Mostly Waterfowl

 This past week some waterfowl has been on the move, but it was still quite frozen in many spots.  Spring weather is slowly creeping in after a cold winter.

I have spent more time along the St. Clair River than anywhere else trying to find something of interest.There was a lot to look at last Friday, but nothing of note.

The next day, I went to Lake St. Clair area.  Everything still very frozen, but a change in scenery was in order.  Fishing enthusiasts were quite happy with the ice this winter.

One could barely see the Detroit skyline in the distance.

I walked the south shore trail off Angler Line.  A couple of American Robins were along the trail, perhaps overwintering ones since there are lots of berries in the area.  Could be new arrivals since it was late February.

I then went to St. Clair NWA.  I did not expect much in the way of birds, but a good walk was in order.  It was the first time I had been there since it closed last fall for the new bridge installation.

Quite a fancy bridge!

Some Tundra Swans were flying overhead looking for a place to land.

Sunday I did not do much, so I went out Monday.  It was kind of a nasty day with a brutal northerly winds and blowing snow, but I had to get out.  Roads were iffy in some spots.

The previous day, some little white geese were reported at Blenheim Lagoons, and nearby.  Upon arrival in the area, I did not see them along Allison Line, but further down Lagoon Road, there were some geese in the corn field.

Initially, there were six in flight, which were likely the Ross's Geese.

Then I photographed four in flight, which were indeed Ross's.

Four others circled a bit and set down in the field.  They appeared to be Snow Geese.

In total, there were six apparent Ross's and four definite Snows.  I never got good looks at the other two "Ross's", but one has to be careful since they can hybridize.

It was quite uncomfortable in the strong cold wind, so I did not linger.

That same day, eleven Ross's Geese were photographed at Cathcart Park along the St. Clair River.  Looks like there was some movement of the species!

The next day was calm and clear, so I headed out to the St. Clair River.  Viewing conditions were excellent, but the river has completely opened up, so waterfowl spread out.

I did not see anything of note until I got to the CF Industries outfall.  Lo and behold, the eleven Ross's Geese were present! I really did not expect to see them.

I stayed in the car though, since I did not want to flush anything.  It may be the most Ross's Geese I have seen at one time.

There was a lot to look at along the river, but I could not find anything in the rare department.  I did find a male Northern Pintail at Sombra dock, which was a first for the year.  Perhaps an early migrant.

Here are some duck scenes.

Wednesday, I had no ambition, so did not do much until afternoon.  The LWI meeting was in the evening in Sarnia, so I worked my way up along the river. In recent trips out there, there is not much to see once you get north of Bickford Line.

Before sunset, I checked out the Sarnia area.  Nothing of note!

Today, I had no intent on going far, but went for a long walk at Reid Conservation Lands first thing.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk at the south shore trail at Mitchell's Bay.  The robins were still present along the trail.

There was a large flock of blackbirds along the trail as well, but just the usual species, and certainly no yellow-headeds!  Migrants do not come in until almost mid-April though.

Lake St. Clair is still very frozen as far as the eye can see, but with mild weather approaching, spots will be opening up.

Waterfowl Times

 This is the time of year we usually concentrate on waterfowl watching.  Lots of stuff coming in on their journey north!

Last Friday, I checked out Lake St. Clair area.  There was still quite a bit of ice though.

The day before, a Eurasian Wigeon was along Angler Line, but did not show up for those looking Friday.  However, I did find a Ross's Goose which is almost as good.  A bit distant and looking into the sun did not help in the photographic department.

A couple of Sandhill Cranes nearby appeared to be in a mating ritual.

Saturday, I had the urge to head to Sarnia along the St. Clair River.  The river has completely cleared out, so not much in the way of waterfowl concentration.  Long-tailed Ducks were the most numerous, scattered all the way along.  There were no notables on my jouney!

Sunday, it was in the opposite direction where I headed to Hillman marsh for a long walk.  Water levels are quite low.

Still lots of ice there as well, but there was a good number of waterfowl and gulls by the hundreds.

At least five Trumpeter Swans were in the marsh.

Bald Eagles were nesting nearby, obvious to the very large nests they build.

On the way home, I checked out Balmoral Line.  Among other things, a single Greater White-fronted Goose was among Canadas.  Too distant though for a photo.  It was a first-of-year for me.

Monday, I did not do much, but spent some time along the river.  Went for a walk in Brander Park.

A large White Ash tree was a victim of the Emerald Ash Borer here.

Tuesday I went to Rondeau!  It was rather quiet for birds though.  I could see thousands of ducks on the far side of the Bay, much too far even for the scope.  No doubt a Eurasian Wigeon was among them!

Heading home, I swung over to Erieau and walked the marsh (rail) trail.  It was quite birdy with waterfowl.

Highlight, was a flock of eight Greater White-fronted Geese in the corn field.  Eventually, they got up and circle several time not knowing what to do next.

Today, was a cool, but sunny day, so I went for a long walk at Reid CA.  Practically no birds, but I did flush up an American Woodcock.  A first for the year.  I was quite happy with the long walk to get my mind off things of late.

The ice went out of the Sydenham last week very quickly and the water levels had receded by today.  I came across a couple of river mussels.

White Heelsplitter

Fragile Papershell

Now that ice is gone, I can look for mussels again after along winter!

In the history department:

March 12, 1907 was the launch date of the D. O. Mills lake freighter.  Later renamed G. A. Tomlinson, it lasted until 1979 when it was scrapped.

Back when I was very young, I took a photo of this vessel on the Detroit River while on one of the Bob-Lo steamers.

Waterfowl Wanderings

I was due for some birding in Essex County, so that is where I went today!  My first stop was Point Pelee National Park (remember, you can renew your annual pass for a discount this month!).
Just before getting into the park, three Sandhill Cranes caught my eye on concession D. Obviously spring migrants.

As expected, the park was very quiet for birds, as it has been most of the winter.  I walked Shuster, Tilden's and Cactus Trails.  A few White-throated Sparrows were kicking around, but nothing of note.

I wanted to check Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary as well today, so that was the next stop.  Upon arrival, local birder Jeremy L. Hatt was already scanning the geese.  We had a nice chat about various things, and while there, five Ross's Geese appeared for us.

They continuously circled around, unsure of what to do.  Two of them briefly landed, but then they started circling again.  Apparently, they did come back later for other birders to see.

Hybrids have been increasing in recent years, but these seemed good for Ross's.
I had this species on my mind today, especially when four were reported on Rondeau Bay earlier this morning!

Geese

At least 36 Greater White-fronted Geese were there at Miner's as well.

The "white-fronts" are common this time of year anymore.  Hundreds have been reported in the province in the last ten days or so.

Needless to say, a few Cackling Geese were in the mix today. They are expected this time of year also.  They are easier to pick out in flight.  Higher-pitched calls are quite obvious.

Some Common Redpolls have been reported farther west at the intersection of Concession Road 9 and Coulter Sideroad.  This species is rather difficult to find in Essex County even in invasion winters.  I got directions from Jeremy, so I went that way and found the redpolls right away.  No photo attempts.

I headed back towards home via Comber (no blackbirds!) and along the Thames up to St. Clair NWA.  I did see a Great Blue Heron west of Jeannette's Creek, so some are still around.

I walked the dike at the NWA to the tower and observed lots of Tundra Swans, Canada Geese and a handful of ducks.  Also see were two Greater White-fronted Geese and two Snow Geese from the tower.

I decided to head down Balmoral Line later to get a better view.  It was a good choice as I could see more things.  Included were nine Snow Geese in total, an American Coot, a Ruddy Duck and about 18 Northern Shovelers in a tight group.  The shovelers must be spring migrants as that number had not been around since at least New Year's.
No doubt more things were there, but I did not spend too much time looking.

On the way home, a Snowy Owl was perched along Marsh Line.

The Meadowvale Snowy Owl south of Wallaceburg was also showing nicely as I headed out first thing this morning. At least three are regular in the Wallaceburg vicinity this winter.

More Geese and a Pelee Visit

A change in scenery was in order today as I headed down to Essex County.  The weather was unusually nice for a weekend--calm, sunny and clear.
My first stop was Wheatley Harbour where I found some geese! (they were over by Hillman yesterday).  Some white geese stood out in the form of two Snow, two Ross's and one hybrid of the two species.

I noticed that one was different from the start, but I wanted to get a good look at photos at home before I put it down as a hybrid Ross's X Snow.

It seems that the hybrids are becoming more common recently.  Sometimes they can look much like Ross's, but subtle differences can be seen such as the size and shape of the bill.  Today's bird was rather obvious as it was in between the size of the two species, and looked uglier!

I was sort of expecting Greater White-fronted at Wheatley as well.  Upon further examination of my photos, I did have the three that Ken Burrell reported a couple hours later!  Sometimes it pays to take a series of photos even though they were very distant.
Although not very identifiable in the photo below, blowing it up here at home reveals the 3 Greater White-fronted.  My bad!

I moved on to Point Pelee for a walk out Shuster Trail, Tilden's Woods up to Cactus Trail and back to the VC parking lot.
There were lots of distant ducks off the east side. I did notice one White-winged Scoter flying around.

At the north end of Tilden's, I encountered a nice flock of birds that included several dozen American Robins, about 20 Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Northern Flicker, Purple Finch, White-breasted Nuthatch, etc.

I walked a bit at Hillman Marsh but did not see much except for a large flock of blackbirds near the Hillman church.  It was mostly Brown-headed Cowbirds, but Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and European Starling were mixed in.  I did not notice anything else. I was hoping to see a yellow head!

On the way home there was not much of note except a Red-shouldered Hawk at Jeannette's Creek.

Here we are at the end of another weekend.....

Dawn, Friday, Port Lambton