Gullable Along the St. Clair River

 Sunday, I headed in the Sarnia direction.  It started out a bit snowy as I walked the old landfill on Blackwell Road at first light.  I did not stir up anything new.  A Northern Shrike was near the back corner and the continuing meadowlark was briefly seen.  There is often a wintering Eastern Meadowlark in the area.

Next stop, I parked at Sarnia Harbour to look at gulls and such.  At least the harbour is not full of ships like the old days.  This photo I took in 1973!

Hundreds of gulls are in the area, but nothing stood out.  It was here back on 21 February 1992 that Dennis Rupert spotted a Ross's Gull.  We are certainly overdue for one again!

The usual gulls were seen.

I next moved down to Guthrie Park at Corunna. Eventually the sun came out here.  Later in the afternoon is always better here, but I am never there at that time.  For whatever reason, the gulls and ducks come in closer and increase in numbers later in the day.

I saw up to six Glaucous Gulls, but not a single Iceland.

Here are some shots:

I headed inland afterwards.  Came across a large flock of American Tree Sparrows at McKeough CA.  A Field Sparrow stood out.

Often one can find a Field Sparrow with American Tree Sparrows in winter!

I did a short walk at Reid CA later.  Only thing notable was a tight group of five Song Sparrows.  My camera lens had fogged up at this point for some reason, so no photos!

St. Clair River Birds

Early winter (late December on) is a good time to bird along the St. Clair River.  The diver ducks move in, and in some winters so do the gulls.  The gulls have been the story so far.  Since early December, numbers have been growing, but vary from day to day.  Late last week, there were lots from Port Lambton to north of Sombra.  Up to seven species have been seen.  Then there is the Black-legged Kittiwake at Sarnia found by Alf Rider yesterday.  One can only hope for a Ross's Gull!  An Ivory Gull will do, but we had one of those in 1995 (found by yours truly).

The best spot today was at the head of Stag Island north of Corunna.  There were hundreds of gulls there plus hundreds of ducks to look at also.  I saw perhaps ten Glaucous Gulls and one Iceland.  Most just ride the ice flows downriver, so you can sit in one spot with your scope and watch them go by.

The kittiwake at Sarnia Bay was a lonely gull as it swam with Redheads.  It was far enough away that a scope was required, and certainly too far for photography.
Not a lot of ducks have come into the river yet this winter.  Most are Redhead with some Canvasback, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, both scaup, a few Ring-necked and very few Mergansers.  The Hooded Mergansers have outnumbered the other merganser types.  Usually Common Mergansers are numerous on the river in winter, but there is hardly one to be found so far.  In fact I saw none today, and only one Red-breasted.

Common Goldeneye are rather scarce as well.
There are lots of Mallards and a few Black.  A Wood Duck (male) was at Cathcart Park yesterday and a Northern Pintail (male) has been there as well. Usually a few Gadwall are along the shorelines, but I have not seen any this winter yet.
Lots of Canada Geese are out there, but usually along the Michigan shoreline.  No cacklers yet either!  You might see one per winter on the river.
I guess the Brant from early December did not stay.

Birding the St. Clair River in winter is always interesting!

ship photo for Paul C.

Winter Layup

Frontenac & Manistee

A trip along the St. Clair River to look at wintering ducks always includes Sarnia Harbour. Waterfowl congregates in open areas, and while looking for those, I check out the ships in layup. Sarnia has always been a good place to view ships up close.

When I first started birding over twenty years ago, the Sarnia Elevator always had a Peregrine Falcon. It was one of the things you always looked for. Now they nest on the Bluewater Bridge, and quite often are easy to see. Peregrines also nest on the Detroit Edison north of Marine City, Michigan.

Lots of Canada Geese and Mallards are around the harbour. Other ducks are nearby as well. Some years there are lots of gulls, but lately that has not been the case. This is where Dennis Rupert discovered a Ross's Gull in the early 1990's. It was one of his more exciting finds, going by what his daughter Sarah, said.

Dennis was a fixture in the Sarnia area, and saw most of the birds on the local list. He did well in finding rarities. I remember when I found the Ivory Gull, he said that it was the last gull he needed for his local list.

Cuyahoga

It was always a treat to meet up with Dennis while birding. He actually got his start in the Wallaceburg area birding with the Carscallen boys in the 1950's.

Algorail fore and aft

Sarnia has always been a winter destination, even when I was very young. Looking at the ships was the main attraction.

I recently got a slide scanner, and one of the photos shown below, brought back some memories.

Sarnia Bay 1965 (guess who?)

Sarnia Ducks

Duck flock off Canatara Park, Lake Huron

I checked out the St. Clair River and Sarnia today for ducks. Most are still out in the lake, as expected. About 3000+ are off Canatara Park, consisting mostly of Redhead and a good number of Greater Scaup. Every once in a while, they would get up when a Bald Eagle passed overhead.

Mallard (one of dozens in Sarnia Harbour)

At Point Edward there were dozens of Long-tailed Ducks, mergansers and Goldeneye. A single White-winged Scoter was swimming offshore.

Redhead/Scaup flock

Sarnia Bay was loaded with waterfowl. I should have spent more time there, but I did see a Pied-billed Grebe--possibly two.

A few gulls were on the ice, including an adult Glaucous. The main part of the river is still rather gull-less!

Canadian Navigator

Three White-winged Scoters were heading downriver at Courtright. There was not much to look at south of there.

Only one ship, Canadian Navigator, was in the river. I first saw it at Courtright, then later watched it head out into Lake Huron. You can see it in the background of the duck flock photo.

Calumet in winter layup at the North Slip

I briefly stopped at Moore WMA to check for Yellow-rumped Warblers. The river was running high, so I could not venture too far in. The warblers winter here every year in the sheltered valley with an abundance of Poison Ivy berries.

I did pish out several Song Sparrows out of the weeds. There seems to be an abundance here, as a half dozen came out at once.

St. Clair River, Sarnia, Siskins, Snow

Long-tailed Ducks at Point Edward

I travelled up the St. Clair River this morning before the snow came. The river is mostly iced in now--not surprisingly with the extreme cold weather lately. A few open patches of water held some ducks, but not many. A number of Canvasback and a few others were at Fawn Island. A pair of Hooded Mergansers were at Sombra dock among the local Mallards.

Lots of Long-tailed Ducks were off Point Edward of course. It is a gull-less winter. I probably only saw 4 Herring Gulls on the whole river!

I also checked some of the ships laid up for winter in Sarnia Harbour. Most were of the Lower Lakes Towing, including Mississagi, Manistee, Manitowoc, Ojibway. The Algoway was alongside the Sidney Smith dock.

bow of Algoway in the distance

I took a few photos, as I usually do each winter.

I also scanned a couple of photos from many years ago that I took when I was young. I have always had a camera, and have hundreds of photos from years past.

The first is from January 1973. Those were the old days when the ships were packed like sardines at Sarnia! All of these have long since been scrapped.

SARNIA HARBOUR JANUARY 1973

1. Lakeshell; 2. Arctic Trader; 3. Beavercliffe Hall; 4. Cape Transport; 5. V. W. Scully; 6. Red Wing; 7. Cove Transport.

The second is from March 1974. These too are long gone.

The North Slip March 1974

Ottercliffe Hall, Cardinal (ex Imperial Windsor), Cove Transport, Hochelaga.

At the feeder today, it was a bonanza of finches. Lots of Pine Siskins and Goldfinches, but I could only detect one Common Redpoll. A Sharp-shinned Hawk buzzed through at one point.