Going Batty and More River Scenes

 It has been rather uneventful lately, and have no ambition to go any distance from home.  Luckily, the St. Clair River has kept me occupied.

This past Sunday, I did my usual run along the river in the morning.  In the afternoon, I was investigating the crawl space under part of the house.  Behind the insulation I found a bat!  Mind you, we have had them in the house before, but how they get in is a complete mystery since it is a sealed space.

Not one to kill anything, I carefully grabbed it with a bag, and put it outside.  A while later I went out to check on it, and found it clinging to the side of the house.  It eventually took flight.  It was fairly mild, so hopefully it found a spot to continue its hibernation.

It was fairly large, so I believe it is a Big Brown Bat.  The Little Brown Bat is around here as well, and they can be difficult to distinguish between.

Back to the river, I found a Ruddy Duck at Willow Park.  Quite uncommon here in the winter.

There was also a Gadwall here, but we get a few along the river during winter.

Monday was quite foggy, so I was out later.  Visibility was limited along the river, but there were thousands of ducks.

At Willow Park, the Ruddy Duck was still present, and there was quite a bit to look at.  The five Trumpeter Swans were present.  The three younger ones were  swimming, then I heard them trumpeting.  The adults were just flying in.

I noticed some flippers sticking up in the air.  Obviously a duck got caught on a fishing lure while diving and was unable to recover.  This remained stationary, so no doubt it was anchored to fishing line.

A fair number of gulls were at Cathcart Park, but nothing unusual again.

Tuesday was bright and sunny, but more ice on the river.  The open spots concentrated the waterfowl more.  I briefly stopped at Marshy Creek Park south of Sombra for a look.  The five Trumpeter Swans flew by southbound here!  No time for a photo though.

I did not take any photos this day.

Wednesday was another sunny morning, but more ice had moved in.  Most of the river all the way up to Mooretown was plugged with brash ice.  However, there were some open spots.

I took some random photos showing the concentration of ducks.  Once again, I found no rarities!  Ducks do a lot of sleeping on these cold sunny days.

There was a nice little open spot off Brander Park that attracted some waterfowl.

Note Ring-necked Duck

A Gadwall was fast asleep here.

Today, Thursday, was too icy to go out since we had freezing rain overnight.  

Nothing new at the feeder....just too many House Sparrows which hog all the seed.  Once in a while, an accipiter comes around such as this young Cooper's Hawk.  It needs to take a course in House Sparrow hunting, as it never gets anything!

Been passing time by reading a good book.  It is about the rise and fall of the Hudson Bay Company and fur trading and settlement of northern Canada.

Ice, Ducks, and Other Things on the St. Clair River

 I have been spending lots of time along the St. Clair River, taking advantage of the waterfowl situation.  Since the last two winters there was virtually nothing on the river during winter, it is more like the "old" days!  The only thing, there are not many gulls except at Sarnia, apparently.

There is lots of ice, concentrating waterfowl in certain areas.  There is always ice on the St. Clair River (except last year!) in some form or another.  I always throw this photo in at this time of year.  Note the thick ice.

The Sainte Marie II was launched at Toledo, Ohio on 22 January 1913.  Later, it took its maiden voyage to the Straits of Mackinac, passing through the St. Clair River.  A well-known photo was taken by Port Lambton's grocer, Mabel Smith as it passed her vantage point. She had the photo made into post cards, as seen above.

In the distant past, the river would freeze over solid and smooth.  Racing ice boats was a popular activity.  I recall my grandfather talking about it.

As well, at international river crossings such as Sombra, one could drive a car across.  Routes were marked with Christmas trees!

Back to the present day, the Fawn Island area has consistently been good for waterfowl.  Up to three species of swans have been seen.  Back when I first started birding, it was rare to see a swan in winter.  Mutes were unusual, Tundras never wintered, and Trumpeters were not around.

Some of the ducks float by fairly close.

Canvasback with food

Another good spot the last few days is the warm water outflow of OC Industries.  On Friday, it was packed with ducks!  Yet again, I could not find anything unusual.  However, it is fun to sort through the rafts.

The Mooretown dock has been fairly good for a vantage point.  The most common duck there is Long-tailed, but others can be seen.  This Hooded Merganser came close, but I failed to get a proper photo.  It was wrestling with something, thinking that it was a good meal.  Not sure what it was though.

I went back out today.  Weather was nicer with warmer temps, little wind and clear skies.  There was not as much at Fawn Island today, but Cathcart Park was decent.  There were at least seven Ring-necked Ducks there among the hundreds of Canvasback and Redhead and others.

As well, at least five Gadwall were there, the first I have seen on the river this calendar year, oddly enough.

The OC outlet was good too.  The four Trumpeter Swans were hanging out once again.

Next stop was the Mooretown dock.  It was quite impressive at times with all the Long-tailed Ducks.

The Algoluna was downbound and flushed thousands of ducks, including the Long-tailed.

Times sure have changed.  It was unusual to see a Long-tailed Duck on the river back in the early1990's.  Now there are thousands every winter!

As well, the ship flushed thousands of Canvasback!  Those were obviously tucked in towards the Michigan side, and I did not realize how many there were until they were airborne.  I estimated over 2600 at one point.  They were high-flying, as opposed to the Long-tailed which were low-flying!

Next stop was Guthrie Park at the north end of Corunna.  A fair bit here including lots of Common Goldeneye.  I tried in vain to pick out a Barrow's, but did not.  Still a chance there this winter though!

A couple of adult male White-winged Scoters were nice to see, but too distant to photograph.

More gulls were here, but not what we would like to see (as in the past).

Some Bald Eagles were in the area.

Friday, a large flock of Common Grackles descended upon the yard in early afternoon. I thought it was odd since I have not seen a blackbird in weeks.  Some Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starlings were with them, but I estimated about 95 grackles.

Today, just as I arrived home from the river run, a flock of about 60 grackles flew over.  Obviously they are hanging out somewhere!

Christmas Season Birding and CBC's

Weather is the talk of the season.  For a season of Joy, the weather has certainly made it depressing.  It is difficult to believe it is the winter season.  Warm, rain, drizzle and fog!

I have not gone far the last few days.  A few ducks have been around, but not like it used to be.  Lots of Gadwall have been hanging around Roberta Stewart Wetland.  On one occasion, I saw as many as twenty, but 13 seems the usual number.

The day before Christmas, I encountered several Sandhill Cranes near Port Lambton on another foggy day.

Now, on to the Wallaceburg Christmas Bird Count which was today, December 27.  As usual, the weather forecast was wrong, and we had completely miserable weather......again!  I was looking forward to a day without precipitation and fog, but that is what I woke up to.  It was rain, drizzle, dense fog all morning off and on and well into the afternoon.  Not in the forecasts I looked at!

However, as always, we persevered with little choice.  

I started at Roberta Stewart Wetland at first light as usual.  Thirteen Gadwall were there on cue.  A couple of Marsh Wrens chittering in the phrag were a nice addition to the list, as were the two Pied-billed Grebes in the reeds just offshore.  The grebes are often found here this time of year, and not an unusual species on the Wallaceburg CBC.  I recall one year we tallied 21!

(old photo at same location)

No sign of the Sandhill Cranes this morning.  I think they looked at the weather and took a day off!

Connected to the Stewart Wetland is MacDonald Park.  This area used to be all marsh, but was filled in and two cuts were made.  Connecting these two cuts is a neat little channel that is well hidden.

After checking out this area, it seemed to stop raining and I was going to go for a walk nearby on private property.  As soon as I started driving, it poured rain again, so I just drove around for a while.

I then walked Peers Wetland in the rain, no less.

The precipitation let up a bit as I headed west of town on Baseline Road.  There was nothing on the Snye (Chenal Ecarte), but farther along Bluewater Line I suddenly encountered some blackbirds.  I was in a bad position, and could not see a lot.  However the flock moved and grew to an enormous size.

This was my kind of blackbird flock!  We used to get these in the earlier years of the CBC, consisting of thousands of birds.  On a few occasions, I have found Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  

I was absolutely certain that I would find a Yellow-headed Blackbird or two with today's flock.  At one point I saw white wing flashes, and I knew immediately what it was.  A male Yellow-headed Blackbird!  The flock kept moving and I spotted yet another.  Could have been more, but the flock moved some distance towards the Snye into some trees.

That made my day, so I moved on to the private property I wanted to walk.  It was quiet at first, but at the very back corner of the woodlot there was some bird activity.  Highlight was an active Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Another bonus bird for the day!

I could not get a decent photo though.

Dense fog had rolled in by this time, so I spent the rest of the time driving around, walked Peers Wetland again, and Crothers Park along Running Creek.

I ended up with 38 species which was OK all things considered.  The blackbirds made it worthwhile, as well as the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (first in 8 years on the count).

I am told, final tally is 82.  Although numbers down, that is pretty good for a slow year in horrible weather.

Next CBC locally is the Skunk's Misery on Saturday.  Pray for decent weather......!

Sunset off Stewart Wetland from a previous CBC (this is the way it should be!)