More Gray and a Little Blue

 Yesterday was a clear crisp day, and I had more time to spend at the Gray Kingbird.  I first checked out the trail at Mitchell's Bay.  Not much of note, but there is a lot of mud showing along the shoreline. Good for shorebirds!

One can see quite a bit from the dock.  There were many Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer and Wilson's Snipe that I could see.

Still hopeful something rare will pop up there.  Potential is very good along that trail.

Since I was in that direction, I then headed to the Gray Kingbird spot.  It was motionless in a tree for a long time, but later moved around.  I was able to get better photos.

There were lots of birds in the area, so some of us walked down Balmoral Line for a ways.  Kinglets and various sparrows were plentiful!  I had hopes for some rarity, but that never materialized.  However, it was nice to sort through all these birds.

This Autumn Meadowhawk was thawing out in the morning sun!

In the marsh, five Greater White-fronted Geese were notable among the hundreds of waterfowl.

In the afternoon, I just had to get out, so went for a walk at Reid C. L.  Hardly any birds as usual for there, but it was a nice fall afternoon for a walk.  Some trees are showing good colour.

This Red Oak is living up to its name!

I encountered one Garter Snake at the edge of the field taking advantage of the warm sun.

It was warm enough for some butterflies, including Orange and Clouded Sulphurs, and several Eastern Commas.

Today was another very crisp but clear day.  I headed up to Dow Wetlands.  I was hoping to encounter some Redpolls since some have been seen along the Lake Huron shore the last couple of days.  None for me yet!  The redcoats redpolls are coming!

There were not as many birds as I had hoped, but it was enjoyable none-the-less.

American Tree Sparrows arrived in the last week.

One the way home, I heard that the Little Blue Heron was found again along the Thames River.  After lunch, I decided to try for it.  Luckily it had stayed in the general area.  Although it was across the river, here is a photo or two.

Been a long time since I have seen one!  I once found a similar bird in Bate's marsh, as seen from the causeway.  That was way back on August 26, 2000!  It stayed a few days.

Hopefully the trend continues for rare or decent birds in the area!

A Day of Gray

The skies were quite gray this afternoon, at least in my neighbourhood.  But it was sunny this morning and into early afternoon.

Gray was the word of the day, as a Gray Kingbird was discovered near St. Clair National Wildlife Area by Paul Pratt and Paula O'Rourke.  It was just before high noon.

I was in the midst of making sandwiches for lunch when I received the word on the Discord alert.  Since St. Clair NWA is not too far away (35 min drive on a good day), I had to try for it.  

So much for that lunch!  Brings me back to another rare flycatcher nearby, when a Vermilion Flycatcher was found just north of Wallaceburg.  I was at work and had just sat down to eat lunch when I got the word.  Off I went!  Another abandoned lunch.

I arrived on the site less than a hour after the initial sighting.  I saw the subject bird perched on a hydro wire in the described location.  It was even singing/calling.  Somewhat phoebe-like to my ears, but quite light and musical.

This is my initial sighting from distance.  

I stayed put, and bird came a bit closer.

I only watched it for a few minutes, then it took off quickly in a northerly direction over the adjacent field.  I observed it until it was well out of sight.

I stayed a few more minutes, talking to Paul, and did not see it.  However, just after I left, it came back.  Thankfully, since many birders were on their way to see this rarity.

I had to leave anyway, as I had a pre-arranged commitment at home.

This is Chatham-Kent's first record to my knowledge, and one of only a handful of records for the province.

I did see one at Point Pelee on August 4, 2001 at De Laurier.  That was an interesting day, as I had went into work that morning.  There was nothing to do that day, so I went home and checked Ontbirds (no text alerts in those days!).  A Gray Kingbird was being seen at De Laurier, so I made a beeline there and saw the bird.

Maybe things are picking up.  Some other birders who had gone for today's kingbird found a Little Blue Heron along the Thames River west of Chatham on their way home!

What will tomorrow bring?