Recent Observations As May Marches On

 The days are quickly passing!  Most migrants have moved through, but there were still lots this past week.

I was at Rondeau on Tuesday for a long walk.  I started at south point trail (west) and continued a ways out the south beach.  It was not overly productive, but that was what I wanted to do.

It was windy yet again, and there was not much out the beach.

As always, I look down once in a while.  An easily recognizable mussel shell was an Eastern Pondshell.

Before leaving, I checked around maintenance. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was showing nicely.

I then decided to head west in hopes of seeing Hudsonian Whimbrel.  I completely struck out!  Typical luck.

There were a few warblers along the Erieau marsh trail, including this Canada which was moving too much to focus on.

There was not much at Wheatley Harbour.  This duskywing was likely a Columbine.

I stopped in at Hillman Marsh.  The long-staying White-faced Ibis was still present.

Wednesday was not overly productive around the home area.

Thursday I made an early morning run to Mitchell's Bay before going to the museum.

I did finally see some very distant Hudsonian Whimbrel over Ticky-Tacky Point.

Friday it was back to Rondeau.  Yet again, very windy!  I had been itching to make the long walk out south beach for some time, but I went out anyway despite the wind.  It was somewhat disappointing birdwise.

I was focusing on shorebirds, and had hopes of seeing Red Knots (Knot!).  There were other common species out there.

Dunlin

Least Sandiper

more Dunlin

There were some warbler on the way back, but many were silent foraging in the treetops.  Good thing I looked up once in a while!

I looked at plants as well.

White Bear Sedge

Maidenhair Fern

Upright Carrion Flower

I managed to see Showy Orchis as well.  Unfortunately, I was late this year in getting it in fresh flowering mode.

I always like to find this orchid each spring.  Seems more difficult these days, as I have not found them lately in spots I had them in the past.

More American Redstarts were finally in, as well as Philadelphia Vireos.

Saturday was a complete washout as everyone knows!  Must be the weekend......

Today was finally a calm, but cloudy day.  Fairly warm as well.  I went out to Mitchell's Bay first thing.

Quite a few birds had come in overnight.  There were many in the yard when I got up, so I had high hopes for the south trail at the Bay.

There were indeed more birds along the way, but certainly not big numbers.  Highlight was a  singing Connecticut Warbler.  It is a regular migrant, but often difficult to find, let alone see. It was singing up a storm, but true to its nature, I did not even see it.  It was only about 3m away at one point!

I attempted a recording. (never mind the feet!).  You can hear it once.

A few Wilson's Warblers were among the crowd.

At one point I heard a Yellow-headed Blackbird, but it remained unseen.  Not really unusual out that way.

A Grey-cheeked Thrush made an appearance on the trail.

Back near home, I checked out Peers Wetland, then decided to head up along Marthaville Road where there are some pastures.

Upland Sandpiper, difficult to find anymore, are here every year.  It took a while, but two finally popped up on their tyical perch (wooden fence posts).

That was enough for today!

Spring Walks and Scenes This Week

 I was able to get out for some walks this past week, as we have had some decent weather.

The usual spring arrivals are showing up.  This Eastern Phoebe was in my yard earlier this week on a rainy day.

A lot more gulls have shown up as expected, including this Ring-billed Gull along the St. Clair River.

Herring Gull in background

On Tuesday, I was due for another long walk, so I took advantage of the nice morning and walked out Rondeau's south beach.  There was not much variety in birds, but the clear skies made for a good walk.

Marsh View

It was quite cold overnight, so there was some ice.

Continued walking back via the east beach.

Along east side beach

This Pileated Woodpecker was not sure what direction to go.

There were lots of Horned Grebes swimming in the early morning light.  I was hoping to see a Red-necked, but that never happened!

One of the mussel shells I encountered was a Wabash Pigtoe.  It is an endangered species, but I have come across them several times before at Rondeau.  Always well-weathered!

Remnants of last fall's waterfowl hunt were evident on the beach!

After the walk, I scoped the Bay for ducks.  We still cannot find a Eurasian Wigeon!  Every place else seems to have them.....

One last stop was a quick walk at Keith McLean C. L.  I finally saw an Eastern Bluebird for the year!  I was not able to get a decent photo, but pleased to see one after a long absence.

They just were not around to any degree this winter, like many other birds.

Northern Flickers have arrived in numbers recently.

Yesterday morning I started out at Mitchell's Bay.  Nothing special, but Great Egrets have arrived in numbers.

Hundreds of Tundra Swans were in fairly close for a change.

Later in the day, I did some birding in the Sarnia area since there was a Lambton Wildlife meeting in the evening.

I accidently stumbled upon a soon-to-depart owl.  There were hardly any owls around our area this winter.  Snowy Owls were absent in the area for sure, among others.

Today was quite nice in the morning.  It was sunny this morning despite the forecast.  I guess it was a little delayed as the clouds and rain rolled in just before noon.

I took advantage and went for a long walk at Reid Conservation Lands.  Pleasant to get back in there and see signs of spring.

Spring plants are just starting to pop up after a harsh winter.

Virginia Spring Beauty

Purple Cress

Some that stay visible all winter include the Sharp-lobed Hepatica.

There is lots of it at Reid, but I have never found Round-lobed!

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In the history corner, the little passenger vessel Omar D. Conger (built 1887) blew up at its dock in Port Huron around this date in 1922 due to a boiler explosion.  It was a frequent visitor to Wallaceburg, and seen in many photographs.  It was mainly a ferry between Sarnia and Port Huron.

"Some" Insects, Portly Shorebirds, and "Jack"

 Monday was warm enough for a walk at Reid CA.   This month has just been too cold for the most part with continuous northerly winds, so not much insect life.  The whole month has been the pits for weather!

Odonates included Four-spotted Skimmers which were quite numerous.

A few butterflies included these:

Monarch

Silver-spotted Skipper

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Eastern Giant Swallowtails

And an Asteroid Moth.  Not much to look at, but the caterpillar is fairly attractive.

Tuesday I was in the mood for the long walk out Rondeau's south beach.  Winds were fairly light, but still out of the east (what's new?).

There were a few migrants along the trail.  The highlight was a singing Worm-eating Warbler at one point.  I never got much of a view, but it was singing quite a bit.  Lighting was horrible anyway under cloudy skies.

The walk out south beach started off nicely, with three Red Knots not too far out among other shorebirds.  Always a treat to see these portly shorebirds as they are scarce anymore.

There were in fact lots of shorebirds all along.  The knots and others flushed to way out south beach, and when I got there, a fourth Red Knot had joined them.

Even some Whimbrel were out there.  Two were on the beach for some time, but I did see a flock of about 18 come in as well.

A good variety of shorebirds was out there, including this White-rumped Sandpiper.

Others:

Sanderling

Black-bellied Plover

Dunlin

After that long walk, I checked out a bit of the north end of Harrison trail past pony barn.  Then I was done.  Getting too old for those long walks!

Today was a dismal day weatherwise with off and on drizzle.  I did get a fairly long walk in at Reid CA early before the weather turned really gloomy.  Too early and cool for many insects, but I did get this Eastern Calligrapher.

A couple of passerines were in the yard this afternoon.  Both a female Magnolia Warbler and a Blackburnian Warbler took advantage of the facilities.

Probably the drabbest Magnolia Warbler I have ever seen!

In the history department on this date,  the small freighter Jack was torpedoed in 1942 by U-155 about 100 miles southwest of Haiti.  37 lives lost out of 63.  The vessel was built at Lorain, Ohio in 1919.

It was a visitor to Wallaceburg in 1925, as shown here at the sugar factory.

There were several vessels in the "poker fleet" such as Ace, King, Ten, Nine that visited Wallaceburg on occasion.