"Some" Insects, Portly Shorebirds, and "Jack"

 Monday was warm enough for a walk at Reid CA.   This month has just been too cold for the most part with continuous northerly winds, so not much insect life.  The whole month has been the pits for weather!

Odonates included Four-spotted Skimmers which were quite numerous.

A few butterflies included these:

Monarch

Silver-spotted Skipper

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Eastern Giant Swallowtails

And an Asteroid Moth.  Not much to look at, but the caterpillar is fairly attractive.

Tuesday I was in the mood for the long walk out Rondeau's south beach.  Winds were fairly light, but still out of the east (what's new?).

There were a few migrants along the trail.  The highlight was a singing Worm-eating Warbler at one point.  I never got much of a view, but it was singing quite a bit.  Lighting was horrible anyway under cloudy skies.

The walk out south beach started off nicely, with three Red Knots not too far out among other shorebirds.  Always a treat to see these portly shorebirds as they are scarce anymore.

There were in fact lots of shorebirds all along.  The knots and others flushed to way out south beach, and when I got there, a fourth Red Knot had joined them.

Even some Whimbrel were out there.  Two were on the beach for some time, but I did see a flock of about 18 come in as well.

A good variety of shorebirds was out there, including this White-rumped Sandpiper.

Others:

Sanderling

Black-bellied Plover

Dunlin

After that long walk, I checked out a bit of the north end of Harrison trail past pony barn.  Then I was done.  Getting too old for those long walks!

Today was a dismal day weatherwise with off and on drizzle.  I did get a fairly long walk in at Reid CA early before the weather turned really gloomy.  Too early and cool for many insects, but I did get this Eastern Calligrapher.

A couple of passerines were in the yard this afternoon.  Both a female Magnolia Warbler and a Blackburnian Warbler took advantage of the facilities.

Probably the drabbest Magnolia Warbler I have ever seen!

In the history department on this date,  the small freighter Jack was torpedoed in 1942 by U-155 about 100 miles southwest of Haiti.  37 lives lost out of 63.  The vessel was built at Lorain, Ohio in 1919.

It was a visitor to Wallaceburg in 1925, as shown here at the sugar factory.

There were several vessels in the "poker fleet" such as Ace, King, Ten, Nine that visited Wallaceburg on occasion.

Sometimes It Works Out !

 Although I enjoy being outdoors as much as I can, birding or looking at other things, it is nice to see some decent birds along the way.  It is the thrill of the hunt that intrigues many birders.  One often goes to a particular location in the hope of seeing an interesting bird, or a rarity.

Today, I went back to Rondeau.  Weather was less than ideal with a strong east wind under cloudy skies.  And yes, the usual prevailing east wind for this time of year!

Although it is only May 1, there were not a lot of birds to keep up one's interest.  I decided to leave at one point and try my luck elsewhere.  Ten Willets were reported at Wheatley Harbour, so I headed in that direction.  Upon arrival, they were still there huddled up in the wind.

A couple of early Ruddy Turnstones were on the beach as well.  Here is one.

Since I was that far west, I decided to head into Point Pelee National Park.  I did not expect to see much, and birding was a bit slow.  However, there were some quality birds around, and that coupled with the meeting of old friends made the visit worthwhile.

I parked at White Pine, and walked in to the trails and down to Tilden Woods.  There were not many birds, but already this day, people had seen Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and early Magnolia Warbler and an early Wilson's Warbler.

The Cerulean was at ground level, feeding.  One of the brighter ones I have seen!

With some effort, I managed to see the warblers, but not the Chat.  As you know, chats are good at hiding even though they may be 'within reach'.

At least three Yellow-breasted Chats had been reported this day.  Another was on Redbud trail, so I headed in that direction.  After some waiting, the Chat was very briefly seen after making some characteristic chatters.

At this site, an early Cape May Warbler (male) and another White-eyed Vireo were nice to see.

I then headed back towards the VC, when a message came through that the "afternoon shift" (Richard Carr) had discovered a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at the Tip.  I was not far from the tram, so I waited till it arrived and hopped on board with the mob.

Luckily, the long-tailed creature was still at the Tip catching insects!  I was not a position for a good photo, but who cares.

While there, a number of gulls were on the long Tip.  Someone spotted a Franklin's Gull among them!  Rather distant, but a nice bird for this time of year.

The gull was indeed a bonus!

It was then time to head home after a long day.  Ending up at Point Pelee today certainly worked out!

Earlier this week, Tuesday had looked like a promising day for birds.  There were lots of new birds and some rarities reported, but it did not pan out as most had expected.  The numbers just did not arrive.  I stayed fairly local, checking out Mitchell's Bay, Port Lambton and Peers Wetland.  It was not as productive as I had hoped.

Osprey at Peers

shy Black-and-white at Mitchell's bay

A Lark Sparrow was found at the north end of Rondeau Park, which later ended up at Keith McLean Conservation Lands.  This happened at least once before!  

I was not going to rush down for it though.

Wednesday I was at Rondeau first thing.  I wanted to get there early enough for Whip-poor-wills, but I slept in about 15 minutes too late!  Lots of time for them this month.

Although a nice day, there were not many birds.  Some first-of-year birds were added though.  I left the park before 08:30, if that tells you anything!

I then decided to check out McLean's in case the Lark Sparrow was still around.  I spent some time there, and eventually I spotted it!

first observance

It was nice that it stayed another day.  Actually it was still there today.

I moved on from there and went to the marsh trail at Erieau, and McGeachy Pond.  Some new birds included this Bobolink.

Bobolinks must have come in overnight as they were in multiple locations on Wednesday.

I then went to the Blenheim lagoons.  A large number of Lesser Yellowlegs was still present.  I counted over 120, which is the most I have seen at this location.

While walking I noticed some insects in the grasses.  Here is a Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, which I do not think I had photographed before.

While in that neck of the county, I decided to try for the wacky Whimbrel near Erie Beach.  It had arrived a couple of days earlier, and in fact probably the same bird at the same location from last year!  It is incredibly early for a Whimbrel, but these things happen.  It was another bird that Jim Burk spotted for his "tractor" list.

Thanks to Jim for directing me up the laneway of the field to see this bird.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of heat haze this day and I could not focus.

The month of May is now here.........!!  (And I already have Whimbrel on my list!)

New Bird for Lambton, Point Pelee Sightings and a Visit to the Misery

 After spending a few more days at Rondeau and area, Saturday was more of a day of relaxation.  However, I was out in the morning albeit quite foggy and damp.  Highlight was listening to the Western Meadowlark at Sombra (solar farm).  It was found a few days previous by Brandon Holden as he was making his rounds in the area.

It was quite pleasant to listen to it sing, a much more unique and pleasing song than its eastern counterpart.  I never got a photo, but in retrospect, could have obtained a recording.

The Western Meadowlark was a bird I really wanted to see for Lambton County.  Oddly, in all my years of birding the area, I never listed one for Lambton!  Apparently, they used to be more regular in the 1970's and before, but have fallen off the map in recent times.

There is always the occasional sighting in southern Ontario each year.  I have seen them in Middlesex, Essex, and a couple in Chatham-Kent, not to mention Rainy River District.  The Essex one was a bonus, as I photographed a bird a few years ago (2 June 2018) at Point Pelee, unknowingly that it was a Western.  My excuse is that it never vocalized!

Sunday I headed down to Point Pelee.  I first stopped at the Hillman shorebird cell to see if anything of interest was in.  Nothing new!  However, I had to satisfy my curiosity.

I then slid over to Point Pelee.  Even arriving later in the morning, the park was not all that busy despite the holiday weekend.  It was later though when I left.....the lineup to the gate was about a kilometre long, and growing.  Apparently they had to close the park for a while!

Anyway, I parked at the VC and walked towards the Tip on the road.  I cut in to west beach trail at the half way stop.  There were actually quite a few birds along the way, not to mention birders farther down.

As often is the case this time of year, there are many familiar faces along the way, and May birding is very much a social event as well.  Some, we only see this time of year, but you get to know these people and it is nice to share bird sightings and other news.

At the Tip parking lot, I was talking to Ross and Sandy (long time friends) when word came about a Neotropic Cormorant at the Tip.  We rushed to the good 'ole Tip and the the subject bird was pointed out to us.  It flew around a bit, swam a bit, and stuck around for many to see.  

Unsatisfactory photos were obtained.

That was a nice 'bonus' bird for my visit!  Not new for my Essex list, but certainly a rarity to my eyes.

While there, a couple of American White Pelicans were way out on the lake, and came a bit closer to view.

The pelicans are a regular there anymore at this time of year, so it was not surprising to see them.

As well, a couple of Whimbrel were resting on the Tip.

I walked back west beach trail looking for insects.  Nothing of note, but I had hopes of seeing a Juniper (or Olive) Hairstreak, a critically imperiled species at Point Pelee nowadays.  Ironically, one was found today!

(photo from the past)

After a quick check at Northwest Beach area, I left the park before it became overcrowded.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Long-nosed Marsh Fly

Today, I needed to go in a different direction, and headed up towards the county line of Middlesex and Lambton.  There are still lots of decent pastures in that area where one can find Upland Sandpiper, Grasshopper Sparrow, etc.  In the scrubby area, Clay-colored Sparrow can be found buzzing away.

I found all of them!  But, could not get good photos....again.

Shy Clay-colored Sparrow

Eastern Meadowlarks (no Western) too.

Heading back, I checked out Skunk's Misery.  Indeed, the mosquitoes were horrific with all the rain we have had this spring.

One of my go-to places is Sitler Woods, one of the more recent acquisitions by Thames Talbot Land Trust (TTLT).

As expected, I got Acadian Flycatcher there, among other things like Hooded Warbler.

It is a place one may still find some American Chestnut.

In other areas several Hooded Warblers were singing, and a large number of Ovenbirds among other things.

Juvenal's Duskywing

While in the area, a stop at Wardsville Woods (another TTLT property) is always a necessity.  I go there more for insects, as readers of this blog know quite well.  It is a haven for rare odonates, but right now it is a bit early for some.

I found Midland Clubtails, Common Whitetails, and Twelve-spotted Skimmers today.

Midland Clubtail

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Butterflies searching can be good here as well.

A FOY Common Ringlet

Still some bird migrants still to come. Flycatchers had not really come in numbers yet, but a few arrived today finally.  Cuckoos have not arrived to any degree yet either.

And, indeed, some rarities will be popping up to make things interesting!