Spring Flings 'N Things

 Things are slowly coming in with this roller coaster weather.  I have checked out the usual haunts, sometimes several times!

Been to Rondeau and points in between a few times.  

The Iconic Concrete Structure! (getting farther out)

I have not had too much luck at Rondeau, but it is always a nice place to go.  Winter leftovers include Yellow-rumped Warblers, but we should be seeing new arrivals about now.

One day I took a trip to Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee.  Nothing spectacular, but one of these days I may get it right!  I did however, find a Hairy Woodpecker, which is actually rare at Point Pelee.  May have been my first one there, but I do not remember.  No chance for a photo though.

Great Egret at Hillman Marsh

Curious Kinglet

Been to Reid C. L. a couple of times.  This Field Sparrow was an early arrival checking out the place.

The warm weather a couple of days ago revealed one of the first signs of spring.  Harbinger of Spring was just popping up.

And, the early butterflies included  Eastern Commas.

I walked along the riverbank for a while.  I found one spot with several mussels, but the bank was too steep to descend.  One was easily recognized as a Mapleleaf, which I only took with the long lens.

A couple of visits to Mitchell's Bay were in order this past week.  Many of the wintering ducks have left, but a few were still present.  Great Egrets are making their rounds resplendent in breeding plumage.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are checking out nesting sites.

Ducks included Blue-winged Teal, although the below photo was taken at Peers Wetland after I got back from Mitchell's Bay.

A couple of days ago I checked out both the south shore trail as well as the north shore trail.  The north side is a bit more exposed and it was a cool windy day, but I persevered.  

An early Greater Yellowlegs was working the mudflat.  

There is a lot of mud at the Bay, so shorebirds should be happy when they arrive in numbers!

One of the trips to Rondeau was primarily a lakewatch.  Lots of waterfowl moving, but nothing unusual.  This American Pipit was working the surf-line was we stood watch.  It was a first-of year for us.

Yesterday was uncomfortably cold as I checked out Keith McLean C. L. and Rondeau.  Lots of mud at McLean's too!  Shorebirds included Lesser Yellowlegs and Wilson's Snipe.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Today was a threatening rain but I got a run out to the St. Clair River first thing.  Not much to see, but I keep hoping for a Red-necked Grebe or something.  A good time for them to show up!

By the time I got home, it started raining, so it was a good time to do some volunteer work at the museum.  I had a tour of the back rooms, and there is so much stuff one does not see on display!

Afterwards, I decided to make a quick run to Strathroy.  Yesterday, a Black-necked Stilt showed up!  As you recall, they nested there for a couple of years, but did not last year.  There was not even a sighting last year.  This bird was a record-early arrival in Ontario.  Perhaps it was anxious to get started!

Upon arrival, I could not find the elegant shorebird, but it soon popped out for viewing.  It moved around quite a bit.

Hopefully a mate will arrive this year and they can make more stilts!

The Floodgates Open

 Well, not for birds, but rain.  Although it has been patchy for the amount of rain in certain locations, around Wallaceburg we have had a crazy amount of rain.  The last couple of days, fields have been flooded, streams overflowing, and rivers raging.  It did not seem like a lot of rain, but obviously it was.

One needed to wear rubber boots to walk any trail.  At Peers Wetland, Otter Creek was backflowing into the wetland!

Gulls liked the wet fields around here, with hundreds last couple of days taking advantage of the situation.  I did not look too thoroughly at the gulls, as they were way out in the fields.  At least one Little Gull was around Port Lambton yesterday.

We are finally seeing a good movement of birds after a very quiet winter.  A couple of days ago I took advantage of the sunny day and toured around Rondeau.  We saw the first Yellow-rumped Warblers of the season in various locations.

Some sparrows have arrived, especially yesterday (Tuesday).  

Field

Eastern Towhees have shown up as well.  This one at Port Lambton did not co-operate for the camera!

The other day I checked out the south trail at Mitchell's Bay.  Numerous Great Egrets were in.

Still lots of ducks on the Bay, and Ruddy seemed to be the most numerous.

Horned Grebes are plentiful in some locations.

It has been warm on some days, and wildlife has been emerging.

I missed the big push of early birds at Rondeau yesterday, but hundreds of kinglets and juncos topped the list.

Today, at the last minute, I decided to go to Rondeau.  I met up with Steve at the marsh trail where we saw dozens of flickers migrating north, among other things.  We had over 60 in an hour!  Lighting was no good for photos today though.

There were still lots of juncos and kinglets, but obviously yesterday's birds had moved on for the most part.  A couple of the first Ruby-crowned Kinglets of the year caught our eye.

I stopped by Keith McLean C. L. before heading home, and left there just before a heavy storm rolled through.  Nothing of interest, but water levels are very high.

Several Tree Swallows were competing for nesting boxes.

An Osprey has shown up there recently.  I was too far away for a photo.

Looking forward to days ahead as time creeps by.

Rare Rondeau Spider

As Time Marches On

As Spring rolls in, time seems to be going by as swift as a fox.

  Waterfowl is the most interesting thing of late, but no rarities have crossed my path.

Not even a Black Vulture.

Not a Black Vulture

Last Saturday I ventured down to Point Pelee and area.  Nothing of note in the park, but lots to look at at the Hillman shorebird cell.  No European ducks yet!

I sat at Wheatley Harbour for a while.  Loons have been arriving.  I saw three Red-throated and three Common.  Lots of gulls too.

A few days ago, I went out to Mitchell's Bay, home of the legendary Red Fisher.  Who remembers this famous outdoorsman from the United States who had a summer place at the Bay?

Cover of his book

I recall watching his TV shows The Red Fisher Show (later The Great Outdoors) where he described fishing trips to the north with legendary hockey, baseball, football players, as well as astronauts such as Jim Lovell and Donn Eisele.

Red retired to the Chatham area and died in 2006.

Anyway, there was a feast of waterfowl to look at off the south shore trail.  I spent over an hour scoping the birds.

Looking towards Ticky Tacky Point

Ruddy ducks were rather numerous, numbering close to 4000. Still lots of Canvasback out there, and scaup were in the hundreds.

I saw the first Great Egrets of the year.  Three were in sight.  They seem to come earlier and earlier each year.  This is the earliest I have seen one I think (March 22).

I have mainly been visiting places locally of late, but there is yet little to see.

Today, I was due for a long walk, so headed out Rondeau's marsh trail to Long Pond.  This park seems to be the closest place to home to go for a LONG walk in "nature".

Once again, waterfowl was the most intriguing thing.  While other birders searched different locations, still no Eurasian Wigeon to be found!  I am sure one will reveal itself soon.

The walk to Long Pond is a 10 km round trip and always has potential, especially in the month of May.  Looking forward to May this year!

Some good sparrows have been found such as Harris's, Henslow's, and including the Lark Sparrow I came across last year.

Meadowlarks are out there there this time of year as they move north.  I came across two today.  One of these days, I hope to get a Western!

Some of today's scenes....

View of the north end of Long Pond today

View from the trail to Long Pond

Dickcissel Flu

This morning I skipped out of work to look for birds.  The main event was a tour of the Sarnia solar site that was led by Larry Cornelis.  Larry was hired to do bird surveys on the solar farm and Enbridge has generously allowed birding tours the last couple of years.  Twenty-eight local naturalists joined in.

I started out early and stopped at Stewart Wetland west of Wallaceburg.  Shorebird habitat is excellent right now and fall migrants should be showing up soon (oh no!).  The last couple of days have revealed quite a few Killdeer, as well as a couple of Semipalmated Plovers and a Semipalmated Sandpiper which I think are just lingering spring migrants.

Also, there have been an exceptional number of Great Egrets lately.  Today there were eight, but I have had up to 11 some mornings.

One of these days, I hope there is a Snowy Egret or something rarer.

I zig-zagged towards Sarnia and checked on some Dickcissel sites.  The old Sombra dump had one singing male, while a few were on Stanley Line west of Kimball Road (Avonry).
Along Telfer Road, I found a male singing roadside.

At the solar farm, we found lots of grassland birds in the natural areas among 1.6 million solar panels. (yes that number is right!).
Early on we saw a Yellow-billed Cuckoo which Larry said was new for his list.
We eventually found a Grasshopper Sparrow, one of several during the morning.

At one area, we found two Clay-colored Sparrows singing in appropriate habitat.  They have nested here the last few years, which is a novelty in these parts.

We moved to the east side and found up to 4 Clay-colored Sparrows.

We also found several Grasshopper Sparrows which showed nicely.  Some were carrying food, which is an indication of young nearby.

We checked along the fence beside the old Blackwell Landfill, but did not get any Dickcissels this year.  Some were found here earlier in the week, so perhaps they were farther in today.

A quick check at Reid CA on the way to work did not reveal any hairstreaks.  I think they are a bit late this year.  However, Bob and Karen Yukich from Toronto were looking when I arrived.  Oddly, this is the third year in a row I met Bob and Karen there.  The timing seems uncanny!

A decent day.... better than working!