Prowls and Owls

Wednesday was just not a good day.   Among other things, the weather was just plain dismal--drizzle, fog and and rather dark.  I went on a prowl up Sarnia way, but could not come up with anything new.  I did see the long-staying Harlequin Duck and King Eider at the lakewatch spot near the water plant on the mouth of Lake Huron.

Some people have mis-labeled this spot! The strip of shoreline is part of Sarnia, not Point Edward.  As well, it is the mouth of Lake Huron, not the mouth of the St. Clair River.  The mouth is where the body of water spills out!  I guess I am too fussy....lol.

I stopped by Guthrie Park on the way back.  Lots of gulls, but mostly one species.  Lighting was horrible and one could not see any distance.

Today was dismal as well, but fairly clear and no wind.  I decided to check out St. Clair NWA in anticipation of the CBC on Saturday.  Too bad today was not the count, as the weather will leave a lot to be desired on Saturday!

As soon as I got out of the car, a Yellow-rumped Warbler greeted me.  A bit of a surprise there!

I doubt I have ever seen the place so open with no ice at all for this time of year.  It was packed with waterfowl!

A mass of ducks came in at one point, mostly Mallards and Blacks, but lighting was horrible so they were more silhouettes than anything.

From the tower I could see lots of Ring-necked Ducks.  I put down 135 on my list, but I know there were much more than that since I could not see everything.

Along the walk, I came up with a total of 14 Marsh Wrens.  I guess that is to be expected there especially with this mild weather so far.  They were too difficult to photograph since there is too much phragmites.

I then moved on to Lighthouse Cove.  We need ice there to concentrate things and attract gulls, as it can be a hopping place!  Not too many gulls today.

In view were 20 Double-crested Cormorants, somewhat expected there given the unseasonable weather.  They were really on the C-K side though.

There are always some novelty ducks there!

After some business in Chatham, I swung out Mitchell's Bay way before going home.  Snowy Owls are usually abundant there.  Passing by, I noticed five between Marsh and Mallard Lines along Winter Line.

The south shore trail was extremely quiet, but must be checked, especially after the Sage Thrasher incident!

Just south of Wallaceburg, I came by a couple of co-operative Snowy Owls along Meadowvale Line.  (They were missed on the Wallaceburg CBC, but maybe we can blame that on the crappy weather...again).  One dark, one light!

Adventure on the Marsh Trail

 Yesterday I decided to head down to Rondeau Park to get some exercise and for a change in scenery.  There is no decent place close to home for a vigorous walk, so Rondeau's marsh trail was a good choice!  I was joined by Steve Charbonneau and we walked out to Long Pond.  

It is a good spot to shoot for then turn back; a 10 km round trip!

This 'point' on the trail is where we always went to when conducting Big Days of birding at Rondeau.  Steve, Mac McAlpine and I (and other companions in certain years) had a tradition of doing this walk in May on a given evening for the Big Day.  It is always an interesting walk and you never know what you may encounter.  We could get several species that we usually would not find in other parts of the park.

The entire marsh trail is a linear feature, about a 14 km round trip.  It used to be open to the public for driving to the "half way parking lot", but that was before my time.  Up until a few years ago, it was still drivable for park staff or hunters in the fall months.  But, with the recent high water and erosion, it is not possible any more.  The first section of the trail has eroded away and it is even difficult to walk.  Once you are past this, it is fairly easy walking on the old road.

Any time of year can be interesting.

Early spring is a good time for ducks, especially in late March.

Summer is nice for butterflies.  The sedge skippers can be found in abundance.  One can find Mulberry-Wing, for example.

The marsh tower is long gone. It was really built too far out, and the unforseen high water and erosion took its toll on the structure in later years.

Our walk yesterday was quite nice with virtually no wind, but of course under the usual cloudy skies.  At Long Pond, a pair of Sandhill Cranes was standing on the ice.  We were looking through phragmites though.

A rare Rondeau Poly-Duck was on Long Pond struggling in the ice.  It should have migrated weeks ago!

We encountered a couple of Marsh Wrens and a Common Yellowthroat closer to the Long Pond trail.  On the way back, we found more birds, including another more Marsh Wrens.

Another Common Yellowthroat was a little more co-operative.

Three Ruby-crowned Kinglets were spotted, each in a different location.

American Tree Sparrows are rather few this winter, but some were noted on the walk.

The walk was enjoyable and one wonders what all is actually out there.  Since we only see a very small portion of the marsh, no doubt there are many more wrens and yellowthroats out there, plus some Virginia Rails I am sure.

Our list for the walk:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S79885008

Today, I did not go far, but kept an eye out for the local blackbird flock.  Around mid afternoon I ventured out to Peers Wetland for a walk.  At first I did not see any blackbirds, but just before I left, I noticed the big flock across the road.  I caught sight of one of the Yellow-headed males.

As noted previously, this flock has been around town for some weeks, but mostly seems to be at the east end.  I live near the east end of town and kept watch late this afternoon for any blackbirds.  Sure enough, they headed southwest to roost around 5:15-5:20.  No doubt the Yellow-headeds were there, but I did not spot them.

Wintery Birding: Point Pelee-Hillman-Wheatley Harbour

Today I planned to go to Point Pelee for perhaps the last time this year.  Luckily, a decent bird has been hanging around since Monday in the form of a Bohemian Waxwing.  Unfortunately, the weather did not co-operate, but then it IS the weekend!  Just like clockwork, the weather went for a crap this morning.  At least later in the afternoon it was nice.
I arrived at the park under steady snow around 08:00 and went straight to the VC.  I headed down Woodland Trail and was joined by Ian Woodfield.  We arrived at the prescribed spot along Redbud Trail and it did not take long to see a flock of waxwings.  I immediately picked out the Bohemian, but they did not stay long in the poor conditions.
It took another half hour before they showed up again, for Jim Burk, affording a better view, but not all that great!

I have seen Bohemians only a couple of times before in Point Pelee.  They are most certainly pretty birds.

While there, a Hermit Thrush made an appearance along with a few Purple Finches, Black-capped chickadees, and a very vocal Carolina Wren.

We all then headed down to the Tip (or what is left of it) to see a few gulls and ducks.  Water is high and with all the wind, there is little beach all along the east side.  It was too crappy to check for a Northern Gannet, which has been just across the lake at Cleveland!

After parting ways, I checked out Shuster Trail and De Laurier for very few birds. 

Scene along Shuster Trail

There were a couple of Yellow-rumped, a Swamp Sparrow, etc.  plus a White-breasted Nuthatch (probably two) along the way.

My next stop was Hillman Marsh.  Along the way I spotted a couple of Sandhill Cranes along Mersea Rd. 19.
At the shorebird cell I was delighted to see 8 Eastern Meadowlarks.  They show up well in the snow!

I had several here a few weeks ago, so I wonder if they are the same birds.

I checked a usual spot for Marsh Wren, and sure enough, it was there!  However, it wanted to hide.

A stop at Wheatley Harbour revealed lots of geese including 28 Snows.

Perhaps these came in yesterday with the movement of geese all over.

Time to slow down a bit (not really) for Christmas!

A Morning at St. Clair NWA

I arrived at St. Clair National Wildlife Area before sunrise this morning.  It turned out to be a beautiful day weather-wise.  Certainly the best since..... I do not know when! (And it was still the weekend!).

The occasion was the CBC in the area, and I was just interested in doing the wildlife area.  I spent five hours there on the main dike and bit along Balmoral Line.  Pete Read and Donald Pye joined me around 09:30 as part of their section in the CBC.

It was quite active first thing in the morning and I am glad I headed out.  Birds were chipping in the marsh and waterfowl by the hundreds flying over and landing in the small bits of open water.

Right off I heard the characteristic chips of a Marsh Wren. In fact there were two not far from the parking lot.

Turns out I came across five of them along the main dike trail!  Marsh Wrens are somewhat expected in these parts during winter, so one wonders how many are really out there.

Conversely, I did not come across a Common Yellowthroat.  They are occasionally found this time of year in these parts.

My main target was to find that Nelson's Sparrow, but it was not to be.  I think it is still around though.  I spent quiet a bit of time in the target area before the other counters arrived.
Along with Donald and Pete, we certainly tried.

A couple of Bald Eagles were around in the early morning.

We did not get decent looks at the ducks and geese until we were over on Balmoral Line.  The lighting was perfect from that vantage point but we were looking through trees on the dike.

We found a good variety of ducks including 3 male Wood, a male American Wigeon, 2 male Northern Pintail, a female Common Goldeneye and 5 Ruddy Ducks among countless Mallards and some Black.

Also present were two American Coots and at least 4 Cackling Geese.

After Pete and Don left I went back to look at the waterfowl and saw a male Green-winged Teal fly in.  Allen Woodliffe was present at that time as well.

On the way home, I made a slight detour to look for the Snowy Owl along Meadowvale Line south of Wallaceburg.  It was there at its usual perch, but just up the road and on the south side was yet another.
One of the better photo ops I had of a Snowy Owl!

Weekend Washout and Sunday Sun

The rain never quit on Saturday, at least for any length of time!  Just like clockwork, the weather went down the tubes for the weekend (Saturday anyway) after a nice week.
I tried to do some birding at Rondeau Park but it was virtually impossible.  There was a brief break in the weather when I went out on Dog Beach to watch hundreds of bonies and Common Terns and other gulls stream by.  Virtually nothing was with them except for an adult Little Gull.

After several hours, mostly in the car, I gave up and went over to Erieau.  Sat in the car again for over 1.5h!  It poured the whole time as I watched gulls and terns.  Nothing of significance was with them except for a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls which is not unusual.
Shorebirds included a Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover and a Spotted Sandpiper.

Late in the day it finally cleared and I went for a walk at Peers Wetland.

I saw more variety there than at Rondeau!  There was a good selection of warblers and 4 species of vireos.

B.T.Green

B. T. Blue-headed Vireo

Sunday dawned much better and I headed back for another try at Rondeau.  There was a good selection of warblers (at least 19 species).  Most were Blackpoll of course.  A Canada Warbler was in the less common category.
A couple of Black-throated Blues...

B.T. Blue

Flycatchers included Yellow-bellied, several Eastern Peewees, Least Flycatcher, Phoebes and a Great-crested.  Getting late for Great-crested.

Lots of Swainson's Thrushes were along Harrison Trail, north.

A check of the start of marsh trail revealed several Fiery Skippers.

Also saw this moth:

Hawaiian Beet Webworm Moth

It is an uncommon immigrant to the north part of its range (southern Canada).

After a lunch at Subway, where I happened to run into Rick Mayos (!), I headed over to Blenheim Lagoons.  It was devoid of shorebirds.  It has not been good for the most part there this year for shorebirds as the water levels are very high.

Butterflies included a large number of Viceroy, a couple checkered skippers and a couple more Fiery Skippers, among other common species.

E.T. Blue

A couple of Marsh Wrens were working the cattails.

Thanks for lunch, Rick!