Upriver Ducks

 There are now thousands of ducks on the St. Clair River, just like it should be!  Today was a stellar day, and I went as far as Guthrie Park, Corunna.

There was not a lot at Corunna (too much ice), but viewing conditions were excellent, save for some Shell steam.

Close in were three Trumpeter Swans.  These are likely the one I have been seeing farther downriver this winter, as I did not find any others today.

There are quite a few Ring-necked Ducks on the river this winter.  Five were in the steamy conditions at the mouth of Talfourd Creek.

Lots of Canvasbacks around currently.

Hooded Pair

Just after arrival, one of the wintering Double-crested Cormorants flew by at close range.

Eventually, I headed back downriver to concentrate observations in certain areas.  The first was off Courtright where thousands of ducks were farther out.  Viewing conditions were superb, and with a scope I was able to scan the masses.  Too far for photos though.

Surprisingly, there was nothing unusual!  However, it was nice to finally spend some time scanning the rafts.

Among the thousands of Redhead, Canvasback, Long-tailed and others, there were five White-winged Scoters.

I looked for hybrid ducks, but could not find any.  None of those Redhead hybrids have been reported yet along the river this winter.  I would guess there are some out there somewhere.

Heading downriver, there were lots of ducks all the way along to the CF Industries outfall.

Some open water at the north end of Cundick Park (Stoke's Point) was another spot to stop and look.  Nothing unusual though.

Wednesday was the last time I was previously out to the river.  Lots of ducks were at and in the vicinity of Willow Park.

South of that beside the brine barge, I briefly stopped and spotted a male Ruddy Duck.  Always seems to be one or two on the river each winter.

There were at least two Trumpeter Swans seen from Cathcart Park.

Thursday, I toured spots north of home and went for some short walks.  It was almost birdless.  In fact, there was not a single bird at Nicholl's Memorial Forest and Wetland at Wilkesport!  Typical this winter.

I walked into Moore WMA, which always used to be a very good spot for birds in winter.  It was almost birdless too!  Just took some scenery shots.

Not much left of the old bridge!

Went for a good walk at Reid C. L. as well.

Distant Sycamore tree

Yesterday, I headed down to Rondeau Park.  More for exercise I guess, since there were few birds.

Scene near the visitor centre

I also walked Bannerstone which had some birds.  Seemed more birdy there than in the park.

Spring will be arriving soon, and the temps are getting milder, so change is in the air.

Going Batty and More River Scenes

 It has been rather uneventful lately, and have no ambition to go any distance from home.  Luckily, the St. Clair River has kept me occupied.

This past Sunday, I did my usual run along the river in the morning.  In the afternoon, I was investigating the crawl space under part of the house.  Behind the insulation I found a bat!  Mind you, we have had them in the house before, but how they get in is a complete mystery since it is a sealed space.

Not one to kill anything, I carefully grabbed it with a bag, and put it outside.  A while later I went out to check on it, and found it clinging to the side of the house.  It eventually took flight.  It was fairly mild, so hopefully it found a spot to continue its hibernation.

It was fairly large, so I believe it is a Big Brown Bat.  The Little Brown Bat is around here as well, and they can be difficult to distinguish between.

Back to the river, I found a Ruddy Duck at Willow Park.  Quite uncommon here in the winter.

There was also a Gadwall here, but we get a few along the river during winter.

Monday was quite foggy, so I was out later.  Visibility was limited along the river, but there were thousands of ducks.

At Willow Park, the Ruddy Duck was still present, and there was quite a bit to look at.  The five Trumpeter Swans were present.  The three younger ones were  swimming, then I heard them trumpeting.  The adults were just flying in.

I noticed some flippers sticking up in the air.  Obviously a duck got caught on a fishing lure while diving and was unable to recover.  This remained stationary, so no doubt it was anchored to fishing line.

A fair number of gulls were at Cathcart Park, but nothing unusual again.

Tuesday was bright and sunny, but more ice on the river.  The open spots concentrated the waterfowl more.  I briefly stopped at Marshy Creek Park south of Sombra for a look.  The five Trumpeter Swans flew by southbound here!  No time for a photo though.

I did not take any photos this day.

Wednesday was another sunny morning, but more ice had moved in.  Most of the river all the way up to Mooretown was plugged with brash ice.  However, there were some open spots.

I took some random photos showing the concentration of ducks.  Once again, I found no rarities!  Ducks do a lot of sleeping on these cold sunny days.

There was a nice little open spot off Brander Park that attracted some waterfowl.

Note Ring-necked Duck

A Gadwall was fast asleep here.

Today, Thursday, was too icy to go out since we had freezing rain overnight.  

Nothing new at the feeder....just too many House Sparrows which hog all the seed.  Once in a while, an accipiter comes around such as this young Cooper's Hawk.  It needs to take a course in House Sparrow hunting, as it never gets anything!

Been passing time by reading a good book.  It is about the rise and fall of the Hudson Bay Company and fur trading and settlement of northern Canada.