Some Good Birding For Early January

 Last Friday I ventured down to Point Pelee.  It was was yet another very dark and gloomy day.

The long-staying Townsend's Solitaire was still at De Laurier, but not close enough for good views or photos.  It seemed a bit restless!

On Saturday, it was seen at the north end of west beach parking lot, so it is moving around quite a bit.  It may have worn out the De Laurier spot!

Ducks were not close off the Tip, but several hundred White-winged Scoters were far out.  Difficult to say how many, but I estimated I could see around 400.  The last few years, large numbers have hung around Point Pelee and area.

The Tip was very long.  Certainly the longest I have seen it in many years.

With no ice, many puddle ducks are hanging around.  More than two dozen Northern Shovelers were in Sanctuary Pond.

Trumpeter swans are a regular sight here.

I stopped by Hillman Marsh as well where a young Northern Shrike has been wintering.  It is usually around the boardwalk area, but I found it at the pumphouse beside the shorebird cell.

The gloomy weather continued through Sunday.  I joined the OFO field trip at Windsor, starting at Lakeview Marina Park.  Usually it is an excellent spot to view waterfowl in winter as there is always some open water here.  With no ice, there was no concentration of waterfowl, but we did get a nice variety of birds.  The fog and light snow did not help matters.

It is also a good spot to photograph waterfowl up close in the marina.

Four Wild Turkeys on the island's beach were nice to see there.

This OFO trip also takes in Little River Corridor park nearby.  The adjacent canal and pollution control plant usually attracts birds to the open water.  Wood Duck is almost a guarantee in area.  Not much was there though.

We found a large number of American Robins in the park.  Downy Woodpeckers were numerous as well.

On the last leg of the outing, we walked along the little creek which has extensive tangles.  A number of birds were here, and this is where I spotted a Northern Waterthrush!  It certainly picked a good spot to try and winter during this mild weather.

We lost it to sight for a bit, but then I spotted it again directly in front of me.  I managed some record photos, while most of the group got on it.

It was certainly an unexpected and pleasant find.  As well, it is apparently the first January record for Essex County, at least on eBird.

Northern Waterthrush has often been found late in the province.  My latest was one that Jim Burk and I found at Erieau on December 13, 2009.  I could not get a decent photo of that one though.

That bird stayed another week to be counted on the CBC.

On the way home yesterday, I stopped by St. Clair NWA and drove along Balmoral Line.  There was a plethora of waterfowl, especially geese.  Besides Canada, I saw Cackling, Snow and Greater White-fronted.  I probably missed Ross's!

Speaking of St. Clair NWA, the recent CBC ended up with 88 species.  Very good.  My contributions included the only American Wigeon (3) and Common Yellowthroat.

In other news, the Limpkin was re-found yesterday and is alive and well.  It has found a good supply of snails in a creek at the entrance of Wheatley Provincial Park.  The Limpkin specializes on snails, so perhaps it will do well.

Waterfowl Watching and More

 Friday was sunny but very blustery after the snowstorm so I stuck to main roads.  In the afternoon I parked myself opposite Fawn Island to watch waterfowl.

Some Northern Shovelers had recently arrived and were showing well.

There was nothing else of note, but it was interesting just to watch the waterfowl.

Saturday was still blustery, but I stopped by the Fawn Island area again.

The Redhead X Ring-necked Duck was there, but asleep.

Up to 15 Bald Eagles were in the area.

I ventured up as far a Guthrie Park, but there was not much to see except some eagle action.

Today I needed a change in scenery and headed down to Rondeau Park at dawn.

Not too much of note, but I needed to get a good walk in. 

Walking through the campground, I came across a Brown Thrasher which has been wintering in the area.  I thought I saw two at one point, but was not sure.  It was very skittish and I was not able to get a photo.

A bit later, I came across another Brown Thrasher near maintenance which I considered a different bird.  I had one there earlier in the winter.  It too was not very co-operative!

A few Fox Sparrows were around and I came across only three Yellow-rumped Warblers in the campground.

This afternoon was too nice to sit around so I went back out to Fawn Island area.  The hybrid duck was showing well, but not too close.  It is an attractive duck.

I saw my first chipmunk of the year today!

Along Lake St. Clair

 This morning I stayed fairly close to home and visited Mitchell's Bay and St. Clair NWA.  The weather was finally getting better but the sun struggled to come out first thing in the morning.  Eventually it finally did!  I had almost forgotten what a sunny day was....

I walked the "south shore nature trail" off Angler Line.  Most of the birds were waterfowl, and all the geese were in the adjacent field.  

There were several hundred Canada Geese and one would think something different would be in the group.  Sure enough, I spotted a single Greater White-fronted Goose.

There was a good raft of ducks beyond the edge of the ice on the Bay.  A good scope was needed, but I was too lazy to bring one along.  I could tell that most were Redhead though.

After this walk, I ventured on to the wildlife area.  Lots of  Tundra Swans and Canada Geese were on the move and very few within the area.  I could tell most of the geese were in the field off Balmoral Line.

As many swans were going over  throughout my visit, I was not paying too much attention.  However, at one point I heard a different sound--that of a Trumpeter Swan!  I looked up and within a group of swans there was a larger one. It all happened very quickly, so there was no time for a good photo as it flew off.

I highly doubt this was the same bird I saw on January 1.  

I walked the entire cross dike and back.  On the way back, all the geese got up on the adjacent field for some unknown reason.  It was an impressive sight.  

All I could pick out were the continuing eight Snow Geese.

Six of 'em

Looking to the north, I could see hundreds of ducks in the air, likely most were Mallards.

Within the wildlife area, there were around 30 Northern Shovelers.

I had no Marsh Wrens or Common Yellowthroats on this visit.

On the way home, I went along Heron Line and found four Snowy Owls.  One was fairly close, offering a half decent photo op.

Waterfowl Wanderings

I was due for some birding in Essex County, so that is where I went today!  My first stop was Point Pelee National Park (remember, you can renew your annual pass for a discount this month!).
Just before getting into the park, three Sandhill Cranes caught my eye on concession D. Obviously spring migrants.

As expected, the park was very quiet for birds, as it has been most of the winter.  I walked Shuster, Tilden's and Cactus Trails.  A few White-throated Sparrows were kicking around, but nothing of note.

I wanted to check Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary as well today, so that was the next stop.  Upon arrival, local birder Jeremy L. Hatt was already scanning the geese.  We had a nice chat about various things, and while there, five Ross's Geese appeared for us.

They continuously circled around, unsure of what to do.  Two of them briefly landed, but then they started circling again.  Apparently, they did come back later for other birders to see.

Hybrids have been increasing in recent years, but these seemed good for Ross's.
I had this species on my mind today, especially when four were reported on Rondeau Bay earlier this morning!

Geese

At least 36 Greater White-fronted Geese were there at Miner's as well.

The "white-fronts" are common this time of year anymore.  Hundreds have been reported in the province in the last ten days or so.

Needless to say, a few Cackling Geese were in the mix today. They are expected this time of year also.  They are easier to pick out in flight.  Higher-pitched calls are quite obvious.

Some Common Redpolls have been reported farther west at the intersection of Concession Road 9 and Coulter Sideroad.  This species is rather difficult to find in Essex County even in invasion winters.  I got directions from Jeremy, so I went that way and found the redpolls right away.  No photo attempts.

I headed back towards home via Comber (no blackbirds!) and along the Thames up to St. Clair NWA.  I did see a Great Blue Heron west of Jeannette's Creek, so some are still around.

I walked the dike at the NWA to the tower and observed lots of Tundra Swans, Canada Geese and a handful of ducks.  Also see were two Greater White-fronted Geese and two Snow Geese from the tower.

I decided to head down Balmoral Line later to get a better view.  It was a good choice as I could see more things.  Included were nine Snow Geese in total, an American Coot, a Ruddy Duck and about 18 Northern Shovelers in a tight group.  The shovelers must be spring migrants as that number had not been around since at least New Year's.
No doubt more things were there, but I did not spend too much time looking.

On the way home, a Snowy Owl was perched along Marsh Line.

The Meadowvale Snowy Owl south of Wallaceburg was also showing nicely as I headed out first thing this morning. At least three are regular in the Wallaceburg vicinity this winter.