Latest Travels: Some Birds, Low Water, Fiery Skipper

 Another week has passed already!  Some fine weather, but this week looks more autumn-like with cool temps and rain.

Making my rounds, I stopped by W. Darcy McKeough CA on Monday.  

This Palm Warbler was soaking up some early morning sun.

Water level very low due to the lack of rain the past few months.  May be the lowest I have seen it there.

Among some Killdeer, a Least Sandpiper was on the mudflat.

Purple Finches seem to be everywhere now.  A few Pine Siskins here and there.  We will see if other finches show up this fall!

I visited Rondeau on Wednesday.  Not much of note.

Northern Parula

I walked back the beach off south point trail.  Lots of beach showing now.

Sanderling

On the way out, I stopped at Keith McLean C. L.  There were a lot of birds there, so I spent quite a bit of time.  I did catch a glimpse of a Nelson's Sparrow.  As usual, it did not stay up long enough for a photo!

As usual, been to Mitchell's Bay a couple of times.

Thursday was very calm.  It was nice looking onto Lake St. Clair even though there was not much activity.

Lots of blackbirds moving around.  One tree had three male Yellow-headed Blackbirds!

 I have seen quite a few this fall.

Friday I went up to Dow Wetlands.  It was not as birdy as I had hoped.  Near the end of the walk close to the parking lot, a couple of Eastern Bluebirds were flying around.  Was not able to make one into a Mountain....

Today, I had the urge to go to Rondeau Park and start with a lakewatch.  It was the first good south wind for a lakewatch.  However, not much was moving!  Lake watching has been the pits so far this fall.

Checked out south point trail (east) afterwards, then went to McLean's.  Lots of sparrows there, but not much else.  It was devoid of shorebirds, except for four Dunlin which took off as soon as I approached.

It was quite warm today, so some butterflies were out.  Caught sight of this Fiery Skipper at McLean's.  I am sure it will be the last one for this year!

The change in weather this coming week should stir things up.  We sure need some rain!

A Duck In Tuf(ted) Weather

 Saturday was quite gloomy, foggy and drizzly, typical of weekend weather.  I opted to head to Rondeau Park to see what was around despite that.

I walked Tulip Tree trail, then south point trail (west).  There was nothing special that came along.  More sparrows have come in as expected.  No warblers though!  I suppose things are a bit more normal this year compared to recent years with the cooler weather.

Several Blue-winged Teal were in the sloughs.

Along the trail, I always notice this oddly-formed tree.

Before leaving the park, I started walking the campground.  Soon after, I got word of a Tufted Duck at Erieau.  There was light rain anyway, so I did an about-face!

It was a must-see bird, as there has only been one other record in the area to my knowledge, and almost all of us have not recorded one in the Rondeau birding area.

Upon arrival at the entrance to the marina, and during heavy drizzle, the subject duck was easily seen!

It was a perfect male, obvious as to species.  It was in company with its distant cousins, Lesser Scaup.

Certainly a nice addition to our Rondeau area bird list!

On the way out, I stopped by a spot along Erieau Road where a male Yellow-headed Blackbird was being seen.  As soon as I got out of the car, I heard it sing a couple of times.  However, I could not get a visual!  I suspect it was tight in the phragmites.  A light rain was falling complicating matters, so I eventually left.

Today, we did not get any precipitation, but I went back to Rondeau Park.  It seemed even quieter than the previous day, and nothing notable was seen.

Eventually, I heard that the Tufted Duck was still being seen, along-side a Harlequin Duck.  Had to go to Erieau again!

Both ducks were almost side-by-side in scope views.  They were a bit distant, so I did not attempt any photos. Nice to see these two at once.

Back on Friday I stayed fairly close to home on a sunny day.  It got fairly warm in the afternoon, so I went up to Reid CA.

With the ridiculous amount of rain Wednesday night, rivers and streams were running very high, and fields flooded.  There was limited walking at Reid due the flooding river!

I could not go my usual route of course, and was not able to get past the low spot on the main trail.

Old River Channel

I was able to get over to the Lily Bush on high ground though.  It was quite nice there, out of the wind.  Most of the birds were there anyway, what few one gets at Reid.

My first migrant Yellow-rumped Warbler of the spring was among them, but it was too busy feeding to pose for a photo.

I just admired the scenery.

One of the large oaks

Spring has been off to a good start with some decent birds.  Hopefully the trend continues!

May Birding: The Fun Begins

Now that we are well into the month of May, birders are beating the bushes for birds in their favourite spots. 

On May 1, I stayed fairly close to home.  There were not many birds that day around anyway.

Along the St. Clair River, the Nautica Queen was upbound.  It is a cruise and dinner vessel out of Cleveland, Ohio.  Not sure where it was going.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk at Reid CA just admiring the scenery.  There are lots of hickory trees there, including some Bitternut Hickory.  One of the large ones fell down for some reason during the winter.  It would have made for some nice lumber!

Nearby, another of same size was looking healthy.

Blue Phlox is blooming, but I found this one not quite out.

I happened to come across a rather large patch of Harbinger of Spring in a spot I missed before.  It is amazing how much is within Reid CA.  Not worth a photo at this stage though.

Other scenes:

Sedgy Area

Aspen patch

Eastern Forktail emerged in recent days.

On Thursday I went to Rondeau.  There were lots of new birds, including a good influx of White-crowned Sparrows.  This one was showing off its white crown!

After Rondeau, I slid over to Erieau.  It was  a good turtle day everywhere, as they were all out taking advantage of the warm sun.  I saw five species along the rail trail!

Spiny Softshell

Blanding's Turtle

Northern Map Turtle

Heading home, I decided I was not done for the day, so took a detour over to the south shore nature trail at Mitchell's Bay.  Lots of turtles there as well.  I saw at least 30 Map Turtles along the trail.

I have seen Spiny Softshell on the Bay there in the past, but not on this particular day.

The Snowy Egret was apparently still present, but somehow it remained hidden during my visit.  I missed it by about 15 minutes!

I kept an eye on the field, as often Yellow-headed Blackbirds forage in it.  I was not disappointed, and noted five.  Just too difficult to get a proper photo though.

Friday, I started out at Mitchell's Bay on the trail again.  It was rather quiet for birds though, but I always have to check.  Not knowing what else to do later, I eventually ended up at Point Pelee!  It turned out to be a good choice.

There had been a massive influx of birds overnight (same thing at Rondeau), but many were streaming out.  I parked at northwest beach just in time to see lots of warblers streaming north.  Most were Yellow-rumped (we finally got numbers!), but others were mixed in.

Along the west side, the grasses were littered with Palm Warblers as well.

Some warblers lingered.  Many first-of-years birds were tallied, including lots of Cape May Warblers.

A few Black-throated Green

Lots of Northern Parula

I had some good finds, including Golden-winged Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Fish Crow.

After birding the park for a few hours, I was too tired to stop in Hillman Marsh, so ventured home.

Today, it was back to Rondeau.  The "morning flight" fizzled!  In fact, the park was very quiet for birds.

I happened to be in the right place at the right time, when Jeff Tunstall spotted an Olive-sided Flycatcher.  He managed photos, but I did not as it flew back too far, then out of sight.  This is remarkably early for that species, but some have been reported elsewhere already.  Usually we look for this one in the second week of May and beyond!

The other decent bird was a Yellow-breasted Chat.  I completely missed this one last year (there were not many), so nice to see.  Unfortunately, it was very elusive (true to nature) and did not co-operate for the camera.

The chat is much scarcer than it used to be needless to say, but there has been a good showing already this year in various places.  Hopefully some stay to nest.

As always, I keep an eye out for plants.  I believe this one is Oak Sedge, an easily over-looked plant that looks like grass.

I also took a look at the trusty Goldenseal, which is already well-advanced in flowering.  This rare plant is always nice to see.

A brief stop at Keith McLean C. L. did not reveal much.

Sandpiper by itself (Solitary)

Possibly the Red-headed Woodpecker that wintered nearby

This Bald Eagle may be ill.  It rarely moves, and is easily approached.

This coming week should be good, as I will spend most of it at Rondeau Park.