Extended Tour September 6

 I had nothing special planned today, but went down to do some birding in the Rondeau area.  I started at Keith McLean Conservation Lands.  It was obvious things had moved overnight, as there were not many shorebirds, and most of yesterday's birds had moved on.

In the park it was obvious that there were fewer birds there as well!  I did my usual route starting at south point trail.  There was hardly a warbler on the trail, but Swainson's Thrushes littered the place.

Lots of vireos as well, but no White-eyed today.

Same old birds on the lake and shore.  Even though there continues to be lots of gulls and terns, no rarities or uncommon birds are among them!

The north end along Harrison, especially south of pony barn was much better for warblers.  A good variety there.  

A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was the first I had seen in some time.

Next stop was Blenheim lagoons.  Just before getting there, I received word that a Swallow-tailed Kite was just outside of Point Pelee. I thought perhaps I had no chance of seeing it, so I spent some time at the lagoons.  There was not much in the way of shorebirds or ducks.  Some Redhead were present as well as a Ring-necked Duck.

The Purple Gallinule was still present, being quite elusive.  I did get a brief look at it today.

While there, notices kept coming in that the kite was still being seen.  It appeared that it may stay a while, so I made a beeline for Concession Road C near Point Pelee after leaving Blenheim.  There is no direct route, and of course that permanent detour did not help, but I arrived in good time.

Luckily it was was still soaring around towards the lake.  It was a bit distant, but I saw the very distinctive bird well.

It was an overdue lifer (lol) as I could never catch up with any others and I did not chase after any distant ones.  There was one near Luther Marsh this summer that I could have went for, but I did not.  Been to Luther Marsh a few times in the distant past-- an interesting area.  Even took the road to Damascus once!

While in the area, one had to go and see the Buff-breasted Sandpipers on concession E.  Today there were three!  It was a long walk along the dyke, but certainly worth a look at these uncommon creatures.  They were a bit too distant to photograph though.

This is a traditional spot for them each fall.  Here is what they look like (lol):

The above photo was from a few years ago when I was out in a kayak on Rondeau Bay.

Along ther dyke were some butterflies, including a Fiery Skipper.  The skies were threatening as they often do on weekends, so I did not linger.

Tomorrow could be interesting....somewhere.... with the strong south winds!

Bird of the Week and other Sightings

 This week's Bird of the Week in Chatham-Kent attracted many birders to the Blenheim sewage lagoons.  A Purple Gallinule was discovered by Steve Charbonneau!  It is a juvenile, so the brownish colour is far less attractive than the purple.  However, it is a neat bird!

It is a somewhat secretive bird as it lurks among the phragmites/reeds.  Just look at those feet though!

It is apparently Chatham-Kent's first record, so we all added one to our C-K list this week.  There have been about two dozen records in Ontario.  The nearest one to C-K was at Stoney Point marsh in May-Jun 1984; this bird found by Ron Pittaway.  Stoney Point used to be an excellent place to go for birds, and I recall going there in my early years of birding.  It is all phragmites now.

Solitary Sandpiper

Migrants have been passing through our favourite birding haunts.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Eastern Phoebe with Blue Dasher

Peck's Skipper

The above were taken at Peers Wetland, Wallaceburg.  The place is a mess this year with high water, so one cannot walk too far.  Much of it was impassable this summer and has grown in to the point where it is impossible to walk.

Today I had plans to go to McLean's, Rondeau and Blenheim.  Although rain was forecast today, as usual, we got way more than predicted, so it was mostly a washout.  I spent the first two hours watching the lake at Rose Beach Line to pass the time.  There was quite a bit of activity, but of course no rarities.  Visibility was not the best though.

When the rain stopped, I went into the park and walked south point trail.  A few migrants were seen.  As I got back to the car, the rain started again.  So, more time was spent sitting!

It stopped again so I walked down Harrison to pony barn.  I encountered a nice pocket of migrants along the way that kept me occupied.

As I got back to the car it started raining again, so I headed over to Erieau.  I got a bit of a walk at the rail trail before the rain came down once again.  I then drove around endlessly hoping it would stop.  I actually ended back at Erieau pier for nothing else to do.

By the time I got back up to the lagoon area, it was clearing, so I went for a walk at the lagoons.  I did not see the Purple Gallinule, but did not spend much time looking for it.

Short-billed Dowitcher

Solitary Sandpiper

Semisand

A few butterflies came out with the sun.

Common Buckeye

Some gliders were wandering about.

Wandering Glider

I was on my way out when  I met up with a couple from Mississauga looking for the gallinule.  I left, and not five minutes later they found it!  I was not going back....

Hopefully Saturday will be a better day for weather.  We certainly do not need any more rain!

Weekend Wanderings August 25-26, 2018

As this wacky weather continues, I headed down to Essex County Saturday morning.  I decided to try for the Purple Gallinule at J. R. Park Homestead.  It was a week since it was first discovered and many serious Ontario birders had already gone to see the provincial rarity.  I am never in a hurry to see a rarity unless it is local!
There are not many records for Ontario (around 20), so it is currently the next best bird behind the Reddish Egret.
I arrived about 07:45 and a local birder was already watching for it.  She had seen it a couple of times before, so that was helpful in pin-pointing where the bird might show.
Shortly after, Rob Palin arrived and we stood vigil.
About 09:00, the subject bird finally made an appearance in the thick phragmites. It did not come right out in the open, but good enough to see.

It is the first one I have seen in Ontario, but a few years ago I may have had a glimpse of a juvenile type at Stewart Wetland.  I could not see the bird well at the time, so I had to let it go.

I then headed to Point Pelee Tip as there was a stiff SW wind blowing.  Activity was good at the Tip, but nothing of note showed.

I miss those good days of Tip Watches with Alan Wormington and other friends!

Perhaps my late arrival and the annoyance of  arriving tourists did not help.

Osprey at Tip

I left after an hour as incoming rain (afterall it was the weekend) was imminent.

I sat at Wheatley Harbour for an hour. There were well over 1000 gulls there, but nothing of note.

On the way home, I stopped by Mitchell's Bay south shore trail.  The sun was out by then and quite a few vireos and flycatchers were present.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Warbling Vireo

Question Mark

Today, I headed down to Rondeau. There was a good number of migrants and lots of flycatchers and vireos again.  Several species of warblers were present.
Jim Burk and I checked things out on south point and near maintenance in the uncomfortable muggy atmosphere.

Green Heron of south point

Along the way, we stopped to see the White-winged Doves.  It was the first time I have seen both of them.  They were quietly sitting on a hydro wire.  It looks like the nesting idea and the production of offspring is a lost cause for this year.

Today's checklist:  https://ebird.org/view/checklist?subID=S48082702

On the way out, I stopped at McLean CA.  This is now a popular place!  And a good birding spot. I met a nice Australian couple (Hedley and Irena Earl) who have been going around to all the hotspots and rarities.
The Snowy Egret was out at Rondeau Bay Estates at the time, but some shorebirds were still present, including the long-staying Red Knot.  It is always a treat to see a knot as they have become quite scarce in recent years.  We used to see them regularly out south beach during spring migration.
It finally came in closer today for good views, but my camera was still not the best for it.

Knot and Pec

Common Gallinules, uncommon in Chatham-Kent, have nested here.  Perhaps one day its purple cousin will make an visit.

A check of Blenheim Lagoons revealed nothing of note (where are the Red-necked Phalaropes this year?).  I did not even see the Wilson's Phalaropes today.

Some Common Checkered-Skippers were around the sprinklers.

On to another week as the summer wanes....