Spring Influx!

 Saturday was an excellent day to be out looking for birds, and local birders took advantage of the big influx of blackbirds, waterfowl and others.  The writing was on the wall Friday, with the incoming warm weather and brisk southwest winds.

I went out to the St. Clair River to see what was around.  Some of the wintering ducks have already dispersed, but more "puddle" ducks were evident such as wigeon and Gadwall.  

I first did a stationary river-watch at Port Lambton.  There was a lot of activity of ducks on the move.  Lots of Mallard and wigeon and others.

Two separate pairs of Trumpeter Swans were on the move.  Too distant for photos though.  They still are considered rare on eBird, but they really should be removed as rare for Lambton.  Too many sightings anymore.  They are not "rare" in Chatham-Kent, where there seems to be fewer sightings.

I spent some time south of Sombra around Fawn Island as well.  Several wigeon and gadwall were here.

American Wigeon in ice

Looks like more Ring-necked Ducks came in as well.

Just before I took off from there, six Double-crested Cormorants flew by too close to even get the camera on them.  No doubt some rather early migrants, since none were in that area all winter.

Thousands of waterfowl came in with this influx, as noted by birders from Essex County in the south to north Lambton.  Northern Pintail certainly arrived in numbers with hundreds reported.  Just before I got home along Langstaff Line, I saw a flock of pintail circling.  Probably in the neighbourhood of fifty birds.

Blackbirds arrived by the thousands, lots of Robins, and even some Eastern Meadowlarks here and there.  Song Sparrows can be included as well, with good numbers arriving.

Today was similar with decent numbers of birds reported.  I went to Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee, but did not find anything of note.  I got my first Eastern Towhee of the year (none wintered!) at Pelee, and some of those can be included in the influx.

Scene along De Laurier trail

Scene along Cactus Trail

I stopped by Hillman Marsh first thing and checked the shorebird cell.  There is a bit of water at the east end where I found hundreds of ducks.  Over 300 Mallards and over 100 pintail there among others.

Friday I went to Rondeau and Erieau for a change.  The "influx" had not yet arrived so not much to report!

At the park, it was threatening rain, and it did eventually rain as I was creeping around.

The Gray Catbird was still present at Erieau's marsh trail, but unfortunately my camera malfunctioned at the most inconvenient time!

It was a somewhat foggy day, so I think some fog got into the camera.  That is my excuse anyway!

I saw a couple of White-crowned Sparrows here, which astonishingly, were my first-of-year.

Saw some of those prickly cucumbers again along the trail.

Trail Scene

This past Tuesday, I was out to the river on another gloomy day.  Some White-winged Scoters were between Sombra and Port Lambton.

Quite a bit of waterfowl around Fawn Island, including some wigeon.

Many of the ducks were snoozing though.  Still no more hybrids!

Wednesday was yet another foggy day, as  I went out to Lake St. Clair area.

Of course the Bay was still frozen, but water levels are certainly low.  

There is mud showing off the dock at the south shore trail.

I came back to Wallaceburg on gravel roads.  Quite a few Tundra Swans were at the north end of Baldoon Road.  On the other side of the road, the only thing in the corn field was a lone Trumpeter Swan.  It was quite distant though in poor light.

I guess it was not allowed to join the Tundras!

With the warmer weather now here, we will more birds to look for each day.  Been a long winter!

Upriver Ducks

 There are now thousands of ducks on the St. Clair River, just like it should be!  Today was a stellar day, and I went as far as Guthrie Park, Corunna.

There was not a lot at Corunna (too much ice), but viewing conditions were excellent, save for some Shell steam.

Close in were three Trumpeter Swans.  These are likely the one I have been seeing farther downriver this winter, as I did not find any others today.

There are quite a few Ring-necked Ducks on the river this winter.  Five were in the steamy conditions at the mouth of Talfourd Creek.

Lots of Canvasbacks around currently.

Hooded Pair

Just after arrival, one of the wintering Double-crested Cormorants flew by at close range.

Eventually, I headed back downriver to concentrate observations in certain areas.  The first was off Courtright where thousands of ducks were farther out.  Viewing conditions were superb, and with a scope I was able to scan the masses.  Too far for photos though.

Surprisingly, there was nothing unusual!  However, it was nice to finally spend some time scanning the rafts.

Among the thousands of Redhead, Canvasback, Long-tailed and others, there were five White-winged Scoters.

I looked for hybrid ducks, but could not find any.  None of those Redhead hybrids have been reported yet along the river this winter.  I would guess there are some out there somewhere.

Heading downriver, there were lots of ducks all the way along to the CF Industries outfall.

Some open water at the north end of Cundick Park (Stoke's Point) was another spot to stop and look.  Nothing unusual though.

Wednesday was the last time I was previously out to the river.  Lots of ducks were at and in the vicinity of Willow Park.

South of that beside the brine barge, I briefly stopped and spotted a male Ruddy Duck.  Always seems to be one or two on the river each winter.

There were at least two Trumpeter Swans seen from Cathcart Park.

Thursday, I toured spots north of home and went for some short walks.  It was almost birdless.  In fact, there was not a single bird at Nicholl's Memorial Forest and Wetland at Wilkesport!  Typical this winter.

I walked into Moore WMA, which always used to be a very good spot for birds in winter.  It was almost birdless too!  Just took some scenery shots.

Not much left of the old bridge!

Went for a good walk at Reid C. L. as well.

Distant Sycamore tree

Yesterday, I headed down to Rondeau Park.  More for exercise I guess, since there were few birds.

Scene near the visitor centre

I also walked Bannerstone which had some birds.  Seemed more birdy there than in the park.

Spring will be arriving soon, and the temps are getting milder, so change is in the air.

Relief! Some Recent Walks

 Today's weather was certainly a welcome relief.  The temperature went above zero for the first time in several weeks!

This morning, I managed to go for a long walk under sunny skies (weather forecast was a bit wrong...turned out nice!).  In recent weeks, I had not been able to go for any lengthy walk due to the weather or cold or snow.  Weight gain......

My place of choice was the frozen Sydenham River starting at W. Darcy McKeough dam.  I had not done this in many years.  It is certainly something different and interesting to do.

Some scenes.......

Just north of the dam at the bend

There was practically no birdlife (no surprise this winter), but I was more focused on the fresh air and exercise.  Here are some scenes along the way.

I walked up to the next concession.

Smith Line bridge

One of the birds was a Red-breasted Nuthatch.  I did not get a photo, but here is the one in my yard this winter.

Along the way, I noticed remnants of a paper wasp nest.  The outer covering had blown off, exposing the inside.  Kind of neat-looking!

Neglected pic-nic table along the way:

Sunday was a nice day for a drive, as I went into Elgin County.  Again, not many birds, but I needed a change in scenery and a couple of moderate walks.  I went as far as John E. Pearce Provincial Park south of Wallacetown.

I walked the trail at the Storey Wetland.

No owls in the woods, but then they are scarce this winter.  Deer were prancing about though, and these two briefly stopped to take note of my presence.

On the way back, I stopped by Clear Creek Provincial Nature Reserve.  Coming up along Duart Road, a Common Raven was perched in a tree.  As usual, it flushed before I could get a photo.  It is quite standard to find a raven around these parts anymore.

Here are some scenes.

The trail passes by the famous old fallen beech tree.

Here is a photo way back when it was still alive.

At one point, I noticed some imprints in the snow.  Obviously a bird had come down to grab something.  Possibly an owl?

There have been some trips out to the St. Clair River, but it is mostly iced in.  Recently, open water is from north of Cath's Cart Park to south of Courtright. Here we find lots of waterfowl.

Yesterday, I stopped at the CF Industries warm water outlet where the concentration was.  I picked out four Trumpeter Swans here, and possibly a fifth.  Unable to get decent photos of anything since I sat in the car, not wanting to flush anything.

Two Trumpeters here with a Mute counterpart

There were too many Mute Swans, and a few Tundra Swans.

There was one Canadian Coot swimming around.  I recently had two at Cathcart Park.  Probably the "least common"bird here.