Usual Weekend Birding (October 27-28)

Lately I have been sticking to Rondeau area for birding, and this weekend was no exception.  Also the same was the weather.  It is getting ridiculous to say this every weekend, but right on cue, the weather turned crappy late Friday (after a nice week) for the weekend.  Saturday was horrible but I went out anyway with no other choice.  This year is certainly one for the record books with regards to (terrible) weekend weather!

I started watching the lake at Rondeau even though the weather was horrid.  There was a strong east wind, but not much was moving in that crap.  I did spot a young Little Gull as a highlight.  I find these direct strong east winds produce little at Rondeau.
I then moved on to south point where it actually stopped raining. I walked to the washout, then it started raining again since I was at the farthest point from the car.
Some birds were near the end of the trail since it was out of the wind.  Many species of sparrows were along the path.

chippie

Warblers including the usual Yellow-rumped and an Orange-crowned and a couple of Blackpoll.

I checked around the VC and found a Blue-headed Vireo, the only vireo of the weekend.
Along Harrison near pony barn were several Fox Sparrows.

Later, I stopped by Shrewsbury where there were several shorebirds along the edge, including a couple of White-rumped and some Dunlin.

Dunlin

Bashful White-rumped Sandpiper

Several ducks and grebes were close as well.

Pied-billed Grebe

Horned Grebe

I did a quick check of Erieau, where there was little to see (east winds!), then moved on up to Blenheim Lagoons where I had heard that there were many shorebirds.  There is good edge habitat for the shorebirds.
There was still a light rain, but there was no choice but to take a look under terrible conditions.  Steve and Jim were already there looking at an odd peep.  It had us stumped, but it turned out to be a Least Sandpiper in a plumage we rarely see.

Apparently there was a similar one at Presqu'ile a number of years ago, that had some thinking of some type of Stint.

There were hundreds of shorebirds at the lagoons, the most I have seen in a long time.  The bulk were Dunlin, but there were lots of Pectoral Sandpipers, many White-rumped, an injured Baird's, a couple of late Semipalmated Sandpipers, both yellowlegs, and of course the Hudsonian Godwits.

Pec

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The godwits had grown to number five in total!  Unusual to see that many in the Rondeau birding area at one time.  (the one was still at McLean's as well)

hudwits

Two large swans appeared there recently which were Trumpeters, uncommon for the area.

Sunday was a better day weatherwise, and even the sun was out briefly in the morning for a rare weekend showing.  Mid afternoon it started raining again though, just as I left Blenheim lagoons.

I started at dog beach for a lakewatch with Steve and Jim.  There were lots of ducks and loons moving.  I counted at least 122 Common Loons, with a few Red-throated.  No doubt some were missed.  We still  cannot get a definite Pacific for the Rondeau area!

Jim and I walked south point and found some things including a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers, a Common Yellowthroat, and about three tardy Blackpoll Warblers.

Blackpoll Warbler

While alone, I came across a late Black-throated Green Warbler that posed well.

Most of the birds were along the lake before the 'washout'.

Near the light beacon we spotted a bird in flight that was possibly an Evening Grosbeak.  A couple were spotted in the area last week, but I have no doubt more will show.

Bald Eagle

Another stop at the lagoons was in order today.  I was alone for this one, although I did briefly spot a Leamington birder in the distance.  lol.
I found there were fewer birds today, but still lots.  The godwits were still busy feeding.

Several White-rumped, the Least, a couple of Semisands were still present, but I did not spot the Baird's.

The Trumpeter Swans were still in the same sleeping position.

Habitat is excellent at Blenheim right now, so that is attracting many shorebirds.

Back to nice weather for the week.....

Weekday Dawn at Walpole Island

Rondeau Revue November 25

Down at Rondeau Park this morning, I started with a lakewatch at dog beach, accompanied by Steve Charbonneau.  It was another day for loons, grebes and ducks.  Gulls were few and far between again.

Sun was out briefly (on the weekend?)

During the two hour span, over 40 Common Loons were seen, at least 12 Red-throated and another loon which we could not get a handle on.  It was one of those that could possibly be a Pacific, but with most loons here, they motor on by!  We have noted that many Red-throated Loons tend to stop briefly, unlike Commons.  We saw a few swimming today.

There were around 40 Horned Grebes during the watch, and one Red-necked early on.  Another large grebe still has us scratching our heads!  (quite possibly a Western).

No shorebirds, unfortunately.

I later headed over to south point trail where it was nice and calm.  A few birds were around including at least 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler among others.
Pine Siskins were somewhat plentiful today, but no other finch types.

It was balmy today and interesting things were on the trail!

Some severe erosion has occurred again along south point trail.

I also walked the campground, which was rather quiet today.  A couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers were present.

Fox Sparrows numbered over a dozen.

Just south of maintenance along Harrison Trail, I found the largest flock of birds of the day.  At least 8 Yellow-rumped Warblers (most likely more) were working the trees and poison ivy vines.  Another Ruby-crowned Kinglet and three Carolina Wrens were also making some noise.

There were lots of woodpeckers here as well, including a Pileated.  I could not get a clear shot of it though.

After a brief shower of rain (it is indeed the weekend!), I scoped some ducks on the Bay.  Most were towards the far side out of reach.
A Snowy Owl was perched on the old dock.  Lots of them are around now!

Link to today's list:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40721815

My other stop today was Ridgetown S.T.P.  Lots of geese present as usual, including three Ross's (reported last weekend), and the hybrid Snow X Ross's and a Snow Goose.

Hopefully the sun will come out on Sunday...just for once on a weekend for a change!

Sunset Friday (note clear sky)

Pelee Pacific

A strong SW wind developed overnight which encouraged me to go to Point Pelee for a Tip Watch.
I was the first to arrive at the Tip just after 7 a.m.

Just as I finished setting up my scope, a tardy Black-bellied Plover briefly set down the sand at the Tip.  It only stayed a few seconds, then took flight.
Jeremy Hatt and Steve Pike joined me soon after my arrival.
It was generally slow, typical of lake watches this fall, with few gulls.  However, it was evident that loons, grebes and ducks were on the move.

Many Common Loons were seen flying south, and several Red-throated joined them.  I saw at least 13 Red-throated but probably missed many.  It seems to be a good year for Red-throated Loon sightings in these parts!
Horned Grebes were plentiful as well.  I saw at least 50, but no doubt many were missed.

At one point I spotted a swimming loon which seemed different.  I looked at it for some time before alerting the others because it looked suspiciously like a Pacific.  The more we looked at it, the more we were convinced it was an adult in non-breeding plumage.  It looked identical to what you see in the Sibley Guide.
It was a bit too distant to attempt a photo under gloomy skies.
I was elated since was a new Pelee bird for me!  I had missed them in the past by one day many times.  Of all the Tip Watches over the years, Pacific Loon finally showed up for me.

A while later, Josh Vandermeulen and Todd Hagedorn joined us for some comradarey at the Tip.  Mike Nelson came a bit later.

Several species of ducks went by as well as several thousand Red-breasted Mergansers.  These mergansers can be in big numbers this time of year. I recall one watch many years ago where we had about 54,000 pass by the Tip! (Alan was keeping track as usual).

mergs

more mergs

Still no Purple Sandpiper for the year.  In the past we have had them on several occasions here.

Gulls were rather few and far between.

Soon, things started getting slow and the rain was threatening, so we headed up to Sparrow Field.  A good raft of scoters (all three species) has been opposite the field for over a week.
Passerines were virtually absent today, but the typical weekend weather did not help.

Surf Scoters

Before leaving, I checked out Shuster Trail and De Laurier Trail before leaving in the pouring rain.

Sunday looks like a good day to head north!

A Birdy Day At Rondeau

It was a good day to head to Rondeau Park.  I got there early as usual and started on south point trail. It was evident there would be lots of birds after I got out of the car, and I knew I would be spending some time on the trail.  Just as well, as the annual Pumpkin Walk was being held farther north in the park!

Rough Waters on Lake Erie

Many of the birds were buried in the shrubs, but came out with some coaxing.  I found many good-sized pockets of passerines.  I have often found that these early days of October can be quite good.

One of many Tennessee Warblers

I ended up with 17 species of warblers, some of which are less common by this time of year.  Many of the birds I saw today were flagged by eBird which is somewhat misleading.  Indeed some of these are scarce by this time, but there are always some around.
I had difficulty getting decent photos as these warblers were within the dogwoods and in poor light.
Some Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided were around as well as a Wilson's and a Northern Waterthrush.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

American Redstarts were still in pretty good numbers, and there were multiples of Black-throated Blues.  A couple of Pine Warblers were also in the mix.

Several Pine Siskins were flying overhead during the course of the morning. I even saw some perched.
A couple of Indigo Buntings were on south point, but I usually see these till later in October.
Crappy photo of a Bay-breasted Warbler.  I saw at least three today, but never got the camera on them very well!

I saw a few Philadelphia Vireos plus a single Red-eyed and a Blue-headed.

Palm Warblers were numerous today

Although winds were still brisk out of the west, the lake was somewhat active.  I spent some time watching.  Lots of scaup and Red-breasted Mergs are now showing up.  Several Common Loons were on the move.  I saw one distant Red-throated which is always good for Rondeau.  However, these loons were nothing compared to what I was going to see later!

A single Peregrine Falcon was perched near the light beacon early on.

I eventually saw this one several times later on down the trail.

I spent an amazing 3.5h on south point trail, but only to the "washout".  It was impossible to go further!  Rondeau is shrinking, and there has been an incredible amount of erosion on the southerly side.

The only other spot I checked in the park was the SE corner of maintenance where I found a good pocket of birds.  Another Philadelphia Vireo was among this group.

Soon, I headed out of the park down Rose Beach Line.  A Red-necked Grebe was reported out that way yesterday, but I did not find one today.  However, there was a large group of feeding birds.  I was amazed to find a huge gathering of Common Loons.  I counted 115 in one area off the little park near the end of McKinley Line.  I am sure there were a few more, as these birds were constantly diving.  It was interesting to see the various states of plumage of the Common Loons.
Interestingly, this spot seems to attract large groups.  A couple of years ago in July, I counted more than 60 Common Loons, rather unusual for the time of year.

Next, and last stop, was Blenheim Lagoons.  After yesterday's showing, I thought it would be a good idea to check it out.  However, there were far fewer shorebirds today, and a different mix.  The Stilt Sandpiper was still there along with some Dunlin and the other common species, but at least 6 White-rumped Sandpipers were new.  These were young birds of course.

One Greater Yellowlegs decided to have a swim with some coots!

Different ducks included several Redhead, but the scaup were not present.  The Bufflehead was still there.

Maybe by next weekend there will finally be a chance to get to Sarnia!