Trumpeting Along the St. Clair River and Recent Rambles

 This past week was quite mild.....and windy!  I spent more time along the St. Clair River than anything.  Not sure why because there is not much out there!  Unless we get cold weather and some ice, there never will be.

Tuesday, a couple of Trumpeter Swans were at Cathcart Park.  Likely the same ones from earlier in teh winter

More Tundra Swans were around as well, probably due to the incoming mild weather.

Wednesday I went to Rondeau Park.  I started with a lakewatch at dog beach.  Over 500 White-winged Scoters were counted during my short stay.  A couple of Horned Grebes were new for the year for me.

As always, I checked the campground.  There were puddles due to the rain and melting ice.  At one point I heard some swishing behind me.  I had walked right by a bathing Cooper's Hawk!  It showed no fear.

Thursday was actually a very nice day.  I went for a walk at Wilkesport first thing.  Three or four Northern Flickers were working the area.  I only managed to get a photo of one from a distance.

I then went for a walk at Reid C. L.  It was just too nice of a day not to!  There were lots of Blue Jays feeding on acorns.  Another member of the corvids was a Common Raven that flew by  in the distance.

Some scenes:

Back Field

An adult Sharp-shinned Hawk stopped by the neighbourhood later in the morning.  It spent some time preening.

Friday there was very little in the way of birds, and I did not even do a bird list!

Saturday, it was back to Rondeau.  I did a lakewatch at dog beach with Steve.  It was not an ideal wind, but White-winged Scoters were the talk of the day.

Over 1500 were tallied.  No doubt conservative because many were way out.  At least three Surf Scoters were mixed in.

Today, I checked out the entire St. Clair River.  Not much to see.  Been too mild.  More hunters and decoys than birds!

This afternoon, I finally went to see some of the Sandhill Cranes east of Port Lambton.  Up to 144 were seen on the Wallaceburg CBC January 4, but every day sees different numbers.  I counted 42.

These creatures come over from Michigan each day.

The Fox Sparrow shows up occasionally here at home.  I have never had one spend the winter here, so it is nice to have!

Some Nice Winter Finches and More

 Looks like winter is here to stay this week.  It will be interesting to see what kind of winter we get.  There is talk of a "real" winter!  Maybe there will be ice on the St. Clair River, but not like in the old days when it froze smooth.

Uncle Murray's iceboat at Sombra

This past week, birds were fewer and farther between as one would expect.

Last Sunday, I ventured up to Ipperwash and area to look for winter finches and other birds.  In particular, I wanted to see Bohemian Waxwings, but my usual bad luck prevailed and I did not see any!  Everyone else seems to come across them though.

I stuck it out and finally came across three Pine Grosbeaks feeding on winterberry.  They were in a very difficult position, so as usual I could not get good photos.  These chunky finches are always nice to see!

Certainly my favourite species of finch.

I spent a little time at Ausable River Cut CA where there were no birds to look at, but there were mussels of course.

Three-ridge (most common)

Spike

On the way home, I encountered a female Ring-necked Pheasant.  These creatures are difficult to find anymore.

Tuesday I went to Rondeau, but it was extremely quiet for birds!

Thursday, a Fox Sparrow showed up in the yard.  It is still present at time of this writing.  Would be a nice winter bird, if it decides to stay.

Friday, it was back to Rondeau.  There were more birds, but not many, and nothing of note.  My camera was acting up again anyway!

Today, it was finally calm after some brutal winds this past week.  I went to Hillman Marsh first thing for a walk.  Lots of mud showing!  Hillman Creek has dried up!

Eighteen Sandhill Cranes were near the the Mersea Rd. 2 west bridge.

I then joined an Essex County Field Naturalist outing at Wheatley Harbour.  It was just a nice and different thing to do on a gloomy day.

There was nothing of note, but nice to join in with some people I know.  Lots of gulls, but no Short-tailed!

The old Sombra ferry is still in the harbour at Hike Metals.  Not sure what the deal is, but they have done some work on her in the past year.  It is supposed to serve Bob-lo Island.

Here are some old photos of the Daldean, which was my grandfather's pride and joy.

Morgan Dalgety working on the ferry at Erieau.  Other photo at Sombra during winter

Here is one photo of it being built at Erieau I found in an old family album.

Winter birding season starts on Monday, so we will see what it brings.

Walk In The Woods, Hybrid Ducks and McGeachy Mocker

 Tuesday was a fine day to go for a walk in the woods.  With sunny skies and no wind for a change, it was quite pleasant at Reid CA.

Not many birds of course, but Wild Turkey tracks were everywhere throughout the property.

Here is another tree that took an abrupt turn earlier in life.

Nearby, another tree had some fungus called Silky Parchment.

Not sure what this fungus was, but part of the tree was on the ground.

Common Hackberry trees are rare at Reid, but here is another one.

I found some oak galls at one point, which are quite neat.

Wednesday, I made a good run along the St. Clair River.  It was still iced-in to north of Sombra, but had opened up quite a bit northward.  I suspect there is an ice bridge somewhere up Sarnia way keeping ice from flowing downstream.

It was a day of hybrid ducks.  Upon arrival at Cathcart Park, I spotted a Canvasback X Redhead male (females are more difficult to pick out!).  Another observer saw several more upriver later in the afternoon.  Too distant for the camera though.

As well, a Ring-necked X Redhead was here.  The open water was farther offshore, so it was not too close.

The male Ruddy Duck was also here.

I went as far as Guthrie Park, Corunna this day.  There was not much at Corunna this time around.  

The local Trumpeter Swan was in close.

Wednesday night we received quite a bit of snow, so I stayed home until afternoon.  Although a sunny day for the most part, there was not much to see along the river.  I cut in on Pointe Line, and came across some of the Sandhill Cranes that have been spending the winter in the area.

Today, I did not get going until late morning, but headed in the southerly direction for a change.  There is a lot less snow along Lake Erie!

I went for a walk at McGeachy Pond, where the lake was mostly ice.  

However, a few Redhead ducks were in an open spot.

Eight Sandhill Cranes were circling to the north, but out of range for the camera.

Mounds of ice along the shoreline as one would expect, but there was one spot that formed a mini grotto.

The local Northern Mockingbird was right near the tower today.

It must be getting desperate, trying to consume those non-native berries!

I then headed through Shrewsbury and got a glimpse of the wintering Virginia Rail.  There is a perpetual open water spot where it likes to hang out.

I did walk the campground in Rondeau Park, but it was virtually birdless!  I saw a flock of a dozen House Finches, and that was it!

There was lots of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings along the paved roads today as I worked my way home.