Early May Migrants

Things have been slow to show up so far this spring, and I can only anticipate things won't be exactly hurrying to get here by the looks of the weather forecast! Nevertheless, I have gotten out every day for at least a couple hours to see what is out and about.

The first couple days of May were a bit disappointing to say the least. A few new things came in here and there, but for the most part it was quiet. May 2nd especially!

Yellow Warbler

A few hawks were moving through on the first and second.

Broad-winged Hawk

Red-tailed Hawks

Some of the local species posed for photos. Its getting to that time of year where we're seeing baby waterfowl again.

Red-winged Blackbird

Canada Geese

Mallard

Turkey Vulture

I've found a screech-owl that seems to be hanging around. It offered a decent photo op.

The Virginia Rails I first found a couple weeks ago are still hanging around. They've been coming out in the open more, but that doesn't mean they are easy to photograph (especially in the low light conditions of early in the morning).

Vroom

May 3rd finally saw some "good" movement, and was my first day I hit 60 species in a morning in my neighborhood this year. Hopefully that result will be duplicated several more times this May!

Savannah Sparrow

There was a slightly early Lincoln's Sparrow, which was fun to see.

I had a couple more Great Black-backed Gulls fly overhead.

I FINALLY saw my first of year Palm Warblers on the third as well. Took long enough!

This morning things weren't looking great, with temperatures below zero first thing. Despite this, I went out early. I am sure glad I did! It wasn't crazy with new songbird migrants, but I did manage six warbler species (Nashville, Black-throated Green, Yellow-rumped, Yellow, Palm, and Common Yellowthroat).

Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have arrived within the last few days. I saw my first Ruby-throated Hummingbird a couple days ago as well.

Baltimore Oriole

Sparrows are coming through, mostly White-throateds, but more and more White-crowneds have been showing up as well.

White-crowned Sparrow

Perhaps the biggest highlight was the good migration of Common Loons. I tallied a grand total of 299! I only fell one short of 300!!

Another highlight was getting to watch a Bald Eagle pursue an Osprey that had caught a large catfish. American Crows were also in hot pursuit.

Well, that's it for now. Hopefully some more birds coming our way!

Late January Along the River

Yesterday I went on the Nature London trip to Sarnia and the St. Clair River.

We headed out in the morning, and saw the Snowy Owls in the usual location.

Not too long after, we faced heavy snow squalls. The decision was made to cancel the trip and turn back. I of course, was determined to continue and see what we could see, so we my vehicle continued on towards Sarnia. Turned out to be a good decision because only five minutes later things cleared and it was blue skies and sun!

A highlight of the day was this beautiful Rough-legged Hawk on Michigan Line. 

Also saw another Snowy Owl further down the road.

We stopped briefly into Wawanosh Wetlands, though as usual not too much was there.

Next up was Canatara Park in Sarnia. There was a calling Carolina Wren, but not much else. I found this little fungi, Hysterobrevium mori, on the fence in the children's farm.

We went to eat lunch and watch the lake at the Point Edward Lighthouse afterwards, which proved fruitful. We found many Long-tailed Ducks, Common Goldeneye, mergansers, and a couple White-winged Scoters.

Long-tailed Ducks

The ice was quite impressive!

The Sarnia Bay was completely frozen, so no gulls or ducks there! After that we began the trek down the St. Clair River. Our first stop was Guthrie Park, which was productive.

Canvasbacks

Great Black-backed Gull

Canvasback

Common Merganser

Just as we were leaving, I noticed two Coyotes out on the ice. One wonders what they were doing. Perhaps they were trying to cross from the island (Stag Island) to the mainland, or maybe they were trying to hunt waterfowl.

One last stop was Cathcart Park near Sombra, where there is often an assortment of waterfowl and other things.

Bald Eagle

Three species of swans were present. Mute, Tundra, and a single Trumpeter.

Mute Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Overall, a fun, but cold, day along the river. It is amazing how the accumulation of ice can make or break a day. Gulls were very limited today. I only saw Herring and a few Great Black-backs!

Rondeau Christmas Bird Count 2018

This past Sunday was the Rondeau Christmas Bird Count. Once again, I joined Blake Mann on his route south of the Visitor Centre.

We started with a lakewatch. We tallied some ducks, including Black and White-winged Scoters, scaup, mergansers, and about 30 Re-throated Loons. Apparently the previous CBC record for Red-throated was two, so that was easily broken.

South Point trail was dead, other than 12 more Red-throated Loons. I think that is the quietest I have ever seen that trail be!

The most interesting sighting came when a Herring Gull dropped a fish. I went over to find this, an American Gizzard Shad.

We next walked from South Point to the Visitor Centre along Lakeshore Road, then back again down Harrison. Also very quiet, though I think that, at least from my observations over the last two years, is that Harrison usually is.

We finished up the walk earlier than anticipated, so went and did another quick lakewatch at Dog Beach. Saw some more Red-throated Loons.

Ring-billed Gull

We missed the Gray Catbird that had been hanging around on our first pass, but on our second time coming up Lakeshore Road, we found it.

After lunch at the Visitor Centre, where we had some White-throated Sparrows and a flock of Pine Siskins, we went to the campground. It was a very nice and unseasonably warm day, so walking was quite easy with the lack of snow. The oddest sighting of the day was an Eastern Comma. No photo unfortunately, but certainly unexpected on a Christmas Bird Count.

Blake went back down to South Point, and I continued to check a few spots in the north end of the park. I was hoping for the White-eyed Vireo or Great Kiskadee, but was unable to find them. The vireo ended up being seen on the count, but the kiskadee wasn't.

Down near the Pony Barn there were a few birds.

White-throated Sparrow

Some plants because the birds were slow.

Round-headed Bush Clover

Oriental Bittersweet

Wild Yam

I also went to check the Marsh Trail where I saw the kiskadee back in September, just in case. The bay was mostly frozen, and there were several hundred Canada Geese and some Tundra Swans. Also a couple of Bald Eagles.

I went to Keith McLean Conservation Area after, hoping to maybe chance upon a lingering Nelson's Sparrow or something, however that was not to be. I did however find many Song (one leucistic), Swamp, and American Tree Sparrows. Also one Savannah Sparrow.

The biggest surprise came when I turned the corner and flushed three Killdeer from a mudflat. I soon relocated them with two others in a muddy part of the field.

I then decided to go to Erieau, which proved to be a crucial mistake, as I would soon learn about a Barred Owl in Rondeau. Ah well, can't win them all, though it kind of sucked to miss!

Not much at Erieau. Just a couple eagles and a Snowy Owl near the rail trail.

Photo by Dad

Afterwards, we went to the compiling at Keith Burk's, where we shared a wonderful meal and swapped stories and sightings from the day. I believe we ended up with an incredible 114 species. The highest ever tallied in one count was 115 I think. Also seen today was a Baltimore Oriole, which seems to fall within the count week period. Although it seemed slow, I guess the birds add up! The White-eyed Vireo was a new count record, and other highlights include the Barred Owl, Northern Waterthrush, and large numbers of Red-throated Loons.

Overall a great day, I had a bunch of fun. Certainly the best CBC in Ontario ;-)