River Runs and Other Findings

 I have not gone far lately, spending quite a bit of time along the St. Clair River and other places locally.  With more seasonal weather (for a change!), there has been more waterfowl on the St. Clair River.

Monday I found quite a few swans at the head of Fawn Island.  Most were Mutes unfortunately, but there were some Tundras.  One stood out though as a Trumpeter Swan, which has been increasingly more regular on the river.  It was still present today!

Long-tailed Ducks are the more common ducks along the river anymore.  I recall when it was a big deal to see one on the river!

And, a fair number of Common Goldeneye.

Afterwards, I drove some backroads and went for a short walk at Reid CA.  An immature Northern Shrike was along the road.  As usual, I was not in a position to get a decent photo.

Evidence of Pileated Woodpecker at Reid CA

Tuesday, I headed down Rondeau way for lack of any other idea.  It was too cold to do much walking, so it was mostly driving.  There was not much around, and some snow falling did not help.

Along Stefina Line, I saw the two Eastern Meadowlarks again, but as usual, they did refused to co-operate for any photo attempts.  I see them ahead, but then they fly behind me!

whatever!

Wednesday, it out the St. Clair River again.  It was clear when I headed out, and that old moon was shining bright.

There were even more swans at Fawn Island.  At least were 70 were Mutes unfortunately, but most were sleeping.  The Trumpeter was no doubt there, but I could not tell for sure with the sleeping swans.

Later in the afternoon, a Cooper's Hawk visited the backyard.  Hope it was hunting House Sparrows!

This photo I took very quickly through window glass, but it turned out quite well.

Today, it back out the river once again.  We had some snow and it was windy, so I did not want to venture far.

I stopped by Port Lambton first thing.  I noticed quite a few Redhead on the move or swimming.  No doubt the winter weather has put them into the river (the way we used to have it!).  Some Canvasback were amongst them as well.

A stope at Cathcart Park was worthwhile.  It seems to be one of the better spots of late.  I noticed a Glaucous Gull flying around, so I got out to get closer.

There have been very few white-winged gulls this year.

While scanning, I picked up on a Red-necked Grebe!  This species is quite rare at any time around here, let along this time of year.  It was a bit distant, but discernable by photo.

As luck would have it, a couple of seasoned Sarnia birders were only five minutes away.  They eventually got on the grebe.

I continued on up to Corunna.  Hundreds of Long-tailed Ducks at Mooretown as usual, but not much else.  There have not been many gulls along the river yet this winter.  I miss the days of hundreds of gulls!  It may happen yet.  Most are at Sarnia Bay it seems.

Later on and during one walk, I came across a cute little creature.  I came upon it suddenly, so maybe it was surprised to see me.

There was not much else the rest of my outing.  I drove back roads on the way home and barely saw a bird!  Stopped by Moore WMA and never saw a bird.  Usually this place is good in winter.  Goes to show how quiet things are this winter.

Debris Pile!

Some Recent Fall Birding--Weekend Weather Woes

Not much of note to report as this wacky weather continues.  The rain never ends!

Friday was crisp and clear though, as I started with a lakewatch at Rondeau.  Once again the winds were not ideal, but I looked anyway.

Along south point trail, Yellow-rumped were the dominant warbler, as expected.

Kinglets were quite plentiful.

Sparrows were numerous but nothing in the rare category.

Saturday a change in pace was in order so I went up to north Lambton.  Some finches seem to be on the move in the province, especially crossbills.  So, I was hoping to come across one or two. Redpolls are also working their way south, but have not yet reached our district.

The weather was crappy with heavy cloud and a light sprinkle the whole time.  Was not in the forecast!!

I started at Ausable River Cut CA, which is nice spot to check in the fall.  Only Purple Finches and Pine Siskins were detected there.

Next stop was Ipperwash, where I checked out the MNR parking lot area.  It is a great place in the fall.  Quite a few Pine Siskins were moving south, and at one point, two Red Crossbills flew over.  Yey, at least I got a target bird!  Probably more to come.

No Pine Grosbeaks this year, as Winterberry Holly remains uneaten.

Winds were no good for a Kettle Point lakewatch as I drove through there.

I stopped at Forest Lagoons as well where the weather was really miserable.  Lots of Swamp and Song Sparrows, but nothing of note. Perhaps I would have spent longer if the weather co-operated.

The place was not as productive this year.  The excessive rain made water levels too high later in the summer and early fall.  Yellowlegs were up to their chests in water!

Today was Rondeau and McLean's.  I needed to do something different, so I walked out marsh trail. At least the sun was out, a rare thing anymore. The half way point was far enough for me today.  There were oodles of Swamp and Song Sparrows.  A few juncos as well, but nothing noteworthy.

Warblers included an Orange-crowned and two Nashville as well as a couple of flyover Yellow-rumped.  Overall, it was somewhat quiet.

Turkey Vultures were on the move as I neared the end of my walk, numbering over 200 in the air.

A stop at Keith McLean C. L. was in order before I headed elsewhere.  Lots of sparrows!  I did find four Nelson's in total.

The lost Long-tailed Duck was still swimming aimlessly around.

The afternoon was spent at Skunk's Misery, which is for another time.  Luckily the rain held off for the event.  One never knows what the weather will be ahead of time, as weather forecasts are too far off the mark anymore.  The 100% rain this afternoon was certainly not in the long term forecast!  But, it has to rain every weekend... of course.

Lambton County Today

I checked out the St. Clair River and Sarnia on this pleasant day.  As usual, the weather forecast was wrong.....it was a nice warm sunny day!
There are more open spots on the river now, but it is mostly ice south of Sombra.

Ducks were very spread out, especially in the Courtright area, so it was not possible to look at everything.  Most of the Long-tailed seemed to be off the south end of Courtright where I estimated 2500.
I saw one Hooded Merganser with a fish.  It was being chased by another!

There was not much in the Sarnia area though.  I scanned the far shoreline hoping to pick up the King Eider, but did not find it.

At the Bluewater Bridge, I found one of the Peregrine Falcons on a platform.  It is only allowed to fly up to 50 km/h in this zone.

I went for a short walk at Perch Creek, but it was terribly quiet.
As I drove back roads towards home, there were many Wild Turkeys to be seen.  I had not seen many all winter, but they are out roaming now!

Lots of Horned Larks littered the roads too.

I went for a walk at Moore WMA also, but it too was terribly quiet.  Where are those birds?  There were two Pileated Woodpeckers flying back and forth through the area.

The feisty redpolls stopped by this afternoon once again.  Some of the males had a lot of red on them compared to others I have seen, and, a nice surprise in the form of a Hoary was among them.  I was unable to get a proper photo of it though.  I have only had Hoary once before here-mid April 2009-a very late one indeed!

Wallaceburg CBC December 29

Yesterday was the 27th Wallaceburg Christmas Bird Count.  Despite too much snow, it turned out quite well with 84 species tallied (highest count was 89 in 2005).  No new species found, although there was some question about a couple of swans on the St. Clair River.
Feeders were busy and birds were more concentrated due to the deep snow.

Some species were low in numbers, but some were high!  For example, Red-breasted Nuthatches were coming to feeders and we came up with a total of 9.  One may ask, "is that all"?  This species is always scarce in our area and quite often we miss it.  Previous high was 6 in 2003.
As well, Red-bellied Woodpeckers were popular with 50 found.  Previous high was 40.

Another feeder bird was Chipping Sparrow.
We did well with sparrows as a Savannah Sparrow was found at a roadside scrape (typical), and a couple of Fox Sparrows on Walpole Island.  All the other usual sparrows were seen.
Best sparrow was a Vesper on Walpole Island. We had this once before in 1993.
A meadowlark (presumably Eastern) was recorded along Pretty Road.  We have only had that twice before, the last in 2001!
Blackbirds were almost absent, but two Brewer's were found on Walpole, a usual locale.  We always record Rusty and Red-winged as well as Common Grackle.  Yellow-headed was last seen in 2001.

I checked out my usual assigned area in the south part of the circle with Maris Apse and Josh Bouman.  Our most interesting find was a Long-tailed Duck in a creek!  It was totally unexpected to see it at that particular location.

(photo by Josh Bouman)

Long-tailed has been a good species to get on our count.  It was in count week the very first year, but not tallied until 2008.  It has increased its presence since then and we have seen it every year since except last year where it was CW.  We had a record high this time around.
Ducks were very low in numbers this year, not surprisingly.  Many misses!

 The only and lonely Ring-necked Duck of the count

Some buffies

Two Cacklers of the goose population were on the river this day.

Merlins were seen; there were 2 which is ties the previous high.  To my eyes, this species has increased its winter presence in Ontario the last few years.
No Peregrine, and Kestrels were low in numbers this year.

Also of note, two Red-headed Woodpeckers were found on Walpole Island.  We used to get them quite regularly, but their population has crashed in Ontario.  We last recorded one in 2005.
Pileated Woodpecker was found at the trusty Public Bush location on Walpole.  We never recorded this species until 2003.  With the lack of woodlots (and they are still being chopped down!)  in this part of the province, it is not surprising.
We always do well in Tufted Titmouse with the Walpole Island population.  A few others were recorded inland too.
Chickadees were high in number as expected.

No warblers this year, which seems to be the trend this winter (except Oakville!).

At one point, we watched a couple of mink playing around on the Snye.  Of course muskrats were busy too.

The Weekend

I did get out this weekend of course, but just like clockwork the weather was crappy.  Yesterday I went up to Arkona and Grand Bend area for a change and spent some time looking around with Pete Chapman.  Next Saturday is the Kettle Point Count, so got an idea what is not around!  Since it was pouring rain first thing in the morning, I knew it was Saturday.  We drove around a bit until it let up (never really did stop!) and saw a young Northern Shrike on a wire for a highlight. Later we took a walk into Joany's Woods which is a nice spot. Last week, Pete had a Barred Owl there, unprecedented for this area.  We did not find it and in fact had no owls for the day.  Highlight was a Merlin.  Light was too crappy for photos.
Pete showed me the field where the Variegated Fritillaries set up shop last summer.  They had about 40 on the count in June!  More than a month later, Pete had some fresh ones, so they must have bred there.
We headed up to Grand Bend area and checked out the ducks in the lagoons.  A few Northern Shovelers were present among others.  American Tree Sparrows working the weeds.

Farther north, we went to the spot where Maris Apse reported the Bohemian Waxwings.  None to be found, but we saw a Red Cedar "festooned" with berries!
Checked out Pinery too, but it was dead.  The usual feeder birds were at the VC.  While there we heard a Northern Flicker.

As we headed back to Pete's along various roads, little was seen. We saw a couple of American Kestrels, so we had two falcon species for the day.  Strangely, not a single hawk was seen!
As I was about to leave, a female White-winged Crossbill flew in.  A nice bird for ending the tour!

As I headed home, I saw a small flock of Snow Buntings near Watford, the only ones for the day.  With time left in the day, I decided to go straight to Ridgetown to see the Ross's Geese.  The three were still mixed in with the Canada's.

The Blue-winged Teal was still present, and apparently it was today (Sunday) as well.

Not a Ross's Goose! This bird has been present since summer

Today (Sunday) I birded the Rondeau area.  The park campground had the usual birds, chickadees, nuthatches, creepers and lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets (they are fairly abundant this winter). No warblers, but I know there are Yellow-rumped around. Hopefully a sapsucker will show for the count next Sunday!

Off the Rondeau dock, a good number of Hooded Mergansers was visible (~300), ~70 American Coots, and lots of Wigeon and Gadwall.
I walked Marsh Trail to the tower.  Several Swamp Sparrows were in the reeds.

At Erieau, a few bonies were in the marina.

A nice male Long-tailed Duck has been around, and it co-operated nicely in the dull light today.

A few Double-crested Cormorants were hanging on as well.

The R/R track trail had lots of birds at the start as it was out of the wind.  Five species of sparrow plus Carolina Wren, etc.  No sign of a warbler!  The Chestnut-sided Warbler that Steve found on Friday is quite remarkable.  Ontario's first winter record!

(not at Erieau)

By this time I met up with Steve and Jim and we headed to Craford and Sleepy Hollow.  Along the way, we looked at the juv Red-headed Woodpecker north of Erieau. It has been working hydro poles for a while!
A single Cedar Waxwing and a Hermit Thrush were highlights at Sleepy Hollow.  There is a huge crop of bittersweet around the old McKeough estate grounds.  Frankly, I have never seen so much!  Good for berry-eating birds.
Lots of sparrows present including Fox and White-throated.