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.

More Harbingers of Spring and Other Things

 There has not really been much new to report in the last week, so lack of subject matter here.  Migration has been sluggish so far this spring, but it looks like the floodgates will open up in the next few days.

It continues to be very windy every day.  We have had some calm mornings, but as the day progresses, the wind picks up!  Enough already.

Last Friday, I went out Lake St. Clair way on a fairly calm and cloudless morning.  No novelties!

Eastern Phoebe

Saturday I went down to Rondeau Park.  Nothing out of the ordinary to report!

Sunday, I once again went to Rondeau, but took a long walk out the marsh trail on a calm and cloudless morning.  Yet again, nothing new had come in.  It was for exercise I guess!

The Bay was as smooth as glass first thing.

Later, I swung by the Townsend's Solitaire spot, and the western creature was still working the property much to the delight of many birders who had come to see it.

On the 14th, I checked out the nature trail at Mitchell's Bay.  It was fairly birdy, but no rarities!  A couple of freshly-arrived Yellow-rumped Warblers were along the trail though.

There were hundreds of gulls in the fields around the area.  Some too far out to discern, but a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were amongst them.

I continued on and ended up for a long walk at Reid CA.  I was not too successful in finding mussels along the riverbank.  A couple of Mapleleaf were all that I could muster.

Always looking for Harbinger of Spring.....which is fairly plentiful at Reid.

As always here, not many birds.  I did get a newly-arrived Yellow-rumped Warbler though.

Tuesday was a bit of a write-off with the crappy winter-like weather.  High winds again!

Today was much nicer, but I stayed fairly close to home.  I checked out the St. Clair River in case a Pacific Loon was around.  (I was optimistic!).  Of course, no such luck.

Afterwards, I headed inland and went to Moore WMA to look for mussels.  There were quite a few!  All were just dead shells of course, except, I did find one live mussel in the form of a Fragile Papershell. (I put it back in the water!).

Best find was a Kidneyshell (as far as I can tell), a critically imperiled species in Ontario.

Other things included a White Heelsplitter, not to be confused with the rarer Pink Heelsplitter.

And the fairly-regular Deertoe

Most common is Giant Floater (do they float?).

This afternoon warmed up quite nicely, and the wind died a little, so I went for a walk at Reid CA.  Things are picking up, as I found at least three Yellow-rumped Warblers, an encouraging sign of things to come.

A few insects were flying in the cool breeze today.

Eastern Comma

Mourning Cloak

Pink-spotted Lady Beetle

Furcate Dung Fly

Spring plants have struggled, but are slowly emerging.

Large White Trillium

Reid is quite abundant with ginger, and I found a few popping up today.

Looks like warmer weather is on the way, so things will be hoppin' now that Easter is on the way!