Pinery Things To Rondeau Things

 A couple of days ago I headed up to Pinery Provincial Park.  It was a gorgeous day to be out looking for birds, or just going for a walk.  My goal was to look for a Bohemian Waxwing or two, as there had been an influx of waxwings a couple days previous.  However, they must have left!  I could not find any waxwing flocks. Neither could other birders.

photo from the past

Lately, Pinery has been sparse for birds, and this day was no exception.  However, I did manage to get a couple of "year" finches.  Flyovers included a Common Redpoll (very scarce this year even in the 'near' north), and a couple of Red Crossbills.  Although rare this far south, the crossbills have been widespread since last summer.  

photo from the past

It was no problem hearing the Red Crossbill, as I got my fill last September on the Algonquin trip where they were everywhere and elsewhere.

Algonquin Red Crossbill

A popular spot for birds is at P9 in Pinery.  Black-capped Chickadees expect to be fed there!  Although I had no offerings, the chickadees landed on my hand, and even my camera.

Nearby Red Squirrel

A look off P9 towards the birdless lake

I nice walk was along the river beside Riverside Campground.  I have good luck in the past along here, but it was almost birdless as well.

Canada Geese on the Ausable

Later, I briefly checked out Ipperwash at the old MNR parking lot.  I found eleven Cedar Waxwings.....more than in Pinery!  Alas, no Bohemians either.

On the way home, I noticed many Red-tailed Hawks, many paired up.

Yesterday, I stayed near home in the morning, but it was so nice I headed down to Rondeau Park for an afternoon walk.

The best option was marsh trail, albeit very few birds to be found.  The Bay was still frozen, but some open water was within the marsh.  I walked all the way to Long Pond, then headed back.  

The walk back revealed a couple of decent birds, included a pair of Gray Catbirds.  This was rather unexpected, as none had been reported in the park this year.  Obviously they wintered nearby.  True to form, they remained skulky.

Not sure what this one was trying to say.....

Also, a Northern Shrike made an appearance.  At least one has been out there this winter.

Signs of warmth included this Isabella Tiger Moth caterpillar.

Trailside, a cute Virginia Opossum was nibbling on a dead Racoon.

Along the trail, a Canadian Beaver was startled by my presence.  It had been sunning, so was dry, then took a dive.

Today was like April with balmy and windy conditions.  The temp went up to 15 C!

I stayed close to home, but saw very few birds.  Blackbirds have already arrived, and no doubt Killdeer are around.

I went for a long walk at Reid CA, then went to a private property west of Wallaceburg.  The trusty Eastern Screech-owl was absorbing some sun as it poked out of a duck box.  I only had the cell phone handy for a photo.

Withe the balmy weather and strong SW wind, it will be interesting to see what hops in this weekend.

Rondeau Rounds and Some Late Birds

I did my usual rounds at Rondeau once again this weekend.  Saturday was brutally windy and rather cold, but a short lakewatch at dog beach started the day.  One could only stand there for so long!  The only shorebirds were four Sanderlings.  Gull activity was fairly good, but no rarities.....again.

I checked out south point trail afterwards.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets were plentiful for this late date.

A few Yellow-rumped Warblers were kicking around.  Lots of juncos and other sparrows were found.

Later, I went up to the campground.  The south end had quite a few birds to keep one busy.  Two tardy Blue-headed Vireos were working the trees.

Steve had seen a Nashville Warbler (not unusual at this date), but I could not find it.

I decided to go back to south point trail again as it was somewhat out of the wind.  A Blackpoll Warbler was notable on this round.  Lighting was horrible most of the day.

The only flycatcher type left, was a single Eastern Phoebe.

Quite a few Cedar Waxwings were kicking around during the day, but still no Bohemian.

For Sunday I thought of going other places, but it would take a longer drive.  I went back to Rondeau and it turned out to be a good day.  Several late birds were around.  Keith had seen a Cape May Warbler, Northern Parula and American Redstart (female type) during the day, as well as a White-eyed Vireo.  McArthur's had seen a male redstart at their pond as well.  The redstarts are record late by about a week.
I could only come up with Yellow-rumped Warblers despite trying.

Steve and I started the day at dog beach for a lakewatch under more comfortable conditions.  Lots of ducks were moving, especially Bufflehead.  Bufflehead seemed to be everywhere today!  There was a good variety of ducks seen.
Horned Grebes were in good numbers--I kept track and counted 44.  A few Common Loons and a single Red-throated Loon was observed.

We had a distant shorebird which remained unidentified.  It could have been a Purple Sandpiper for all we know!

I went on to south point trail by myself.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets were more plentiful this day.  There were actually all over the park.

An American Woodcock was in the same area as yesterday, but did not co-operate for any type of photo.

Juncos were numerous today, as they usually are this time of year.

The campground was on the agenda next, but it seemed quieter than yesterday.  I checked it twice.
At least three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were roaming around the campground (I saw a fourth near maintenance).  They are regular in winter in the campground!

Finch types were not all that plentiful this weekend. Although some Evening Grosbeaks were around, I could not come up with any.
A few Pine Siskins were around, as well as Purple Finches.
One wonders if we will see any crossbills.  There is a White-winged coming to a feeder up at Sarnia.  It is an ugly dark juvenile, not much to look at apparently!

Down Harrison trail, I spotted a Gray Catbird munching on some berries.

On a tip from Mike Cowlard, at beach access #1, I saw a Blue-headed Vireo.  It was there as soon as I got out of the car!

A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers was along Lakeshore Road.  Despite their grandeur and size, they are very elusive in late fall and winter!  It had been a long time since I had seen one.

After making rounds in the park, I headed over to McGeachy Pond and met up with Steve.  I did not anticipate spending much time there, but we spent more than 1.5h!  Living up to its name, this dike held some decent birds for this time of year.  A Wilson's Warbler was there on Friday, as seen by Jim Burk.
We had to work for them, looking into the tangles, but we came up with some decent finds.  Steve spotted a Black-and-white Warbler at one point.  Even though I was standing right beside him, I did not get a good enough look.  This warbler is most certainly record late by almost two weeks.

Near the viewing tower, we checked the area and a number of birds were in the lower area.  Almost simultaneously, I heard the chip notes of a Northern Waterthrush and a Common Yellowthroat.  Although I saw the waterthrush well, I could not get a photo.

We did get good looks at the Common Yellowthroat, a bird not unusual in this area in late fall.

I went back up on the dike to see if I could see the waterthrush.  As a consolation, I spotted an Orange-crowned Warbler!  These creatures are often difficult to photograph, especially at McGeachy.  Fuzzy photos are the norm!

After this round, it was time to head home.  It will be interesting to see what else turns up in the Rondeau area in the next few weeks.

New Year's CBC

We started off the New Year with one last CBC--the St. Clair NWA.  Although the relative temperature was not terribly cold, the wind chill made it unbearable.  As a result, we spent little time out of the car!

Milder years are much better with open water and much waterfowl.  It is not often we get a winter like this.

I checked out the wildlife area with Pete Read and Don Pye.  Normally we would walk the dike and Balmoral Line, but it was out of the question today.  There would not be much, if anything, along the dike.  Most birds would have been long gone or dead by now!

I arrived a bit earlier and scouted around.  On the way there, I saw two Snowy Owls along Heron Line in their usual position (way out).

One here

Several groups of Snow Buntings were seen along the way.  They do not mind this weather!

We decided to go by car down Balmoral Line.  There was a small open water area where geese and ducks were packed--only kept open because they stay there.  It was difficult to pick out anything different, and we could not stay out of the car any length of time.

However, there were two Northern Pintail and a single male Northern Shoveler mixed in with 2000+ Mallard and Black ducks.

A lone Tundra Swan, which we assumed was still alive, kept its head down the whole time.

Near the end of Balmoral Line, we encountered a group of Rusty Blackbirds working along the ditch out of the wind.

Once in a while, we get Brewer's Blackbird on this count, but not today.

We arrived back at the parking lot and noticed a bird under the Red Cedar alongside the ditch.  We got a little closer and I realized it was a Gray Catbird!  Of all the things to find out there this winter....

I am not sure if it will survive much longer as the weather is supposed to get even colder this week.

I believe I have seen one other catbird on this count when we checked out Bradley many years ago.

We decided to try a walk, but only got to the little bridge.  It was pointless to go any further!

By this time it was about 11:30 and we were pretty much done.  To accommodate everyone, the areas are small and there is not enough to go around for a full day's work anymore.  Just as well, it was pretty bleak out there today!  However, this count is always a good way to start off the New Year.

And of course, this count is known for the crows.

Early morning feed

Pelee Birding (November 26)

Today I was scheduled to go down to Point Pelee, so off I went!  It was not an ideal day for a Tip watch, but it is a good place to start and you never know what will show up this time of year.
I was joined by Kit McCann, Steve Pike, Marianne Reid, Jeremy Hatt and Richard Carr.

Quite a few gulls were around first thing including 2 Lesser Black-backed on the Tip.

Only about a half dozen Common Loons were seen and a couple of Horned Grebes.

Several White-winged Scoters went by a various times and lots of scaup were around.

Early on, a white dove circled the Tip and headed back in.  I have seen these type several times here.  Also I saw another four somewhere west of Wheatley on my way home!

As we walked back from the Tip, a nice Red-shouldered Hawk flew over, but I got on it a bit late.

The Cactus Trail was next on the agenda which was a good choice as there were lots of birds including a couple dozen Eastern Bluebirds.

Some Yellow-rumped Warblers were also mixed in as were Hermit Thrushes and American Robins.  A couple of Northern Flickers were also in the area.

Cactus Trail

After a meeting at the visitor centre, I stopped by De Laurier for a walk in mid-afternoon.  The trail actually had quite a few birds at the back.  Highlight was a White-eyed Vireo which I could not get on with the camera.  Nice to find as they are scarce at any time anymore.
Lots of White-throated Sparrows and a couple of Fox Sparrows were also in the mix.

Moving on, I found another group of birds near the useless viewing stand.  Included was a Gray Catbird.

Meanwhile, I had sent a text to Jeremy Hatt to alert the others about the vireo.  I was not sure if we could refind it, but we did, albeit more distant.

On the way home, I saw 3 Turkey Vultures NW of Wheatley.
About a 100 Tundra Swans were NW of Pain Court south of Maple Line.

Tomorrow looks like a decent day with some sun.  We had a brief bout of sun this morning, but for the most part it was dreary.