Prowls and Owls

Been doing lots of prowling around lately.  Normally I would spend time along the St. Clair River, but there is virtually nothing out there to see.  In the 35 years I have been looking at the river, it is the deadist for birds I have ever seen it!  Everything is still out on the lakes, as there is no reason to leave the lakes.

A few days ago I travelled along Lake St. Clair to Belle River.  The Belle River pier and marina area is always a good spot in winter for gulls and waterfowl.  Better though, when we have a "normal" winter!

A pair of Ross's Geese had been hanging around along the beach in recent days, but I struck out on this occasion!  Things are quite fluid there, and obviously I picked the wrong day.....again.

A number of Ruddy Ducks, among others have been sticking around here.

On the way back home, I checked geese near St. Clair NWA.  About twenty Snow Geese were present in a a field, but no Ross's.

Some Snowy Owls finally came in!  Three were close together along Winter Line, while another was not far away.  Two seemed content on a rooftop.

Every winter, one Snowy Owl seems to feel safe  in a fenced-in area!

I also walked the south shore trail at Mitchell's Bay.  Lots of Tundra Swans were on the ice (what little ice there was!).

Saturday was a very nice day with clear skies.  Something we have seen little of since November, and certainly a rarity on a weekend!  I went for a walk at Rondeau Park.  It was quiet for birds, but just nice to see the sun.

Several Pileated Woodpeckers were out and about doing their thing.

Lots of American Tree Sparrows seem to be around this winter, if nothing else.

In the afternoon I went for a walk north of Wallaceburg and popped in to check on the Long-eared Owl.

Sunday was another fine day, but try and find some birds!  It is indeed a quiet winter for birds in the countryside, and I ended up doing too much driving, not finding anything.

The Ross's Geese were reported at Belle River again, so there was no choice but to try for them.  I could only find one (distant) upon arrival, walking around on the ice, then eventually resting.

There were oodles of Canada geese along the beaches, but no other types of geese.

Prowls and Owls

Wednesday was just not a good day.   Among other things, the weather was just plain dismal--drizzle, fog and and rather dark.  I went on a prowl up Sarnia way, but could not come up with anything new.  I did see the long-staying Harlequin Duck and King Eider at the lakewatch spot near the water plant on the mouth of Lake Huron.

Some people have mis-labeled this spot! The strip of shoreline is part of Sarnia, not Point Edward.  As well, it is the mouth of Lake Huron, not the mouth of the St. Clair River.  The mouth is where the body of water spills out!  I guess I am too fussy....lol.

I stopped by Guthrie Park on the way back.  Lots of gulls, but mostly one species.  Lighting was horrible and one could not see any distance.

Today was dismal as well, but fairly clear and no wind.  I decided to check out St. Clair NWA in anticipation of the CBC on Saturday.  Too bad today was not the count, as the weather will leave a lot to be desired on Saturday!

As soon as I got out of the car, a Yellow-rumped Warbler greeted me.  A bit of a surprise there!

I doubt I have ever seen the place so open with no ice at all for this time of year.  It was packed with waterfowl!

A mass of ducks came in at one point, mostly Mallards and Blacks, but lighting was horrible so they were more silhouettes than anything.

From the tower I could see lots of Ring-necked Ducks.  I put down 135 on my list, but I know there were much more than that since I could not see everything.

Along the walk, I came up with a total of 14 Marsh Wrens.  I guess that is to be expected there especially with this mild weather so far.  They were too difficult to photograph since there is too much phragmites.

I then moved on to Lighthouse Cove.  We need ice there to concentrate things and attract gulls, as it can be a hopping place!  Not too many gulls today.

In view were 20 Double-crested Cormorants, somewhat expected there given the unseasonable weather.  They were really on the C-K side though.

There are always some novelty ducks there!

After some business in Chatham, I swung out Mitchell's Bay way before going home.  Snowy Owls are usually abundant there.  Passing by, I noticed five between Marsh and Mallard Lines along Winter Line.

The south shore trail was extremely quiet, but must be checked, especially after the Sage Thrasher incident!

Just south of Wallaceburg, I came by a couple of co-operative Snowy Owls along Meadowvale Line.  (They were missed on the Wallaceburg CBC, but maybe we can blame that on the crappy weather...again).  One dark, one light!

Humming Along At Point Pelee and Other Sightings

Today I decided to head to Point Pelee under the clear skies.  The air was crisp, but nice to have full sun on a weekend!
One can drive to the Tip right right now as the tower is nearing completion.  The tower has a distinctive hum in the breeze, though!  I hope this is not a constant thing as it could be annoying.

There was not much to note in the way of birds, as winter lingers on.  A few people were out and about and even the "afternoon shift" was out today (in the morning)!

Along Mersea Road 19, a male Ring-necked Pheasant was visible in a regular location.  These creatures are difficult to find anymore.

I stopped by Hillman Marsh to look at waterfowl.  A number of birds were in the shorebird cell, which is completely full of water.  I hope it goes down a bit for shorebirds!

Of note, four Greater White-fronted Geese were swimming around.  Also, a hybrid of sorts was amongst the geese.  It struck me as a Greater White-fronted X Canada, but I am not sure.

While I was walking around, a singing male Eastern Bluebird caught my attention.

On the way home, at least four Snowy Owls were in the vicinity of Grande Pointe.  Included was the "caged" owl!

I stopped by the Mitchell's Bay south shore trail to check on the gull situation.  The ice has already disappeared, except for a bit in the cove area.  A good number of gulls were there, but not like the other day. 

I did see one Glaucous Gull fly by at a distance.

Three Double-crested Cormorants were out on the lake, the first migrants I have seen this year.  A large number of ducks were on the Bay, most of which seemed to be Canvasback.

Spring burning on Walpole Island

While I walked the trail, three Sandhill Cranes flew by on their way north.

Sunday looks like a decent day as well!

Waterfowl Wanderings

I was due for some birding in Essex County, so that is where I went today!  My first stop was Point Pelee National Park (remember, you can renew your annual pass for a discount this month!).
Just before getting into the park, three Sandhill Cranes caught my eye on concession D. Obviously spring migrants.

As expected, the park was very quiet for birds, as it has been most of the winter.  I walked Shuster, Tilden's and Cactus Trails.  A few White-throated Sparrows were kicking around, but nothing of note.

I wanted to check Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary as well today, so that was the next stop.  Upon arrival, local birder Jeremy L. Hatt was already scanning the geese.  We had a nice chat about various things, and while there, five Ross's Geese appeared for us.

They continuously circled around, unsure of what to do.  Two of them briefly landed, but then they started circling again.  Apparently, they did come back later for other birders to see.

Hybrids have been increasing in recent years, but these seemed good for Ross's.
I had this species on my mind today, especially when four were reported on Rondeau Bay earlier this morning!

Geese

At least 36 Greater White-fronted Geese were there at Miner's as well.

The "white-fronts" are common this time of year anymore.  Hundreds have been reported in the province in the last ten days or so.

Needless to say, a few Cackling Geese were in the mix today. They are expected this time of year also.  They are easier to pick out in flight.  Higher-pitched calls are quite obvious.

Some Common Redpolls have been reported farther west at the intersection of Concession Road 9 and Coulter Sideroad.  This species is rather difficult to find in Essex County even in invasion winters.  I got directions from Jeremy, so I went that way and found the redpolls right away.  No photo attempts.

I headed back towards home via Comber (no blackbirds!) and along the Thames up to St. Clair NWA.  I did see a Great Blue Heron west of Jeannette's Creek, so some are still around.

I walked the dike at the NWA to the tower and observed lots of Tundra Swans, Canada Geese and a handful of ducks.  Also see were two Greater White-fronted Geese and two Snow Geese from the tower.

I decided to head down Balmoral Line later to get a better view.  It was a good choice as I could see more things.  Included were nine Snow Geese in total, an American Coot, a Ruddy Duck and about 18 Northern Shovelers in a tight group.  The shovelers must be spring migrants as that number had not been around since at least New Year's.
No doubt more things were there, but I did not spend too much time looking.

On the way home, a Snowy Owl was perched along Marsh Line.

The Meadowvale Snowy Owl south of Wallaceburg was also showing nicely as I headed out first thing this morning. At least three are regular in the Wallaceburg vicinity this winter.

Friday Frolicks at Rondeau

Today looked like a nice weather day.  Couple that with the fact I needed an extra off, and the fact the weekend weather was coming, I went down to Rondeau today.  The forecast for Saturday looked typical for a weekend, so there was no way I was playing that game again!

I started at dog beach with a lakewatch along with Steve Charbonneau.  There was virtually no wind, so the lake was rather calm.  However, viewing conditions were superb and there were lots of ducks and loons moving.
Not long after our arrival, a large white bird came in off the lake, which turned out to be the season's first Snowy Owl!  I attempted a record photo.

Looks like the Snowy Owls are finally appearing, as two were at Erieau today as well.

At least 40 Common Loons were seen during our watch, along with at least 8 Red-throated Loons.  In the past, we always thought Red-throated Loons were very rare at Rondeau, but then we never did lakewatches like we do now.

A good number of ducks were moving, including a few thousand Red-breasted Mergansers.

Some migrant passerines came in off the lake which are always neat to watch.  Once they hit land, they dive into the shrubbery!

We soon moved on to south point trail where the sun eventually came out.  Best bird was perhaps the Orange-crowned Warbler.

Lots of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches were flying today, but no sign of any redpolls yet.

Fox Sparrows certainly have moved in, as I counted around 30 today.  We even had one White-crowned Sparrow, a species that has been rather scarce this fall.
Some Red-breasted Nuthatches were around today.

After Steve moved on up to Townsend's Warbler headquarters, I checked out the campground and the north end of Harrison Trail.
A number of Fox Sparrows were in the campground as a well as a Yellow-rumped Warbler or two (we had two on SPT).
A couple dozen Cedar Waxwings were working the Red Cedars in the grounds.  One can always hope for a Bohemian.

I also walked to the pony barn area where I had a good look at a Pileated Woodpecker.  These impressive creatures become elusive in the winter months (especially on CBC's!).

Along the beach at the north end of the park, I found 8 Sanderlings, the only shorebird type of the day.

A few Sanderlings

Lots of geese were along the shoreline, including two Snows and the continuing Ross's Goose.

Two Snow Geese

Ross's Goose in the distance

On the way out, I checked the Townsend's Warbler area where a number of birders were looking.  Most had seen it, but it was very flighty today and difficult to get good looks.

Also on the agenda today, was to check McGeachy Pond.  Upon arrival, two Snowy Owls were visible in the field across the road.

There was not much along the dike, but a Gray Catbird was in the tangles, barely visible.  Perhaps it will stay into winter, as one usually does there.

Yes, it is a catbird

I also got a couple of glimpses of a Yellow Warbler.  There was one there a few days ago spotted by Jim Burk, who seems adept at finding warblers!

I soon headed back north, but after getting a bite to eat in Chatham, I veered over to Mitchell's Bay.  There was not much along the south shore trail, but lots of Canada Geese were around.
I did not see any Snowy Owls on the way, but there are likely some now.

The rain comes in tonight, signalling the start of yet another weekend!