Looking For Wintering Birds

Friday was one of the nicer days of this month with clear skies and warmer temps.  I took advantage of that in the afternoon and went for a long drive.  However, there were not many birds to see!  My main objective was to see a Golden Eagle at the east edge of Lambton County.

I went to the usual area west of Watterworth Road and did quite a bit of driving.  It took a while, but I did finally see a Golden Eagle on Mosside Line.  I had good views, but was unable to get a photo due to the trees in the way.  Here is a photo from the past of a similarly-aged bird, on a similar day.

There are seemingly lots of wintering Golden Eagles, but they are hit and miss.  Sometimes one can see several right away, but other times it takes forever to see one, if at all.

I then headed towards Sarnia, as I wanted to see some Short-eared Owls in the evening.  Along the way, I got word that the roaming Ross's Goose was seen at the Bluewater Bridges.  That would certainly be a bonus if I could see that one!

Heading towards Sarnia, I did see a Common Raven, an increasingly common species in Lambton.

Upon arrival at the Bluewater Bridges, there was a mass of Canada Geese on the lawns.  It took a while to spot the tiny white goose.

I had difficulty getting a clear view with all the Canada's moving about!

This goose is widely-travelled!  We would assume it was the one first seen up Port Franks way, then Bright's Grove, then the Blackwell Landfill area.  It was still present at the mouth of Lake Huron this morning.

After grabbing a bite to eat, I headed towards the solar farm area.  It is well-known that we get Short-eared Owls here every winter.  

It was extremely windy that evening, so I think some owls were kept down.  I saw probably four, one of which perched on a solar panel for the whole time.

While there, lots of Canada Geese were flying about.  In fact, coming down Blackwell Road, I saw a flock of close to 500 heading in a westerly direction.  Many were flying over, or nearby while I was along Blackwell Road.

To my surprise, a little white goose was obvious in the distance.  Seems that little Ross's Goose spends the night in this area!

Saturday, I spent some of the morning along the St. Clair River.  We finally have a good number of ducks, especially Redhead.  Nothing like the "old days", but they were in the thousands.  Lots of Canvasbacks too, although most of those spend the winter on the Detroit River.

I did scope through some of the rafts, but did not find anything of note.

There was nothing special that I could see along the river, but four Trumpeter Swans have been hanging around south of Seager Park.

Today, I went back out to the river for lack of anything else to do.  Most Redhead were at Sombra.  

I did not spend much time scanning the big raft, so hopefully I did not miss anything cool.

There were lots of ducks all along the river up to Corunna, but I did not spend much time looking closely.  We are certainly due for a Tufted Duck along the river!  Last one I saw on the river was at Sombra in the winter of 1994.  Good grief, that was a long time ago!

I did however, find a Red-necked Grebe at Willow Park.

Possibly the same one I found at Cathcart Park a couple of days ago, but I suspect there is more than one on the river.  This species is always rare in area at any time, but good to see in mid January.

The four Trumpeter Swans were still at the mouth of Bowen Creek south of Seager Park.

Inland, it was virtually birdless.  I walked Nicholl's at Wilkesport and did not find a single bird!  This is certainly a first!

Sunset along Blackwell Road

River Runs and Other Findings

 I have not gone far lately, spending quite a bit of time along the St. Clair River and other places locally.  With more seasonal weather (for a change!), there has been more waterfowl on the St. Clair River.

Monday I found quite a few swans at the head of Fawn Island.  Most were Mutes unfortunately, but there were some Tundras.  One stood out though as a Trumpeter Swan, which has been increasingly more regular on the river.  It was still present today!

Long-tailed Ducks are the more common ducks along the river anymore.  I recall when it was a big deal to see one on the river!

And, a fair number of Common Goldeneye.

Afterwards, I drove some backroads and went for a short walk at Reid CA.  An immature Northern Shrike was along the road.  As usual, I was not in a position to get a decent photo.

Evidence of Pileated Woodpecker at Reid CA

Tuesday, I headed down Rondeau way for lack of any other idea.  It was too cold to do much walking, so it was mostly driving.  There was not much around, and some snow falling did not help.

Along Stefina Line, I saw the two Eastern Meadowlarks again, but as usual, they did refused to co-operate for any photo attempts.  I see them ahead, but then they fly behind me!

whatever!

Wednesday, it out the St. Clair River again.  It was clear when I headed out, and that old moon was shining bright.

There were even more swans at Fawn Island.  At least were 70 were Mutes unfortunately, but most were sleeping.  The Trumpeter was no doubt there, but I could not tell for sure with the sleeping swans.

Later in the afternoon, a Cooper's Hawk visited the backyard.  Hope it was hunting House Sparrows!

This photo I took very quickly through window glass, but it turned out quite well.

Today, it back out the river once again.  We had some snow and it was windy, so I did not want to venture far.

I stopped by Port Lambton first thing.  I noticed quite a few Redhead on the move or swimming.  No doubt the winter weather has put them into the river (the way we used to have it!).  Some Canvasback were amongst them as well.

A stope at Cathcart Park was worthwhile.  It seems to be one of the better spots of late.  I noticed a Glaucous Gull flying around, so I got out to get closer.

There have been very few white-winged gulls this year.

While scanning, I picked up on a Red-necked Grebe!  This species is quite rare at any time around here, let along this time of year.  It was a bit distant, but discernable by photo.

As luck would have it, a couple of seasoned Sarnia birders were only five minutes away.  They eventually got on the grebe.

I continued on up to Corunna.  Hundreds of Long-tailed Ducks at Mooretown as usual, but not much else.  There have not been many gulls along the river yet this winter.  I miss the days of hundreds of gulls!  It may happen yet.  Most are at Sarnia Bay it seems.

Later on and during one walk, I came across a cute little creature.  I came upon it suddenly, so maybe it was surprised to see me.

There was not much else the rest of my outing.  I drove back roads on the way home and barely saw a bird!  Stopped by Moore WMA and never saw a bird.  Usually this place is good in winter.  Goes to show how quiet things are this winter.

Debris Pile!

Late April Sightings: Shorebirds, Grebes and other Things

Migrant birds have been trickling in the last few days.  The weather (yes it is a hot topic!) has not been ideal with torrential rains all over the province.  Wallaceburg received an insane amount of rain early Friday morning and things were flooded and overflowing.  Farmer's fields were turned into hundreds of small lakes, and places like Peers Wetland were flooded to the point the trails was inaccessible.

Friday morning I found an early Least Sandpiper at Stewart Wetland.  The water levels had finally been drawn down creating excellent shorebird habitat.  However, after the ridiculous amount of rain, more pumping will be needed!

At my usual morning station in Port Lambton, I spotted a Red-necked Grebe on the St. Clair River.  Too far for a photo though.  They are quite rare in these parts!


Saturday morning I headed down to Rondeau quite early.  I got there in time to hear my first Whip-poor-will of the year.  Things were very quiet in the park for birds today though.
I braved south point trail (very similar to last year with the flooding).  Solitary Sandpipers love it though.

I spent quite some time checking all the usual areas in the park and only came up with about ten Yellow-rumped Warblers, and FOY's of Northern Waterthrush (2) and Black-throated Green Warbler (1).
The Clay-colored Sparrow from last week was still around, hanging out with a multitude of chippies.

An early Gray Catbird was beside maintenance, likely the first of the spring.

After wearing out the park, I decided to head out, but that was when Jim Burk found an Eared Grebe at Erieau.  Next stop!  We had not seen one since 2017 in the area, so it was a nice treat.  It was rather distant for my camera though.

Also at the pier was a young Glaucous Gull.

While there, eleven Willets came in to bump up the year list.  They blended in well with the rocks they were perched on!

I had heard that some American Avocets were at Hillman, so I just had to head that way.  Upon arrival, I counted 24 of the beauties.

Apparently numbers varied thoughout the day, and some were seen just outside the park.  Even a Stilt Sandpiper was along Road E from what I heard.  They are rare in spring migration.
The Marbled Godwits of the previous day were long gone.....as usual.

I met some friends while there who were also taking advantage of the birds present.

Things can only get better from here (hopefully the weather as well!).

Point Pelee Birding November 8

I was sucked down to Point Pelee today by the strong SW winds!  It was prime for a good Tip Watch as several familiar faces stood vigil.  A strong movement of birds today kept us busy.

A large number of Horned Grebes was seen again moving today.  Probably around 100, but who was counting?  I have to say that I have seen more Horned Grebes this fall than any other, or so it seems.

Red-necked is there!

At least one Red-necked Grebe was in the bunch, quite obvious by its larger size.  Also  at one point, a duskier grebe went by that was assumed to be an Eared.
Bonaparte's Gulls were not in huge numbers, but maybe more were at Wheatley Harbour, as I saw later!

Shorebirds were few with only two Sanderlings but a more desirable one was observed.  Jeremy Hatt called out "shorebird" which turned out to be a Purple.  It was a bit too distant to get a photo, but it was moving quickly south as well.

Three Red-throated Loons were seen during the course of the morning, with one flying at close range overhead.  (There will be a Pacific on Sunday, lol!).
Lots of Common Loons today.

Common Loon

There was a good assortment of ducks.  Red-breasted Mergansers were plentiful.  We had a total of 11 Long-tailed Ducks which is a fairly decent number for Point Pelee on one watch.

Along with Josh Vandermeulen and Jeremy Hatt, I stayed until after noon.  At least one half-decent gull showed in the form of an adult Little Gull.

They are nice-looking birds!

Afterwards, I checked around De Laurier a bit, but soon after my arrival there, I spotted a Vesper Sparrow at the weather station.  It perched briefly on a small tree, but another shrub was in front of me, so I was unable to focus the camera on it.  I did initially get a good look through the binos.
A couple of Purple Finches, White-throated Sparrows, Fox Sparrows and a Northern Flicker were around there as well.

Over to Wheatley....

This is a good time of year to check out gulls at Wheatley Harbour, so that was my next stop.  There were a lot to sort through, but I did not see anything in the rarity department.  There was another Paul Pratt sighting though!
Kevin McLaughlin was looking around as well.  I thought for sure a Franklin's would be there. (Kevin had 2 different ones this past week).

I did spot this 'unusual' Bonaparte's with a complete hood!

There were quite a few Horned Grebes in the harbour as well as out on the lake.  I searched for a long time to find the recent Eared Grebe. I gave up on the west side of the channel and went over to the east side.

After a while I finally found the Eared in the channel!  It was alongside a Horned for direct comparison.

Next stop was Tilbury Lagoons and not surprisingly, I could not find the Cattle Egret!  Everyone else seems to get it.  Would not be a year bird though since I found the one outside Wallaceburg last May.
A quick check of Lighthouse Cove was a waste of time unless you like large groups of people fishing.

Just before Jeannette's Creek, I came across a massive flock of blackbirds.  I really do not know how many were milling about, but perhaps 30,000.  I knew it was worthwhile to check for Yellow-headed, and soon enough, I found one as seen in this 'record' photo. (It was some distance away).

I have no doubt there was more than one in there, but I could not look at everything.  The flock was 99% Red-winged, but there were some Brown-headed Cowbirds as well.

It was a tiring, but decent day of birding!

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April's Final Weekend Birding

Birds are trickling in, but numbers are certainly down from what we have been used to the last few years for this time of year.
Saturday I went to Rondeau.  For some reason, birds are not showing up at Rondeau to any degree!  One was hard-pressed to find a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I did a lot of walking on Saturday, so at least I got some exercise!
I started at Tulip Tree Trail, where I heard and saw an early Wood Thrush.  I also heard some sharp chip notes characteristic of a waterthrush, but that is as far as it went.  It stopped and I never saw the bird.
On south point trail, Steve and I saw a couple of Nashville Warblers, and a few Yellow-rumped.  On the lake, Steve spotted a Red-necked Grebe not far offshore--an excellent bird for this time of year.  They are quite rare at Rondeau to begin with.

grebe record shot

The lake was quite active all morning, but nothing else unusual was seen.

Over at Blenheim lagoons, the Eared Grebe was still present.  It is not one to come close, so photos are poor.

It was extremely windy and difficult to stand up straight there!  The shorebirds were hunkered down in the sprinkler cells along the northerly edge.  There were still lots of Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpipers, a few Lesser Yellowlegs and a single Least Sandpiper.

Can you see the Dunlin?

There were lots of swallows present, so I decided to see if I could pick out all species.  I got all five plus Purple Martin.  No violent-green as Kevin would say.

I also checked out Erieau.  Some Pied-billed Grebes were in McGeachy, and some Horned on the lake, so it was a four grebe day!  It was too much to ask for a Western.

There is still some snow along the north-face of the dike.  Evidence of the harsh winter was there with most of the shrubs and small trees broken and crushed due to the weight of the snow.

Both Sora and Virginia Rails were calling along the Marsh (aka R/R track trail).

Today I went to Pelee since there was no sense in getting more depressed at Rondeau!  It was a good choice as there were birds to look at.  Still very slow for this time of year, but apparently it was pretty good based on the some of the previous days.
I went to the Tip first thing.  An immature Glaucous Gull was floating off the Tip. Some Common Loons were flying overhead among ducks and gulls.

The Tip area, Loop Woods and north of Sparrow Field were the busiest.  A whopping 8 species of warblers were seen or heard today in that area.  The Hooded Warbler was heard again and Barb Wire's group had a Cerulean Warbler.
There were quite a few Palm Warblers including the "yellow" version again.  Some Black-and-White and Black-throated Green were nice to see for my firsts of the year.

At one point, Steve Pike and Chris Law announced a Fish Crow.  There was skepticism, but eventually the subject bird made an appearance heading south along the west side while we were south of the solar panel. We all had good views of the bird.  It headed well out over the lake towards Pelee Island, but turned back and headed into the park.  It was briefly seen again.  Many got to see it, and the characteristics certainly pointed towards Fish Crow.  However, it never vocalized.
Here is my attempt to get a photo (LOL!):

The bird was moving fast and I never got focused on it quick enough.

The Yellow-throated Warbler is still hanging around, but very elusive.  It has been reported everyday, but still remains hypothetical in the books of Ron Tozer and Mike Nelson.

I walked down west beach trail later in the morning.  It was nice and warm there.  Just a Red Admiral or two.  (Tom Preney said they saw a Buckeye today, which is weird since it would be a record early for Ontario by a longshot).  Lots of ducks were in close on the lake including dozens of Surf Scoters.

A good number of warblers were still along the road by Sparrow Field and a bit north.

One of several Pine Warblers today

"zee zee zoo zee"

After lunch I checked out Hillman Marsh and noted the two remaining Marbled Godwits.

Another one of those 'record' shots

At 'least' one Least Sandpiper was present with many Dunlin and a crappy-looking Black-bellied Plover. Habitat is good there and no doubt some Avocets will show up this week, among other things.

Lesser Yellowlegs