Mid May Already: Things Are Finally Picking Up!

 Although there have been some good birds around, migration has certainly been behind what we have been used to in the last few years.  The weather has been unseasonably cold, but tomorrow the days will start to warm up.  In the last day or so, things have finally picked up.  

Tuesday I went to Rondeau on a sunny but cool day.  There was good activity around the Bennett and Harrison area.

Walking down Harrison with some birding friends, we encountered an active Summer Tanager.

Many birders were in the area and managed to get a glimpse of this handsome bird.

Seems there are good numbers of Summer Tanagers around this spring, unlike last year.  I completely missed the species last year!

Wednesday I was back to Rondeau bright and early.

I was up for a long walk.....all the way to the end of the marsh trail!  About a 14+ kilometre round-trip trek for those keeping track.

There was not a huge number of birds, and many that should be around already, were not present.

I only heard one bittern, that of an American, off in the distance.

It was a fine day for a walk.

The End!

A lone Trumpeter Swan was near the end.  Perhaps a female was on a nest somewhere?  We can only speculate at this point.

Noticed this odd tree near the trail.

A mink was hunting for breakfast at one point.

After that long walk, I drove around the park a bit, but did not encounter much.  So, it was westward bound!

I stopped by Wheatley Harbour to check the beach. All shorebirds were Ruddy Turnstones (save for one Dunlin).  Well over 100.

Hillman Marsh shorebird cell is a must stop at this time of year.  Things are constantly changing there.  I did not bring a camera in, but birds were a bit distant anyway.

I lucked out in spotting the adult Black-headed Gull at one point.  It had been hanging around the area for some time. Somewhat mis-named, the gull's hood is actually a very dark brown.

Also present were six Willets.  These large shorebirds are always a treat to observe.

On the way home, I stopped by the Zion Road bluff for a looksee.

Too bad I was not there there next day, as there were thousands of birds moving, including some good rarities!

Yesterday, I stayed fairly close to home. It was a windy, cloudy and very cold day anyway after early morning.  The temperature actually dropped during the day.

I did check out Port Lambton and Peers Wetland first thing, before going to a friend's place near Bridgen.

Magnolia Warbler

Late in the day, a hummingbird finally visited the nectar feeder, while a Swainson's Thrush scurried around the garden.

Today was volunteer day at the museum, but first-thing I did get some birding done at the south shore trail at Mitchell's Bay.  There were a few warblers present, but not like it should be.

Some other birds included:

Great-crested Flycatcher (not Ash-throated!)

Scarlet Tanager

Sparrow with a White Crown

At home this afternoon, I noticed a bright spot at the bird bath in the form of a male Scarlet Tanager.

The bird bath is well-used each day.  It has been around a long time, as it was my grandmother's back in the 1960's!

With warm weather setting in and southwest winds, this weekend should bring in the backlog of birds.  Birdcast radar looks awesome for Friday night!

some young birds are already out!

Birding To Bluebells

 I have been at Rondeau Park this past week camping and birding, with the exception of today.  It was slim pickings for the most part, and very cold due to the constant east winds.  Thursday it started to warm up and by Saturday we finally had a good number of birds flitting through the forest.

Bird radar looked good for some days later in the week, but one could not find much.  Essentially, the birds were motoring on through!  The favourite activity this week with the prevailing east winds, was to watch them fly right over on the west side of the park, at either the marsh trail entrance or at the store.  It is a fun experience, but you have to be quick!  Thursday was the best day, with hundreds of migrants zipping by.  One can only hope for a Blue Grosbeak, Western Tanager, Western Kingbird (some tried!), or anything else.

On Thursday and Friday evenings, I walked out marsh trail to Long Pond, a 10 km round trip.  Thursday was the best day as it was warm and calm.  Rails, bitterns and marsh birds were the theme.

I did get both Sora and Virginia Rail, as well as a King Rail.  The king of rails does nest out there, so one has to be keen on at least hearing one.

At the very end of my walk, I capped it off with a FOY Common Nighthawk!

Friday was windier, but there were more warblers working the low trees and shrubs.

I stayed away from the east side of south point trail for the most part because of the east winds, and spent quit a bit of time on the west side, which I normally do not do.  Most birds were at the far end, so it was a long walk!  It was interesting though.

Osprey out marsh trail

I saw several species of snakes during the week, including this watersnake slithering alongside the trail.

Saturday it was steady, and near the start of south point west, the usual Acadian Flycatchers were on territory.

Various warblers included Mourning, Wilson's and Canada.  The Canada is always a treat to see.

Scarlet Tanagers were numerous on Saturday, but no Hepatic at Rondeau!

Magnolia Warblers were numerous everywhere, as they often are.

The beach accesses to the north of the park were active by mid afternoon, so I went there, avoiding the crowds of birders aimlessly searching other trails.  Nothing special, but a couple of Mourning Warblers were working the tangles.

I was bored by late afternoon Friday, so went outside the park to the Erieau Marsh trail (rail trail).  It was good, as it often is, with warblers and vireos.  I got my first Blackpoll Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo of the year there.

Turtles were also enjoying themselves.  Some Map Turtles were showing well.

Lots of Red-headed Woodpeckers have been in the park.  One day I saw at least eight.  Most do not stay though.

I am sure there are lots of birds yet to come, as we have not seen big numbers this year.

Today, was a change of pace.  Ontario Nature recently acquired another chunk of land at Sydenham River Nature Reserve  in Middlesex County.  The reserve is also in Lambton, but today's event was at the end of Buttonwood Road in Middlesex.

I was a fun affair, with many familiar faces.  The attraction was the official opening of the new section.

We took a tour of the area, and I noted some birds along the way.  Along the road and within the area were numerous Tennessee Warblers, which was an indication of how the migration is going.  We usually get lots of them later in migration!

The "retired" field

Scene past the terminus of Buttonwood

One of my highlights was seeing Virginia Bluebells in bloom.  It is a rare plant and very stunning.

The only butterflies I saw were Juvenal's Duskywing, Cabbage White, Eastern Comma and a FOY Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Juvenal's Duskywing

I was hoping to see some odes, but I only saw one go past me and I never determined what it was!  There are some notable ones there, so perhaps later on I will check it out.

Scene in one the many deep ravines

Pelee Visit to Skulkers and Flycatchers

Saturday, I decided to do some birding at Point Pelee.  It started raining as soon as I arrived.  Not surprising to me since it was a Saturday.  That put a damper on things for some time.  We were not supposed to get much rain, but as usual, the weather forecast was wrong again.

Starting off at the VC, a Chipping Sparrow was singing just like a Clay-colored Sparrow!  This is not the first time I have seen this.  One summer, there was a Chipping Sparrow doing the same thing at Rondeau Park.

I did not see much for over two hours because of the rain.  I eventually got to the Tip which is impressive despite the high water this spring.

Eventually it started to clear up for a nice sunny day.  I walked slowly through Tilden's Woods with Mike Nelson and Rick Mayos.  A number of birds kept up our interest, including a Prothonotary Warbler and a couple of Canada Warblers.  Many Prothonotary Warblers seem to be around this wet spring.
It was not a day for photography though as I only took one photo!

After lunch I headed up to Pioneer and northward along west beach trail.  Quite a few birds were around including tanagers. One cannot get enough of these!

I did come across one of the Summer type a bit later.

I got word of a Worm-eating Warbler near Dunes, but after some time looking I gave up.  I went elsewhere and came back about an hour later and found out that many had seen it again!  I never did catch up with it, as I only have so much patience.  Missed it by ten minutes...twice!  It continued to put on a show after I left.

My next stop was Hillman marsh shorebird cell.  Sedge Wrens have been in the field the last couple of weeks and perhaps they may nest there.  I heard a couple of them on the way to the shorebird cell.

A number of shorebirds were present, including a single Whimbrel.   I spent some time there, but a Peregrine Falcon came by to clear the cell of birds!  Some did come back later though.

Today, Sunday, I went to Rondeau.  It was a nice day for a change and became rather warm.  Keith and I walked south point trail seeing lots of birds.  Many birds were moving along the lake heading west, so a few went unidentified.  Perhaps some Blue Grosbeaks, Western Tanagers and Dickcissels were among them.  Cedar Waxwings were among those, with over 100 seen.

It was evident that more flycatchers had come in.  Eastern Wood Peewees were among those.  I tallied around 25 for the day.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was tallied as  FOY also.

Vireos had come in numbers as well.  Many seemed to be moving along the south point shore.

While on south point we got word of a LeConte's Sparrow up by the light beacon.  We headed that way, and eventually Keith found the bird again.  It was just pure luck since true to its nature, this species hides well in grasses!  I only got a brief glimpse, but it was good to know the bird was around since I had it on my mind this morning.  I have seen or found a few of these over the years.  One I found along Harrison Trail, put on a good show for birders a number of years ago.

Birds were all over the park, but not in big numbers.  A Kentucky Warbler was found on the west side of south point, but we could not catch up with it.  As well, a Worm-eating Warbler was heard well along Harrison, but never seen.  With most birds of this nature, it is simply being the right place at the right time or plain dumb luck.

A walk to the group campground was somewhat productive.  We talked about Olive-sided Flycatcher along the way. Upon arrival in the campground, "Quick, three-beers" was heard!

Several Spring Tanagers were seen during the day, but no Summer.

Acadian Flycatchers have not yet come in it seems. I looked for them.

I also look for Showy Orchis on the holiday weekend.  I happened to stumble upon a nice plant at one point!

Later, I walked down Harrison past pony barn, then turned around.  Along the way, a bird popped up beside the trail....it was a Connecticut Warbler!  It posed nicely before moving farther in.

On my last walk, a Prothonotary Warbler was singing in the first slough at TTT.  It was there the other day as well.

One day left for this long weekend....  What next?