One Last CBC-Weather Skunked Us Again!

 Yesterday, January 3 was the Skunk's Misery Christmas Bird Count.  It is usually the last one that birders in this area participate.  It was the fourth one I did this year.

As usual the weather was terrible! The long-range called for sun, but it was quite the opposite.  But that is the way it has been the last month or so--usually opposite to what is forecast.  We got a good covering of snow overnight, drizzle and fog in the afternoon.

I covered some of my usual area around Thamesville, starting at the bridge on Victoria Road.

There were few birds as I walked the old cemetery.

After a bit of driving I stopped by the Tecumseh Monument park east of the village.    It was the wrong time of year to look for Smoky Rubyspots along the river's edge so I did not venture down!

Again few birds, but the highlight was a Pileated Woodpecker across the river.  I had never recorded one on this count before. View was obscured though.

A few chickadees were working the grounds.

Kinglets and a creeper were also in the group.

I gave up quite a bit of my area this year, and drove the rest.  I guess the highlight was a huge flock (~100) of redpolls, but unfortunately they were overhead and moving. 

Very few birds, so I moved on and roamed the circle instead.

I came across a huge flock of Snow Buntings at one point.  Always neat to see as they swirl about.

Golden Eagles regularly winter in the north part of the circle. I only came across one in the distance in my travels, but the horrid weather did not help.

Numbers have yet to be finalized.

The St. Clair NWA count on Friday ended up at 89 species, an excellent total.  It relies heavily on waterfowl, and this year was no exception.  New for the count history was the Trumpeter Swan that I spotted within the wildlife area!

Another CBC: Skunk's

Saturday December 21 we participated in another Christmas Bird Count--Skunk's Misery.  This relatively new count has some great areas (Moraviantown, Skunk's Misery complex, Thames River etc.).

My area encompasses the SW corner of the circle including the metropolis of Thamesville.  I was accompanied by Janet Fraser this year.
We started under overcast skies, but eventually the sun came out for one of the nicest days we have had recently.  Was it really the weekend?
As expected, birds were scarce compared to previous years.  We started our day in the park at the east side of the village, then moved along the river to the Tecumseh Monument park.

That area was the quietest I have ever seen it.  Usually we find a number of birds at the monument.

Thames River

We then started zig-zagging up and down the "Zone" roads.  Birds were here and there.  Dark-eyed Juncos were fairly plentiful, but they always are on this count.  Other areas recorded good numbers.

At one point, I spotted two Eastern Bluebirds, which were nice to see.  We regularly get them on this count.

On Zone Road 2, we spotted an 'eagle' in the distance as we were looking into the bright sun.  It quickly disappeared into a woodlot, but I got a good enough look to know it was a Golden Eagle.  It was a first for my area!
Golden Eagles are regularly found on this count as they 'winter' in the Skunk's Misery area and to the north.
Less than a half hour later on Zone Road 1, we had another Golden Eagle sighting.  Better looks were obtained this time to see it was a young bird.  I assumed it was the same bird (but you never know) as it was the same latitude, only one road west.  I  only had my small camera on hand this day, but I did attempt a (useless) photo.

Our area goes up to the south edge of the village of Florence.  We stopped by the bridge and walked down to the river.  As many of you blog readers may recall, this spot is good early in the summer for odonates, especially the rare Dusky Dancer.  It was  bit cold today for them though!

Sydenham River

A couple kilometres south of the village, we encountered our only Northern Shrike.

A bit later we stopped by the bridge on the Thames south of Thamesville.  This area has changed drastically over the last while.  A new bridge has been built in the past year, and the old cantilever-truss bridge is totally gone!  Too bad, as it was one of the only ones of its type left.

This is actually a historic place, as several bridges have been on this site since the early 1800's.

They have done a nice job of cleaning up the site and planting trees.  One can still get to the riverbank to see the rare Smokey Rubyspots, along with American Rubyspots and others later in the summer... if one so desires.

Site of previous bridge

'Tother side

An old cemetery is here as well, and we walked to the back of it.  Not many birds again, though.
Lots of big trees here, including many Hackberry, Black Walnut, Sycamore, etc.

Hackberry

Our last walk was just west of the village at one of Janet's friends.  They have feeders (and cats!), but we did add a few birds here--not as many as usual.


We parted ways from here.  We added very little after this, but it was indeed a nice day to be out and about.

I do not have results of the count at the time of this writing, but I thought I would write about my day.  More on the results later.

Another CBC-Skunk's Misery December 30

Today was the Skunk's Misery CBC.  The cool day dawned overcast, but eventually the sun came out later in the morning for a nice day.  We received more snow than expected overnight, but that may have helped with regards to finding birds.
I did my usual area around Thamesville and north, with some friends.  We started at a park in the village, but it was somewhat quiet.
Moving east, we stopped by the Tecumseh Monument park which turned out to be one of the better spots.

We had a good variety and number of birds along the river bank.  Probably the best bird was a Carolina Wren.

Dark-eyed Juncos were numerous here, as well as many other spots in our sector.  I find this count does well (at least in my area) for juncos.

We then split up checking other areas by driving around. I found quite a number of Horned Larks for the first time this winter.  They had been almost absent earlier.  I find that a snow fall such as we had overnight brings up the numbers.  Snow Buntings were here and there as well.

Later, we met at the water treatment plant by the bridge south of the village.  It was rather quiet here unlike previous years, but the construction of the new bridge did not help matters.

Right off the start, we had a small flock of Common Redpolls fluttering around.

A walk through the adjacent cemetery was rather 'dead'.

New Bridge

Lots of Hackberry in this area

and Sycamore

We then checked some private property west of the village and along the riverbank, where we added some more birds.

Spitting up again, I headed towards Florence to finish the count where I added some Cedar Waxwings to the mix.
Janet, Pat and Tiffany finished the day around Thamesville, adding a few birds.
The total species count will be somewhere in the mid sixties.

One more CBC to go, and its all over for another year!  The hangover St. Clair NWA CBC is January 1.

Thamesville Area Birding

Today was the Skunk's Misery CBC and I checked out my usual area from Thamesville up to Lambton Line and east to Zone Road 5.
We received significant snowfall overnight (much more than expected!) which made roads slick first thing.
My first stop was a park at the east end of Thamesville.  From there I next went to the Tecumseh Memorial display along the Thames River. 

Usually quite a few birds are found here, but with the deepfreeze and deep snow this winter, few were to be found.  However, there was quite a gathering of Mourning Doves (at least 75) from the farm across the river.
Normally there is open water on the river with some geese and ducks, but not this year!

Interpretive Signs

I went up and down the snow-covered roads.  Zone Road 2 had a number of birds including a couple of American Robins.
Around the corner, I found the nicest birds of the day.  Three Eastern Bluebirds were alongside Base Line.
Later, I found some chickadees, but I only got this in the photo (LOL!):

Nice Sumac

A couple of Bald Eagles were along the river in the distance south of Florence. Golden Eagles are often found around Skunk's Misery in winter, but these were Bald.

One of my last stops (which in the past was always the first stop!) was at the Thamesville Bridge.  Unfortunately things are messed up here as they are building a new bridge just west of the present structure.  The present structure will eventually disappear.  As I mentioned in the past, it is an unusual type in the form of cantilever truss.

Photo from last year (note lack of snow!!)

I was able to check out the east side of the bridge beside the water plant.  I found quite a few birds here actually.

Lots of Hackberry here

At home, I watched the feeders for a while later in the afternoon.  Finally some Pine Siskins showed up!  It has been over a year since I have seen them here.

Note goldfinch suspended in mid-air!

Also, a Red-breasted Nuthatch which I had earlier in December, suddenly made an appearance after an absence of more than two weeks.  It did not show for the CBC (I also know of another on count day, after the fact!).

One more CBC locally on Monday--the St. Clair NWA. It will be COLD!