Bay Birding and another Limpkin Look

 A couple of days ago, I stopped by the Mitchell's Bay south shore trail.  We have had more winter-like weather recently, and a light coating of snow gave it a more seasonal atmosphere.

There were hardly any birds along the trail, but with the Bay completely ice-free, ducks were quite happy.  The area off the trail was loaded with many ducks.  Most seemed to be Ruddy and Redhead.  Perhaps 1500 Ruddy were there, and who knows what else since I did not have a scope!

I stopped by one of my old workplaces.  The property has a small woodlot and a couple of ponds.  Eastern Screech-owls seem to like the duck boxes this time of year.  I found one creature snoozing after a hard night.

Yesterday, I decided to take another look at the Limpkin at Wheatley Provincial Park.  It has found its niche in a small creek at the edge of the park.  Lighting was a bit dull, but I did get a few photos.

The bird has found an ample supply of snails in this creek, and it looks lively and healthy.  Limpkins specialize in snails and mollusks, so this bird is happy for now.  However, the upcoming cold weather may change things as any open water will freeze.

From what I see, the Limpkin is finding mainly Mystery Snails, non-native species.  During my short visit, the bird found several snails.  It was interesting to watch it in action, as it probed the mud underwater, and came up with a snail!

While in the area, I checked out Wheatley Harbour (lots of gulls) and Hillman Marsh.  Nothing of note though.

I took the scenic route home, and went up to Lighthouse Cove.  I saw four Double-crested Cormorants among other things, but they are often found here in winter.

Around St. Clair NWA, there were lots of geese, but I could find nothing but Canada's!

Today was a different story, with extreme winds and a light dusting of snow.  I did not do much  today, but the feeders were busy with common birds.

At the end of the day, the White-throated Sparrow finally showed up.  I had not seen it in a week or so.

A Southern Bird and Christmas Bird Count Notes

 Yesterday, December 18, was the Point Pelee Christmas Bird Count.  Weather was not very good (what's new?), but as we dedicated birders do, we persevere.  There are always some surprises on these counts, and yesterday was no exception.

While covering Wheatley Provincial Park, Pete Read and Peter Kelly somehow discovered.......wait for it.......a Limpkin!  Certainly on nobody's radar.  But, these things happen.

Local birders rushed to the scene to catch a glimpse of this out-of-place rail-like bird.

Today saw nicer weather, and myself, along with many other birders, went to see the bird.  It was tucked in, so photos are not all that great.

There was a northward movement of Limpkins this year, and a few were seen in Ontario.  Not being a "chaser" of rarities farther away, I thought I would never see one.  But that changed this morning.

This bird will not likely survive, it looked cold and did not move much during my observation.  It certainly does not have the strength to fly back south.  It did move around today though, apparently.

Wheatley Provincial Park has always been a nice birding place, but it has been quite a while since I have been there.  Today, there were other birds, such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, Fox Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes and others.

Included was a hardier type of waterbird.

After getting my Limpkin fill, I headed over to Erieau to check out the marsh trail.  Seven Killdeer are still working the mudflats.

This past Sunday was the Blenheim/Rondeau Christmas Bird Count.  Weather was absolutely horrible, and I am not hesitant to say it was the most disappointing count I personally have ever done.  It was very windy, with rain or drizzle most of the day, and the roar of the waves breaking onshore made things difficult to hear.  Perhaps I got the short end of the stick, as my area was just too exposed, and it was too uncomfortable to do a long lakewatch.

I spent the first hour and a bit doing a lakewatch.  Not too much was moving, but I heard that a little later it was much better for movement.  I did get a couple of Red-throated Loons as a highlight.  Simply put, I did not want to stand there in the wind and rain for a long time!

I walked the south point east trail, and there were practically no birds.  I then walked back in along a slough where I did find a nice pocket of birds at one point.  It was quite a mixed group with robins, a couple of Purple Finches, a couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, chickadees, and a Hermit Thrush, among others.

Random scenes:

I like these walks way back in.  One always can find some birds, and see some interesting scenery.

I usually walk northerly till I hit the old Dillon trail, but I completely overshot it by quite a ways!  It is getting too unrecognizable back there anymore.

Here is a scene later when I walked back the old Dillon for a while.

Note, Prothonotary boxes

The Dillon was actually a drivable road that connected the east side with the west side of south point trail.

The count did exceptionally well considering the weather and quiet year for birds.  Unofficially, 109 species were tallied, but I do not know the final results.  As always, there were some highlights such as the Purple Sandpiper out south beach, a House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, among others.  The Audubon's Warbler was seen as well.  

Ending my day (earlier than usual), I walked the north end of the campground and saw the Audubon's in less than 20 min.!

A few days ago, I had a nice walk at St. Clair NWA.  With the open water, thousands of waterfowl were present. I saw nothing unusual though!

A couple of Marsh Wrens were heard/seen along the dike, but are indeed expected.

Feeder operations have been slow this year.  Just too mild.  This White-throated Sparrow showed up here late yesterday.

Next CBC locally is Wallaceburg on the 27th.  I sure hope the weather is decent....