More Tourin' and a Special Visitor

 I have been taking advantage of the wonderful weather lately.  This past Sunday, I did a big tour, heading to Strathroy first thing.

The lagoons at Strathroy provide a good birding spot.  Black-necked Stilts have returned to nest there once again.  In fact, there are two pairs!  I only saw three birds, assuming one was tending to a nest hidden in the weeds.

They were not close, but I attempted a photo anyway.

It was then back west to check some pastures (what few remain).  More and more disappear each year, which is devastating to grassland birds.  I was really hoping to find Grasshopper Sparrow on this outing, but that did not happen.  One field I always get them is now a wheat field!

Some pastures remain, and attract Upland Sandpipers.

Another location near Glencoe had a couple as well.  This one was a bit agitated right beside the road.  No doubt young were nearby.

Used to be more pastures here even a couple of years ago, but only a couple remain.

It was then on to Skunk's Misery where I stopped by a popular birding spot.  Here we get various warblers and even Acadian Flyatcher.

I heard Prothonotary Warbler singing around a woodland pond, but it never showed.  I think it was my first for Middlesex.

A Cerulean Warbler was singing constantly along the road, in typical fashion high in a tree.

Since I was in the neighbourhood, a stop at Wardsville Woods was mandatory.  As readers of this blog know, it is a hotspot for insects, especially dragonflies.

Common Whitetail

Just before leaving, a dragonfly flew past me that I instantly recognized as a spiketail.  Which one?  Turned out to be a Twin-spotted.

Arrowhead Spiketail also resides here, so maybe next trip I will find one.  I discovered these two species here a number of years ago.

Lots of Midland Clutails were flying.  I had hoped to see the rare Cobra Clubtail, but it was a tad early in the season yet.

Along the trail, I caught sight of a fast-flying skipper.  I knew it had to be a Zabulon, and sure enough it was!

This is the third year in a row I have seen one here.  I discovered it here and am probably the only to have seen them here, as a first for Middlesex.

Monday I did not do too much, but came across my first Common Ringlets of the season.

Tuesday I headed down to Rondeau.  I did not come across anything of note, but you never know until trying.  While there, a friend sent me a note and recording that a Kirtland's Warbler was in their yard.  I had a difficult time believing it!  This was near Brigden.

There was no mention of having visitors, so I took my time, then went home.  I received another note that the warbler was still present and asked if I could see it.  Off I went!

As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear its loud song.

I stayed about an hour taking in this marvel.  As they often are, Kirtland's Warblers are very co-operative once they find a spot.

There are only a handful of records for Lambton, and this was my first for the county, needless to say.  One I have always wanted for Lambton!

I wish more people could have seen it, but it was on private property and was not my call to invite people.

Today, a few of us did a breeding bird survey at a new conservation lands.  Called Bradshaw Conservation Lands, it is a unique piece of property between McCallum and Burman Lines west of Brigden Road.

It was obtained in a partnership between Thames Talbot Land Trust and St. Clair Conservation, but it is a "closed" property meaing no general public access.

There is one exposed area that contains numerous fossils and rocks.  Pretty unique!

June is probably my favourite time of year, so more things to come!

Victoria Day Weekend 2020 Birding Part One

Numbers of birds finally arrived coinciding with the "official" opening of Rondeau Provincial Park.  Dozens of birders descended upon the park, many of which do not often visit Rondeau.  It was nice to see so many familiar faces as we usually do this time of year.

It did not seem like the Victoria Day Weekend, as it is early this year.  As well, there have been few birds until Friday.

I arrived early Friday morning after driving through heavy rain, but oddly enough it stopped just before I arrived!  In fact, the sun was out most of the morning for a beautiful day.  I did not bring the camera after looking at the forecast, but as usual the forecast left something to be desired.
However, it was a great day of birding as we added many first-of-year birds.  Our party did not come across any rarities, but some decent ones were found in the park.  A lucky visitor spotted a flyover Neotropic Cormorant.  A Kentucky Warbler was also reported and not seen or heard again.

We found about 21 species of warblers and other migrants some of which were in high numbers.  Least Flycatchers seemed to have arrived in full force with totals tripping the eBird filter.

Tennesee Warbler

Many added the staple White-winged Dove for their year lists!  Will another female find it this year, as it did two years ago?  If so, will we finally get a confirmed breeding record?  Time will tell.
It has been up to its usual antics.

In early afternoon, the skies clouded over and rain came down, prompting many of us to call it quits for a while at least.

Today, was another story under sunny and warm conditions.  To begin, our party started at maintenance and walked the look down to Bennett and back up Rondeau Road.  We added more FOY's and big numbers of some birds.

While on Bennett, we lucked out just after a pair of Summer Tanagers was spotted.  An attractive young male was accompanied by a female, but remained high in the trees.

Speaking of tanagers, they did not arrive to any degree until yesterday.

Near the end of our loop while we were behind maintenance, we received word that a Kirtland's Warbler was found in the campground by Peter Burke.  As it was not far, we scurried to the location and found the tail-pumping bird foraging on the ground.  I was not on the ball with the camera today, but obtained record shots.

It is the third one I have seen in Rondeau, the first being a self-found bird many years ago.  It is at least the eighth record for Rondeau.

Interestingly, another Kirtland's Warbler was found a bit later down Harrison Trail by John Adams. We met up with John and saw his photo.  Despite many looking for it, it was not relocated.

Golden-winged Warblers were reported in the park both days, but eluded us on our walks.  However, while on Bennett in early afternoon, one was spotted foraging high in a tree.  Finally, we tallied one!

Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were numerous the last two days, with most parties recording some.  For whatever reason, our party could not locate one!  Lots more to come though.

Even several Blackpoll Warblers have been reported, so it is an interesting mix of birds that finally arrived after this spring's horrid weather.  The next couple of days is going into the toilet again, it appears!  Way too much rain forecast, which we do not need at all as so many places are flooded.

Yellow Warblers have finally arrived in their big numbers.  It is always nice to see the first one in April, but by this time, they are found by the dozens.

Locally, the hotspot seems to be Peers Wetland where we have found a good selection and number of warblers.  A couple of Common Gallinules have arrived, and perhaps they will nest there as they did a couple of years ago.

An Incredible Sight at Point Pelee

The last two days I checked out the birds at Point Pelee.  Tuesday morning the weather was crappy as it has been most of the spring, but I picked the right day to go to the birding mecca of Point Pelee.  I did not arrive terribly early, but decided to join the throngs of birders near the visitor centre.  I started on Woodland Trail and noticed a huge number of birds quickly heading north.  Shortly into my walk, I received texts from the B's (J & M) that there were incredible numbers of birds at the north end of the park moving north.

I quickly went to my car and made a beeline to the north end.  I arrived a bit late to miss perhaps thousands of birds, but it was evident a huge number of birds were heading north.  I ended up at Orientation where I met both Mike and Josh Bouman.  It was pouring rain by this time, but the show was beyond belief!  Massive numbers of birds were quickly heading north out of the park.
Around this time, Bob Curry and Glenda Slessor came along and Bob remarked that in his almost 60 years of birding this park, he had never seen anything like it.

The north end of the park is narrow and the incredible fallout of birds were funneled through this stretch on their northward journey.
Perhaps an Ontbirds post by Bill Lamond describes the situation:
http://ontbirds.ca/pipermail/birdalert_ontbirds.ca/Week-of-Mon-20190506/094179.html

Soon we were joined by Ken and Mike Burrell where we stood in awe of the numbers of birds heading north.  Some of the migrants hesitated to be identified, but many remained unidentified.  Most of the warblers were obviously Yellow-rumped (60%).

We then moved to the lookout stand on the beach where birds were moving north at a low altitude, many of which were slow enough to ID.  At one point, Ken shouted out Kirtland's Warbler!  We got on the bird, but I was unable to get a decent photo. We soon lost it to sight, but strangely, it was found a little farther south a while later!

I spent the rest of my time working the edge of the beach down to Northwest Beach, finding many birds.  Due to conditions I could not seem to get decent photos!

Red-breasted nuthatches (and Ruby-crowned Kinglets) were in crazy numbers.

At one point I found a Prairie Warbler.  There were many reports of this bird throughout the park during the day.

I camped at Wheatley Provincial Park for the night.

The two Trumpeter Swans were still in the vicinity of Hillman Marsh.  They have been around so long they are getting rusty!

Next morning I decided to just do the north end again.  No people!  I met up with Josh Bouman and we worked our way south from Orientation.  Due to the brisk east wind, the west side was nice and we even had sun!
We started off with a Northern Mockingbird. (bad photo)

Another Prairie Warbler was working the cedars.

Later, we came across one of the reported Yellow-breasted Chats.  It was in the old northwest beach parking area.

I checked out Sleepy Hollow area before I left, as there was Kirtland's Warbler along the edge of the beach.  I caught up with it.  This is a different bird than the one we saw the day before further north.  There were actually two Kirtland's Warblers on Tuesday in the park.  It is a tad early for them, but not unusual.
Nice to see two of these warblers in 24h!  I now have seen at least seven Kirtland's at Point Pelee over the years.

Still more birding this week, and likely bad weather....

Weekend Birding and Birdathon

The past couple of days have finally seen some decent birding opportunities.  Saturday saw a decent push of migrants, while Sunday was even better.  Friday was a different story.
Frankly, I have never seen such a lack of birds for the date (May 12).  Rondeau Park was dead as a doornail as I put it!  By noon I nearly fell asleep.  There was simply no place to go or nothing to do in the park, so I headed towards Blenheim.  Some migrants found the few woodlots in Chatham-Kent, such as Sinclair's Bush.  I had a nice walk there Friday afternoon, finally adding Great-crested Flycatcher to the annual list.

In the evening I made a long walk out the marsh trail at Rondeau Park.  The wind had died and it was a very nice evening.  Willow Flycatchers had arrived in small numbers, and I heard Least and American Bitterns.  One Virginia Rail made some noise, and the highlight, was a King Rail making some kek kek kek sounds.  Apparently, King Rails were present last breeding season.
Another nice find was an American Tree Sparrow. Usually these are long gone by this date!

Saturday morning dawned cool, but clear.  Steve Charbonneau and I checked out south point trail and it was evident there were some new arrivals.  Yellow-throated Vireos were singing.  The highlight was a female Dickcissel that gave us some trouble ID-ing as it was high in a tree.  Crappy photo not worth showing!
We narrowly missed seeing the Kirtland's Warbler that Josh Bouman found in the campground. In fact, we had just talked to Josh about 15 minutes previous!  We made a valiant effort to refind it, but to no avail.




This weekend I chose to do the Great Canadian Birdathon.  It was a good choice as there really had not been many birds around until Saturday.  The timing was right around 11:20 Saturday morning as I finally got a look at a Hooded Warbler.  I had missed several previous ones and they had not been as plentiful as usual anyway this year.  There were several other warblers around it as well to make the list.
I find it works out better starting around mid-day on a particular day.



Saturday afternoon, the Kirtland's Warbler was refound by Steve Charbonneau and Mac McAlpine at beach access 2.  It is remarkable that it was relocated in a different spot!  I was not far away, so raced to the scene to see the unique warbler. It remained in the shrubbery while I was there, so no stellar photos!

Kirtland's Warblers have made a remarkable comeback in recent years, and several are seen in Ontario each spring.  It has even been taken off the Ontario Review List for southern Ontario.

Saturday evening was the annual big walk out marsh trail along with Mac and Steve.  We have been doing this for over a decade as part of the Big Day.  We did fairly well.
Least Bitterns must be doing well, as we heard a total of 7.  How many are actually out there, we wonder?

Sedge Wrens have been absent the last couple of years, perhaps due to the high water levels.

Sandhill Cranes numbered 9!

One of the weirdest birds out there was the White-winged Dove.  We heard it singing along the forest edge.  For whatever reason, it comes to the marsh at dusk!   It was also noted last year by Reuven Martin at the same location.
The dove is one of the strangest birds I have ever seen, as it has been here three seasons now.  It continues to frequent Lakeshore Road and puts sticks on shiny chimney tops!

Last night was one of the warmest nights so far this May.  I got up early to hear several Whip-poor-wills.
I continued to tally birds, especially in the middle of the park.  A large influx of  songbirds had arrived overnight which was nice to see.  Many warblers, including Tennessee and Blackpoll were singing away.  Tennessee Warblers were all over the place, but were not around previously.
There were lots of tanagers, thrushes and vireos to sort through.

I do not usually carry a camera while doing a Big Day, so no photos.

By 11:20 this morning, I had tallied 125 species within the park.  There were several other species reported that eluded me, but that is how birding goes!

Recent May Birding

It has been an interesting spring with the up and down weather and movements of birds.  Sunday I headed back to Rondeau.  It was a nice day, but slow for finding birds.  Rondeau's rarity, the White-winged Dove was still making its rounds, as it was today, May 11.

A couple of male Hooded Warblers were near the 'pony barn' creating some attraction among birders.

Late day saw quite an effort to find any birds.

Monday dawned nicely with a good influx of new migrants.  Palm Warblers were plentiful, and we found a "Yellow" Palm Warbler on south point trail.  However, it was very early in the morning and lighting was no good for a photo opportunity.  The regular Palms were all over the park.

Sparrow also came in, and a couple of Clay-colored Sparrows were at the start of marsh trail--a usual spot.

A Grasshopper Sparrow was also not far down from the start of the trail.

An obliging Yellow-billed Cuckoo was near the start of the marsh trail as well.  It has no concern of our presence.

After lunch, I headed towards Pelee.  A stop at Wheatley Harbour beach revealed 6 Willets.

I then stopped at Hillman Marsh shorebird cell for a peak, but nothing of note was in.  The "afternoon shift" was just getting off.

First stop within Point Pelee park was just inside the gate where a Kirtland's Warbler was moving along the beach.  It was found earlier by Mike Bouman.

After that, I walked with Mike down to Sanctuary where the trails were littered with Palm Warblers and Common Yellowthroats.  Other warblers and vireos were mixed in to some degree.

Tuesday saw undesirable weather.  Mike and I walked the seasonal trails north of White Pine.  A good variety of warblers was present, among other birds, but numbers were low.

While on my own, I spotted a Golden-winged Warbler just past the south end of Dunes parking lot.  This general area was better than others.  At one point I heard a Prairie Warbler sing, but could not get a look at it high in a Pine.  I also had an Orange-crowned at Dunes.

Scarlet T.

I left around noon due to the rain and lack of birds.

Late in the day it cleared a bit and I checked out Peers Wetland, Wallaceburg.  A good variety of birds was present, including another "Yellow" Palm Warbler.  I usually do not have a camera Peers!

Today, Wednesday started out windy and cloudy, but turned out to be a nice sunny day.  There were certainly some new birds in with a good variety.  I walked with Steve Charbonneau and Keith Burk.

A male Prairie Warbler was a very nice find at one point, but it was very active.  We noted the first Blackpoll Warbler of the season at maintenance.
Early afternoon was surprisingly decent on south point trail.  Our first White-eyed Vireo was along the trail.  This species is becoming more scarce as time goes one it seems.

Along the shoreline, our Red-throated Loon was in close.  Perhaps this bird is not entirely well.  We first saw the bird a week ago.