Victoria Day Weekend 2020 Birding Part Two

Sunday was another day of east winds, which seem to be the norm for this time of year anymore.  I went down to Rondeau Park very early to listen for nightjars.  I heard about nine Whip-poor-wills.  One can always hope for a Chuck-will's-Widow, but I did not encounter one!

With east winds, we stayed on the west side of the park, starting at the Marsh Trail entrance.  Since the trail is a thing of the past, we stood at the trail gate to watch for birds streaming.  Often on east winds, birds hit the west side of the park at the marsh and decide to stream out of the park.  We have had some awesome days in the past, but one has to be quick on the draw to ID birds!
This day, it was the swallows that came from their roost in the marsh and headed in a northerly direction.  In about 25 minutes, Steve, Craig and I estimated about 21,000 swallows went by.  It was an incredible sight!

After the swallows thinned out and there was no real evidence of streaming, we headed to the cars.  However we were delayed as a sparrow was spotted beside the parking lot.  Turned out to be a Grasshoppper Sparrow!
I could not get a good photo as it lurked through the long grass.

It was then time to head down to Spicebush Trail. Upon arrival, many birds were evident including a singing Golden-winged Warbler.  Although seen well, it was not co-operative for the camera as it checked out dead leavesin the slough.  There have been good numbers reported this spring.

We had just set foot on the boardwalk bridge, when an alert was sent out.  Back to the cars!  Reuven and his girlfriend found a Spotted Towhee in the campground.
By the time we arrived on site, the bird had moved considerably north into dense brush.  After about ten minutes, it was "spotted"  lurking on the ground.  I managed to get some crude photos which were enough to ID the bird.

It was a new Rondeau bird for me as well as others.  The last record was in May 2005 when one spent several days in the park.  I could never catch up with that one!
The only other park record was  6 November 1979 where one was reported by Allen Woodliffe.
Another Rondeau area record was 17 December 1989 at Erieau when Alan Wormington found one on the Christmas Bird Count.

After that exercise, we headed back to Spicebush trail and area.  A fair number of birds were found, keeping us busy.

Later, we headed down the west section of south point trail.  We were greeted at the parking area by a singing Cerulean Warbler.
Many more birds kept us busy along the trail, but nothing notable.  Memories of this area were brought up as Steve and I recalled our first Sydenham Field Naturalists outing here in May 1988 (LOL!).  It was my first birding experience in Rondeau Park and luckily it happened to be a fallout day.  We tallied several lifers including a Kentucky Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, etc.  Those were the days when one could walk all the way around on a trail.  Now, several hundred feet of shoreline have disappeared leaving no trail!

After parting ways, I checked out some areas before leaving before I got too tired to drive!  With the situation this spring, I though I would not get to look for Showy Orchis as I annually do.  However, with the park open, I found some.  They are not yet in bloom though.

I ended up with 25 species of warblers, and here is the day's list for just the 'west' side of the park:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S69224304

Today, was another day of brisk east winds and rain.  Luckily, the rain held off for the first part of the morning as I wanted to check out Reid Conservation Area north of home.  The rain overnight flooded everything yet again!

However, I stuck it out for 3.5h there before the rain got too heavy at the end.  It was worth it as there were lots of birds to sort through.
I found most of the warblers in the SW corner of the property where it is very wet and many trees are down as the above photo shows.

I stood in one spot for about an hour sorting through all the warblers.  It was quite entertaining!  This area is where the old oxbow flows out to the Sydenham River.

I counted twenty species of warblers, including a FOY Blackpoll.

I did walk the whole property tallying over sixty species for the outing, including twenty warblers.  There were some high numbers of Northern Parula, Blackburnian and Nashville Warblers and good numbers of others.  It was a treat as I really have never spent much time here in peak migration season.
Here is the list for Reid today:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S69262387

This afternoon the rain let up a bit and I headed to the local hotspot of Peers Wetland.  The "Chicken Island" area was hopping with birds, including another Blackpoll.  Here is the list:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S69281193

Still lots of birds to come, but they will be on the move!

Ovenbird in the Garden

Crisp and Clear Day

Ice off Point Pelee Tip

I woke up this morning to clear skies. It was quite cold though. I looked out my window and the birds were already moving at 07:00. About 07:15 I noticed two birds alight a maple tree over in Steinhoff Park. I trained my binoculars on them and they turned out to be male White-winged Crossbills! Those were the first here in a few weeks.

I had plans to check out Point Pelee, so off I went. I arrived at the Tip parking lot about 09:10. I caught sight of a flock of Cedar Waxwings feeding along the road. I tried to approach them, but they were wary and suddenly took off with a whoosh!. There were about 30, and I did scan them for Bohemian, but no luck for that species.

Cedar Waxwings

I checked the famous area for the Spotted Towhee, but only saw two Song Sparrows (new spring migrants) and two Tree Sparrows. I then headed to the Tip and looked at some ducks and gulls among the piles of ice. Interestingly, that wayward channel marker is still anchored off the Tip!

The Tip (pointing east)

Returning from there, I noted some Tree Sparrows, Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Carolina Wren in the underbrush.

At the towhee spot, other birders were there who turned out to be Glenn Coady, George and Mark Peck and Tyler Hoar. I spent the next couple of hours with them. The Spotted Towhee finally showed for some good views, but it sure moved around a lot.

Earlier I noted a couple of redpolls flying over.

Next stop was the visitor centre and a visit with Sarah Rupert. Turns out they were cleaning out the library there, and there were hundreds of books and journals. A real bargain for the book collector! They were only asking $1.00 donation for each book! We all left with something in hand.

Next stop was De Laurier where upon arrival we noted hundreds of American Robins flying south as well as 30-40 Eastern Bluebirds. There was even a Hermit Thrush or two amongst them.

We then parted, but I headed down to Chinquapin Oak Trail and the cemetery area and noted more robins, kinglets as well as a creeper and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I also came across a flock of about 40 Purple Finches. I heard a flicker in the distance, but did not see it.

I headed home and passed through Wheatley. There were quite a few gulls in the harbour, but I did not note any Mew Gull or anything of that nature!

Gulls on the harbour ice

Towhee Spotted!

The highlight of today was the fact that I saw the Spotted Towhee at Point Pelee! No more nemesis bird! It was very elusive in the underbrush just SW of the Tip washrooms. I missed it on my first pass, but saw it after Dave Martin caught a glimpse of it. We had just arrived at the spot, and Dave decided to scan the underbrush with his binoculars. Ironically, he put his binoculars right on the bird! You could not really see it with the naked eye. We watched it for a while until it disappeared further back. There is also an Eastern Towhee with it and White-throated Sparrows and Carolina Wrens.

That bird was a long time coming for me. I have missed others for various reasons.

I managed to get a few poor photos, but here is the best one.

This towhee was originally found by Alan Wormington about a month ago. It could possibly stay the winter.

I started the day at Rondeau just to scout around for the Christmas Bird Count which is on tomorrow. There were very few birds to be found. It was quite windy on south point trail, and from what I hear, it will be far worse tomorrow with rain. We cannot seem to win with the weather for this count in recent years. Always gale force winds.

There is lots of water in the sloughs with all the rain. Good footwear will be required as we will want to get out of the wind tomorrow and check some sloughs.

There have been quite a few Bald Eagles around Rondeau lately. Yesterday Irene Woods counted about seven. I saw four together on south point trail this morning. One adult and three immatures.

I think I saw more deer than birds first thing this morning! Here is a photo of some with eyes aglowing! Their noses should be glowing red this time of year...