Wind Influx!

 Sorry, I could not think of another title, lol.  But we did have some brutal winds this week.  Friday, and into Friday night was crazy with winds.  Gusts up to 80 km/h at least.  We were lucky there was not much damage, but hydro did go out in a few places.

Last Monday, it got quite balmy.  In the morning, I went out to the St. Clair River, but most of the ducks have cleared out (they are elsewhere such as Lake St. Clair and Rondeau Bay!).  So, not much to look at.

During a short walk, I looked at an old Bitternut Hickory tree in Brander Park.  Not in the best of shape.

In the afternoon, it was really warm,  and I went for a walk at Reid Conservation Lands.  I suspected butterflies would be out, namely Eastern Comma and Mourning Cloak.  I only saw one cloak, but likely commas were around.

It was a nice walk and here are some scenes.

Pileated activity!

At one point, which is one in a million chance, I saw this lying on the forest floor.  I assume it is a baby squirrel.

The next day, I went to Rondeau Park for a lakewatch.  It was really active, but nothing of note at dog beach.

Eventually it got really foggy and drizzly outside the park.  I was going to check out Erieau, but I could not see a thing!  It was a bit better inland.

A couple days previous, a Brewer's Blackbird was seen in the picnic area near the park store within a group of blackbirds.  I actually found the same flock (assumingly), and looked for the subject bird.  I am quite certain I saw it, but I did not get really long looks at it.  Being cautious, I left it as blackbird sp.  Not often we see Brewer's at Rondeau, but no doubt some pass through.

Next couple of days were uneventful, but Friday the 13th I went out to the Lake St. Clair area.  It was too windy to get out of the car, but I spent some time at Mitchell's Bay, then drove around the old Dover Township.  Did not go all the way to Port Dover....lol.

There are thousands of Canvasback on the Bay, which is normal for this time of year.

These two Tundra Swans were all alone in one field.

A couple of spots harboured hundreds of puddle ducks.  Northern Pintail seemed to be the most numerous, with hundreds around.  I was hoping to spot a Eurasian Wigeon, but to no avail!

A Sandhill Crane was nearby as well.

Nearer home, I stopped by the Bear Creek Unit of St. Clair NWA.  Not often I go to this neat little place.  Lots of Ring-necked Ducks there.  I finally saw a Pied-billed Grebe for the year.   Usually I see them on the Snye in early winter, but not this year.

Saturday was a nice day, but cold.  And little wind!  For a change in scenery, I went up to Sarnia.  I first walked the Blackwell Trails park, which was once an old landfill.   

Just after I started walking, I spotted a Fox Sparrow, which was certainly an early migrant I would think.

During my over 3 km walk, notable were a couple of Pine Siskins flying overhead.  First for the year, which seemed overdue.  I have had a difficult time finding them in the last fifteen months!  All have been flyovers since then!

Next walk was at Dow Wetlands.  Nothing of note there.  Some meadowlarks were singing already, while a Turkey Vulture soared overhead.

Today I checked out Mitchell's Bay area again.  Unfortunately, it was cold and very windy.  Where does all that wind come from?  I brought my scope out to the south shore nature trail.  Nothing of note, but I could only stand less than an hour there.

I then went to the village waterfront.  Mostly Canvasback seen.  There are well over 15,000 visible on the Bay right now.

Three early Double-crested Cormorants flew by me as well.

While I was there, a Greater White-fronted Goose was reported near Hillman Marsh in Essex County.  I decided to head that way, as there was not anything else to do.

The goose was not in the reported location upon my arrival, so I went into Hillman marsh to look at the shorebird cell.

Just after my arrival, I spotted the subject goose in flight!  Lucky break since it was not seen again.

By this time it was warming up a little and I could find a spot out of the wind to scope the waterfowl.  There were at least a thousand ducks in the east end of the cell.  Most were Mallard, but lots of Gadwall and wigeon and even more Green-winged Teal.

I searched in vain for a Eurasian Wigeon, but struck out again.  While thinking about the Eurasian types, I also looked for Common Teal.  Probably one around, but I could not look at everything!

Other first-of-years included Blue-winged Teal and some early Tree Swallows.

There is a swallow in this photo!

All-in-all it was  decent birding day.

By the way, my wintering Fox Sparrow left on the night of March 6 when we had that warm front come in.  It was nice to have it all winter!

Some Other Birding and Notes

 Predictably, it was all down hill from yesterday!  There was not much around today, but I guess we can be happy with some nice weather.  Oddly, it was a full weekend of sun!

The Sage Thrasher showed well today according to all reports from the many birders that ventured from near and afar to see the bird.  Glad it was around for others to see.

Perhaps this bird has been there for some time.  It hides well in the tangles, and not too many people go birding along that trail.

There have been at least 19 previous records of Sage Thrasher in Ontario.  My 1997 bird was the eighth, which attracted hundreds of birders.

Friday I checked out Rondeau and points west.  As usual this time of year, I started with a lakewatch at dog beach.  Winds have not been all that ideal so far this year, but that is the norm as climate change is upon us.

Highlight was a Short-eared Owl.  Just before I arrived  (I have a longer drive, so that is my excuse), Steve saw one come in off the lake.  It landed not far away.  At one point we went to look for it, and sure enough it was found.

We often see them coming in off the lake during fall migration.  I have seen this at Sarnia as well as Rondeau.

After some birding in the park, I went to McLean's, then the Erieau rail trail.  Nothing much to note.

With the day still young, I went further west, ending up at Hillman Marsh.  Along the way, I made a brief stop at the end of Zion Road. Some loons were visible on the lake.  The road here was moved back some years ago, and this photo shows were the road used to be (vanished into the lake!).

Hillman shorebird cell had the resident Trumpeter Swan pair, and seven Sandhill Cranes.

Shorebirds included some Killdeer and three Dunlin.

Today, I went to Rondeau for lack of any other idea.  Lots of gulls and ducks were off dog beach, but nothing of note.  The park was somewhat dead for birds!

This afternoon I felt like going for a walk in the woods up at Reid CA.  Here are some scenes.

I came across one Mourning Cloak in the Lilly Bush.

Maybe this week we will see some Cave Swallows.  'Tis the season!

Saturday Solace

Saturday afternoon became quite nice so I took another walk through Reid CA.  Not as long as the previous one, but it was something to do.
I could not get out in the morning as it was the annual Ontario Bird Records Committee meeting (via conference call!).  It is certainly something we never had to do before but we got things done.

It seemed so perfect walking through the woods.

I saw my first butterflies of the year (long overdue!).  Multiple Mourning Cloaks were fluttering about, and I saw one Eastern Comma.

At home, a fresh comma came into the garden.

Some forest floor plants are starting to peak through.  Spring Beauties were popping out.

Near the front of the property it is quite 'sedgey' and this is where the Dukes' Skippers call home.  I had never really gone that far back in before, but it is quite extensive.  Maybe this summer I will venture further back!

There are a heck of a lot of Shagbark Hickory trees here when one gets looking, but this this large oak tree seemed out of place in that area. 

This morning was cold and gloomy.  I just drove up along the St. Clair River to Corunna.  There was nothing of note, but one has to at least try!

Reid Remnant

Summer-like Day!

It was a fine day to be out. It felt good to walk around without a coat! I spent the morning at Rondeau Park taking in the sights and sounds. There were not a lot of birds to look at (I expected that), but certainly much more than last week.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sapsuckers, Phoebes and kinglets have come in good numbers. Sparrows were down in numbers though from last week. Even Carolina Wrens made their presence known singing away. There were several in the park this morning. Eastern Towhees were "drinking their tea".
I started on South Point Trail and was greeted with an Eastern Phoebe. In fact they were in several spots of the park.
Near the visitor centre I caught sight of a large Sharp-shinned Hawk carrying a Cardinal. Now there is one less male Cardinal around the V. C.! I could not get very close tough.

Hopefully it will rain significantly later this week. The sloughs are too dry already! Not good for those warbler watching days. Tulip Tree Trail has bit of water and Spicebush/Bennett has a fair bit of water still. But, it will disappear quickly if we do not get rain.

Prothonotary slough

A small Garter Snake was on Spicebush Trail.

I finally saw my first butterflies of the year. First one was a Mourning Cloak on Tulip Tree Trail. An Eastern Comma was along the south edge of Bennett Rd. I later saw two other Mourning Cloaks--one on a mission along the shoreline at the north end of the park. I could not get too close to them though.

Eastern Comma (south side)

Mourning Cloak (in the morning)

I encountered four species of frogs today. Wood, Leopard, Chorus, and Spring Peeper. I found one freshly-dead Wood Frog on the Spicebush Trail.

Wood Frog (deceased)

On the way home, I stopped at Blenheim S. L. but could not find the Wilson's Phalarope. It was last reported March 31 by Irene Woods. The Leopard Frogs were at the lagoons.

Leopard Frog