Marbled Godwits) that had been seen.  But, I took the consolation!

I have seen them in a number of places, and this one I found on the Erieau pier 9 November 2008.

One I recall, was the latest I have seen one at Erieau was 31 December 1997.

Birds are certainly few and far between this season, and I did not see much else on my walk.  I did check out the campground and actually found quite a few birds.  An Eastern Phoebe had been lurking in the area this week, and I managed to stumble upon it.

It should be around somewhere for the count on Sunday.

A stop at Keith McLean C. L. still revealed some lingering Killdeer.  Lots of sparrows are there, but nothing unusual.  Maybe Sunday's count will turn up something of interest there!

Today, I checked out the St. Clair River and Sarnia.  Certainly a far cry from what it used to be this time of year.  Climate change has certainly made things different. Not much to see on the river, or even at Sarnia today.

There is a Harlequin Duck south of Marine City, Michigan.  One can scope the area from the south end of Sombra if the water is calm.  It was a bit choppy today, so I was not able to pick anything out.  Maybe it was stick around for the Wallaceburg CBC on December 27.

Stay tuned......

Rondeau Rambles, Pi and Elgin Birding

We had some fine weather this weekend, except Saturday when it was cloudy (not in the forecast) from late morning and all afternoon.  Not too much to report as some migrants are trickling in.  Lots of waterfowl to sort through though here and there.

Friday, I ventured down to Rondeau Park on a stiff west wind.  There was an obvious influx of Song Sparrows, blackbirds and American Robins as one would expect at this time.
I started at south point trail where waterproof footwear is recommended.  I made it through with hiking shoes though, but if we get any amount of rain, the trail will be flooded again this spring.

I walked back the dune area along the east beach.  An Eastern Meadowlark was one highlight there.
Just as I finished up the walk, I spotted an Eastern Phoebe at the last cottage.  It did not co-operate for the camera.

The wind was quite strong out of the west, so the east side was a good option.  The Bay was too rough to look at ducks.  The campground was a bit quiet once again.

Later in the day while at home I happened to look out my window and noticed an early Tree Swallow flipping by.  Some had been reported down in Essex County for the first time this year on this day, so it is that time of year again!

Saturday I got up a bit earlier and headed back to Rondeau Park on a nice clear morning.

It was Pi Day, something I had never heard about.  I am familiar with Pi (3.14....) from my math studies back in the 'old' days, but I did not know there was a day to celebrate Pi.

I wanted to listen for American Woodcocks for the first time this year.  I came up with six peents in short order (saw one).
Waiting for some more light, I checked out the lake opposite the VC.  A nice sunrise was developing.

I walked spicebush trail after the sun came up.  The day previous, a Louisiana Waterthrush had been reported on the trail.  That is an incredibly early date, and they have not even been in Ohio yet to my knowledge.  We have seen them at the end of March though, so it is not far off.
No dice on that bird for anyone else who looked.  A strange occurrence indeed.

I then met up with SRC and we went down to Tulip Tree trail and then south point.  Nothing really of note on that walk, except we did find an early Eastern Phoebe scouting territory on TTT.

Later, I walked the campground before leaving the park, which, as you might have guessed, was rather quiet.  An unco-operative Eastern Towhee was one of the better birds.

After stocking up on groceries in Blenheim I headed home.  While in the store, I received word that Dwayne Murphy wanted to make an attempt for the Purple Sandpiper out south beach.  I guided him along via cell phone photos he sent periodically since he had never been out there.  Dwayne actually found the bird, which I am sure was quite a relief.  See his blog for details.

Sunday, I had an urge to go into Elgin County for a change.  On Saturday, a Black Vulture was reported at Port Stanley, so that was a good target to shoot for.  Been a while since I have seen one.

It was a crisp clear morning, perfect for birding.  My first stop was the lagoons which were well-stocked with ducks.  A good variety and number kept me interested.  I have seen some good birds there over the years, including a pair of Whooper Swans (not that they can be counted!).

After finishing there, I headed took the short drive down to the Port Stanley waterfront.  I immediately saw some Turkey Vultures, but no black one.  I headed back up Carlow Street and saw a suspicious shape in the sky.  The Black Vulture was soaring!  It only took less than ten minutes for me to see the bird after arrival.
I was in an awkward spot and angle, so did not get good photos.  But, at least I saw the bird.

Elgin County is a good birding district, but this was far enough for today.  I headed back and first stopped at Southwold Earthworks, as I usually do.  Not much in the way of birds today, but I always like to stop here as it brings back memories of one day when I was younger (my dad and I stopped here once out of curiosity).

I had things to do in the afternoon, so I basically headed back home.  I did stop for a walk at Wardsville Woods (a TTLT property), and drove through part of Skunk's Misery.  I met up with Don Pye (not Pi)  in the Misery, and he said that the Golden Eagle was still hanging around.  I did not see it of course, as usual, nothing new.

On to another week.....

Lingering Loons and Barred Beauty at Rondeau

Some decent 'winter' birds have been fluttering around Rondeau this season, so I headed that way early this morning to see what I could find.  I started with a lakewatch off the traffic circle where a number of waterfowl could be seen.  It was a good choice, as fog later rolled in for the morning!
Over 1000 Tundra Swans were on the lake, plus various ducks, but no Red-throated Loons could be seen from there.
I then moved into the nearby campground in hopes of coming across the Barred Owl, Baltimore Oriole and/or Orange-crowned Warbler.  There was a good variety of birds there, but none of the above first thing.

An Eastern Phoebe was later seen at the yacht club, so I checked that out.

We later found this well-traveled bird in the campground.  It is assumed to be the same bird found on the CBC.

A number of birders were in the park today, so it was well-covered.  We spent several hours in the campground, but no owl or oriole.  Later, while we were walking in the south part,  I finally spotted a fat owl in a Pine tree.  Barred Owl!

All present got on the owl as it perched in the tree.  Park employees Caitlin and Pilar came along to finally see the creature.

After showing well, it flew farther into a wooded area, but still in sight for more birders that arrived.

I decided to look around in other areas, including a peak on the lake off the visitor centre.  Finally, some of the lingering loons could be seen.  At least eight Red-throated Loons were close together in the haze.

After checking some other spots, I finally left the park after many hours of birding.  I should have gave the campground one more shot, as the elusive Baltimore Oriole and Orange-crowned Warbler were finally seen.  Seems these are afternoon birds based on the recent sightings!  Perhaps I will give it another try tomorrow.
I firmly believe finding good birds is just plain dumb luck and being in the right place at the right time!
I did well today in getting shots of birds as they take off....lol.

Heading home, I drove along Stefina Line.  A Northern Shrike was present, as well as some hawks, but no Wilson's Snipe in the creek. Every winter there is at least one here in the creek that never freezes.

I was happy with seeing the owl and loons today, but would have been elated to see an oriole!

By the way, the local Northern Rough-winged Swallow was still doing well today.  The Cape May Warbler was seen again on Thursday, but remains very elusive.