Wallaceburg CBC December 27, 2017

Sunrise at Stewart Wetland

On this very frigid day, the Wallaceburg CBC was held.  It was probably the coldest day ever for our count (started out at -20C or so) and with lots of snow on the ground.
Much open water had frozen in the last day or so, displacing waterbirds.
I started my route at Stewart Wetland along the Chenal Ecarte (Snye).  Before arriving I drove along the Snye west of Wallaceburg.  Virtually the first birds I recorded was a tight raft of 15 Gadwall (a pretty good number for this count). Others were seen.  Previous high was 18.
There was not much to see at Stewart due to the ice in the river.
Later, I went back along the Snye, and at a dead-end road, I found a pair of Wood Ducks!

Another Wood Duck was seen on Walpole, bringing the day's total to 3, which is a new count high.

There were also 4 Pied-billed Grebes here.

Thirty-two others of these brown little grebes were found along Walpole, bringing the day's count to 36, which smashes the previous high of  22 in 1998.  I knew it was going to be a big count this year!

Woodlot Scene along Payne Road

Also record high was Wild Turkey at 155!

There seemed to be quite a few Sharp-shinned Hawks around.  A couple of my feeder spots were haunted by these creatures, including my own here at home!

Gulls appeared on the river this week. Some decent ones on the count included Glaucous, Iceland, and Lesser Black-backed (2).

Dark-eyed Juncos were quite plentiful during the day, and Song Sparrows were fairly numerous.  I had 7 Song Sparrows at Stewart Wetland just at dusk where I ended my day.

Chenal Ecarte

Geese were moving in large numbers at dusk.  I had a few flocks seen at and near Stewart Wetland, but nothing with them.

A surprise near dusk was the sighting of 2 (probably THE 2 recent) Greater White-fronted Geese north of Sombra by none other than Quinten Wiegersma.  Quinten was not officially on the count, but this sighting represents a new species for the Wallaceburg CBC!

Another new species was a Golden Eagle sighted on Walpole Island.  A number of years ago I had a count week sighting, but finally this one was added to the list.

Green-winged Teal was recorded, which is a very good bird.  It had only been recorded on the count four times before.

Scene at the Bishop Property

One Snowy Owl was in a field south of Wallaceburg.

A weird miss was Winter Wren.  I guess the winter weather sent them packing! So why are they called Winter Wrens?
Also missed was Great Blue Heron.  Usually one is around the Snye or Walpole.

Total species count is at 86 which ties third highest (2007).  Highest was in 2005 with 89 species and the following year was 87.

A good count, all things considered!

Sunset at Stewart Wetland

Sarnia Stops

Today I decided to check out some spots in the Sarnia area.  Come winter, I tend to spend some time up that way.
My first stop was Perch Creek Habitat which is a place to get a decent variety of birds in winter.  It has been rather quiet of late, and today was no exception.  The property is adjacent the old Blackwell Landfill, so you can wander that and also take a look at the massive solar farm. It is good for raptors in winter, and today there were several Rough-legged Hawks, a Red-tailed and a couple of Northern Harriers.

harrier

At dusk you are likely to see Short-eared Owls, as they seem to like solar farms!

Early on, as the light was still rather dull (actually dull all day....oops, it IS the weekend), I encountered a Long-eared Owl beside the trail.  I was careful not to flush it. Unable to get good camera settings due to the lack of light.

There were hardly any birds, where in past years it is good for American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, and some sparrows.

I then moved on to Canatara Park to look at ducks and waterbirds on the lake.  Visibility was not all that great and a cold brisk wind made things difficult.  A decent raft of Redhead (with other ducks mixed in) was off the north end.
This handsome Long-tailed Duck was fairly close.

I did not find the lingering Horned Grebe, reported of late.
Lots of Red-breasted Mergansers are around right now.

I skipped the Point Edward lakewatch spot as I did not see much in that direction from Canatara, then went to the harbour area.  Some Mallards and a couple of lingering Wood Ducks were near the grain elevator. Often there is a Wood Duck here in winter!
I could see a mass of gulls over Sarnia Bay, so I went over the parking lot at the end of London Road.  Unfortunately, most gulls left, but they eventually came back.

There was upwards of 500 Herring, and I picked out a Glaucous and an Iceland among them.

It was bitterly cold there, so I could not stay out long to take a good look.

I then headed downriver and stopped a the south end of the Shell Dock.  There I found a Wood Duck in company with other ducks.

At least 25 Hooded Mergansers were here.  They seem to like the Shell Dock during winter.  You are always guaranteed them at this location.

A mass of gulls was at the mouth of Talfourd Creek, likely feeding on shad. Around 500 Herring were here, but I could not pick out anything else!

There was nothing else of note downriver, so I headed inland along Bickford Line to Moore Wildlife Management Area.  This WMA is a good spot for birds in winter, but the last couple have been terribly quiet for some reason.
I did finally find a group of birds--the usuals.  No Yellow-rumped Warblers though, which usually winter here.

Final stop of the day was at Stewart Wetland.  Unfortunately, it is now frozen over, but the Snye is open.  Here I found the Pied-billed Grebes again.....wait for it......11 of them!  They kept popping up.  There have been a number here all fall, so I think this is mostly a family group that nested nearby.

Christmas Bird Counts start next weekend for most of us, so some good birds will be reported....most likely!

Erieau Birding

Birding at Erieau was on the agenda today, and first stop was McGeachy Pond dike.  Recently, some warblers have been seen along the dike and I was hoping to catch a glimpse of at least one of them.  It was not to be, despite checking the dike carefully two different times!
Some White-throated Sparrows are wintering there (at least 4).

I also checked the Rail Trail (twice!) but just the usual birds were found.  Included was a Marsh Wren, although heard, it remained unseen.

At the pier area of Erieau, there were lots of ducks to be seen.  Included was the Harlequin Duck which was rather distant.
Since it was the weekend, it was doom and gloom weather-wise, so photos not too good. I make no apologies!

LOL!

Gadwall on Ice

Canvasback

A couple of Pied-billed and a Horned Grebe were in the entrance to the marina, as were many American Coots.

Some American Pipits are still around and one flew over while I was at the pier.  Jim Burk also had one on the south beach of Rondeau.

With some time left before heading home, I slid over to Rondeau Park and walked the campground.  Yet again, it was bit quiet, but I did see one Yellow-rumped Warbler among the usuals.  No sapsucker this time!

Some geese and swans were in a field near Shrewsbury.

At home I was looking forward to seeing what was at the feeders since I am never home during the daylight hours.  Just as I was going to settle down, this beast made an appearance.

So much for the rest of the day!

Pipits A-Plenty!

The weather was horrible today, but one must get out.  It was picture-perfect yesterday of course but I did not seen much after getting off work early.

I thought a trip to Point Pelee was in order today.  At least the forecast freezing rain never materialized, but upon my arrival there it started to rain.

Icy Tip Trail

As I drove into the park it was still fairly dark, but birds were getting up off the road as usual.  Some were American Pipits!

The last couple of days, large numbers of American Pipits have been reported especially along Lake Erie.
Today there were simply everywhere.  One could go anywhere and find them as they were in the woods, on trails, roads, beaches, fields, lawns, etc.  Quite a sight to see.

Despite the soggy day, there was a decent SW wind so I stood watch at the Tip.  Three Killdeer were working the beach (and woods!) the whole morning.  I saw up to five plus a dead one.

Not many gulls were moving today, so only the usual four species.  There was a variety of ducks including a couple of Long-tailed.
The large raft of mainly scaup, is still off the east side.
Around two dozen Horned Grebes went by, but only 4 Common Loons.

Lots of Rusty Blackbirds were around today and some were working the beach.

Around mid morning, Kory Renaud and Jeremy Hatt joined me for the watch.  Things got slow after a while so we discarded the scopes in our cars and walked up to Sparrow Field.  It was rather quiet, but lots of pipits were encountered again.

Road Pipit

Shrubs are heavily-laden with ice on the west side making for some interesting scenery.

De Laurier was very quiet (except for pipits) as we made a short walk.

Out in the 'onion field' area dozens of more pipits were seen.  At one point I came across three Ring-necked Pheasants.  Nice to see as they are not seen too often anymore.

At the same location were at least 6 White-crowned Sparrows.




On the way to Wheatley Harbour, I noticed this lone Double-crested Cormorant on the ice.  (There were more comorants at Wheatley).














In the harbour there were lots of Bonaparte's Gulls.  Right away I picked out an adult Little Gull.  It was not a good day for the camera (or operator), so this photo will have to do.

The grebes have departed, but this young Pied-billed was swimming where the Eared Grebe was last week.

"the alien"

I decided to do a short walk into Wheatley PP in case the Green Heron was still visible.  Everything was frozen as expected, and the heron was not at the location it was last week.

Hundreds of Tundra Swans were noted again in the fields of Dover Township on the way home. Some geese too, but I had no ambition to get the scope out!

gull mania at Wheatley

St. Clair River Birds

Sunrise over Running Creek

(no Long-tailed Duck here today!)

Weather was quite pleasant this morning so I checked out the river.  (The sun was even out today!  And no wind first thing!).  I first drove along the Snye and came across a Pied-billed Grebe just south of the Walpole bridge.

The Grebe

 I went onto Walpole Island to see if anything was one the river.  Hardly a duck.  Lots of Mute Swans though!

The Ring-necked Duck was still at Sombra ferry dock along with the usuals.  Not much was seen until I got to Cathcart Park.  This spot is always good in winter. Today lots of Canada Geese were present (over 400) and many Tundra Swans (~50) plus various ducks.  Nothing unusual though.

(two Black Ducks mixed in)

Golden-crowned Kinglets were working the pines in Cathcart as I walked through.  The park has been there a long time--it was once a provincial park in the 1950's!

A nice-sized raft of Redhead was at Courtright. Pretty much a pure flock except for a few Greater Scaup.
I only went to the south end of Sarnia where lots of Long-tailed Ducks were present.

As with every winter, lots of Hooded Mergs at the Shell Oil dock.

I headed back downriver to see if there was anything I missed.  At one point I found a Black Scoter-rare for the river especially this time of year.  A couple of White-winged Scoters were apparently seen yesterday, but I could not find them today.
I stopped at Cathcart park once again to check over the geese.  I finally did find one Cackling Goose.  Two were present there a week ago.

Flurry of Gulls off CF Industries (this place has changed names so many times!)

Lots of roadside birds today, especially on Walpole Island.  Juncos are certainly plentiful this winter.  Here is what we believe to be a female Oregon Junco (tinted view!) at a feeder last Saturday on the Wallaceburg CBC.

The Port Lambton novelty....always there!