Mussel Mania Along the Thames and Other Observations

 The last couple of days we have seen stellar weather.  Cloudless skies, very calm and just the right temperature!  At least things are finally getting drier with the lack of rain.  There are still some puddles or ponds that have not dried up all summer though.

Yesterday afternoon, I went for a long walk at Reid CA.  It was deathly quiet for birds, and with no wind, it was interesting walking through the quiet woods.  Finally, there are very few mosquitoes! However, on the way back, I encountered a few warblers and vireos to liven things up.

I did see a couple of Royal River Cruisers, but soon they will be no more for another year.  I like photographing them since they are my favourite!

Today, I had no idea what to do, but went for a walk at Peers Wetland first thing. I finally saw some migrant passerines there!  Included were Nashville (4), Tennessee (2), Cape May, Magnolia and Black-throated Green Warblers.

I then had the notion to head down to Keith McLean C. L.  The only shorebirds were a pair of Semi-plovers flying through.  Lots of Bobolinks flying over.  Highlight was a Least Bittern which flew right in front of us.

Some butterflies included an unco-operative Fiery Skipper and Common Checkered-Skipper, but a couple of Common Painted-Lady posed briefly.  They are the more common lady of late.

I wanted to get another look along the Thames River, so went to the Tecumseh Monument park east of Thamesville.  Water level was low enough for a decent look.

Winter Scene of the Area

Quite a few Smoky Rubyspots as expected.

As well as American Rubyspots.

I saw no dragonflies whatsoever!  I had Elusive Clubtail on my mind, but there is still lots of chance for to find one of them.

In one section, I found a multitude of mussels!  No doubt one of the flooding events washed them up.

small portion!

There were too many to sort through, but from what I saw, most were Pimpleback, an imperiled species.  Not imperiled at this spot apparently!

But, I found some others that stood out.  I do not think I have had Black Sandshell (near threatened) here, but there were some today.

Others:

Pink Heelsplitter (Vulnerable)

Deertoe (vulnerable)

Mucket (as opposed to Fatmucket!)

Along the Thames, one can find various plants of interest.  Right away, I noticed some as Wingstem, which is in the rarer category.  I am sure there is a lot more along the Thames than we realize.  It is also found along the Sydenham.

Cup Plant, well past its prime is here as well.

This is an interesting spot honouring Chief Tecumseh, which I have talked about before.  I stop here at various times during the year!

Interpretive signs along the old road allowance promote history in the area.

Late Winter Scene!

Winter Scene!

(Photos from a previous visit).

At home this afternoon, I noticed a peculiar insect on the concrete. It certainly has a weird name, called a Pigeon Horntail!  Never have seen this one before.

A Morning At Rondeau and Beyond

 Wednesday morning I decided to give Rondeau a shot for birds and whatever else came my way.  I started at the Park Store watching the "morning flight" with Brandon Holden and Steve Charbonneau.  I really did not intend to do a watch, but they were already there observing a decent flight!

The last few years, we have realized that birds stream out of the park by the hundreds or thousands on mornings with a decent NE wind, especially.  Many remain unidentified, as they are moving fast and/or high.  It is quite interesting if one has the patience!

This day we noticed lots of Tennessee and Cape May Warblers moving.  Those were the dominant warbler species it seemed.  There were other warblers of course, but blackbirds and Bobolinks were in high numbers.

After this watch, I headed down to south point trail and walked along the edge of woods.  There were hundreds of dragonflies.  Most dominant was Black Saddlebags.

A few Carolina Saddlebags were mixed in.

Lots of Green Darners were cruising around as well.  A couple of Twelve-spotted Skimmers and Spot-winged Gliders were seen too.

The highlight at one point was a Green-striped Darner that alighted on a tree trunk.

This species is uncommon and vulnerable in southern Ontario.  There are a few records in Essex, especially at Point Pelee.  Quite a few records are in north Lambton  around Port Franks and Pinery.

I have seen it before many years ago at Rondeau, and may have a photo from that time.  Oddly, it was in the same general area of this day's!

Quite a few birds including vireos and and Eastern Kingbirds were seen along the way.

I stopped by Keith McLean C. L. after heading out of the park.  Highlight there was my first-of-year Fiery Skipper.

I also found a Common Sootywing.

Heading up Kent Bridge Road, it dawned on me that this is the time of year to start looking for Smoky Rubyspots.  So, I veered towards Thamesville!

I stopped by the Victoria Road bridge, and luckily the river was a bit lower than the last visit.  Still a bit higher than I would like though.

Site of many bridges over the years!

Lots of Smoky Rubyspots were flying.  It was still treacherous along the riverbank, so I did not get the photos I wanted.  There was little maneuvering room!

They were most dominant, as I only saw a few American Rubyspots.  Also one Violet Dancer.

Smoky Rubyspot is endangered in Ontario. It is only found on the Thames, eastern branch of the Sydenham in a few spots and some on the Ausable River in north Lambton.

I have found mussels here before, and I noticed three together in one spot.  Turns out they were Pimpleback, all the same size!  Pimpleback is another endangered species in Ontario.

At home, a couple of Black Saddlebags were working the yard.  Not often I see them here.

Also, another Royal River Cruiser was cruisin'.  I was not able to obtain a photo of this fifth yard record.

Butterflies included a Common Painted-Lady.

A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was around at the same time.  Long-distance photos:

In the evening, I saw my first migrant Common Nighthawks of the season just before dusk.  Always neat to see!  Too high for photo attempts.

Today was uneventful as I did not venture far with little ambition, and did not see anything of note.  Among at least seven species of butterflies today here, a Mourning Cloak visited the yard.

River Rambles and Weekend Woes

Although the appearance of winter (finally) was somewhat welcome, the timing was off.  Hopefully we are not starting this nonsense again when the weather goes for a crap each weekend!
Anticipating the approach of a 'typical' weekend, I headed upriver late Friday afternoon as far a Corunna before it got too dark.
Canada Geese were the popular bird this day, as hundreds were all along the river.  I stopped by Cath's Cart park where there were too many to sort through. I did pick out some small ones on the distant grass, but when they got up to fly, their higher-toned honks were obvious.  There were at least three Cackling Geese flying away.
Lots of ducks were in the area as well.

On the way to Corunna, I slid over to Greenway Line where I came across a Northern Shrike.  Just a few minutes earlier, I said to myself that it might be a good time for a shrike!  Sure enough....

Off Guthrie Park, there was enough light to see the wintering wigeon.

Saturday morning, before too much snow came down, I headed to Sarnia.  There was not a much to see as on the previous day.  Little was at the Sombra dock and certainly nothing new.

I did see some Tundra Swans at Cathcart Park which I had missed the previous evening, but I could not pick out any small geese in the poor light.  They were there somewhere.....

Cans

Not much was off Guthrie Park on Saturday.

I spent quite a bit of time at Sarnia Bay, where there was a variety of ducks and hundreds of gulls.

At least four Glaucous Gulls represented the white-winged variety, and there were lots of Great Black-backed.
At one point, I picked out two adult "Great Lakes" Gulls--hybrid of Herring and Great Black-backed.  Too distant and poor visibility prevented any photo attempt.

Note, duck on right is a hybrid

Many geese were at the entrance to the government dock area, but I could not find anything different.  The wintering Common Loon was taking a nap well offshore.

The north slip was mostly frozen, but some gulls were present.  Perhaps I missed a Horned Grebe which was seen there today!

On the way home, I took back roads as all the snow was making things dicey.  There were lots of Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, etc., and at one point I came across a nice flock of Lapland Longspurs.  It was a pure flock of at least 30.

Today, travels were limited with the howling wind and bitter cold.  Roads were dicey with the blowing snow, so my activities were curtailed.  No doubt it will be nice when Monday dawns.

I had been wanting to check the mouth of the Thames River for some time, but things have completely frozen up now.  At the Jeannette's Creek boat launch, one could see a thick mass of waterfowl downriver.

It was too distant to get much detail, but most were Mallards.  I did pick out four Double-crested Cormorants which had been wintering in the area.  Perhaps the Great Blue Herons had the common sense to leave, as I did not see any!

One has to wonder what all was in that mass.

A crazy number of Bald Eagles have been in the area this winter--I could see fifteen from this vantage point.

I wonder what that Common Merganser was thinking?

In the afternoon I watched the yard feeders, but nothing new showed up.  Feeders have been virtually dead so far this winter.  I am going to have lots of seed left at the end of the season I think!
I had three Red-breasted Nuthatches at one point earlier in the winter, but only saw one today.  It was looking a little worse for the wear.