Recent Reports And Taking a Lichen to a New Book

 Monday morning I was due for another long walk at Rondeau Park.  I chose the marsh trail and ventured out to Long Pond.

There were lots of ducks as one would expect, but nothing special.  Mallard was most numerous, but there were also lots of Northern Pintail and American Wigeon.  No new arrivals in the songbird department.

Like everyplace else, phragmites is a serious problem, and some places are getting choked out.  Even the Long Pond sign is getting obscured!

A view from Long Pond trail.

A few pairs of Sandhill Cranes are already thinking about the nesting season.

After finishing at Rondeau, I headed over to Erieau to see what was on the Bay.  Thousands of ducks are now littering that body of water, so there had to be something of interest.  The previous day, a male Eurasian Wigeon was found not far off the firehall area.  This species is a regular visitor every spring and fall here.

I first checked out the marsh (rail) trail, bringing my scope along.  There were not many ducks close, but at one point I caught sight of four wigeon in flight.  They were quite distant, but the lead duck was none other than a male Eurasian!  I followed them until they set down quite far away.  I was sure the duck could be found from the viewing area behind the firehall.

I quickly went there and set up the scope.  Soon, several other birders arrived to scope the ducks.  Oddly, after more than a hour, none of us could find the suspect duck!  Viewing conditions were excellent, but obviously the creature can hide well.  It is very early in the season, so there are lots of chances to see this species going forward.

Tuesday, I stayed fairly local, but did not find anything of interest. I noted lots of ducks on Lake St. Clair, but I did not have a scope on hand.  It was a very balmy day!  A good afternoon to do some yard cleanup.

Wednesday morning I went for a walk at Peers wetland.  A scary-looking creature was on the trail.  It was very small though!

A Digger Crayfish was on the prowl.  It probably came out the day before in the very warm weather.  This species is considered vulnerable by the NHIC.  I regularly see many of their mud mounds, but rarely see them.

Wednesday, I headed up along the birdless St. Clair River and ended up at Sarnia.  Quite a few gulls were around Sarnia. I only saw one Glaucous and one Iceland of the white-winged variety.  It was certainly not a winter for white-winged gulls in our area!  Let alone other things.  It was too cold and windy, so birding was by car.

Today was very cold and windy again, so I stayed home for the most part.  Early morning I braved the elements and went for a walk at Reid CA.  I spent some of the time looking at lichens, even though Reid is not a good place for that subject it seems.

I was inspired yesterday when I picked up a new book on Lichens.

It came out last year and was written by Ontario native R. Troy McMullin.  Not that I needed another book, but this one I could not resist!  It is an excellent resource with good photos, range maps, and everything one would want to know about each species.

Looking at lichens is a whole different ball game, but there are so many different types and interesting species.  One really needs a macro lens to photograph them, something I do not have.  However, something else to do while walking through the woods.

Here are a couple from today, followed by some others from the past.

Common Greenshield Lichens

Candleflame Lichens

unknown

pixie cup species

rosette sp.

Common Script Lichens

Speckled Blister Lichens

March madness is about to begin......

As Time Marches On

As Spring rolls in, time seems to be going by as swift as a fox.

  Waterfowl is the most interesting thing of late, but no rarities have crossed my path.

Not even a Black Vulture.

Not a Black Vulture

Last Saturday I ventured down to Point Pelee and area.  Nothing of note in the park, but lots to look at at the Hillman shorebird cell.  No European ducks yet!

I sat at Wheatley Harbour for a while.  Loons have been arriving.  I saw three Red-throated and three Common.  Lots of gulls too.

A few days ago, I went out to Mitchell's Bay, home of the legendary Red Fisher.  Who remembers this famous outdoorsman from the United States who had a summer place at the Bay?

Cover of his book

I recall watching his TV shows The Red Fisher Show (later The Great Outdoors) where he described fishing trips to the north with legendary hockey, baseball, football players, as well as astronauts such as Jim Lovell and Donn Eisele.

Red retired to the Chatham area and died in 2006.

Anyway, there was a feast of waterfowl to look at off the south shore trail.  I spent over an hour scoping the birds.

Looking towards Ticky Tacky Point

Ruddy ducks were rather numerous, numbering close to 4000. Still lots of Canvasback out there, and scaup were in the hundreds.

I saw the first Great Egrets of the year.  Three were in sight.  They seem to come earlier and earlier each year.  This is the earliest I have seen one I think (March 22).

I have mainly been visiting places locally of late, but there is yet little to see.

Today, I was due for a long walk, so headed out Rondeau's marsh trail to Long Pond.  This park seems to be the closest place to home to go for a LONG walk in "nature".

Once again, waterfowl was the most intriguing thing.  While other birders searched different locations, still no Eurasian Wigeon to be found!  I am sure one will reveal itself soon.

The walk to Long Pond is a 10 km round trip and always has potential, especially in the month of May.  Looking forward to May this year!

Some good sparrows have been found such as Harris's, Henslow's, and including the Lark Sparrow I came across last year.

Meadowlarks are out there there this time of year as they move north.  I came across two today.  One of these days, I hope to get a Western!

Some of today's scenes....

View of the north end of Long Pond today

View from the trail to Long Pond

More Long (Pond) Walks and To The Point

 Nothing much of note to talk about lately, as things have been a bit stalled.  Lots of waterfowl moving in though.  Rondeau Bay is loaded with tens of thousands of ducks, but no rarities detected yet.

Last Sunday I had the notion to go for a long walk at Hillman Marsh.  It is getting to be the time for those "European" ducks such as Eurasian Wigeon and European Green-winged Teal.  Last year I found both there!  No such luck on this visit, but it is a bit early yet.

Ring-necked and Redhead were the most numerous ducks.

Along Hillman creek, I noticed lots of mussels.  All seemed to be the same species, namely Fragile Papershell.  A very common species.

A couple more long walks were locally at Reid CA.  One can spend hours there!  Never much in the way of birds here, but other things can keep one interested.

A few days ago, some American Wigeon were flying in circles above the river.

This little brown bird was creeping around at one point.

On one visit I came across a Painted Turtle shell.  Obviously it emerged early, but made the sacrifice of being someone's meal!

Something I have not really  taken a "lichen" to yet is lichens on trees.  There seems to be not much at Reid, but a common species is Script Lichen.

Reid is good for plants and especially a wide variety of trees.  Blue Ash is common here (small saplings).  I know of one more mature tree that is still alive, but it is not healthy.

There are a few of small Hackberry trees, less common here, but more common farther north along the river.

Yesterday I went for another long walk at Rondeau Park out marsh trail to Long Pond.  It is a good 10 km round trip!

There was nothing of note in the way of birds, but the Bay was loaded with ducks.  No rarities yet though!

Canadian Coot

On a more historical note, I have written in the past about 'Baby Point', Port Lambton.  Located essentially at Brander Park, it was one of Lambton County's oldest settled areas.

The land was owned by the Baby (pronounced 'bawby') family, particularly Francis Baby.  The Baby's were a prestigious family and he inherited the land from his grandfather in 1742.

 

Baby Point in low water

Baby Point in higher water

Brander Park can reveal lots of artifacts.  Many coins, medallions, button, tools, etc. have been unearthed by local metal detector enthusiasts.

We used to spend much time here watching boat traffic, and I always looked along the shoreline to see what was in the sand.  Some arrowheads and other artifacts have been found, as well as parts of old clay pipes which was date back to the early 1800's.

Port Lambton was established as a village in 1820.  In 2020, big celebrations were planned, but that was quashed due to the pandemic mess.

Theh "Port" was well known as a port, and was busy along the shoreline road.

And, Brander Park is one of my favourite local birding spots.

The north part has a pond and woodlot that attracts birds, especially in migration.

Redbud scattered about here

It is snowing today, so travel is limited.  I saw my first Blue-winged Teal of the year!