Elgin Excursions

Since getting back from my trip up north, I have made a couple jaunts down to Elgin county.

Last Thursday, I went to Port Stanley in hopes of finding the reported Black Vultures, as I have never seen one actually in Ontario. I have seen the ones in Niagara on the American side from Canada, but I took them off my Ontario list awhile back since it'd be easy enough just to see them in the province.

When I arrived, the fog was quite low, and it was looking grim, but on my second pass through the town, I found a gathering of vultures sitting in a tree, and with them was the target bird.

Today, I had Eurasian Wigeon on the mind, so I decided to check out the Aylmer Sewage Lagoons. No dice on a Eurasian though...will have to keep looking!

When I first arrived, there was no waterfowl visible. Thankfully, it seemed that they were all just hunkered down in the furthest cell. They were disturbed by my presence but soon settled down again.

Oh yeah, saw this Coyote.

There was a good assortment of waterfowl to sort through. Nothing rare, but plenty of Common Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, and Redhead. There were lesser numbers of American Wigeon, Gadwall, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Canvasback, and Northern Shoveler, to name a few.

Common Merganser

American Wigeon

Redhead

Gadwall

Lesser Scaup

There were a few Great Blue Herons.

A few Ring-billed Gulls were flying around, so they seem to be migrating back. A few Bonaparte's Gulls as well.

From what I have heard, the Tundra Swans moved through quite quickly. There were a few stragglers.

Some Horned Larks landed closeby. This one was in a plumage I don't see too often.

Best birds were a couple of Trumpeter Swans. This is a species that is still quite uncommon in the southwest of the province away from the GTA (though those birds are a whole other matter). They are probably overlooked though.

Onward with Spring...

Bonus: I found a nice Eastern Screech-Owl in my neighborhood a couple weeks ago. Here is a photo.