Upriver Ducks

 There are now thousands of ducks on the St. Clair River, just like it should be!  Today was a stellar day, and I went as far as Guthrie Park, Corunna.

There was not a lot at Corunna (too much ice), but viewing conditions were excellent, save for some Shell steam.

Close in were three Trumpeter Swans.  These are likely the one I have been seeing farther downriver this winter, as I did not find any others today.

There are quite a few Ring-necked Ducks on the river this winter.  Five were in the steamy conditions at the mouth of Talfourd Creek.

Lots of Canvasbacks around currently.

Hooded Pair

Just after arrival, one of the wintering Double-crested Cormorants flew by at close range.

Eventually, I headed back downriver to concentrate observations in certain areas.  The first was off Courtright where thousands of ducks were farther out.  Viewing conditions were superb, and with a scope I was able to scan the masses.  Too far for photos though.

Surprisingly, there was nothing unusual!  However, it was nice to finally spend some time scanning the rafts.

Among the thousands of Redhead, Canvasback, Long-tailed and others, there were five White-winged Scoters.

I looked for hybrid ducks, but could not find any.  None of those Redhead hybrids have been reported yet along the river this winter.  I would guess there are some out there somewhere.

Heading downriver, there were lots of ducks all the way along to the CF Industries outfall.

Some open water at the north end of Cundick Park (Stoke's Point) was another spot to stop and look.  Nothing unusual though.

Wednesday was the last time I was previously out to the river.  Lots of ducks were at and in the vicinity of Willow Park.

South of that beside the brine barge, I briefly stopped and spotted a male Ruddy Duck.  Always seems to be one or two on the river each winter.

There were at least two Trumpeter Swans seen from Cathcart Park.

Thursday, I toured spots north of home and went for some short walks.  It was almost birdless.  In fact, there was not a single bird at Nicholl's Memorial Forest and Wetland at Wilkesport!  Typical this winter.

I walked into Moore WMA, which always used to be a very good spot for birds in winter.  It was almost birdless too!  Just took some scenery shots.

Not much left of the old bridge!

Went for a good walk at Reid C. L. as well.

Distant Sycamore tree

Yesterday, I headed down to Rondeau Park.  More for exercise I guess, since there were few birds.

Scene near the visitor centre

I also walked Bannerstone which had some birds.  Seemed more birdy there than in the park.

Spring will be arriving soon, and the temps are getting milder, so change is in the air.

Ducks and Ice in the St. Clair River

 Not too much happening in the last week, as some cold weather has set in.  

On Thursday, I took a long drive to eastern Lambton County and down into SW Middlesex to see what was around in the countryside.  Well.....very few birds!  Roads were not in the best of shape, but I was tired of waiting for the right day.

One of the target birds to find was a Golden Eagle, and I did so along McCready Road.  It was a bit distant and in dull light, so no photo.

Along Oilfield Road just into Middlesex, I found a nice mixed group of birds roadside.  Included was a Common Raven.

Every road I drove had some Dark-eyed Juncos.  They seem to be rather numerous this winter.

Virtually no hawks this winter.  Shrikes are obviously scarce too.  Saw none of those!

I headed towards Skunk's Misery and drove along Centreville and Trillium.  Another Common Raven was encountered, justifying how regular they are now getting.

It started to snow, so I thought I better head home.  The wind really picked up and it was quite nasty driving home along Lambton Line.

Things are iced in along the St. Clair River.  Last Wednesday I went out briefly, and stopped at Stoke's Point north of Sombra.  This was a small patch of open water where lots of Redhead were congregating. Unfortunately, an eagle flushed everything before I had a good look.

Then I noticed hundreds of ducks (mainly Redhead, but some Canvasback too) heading north, more towards the Michigan side.  Perhaps these were some iced out of Lake St. Clair.

Saturday was bitterly cold but sunny, so I drove out to the St. Clair River.  The river was virtually full of ice up to Stag Island, so very little to see in the way of waterfowl.  Some was at OC Industries though taking advantage of the warm water.

Guthrie Park, Corunna was the place to be, as it often is during winter.  I stayed over 1.5h looking at ducks, but nothing unusual.  I am sure BAGO is somewhere out there. I stayed in the car the whole time!

Ducks with Long Tails

It was rather steamy because of the cold air and warm water, so photos not the best.

Once again, gulls were essentially absent.  I saw a grand total of three Herring Gulls!  Later in the day is usually better though.

At home, nothing new (recurring theme this winter!).  The Fox Sparrow is quite regular now, being the only highlight.

January 26

January 24

In the history department, yesterday there was a photo on Boatnerd of the crane ship W. C. Richardson.  I remember this one when I was quite young while out in the boat off Port Lambton.  I often had a camera.

It was launched January 25, 1908.

A neat little ship!

Mid-February Frolicks

 Been doing some touring around not far from home lately.  Friday, I needed a long walk so I went down to Rondeau Park.  Strong NE winds were a-blowin so that limited places to walk.  I wanted to get out marsh trail (the most interesting walk in the park at present), but this time of year when there is snow, we get large drifts along that side.  That was out of the question for a good walk!

I opted to park at the VC and walk down Harrison then onto south point trail to the washout, and back.  It was actually not bad for wind, and the temp was only -4C.

Very few birds as expected, but the walk was needed.  Quite a few Hermit Thrushes are around this winter.  I saw a couple on my walk.

Afterwards, I toured around and seeked out a couple of wintering shorebirds.  A Killdeer was looking out of place on Rose Beach Line.  In a mild winter, we might get some returning around this time, but this individual stayed the winter.

I noticed lots of Snow Buntings, Horned Larks and some Lapland Longspurs in my travels this day.

longspur

The Wilson's Snipe(s) finally made an appearance along Stefina Line near Blenheim in the last week.  They are here every winter in this never-frozen creek.  I only spotted one on my stop.

A number of Virginia Rails have been found this winter in various locations.  Perhaps due to the mild start to the winter, they decided to stay.  I would think they regret their decision now!  One was found in Shrewsbury recently.  I was not able to get a photo, and did not linger to try for one.

Saturday I decided to check out the St. Clair River.  There is a lot of ice now, but some open spots are attracting ducks.  Thousands of ducks have finally arrived on the river, but no rarities....yet!  The bulk are Redhead, but good numbers of Canvasback have come in.

There is some open water just along the shoreline from OC Industries downstream to almost Sombra.  The warm water outflow no doubt has some bearing on this.  I could see ducks all along this stretch, but most of it is inaccessible to the public.

Lots of Bald Eagles are now along the river.  Many were frozen out of their inland stations, so they moved to the St. Clair River.

I checked out Corunna at the popular Guthrie Park.  Gulls have thinned out to some extent here, but there are lots of ducks to look at.  Common Goldeneye have finally arrived numbering a few hundred.  There must be a Barrow's in there somewhere!

Today, I went back out to the river.  The skies were clear for a nice sunny day making for excellent viewing early morning.

Gulls were not that numerous today.

Glaucous Gull

I tried to find something of interest in all the ducks.  The only notable was a Black Scoter which few by me at one point, so no chance for a photo!

A good assortment of ducks was out there.

At home, I had a decent day of feeder activity.  With all the accipiters around this winter, feeders have been on the dead side.  Blackbirds are still roaming around the town, but I have not seen the Yellow-headed for some time.

Pine Siskin

Looks like some significant snow tomorrow, not that we need it.  But who knows with the weather anymore.....