A Little Trip to Kettle Point

Yesterday I took a quick trip to the Kettle Point area just to see what was around. The winds had changed from NW to W just before I left, so I was a little disappointed, but I figured that a west wind is better then a south wind for the lake watch.

Plenty of Turkey Vultures are still around. I kept hoping one would be an eagle, but none showed up!

The first bird I noticed at the KP marsh was a Great Egret. It is getting a tad bit late for them. and by the end of the month, or perhaps in a couple weeks, most of them will have left until spring. This may be one of the last egrets I see for a few months (though I'm hoping that the Snowy Egret in Essex doesn't leave until I have a chance to see it this coming weekend!)

You are almost guaranteed to see the (sadly) ever present Mute Swan if you go in the Spring-Fall months. There was a couple juvies with them, so the are evidently breeding in the area.

I counted five Pied-billed Grebes. Hopefully in a few weeks Red-necked will start showing up.

The highlight of the day was a probable Parasitic Jaeger (or it could be another species...please comment if you know!). It was sitting on the water 300-350 meters out. I managed to get a few distant photos, but they don't show too much detail. It was different from other gulls nearby, and just had a pelagic look to it (or what I think is a pelagic look, I have no experience with jaegers!)  Tell me what you think!

There were a number of Ring-billed Gulls, and a few Herring.

Double-crested Cormorants were around in small numbers (compared to the few thousand in Hamilton).

I got a lifer butterfly as well....Common Buckeye!

Next weekend I'll be in the Pelee area (if you couldn't tell from my comment regarding the Snowy Egret). Hopefully I'll see some more gulls and jaegers, along with some good passerines.