Kettle Point Produces

Today I went on the annual Nature London trip to the Kettle Point area. I didn't go last year, but in 2015 it was very successful...and this year it was no different!

We stopped in at the Forest Sewage Lagoons first. This spot often yields numerous ducks that are hard to get on the lake. We had numerous Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Bufflehead, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, and Long-tailed Duck.

One of the highlights was a White-winged Scoter.

Ruddy Ducks and White-winged Scoter (2nd from R)

Many gulls, mostly Ring-billed and Bonaparte's, were present.

We managed to hear a late Common Gallinule in the reeds along the side of the cell.

Kettle Point was next. We immediately were off to a great start with a few dozen ducks, including Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Bufflehead, Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Redhead, and Red-breasted Merganser.

Surf Scoter

There were a few Pied-billed and Horned Grebes as well. At one point, I thought I spotted a Red-necked Grebe way off in the distance, but I couldn't rule out it being a merganser.

At one point, a Great Blue Heron flew in.

Many blackbirds were present, including these Rusties.

There were also a couple Double-crested Cormorants and Mute Swans.

Near the point, at the little park with the gazebo, we managed to find a nice group of Common Mergansers some Bonaparte's Gulls.

There was also a single Long-tailed Duck.

We drove along the beach, which resulted in a few additions to the day list, including the first Turkey Vultures I've seen in a few days. We couldn't find anything within the dozens of Canada Geese, but the Bonaparte's Gulls kept us happy.

Moving toward the Pinery, we finally found a couple Bald Eagles. They didn't care to be photographed, so my only picture is quite bad!

The feeders at the Pinery VC were quite active. Tufted Titmice (Titmouses?) were quite regular, which was nice to see. American Goldfinches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, and White-breasted Nuthatches were present as well.

The lighting was very bad, and the camera didn't want to cooperate!

Tufted Titmouse

American Goldfinch

We walked Riverside Trail, where we found a number of Cedar Waxwings, robins, nuthatches, and a Tufted Titmouse.

The highlight of the trip was found soon after...a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers!

Although Red-headed Woodpeckers are expected, they are definitely are very uncommon. The pair seen here are my first for Lambton county.

After Riverside, we drove out of the park, but not before checking out the beaches. Nothing much except a large-ish raft of Greater Scaup.

The real excitement was on the opposite side of the road, on the forest side. After a little bit of scanning, we were able to find dozens of Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, and even a pair of Purple Finches!

After this, we decided to call it a day and head back home.

Huge thanks to Paul for driving me around (and sharing your lunch!) Sorry we couldn't find you a Cackling Goose (or Pine Siskins!)

In, On, and Around Lake Huron

In...

You didn't think that I'd live up to this title...

Today we took a trip out to visit Kettle Point. It was the kind of day where your ears came in more handy than your binoculars or camera, so there aren't too many photos.

Driving in, I saw a Vesper Sparrow. In the marshes, many different birds could be found, including Marsh Wren, American Redstart, Mute Swan, and Alder Flycatcher.

This Red Fox was content to hang out near the road.

Speaking of red things, there were a couple Northern Cardinals around.

We went out on my uncle's boat...not to much out in the water but a few Mallards.

I checked out the dunes along the public beaches...a few swallowtails (Black and Eastern Tiger), and what I assume to be a skipper of some sort.

To finish off the day, I quickly checked into Ipperwash Dunes and Swales to look for butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies.

This appears to be a Racket-tailed Emerald (thanks Blake!).

This is still unidentified. I think that it is a spreadwing of sorts, but I am unsure of what species. What really stands out is that the end of the abdomen (S8, S9, S10) are unmarked. Usually if a damselfly is of the "Black Type" (the abdomen is mostly black) it will have blue markings near the tip of it's tail. If anyone has a suggestion of what it may be, please comment! If it helps, the underside of the abdomen appears to also be blue. (EDIT: This is an Aurora Damsel...thanks Chris) 

Northern Crescents are fairly easy to find.

These are Juvenal's Duskywings. I was hoping that maybe it was a Sleepy, but alas it was not to be. I'll have to come back out this way and check out some other spots for them.

Final dragonfly of the day was Common Baskettail. There were at least half a dozen in one little area. Fairly easy to capture in the net, but I had to take a few swings before I caught one.

If this is just the beginning of the Ode and Lep season, then we are in for a treat this year!

Two Lakes in Two Days

When a birder thinks of late October, they think of ducks. Ducks were my primary target this weekend, and I was hoping to add all three scoter species to my life list (I did!).  Also on my mind was Golden Eagles (nope), Red-shouldered Hawks (nope) and a rarity that you'll have to read on to find out what it was.

The trip started Friday, and the first location my dad (he wanted to come too) and I visited was Hawk Cliff in Elgin.

the cliff

I was hoping some GOEA would fly through, but none appeared. The weather system on the shores of Lake Ontario has cut off many of the raptors coming in from Quebec. Despite no migratory birds of prey, there was quite the variety of smaller birds including Purple Finch (trip lifer #1), Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fox Sparrow, kinglets, Cedar Waxwings, White-breasted Nuthatches, sparrows, and Downy Woodpeckers.

Purple Finch

YR Warbler

WB Nuthatch

White-crowned Sparrow

We drove about an hour to our next stop, Morpeth Cliffs. There were a number of ducks here including Greater Scaup, Redhead, White-winged Scoter (trip lifer #2), and Red-breasted Merganser.

WW Scoter

Next up was Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. We stopped in at the post office to get a permit and the code for the gate (you can't get in without them). This was my first time visiting the lagoons, and I know that I'll be back!

All the cells were covered with hundreds of Ruddy Ducks and over a thousand Bonaparte's Gulls.

A few other ducks could be found as well.

Northern Shoveler

Shorebirds are still present, and there were about 80 dunlin, along with yellowlegs, Killdeer, and a Wilson's Snipe, which I flushed while walking along the berm.

Dunlin

You haven't really lived until you've been swarmed by Bonies!

You may have heard about the recent "invasion" of Cattle Egrets in southern Ontario. I was lucky enough to catch up with one of the four that have been spotted at the lagoons in the last week.

It was quite flighty, and the only way I could get any good photos was by hiding in a ditch or behind a pile of junk...I'm pretty sure I got my tetanus shot. A Rusty Blackbird (trip lifer #4) flew over head at this point as well.

At one point the egret got between me and my dad.

Awesome (trip lifer #3)!

Erieau was next, and I managed to pick out five species of gulls on the pier.

This Herring Gull kind of scares me.

Horned Grebes are now in their winter plumage. It's quite the opposite of their breeding plumage!

Can you spot the Great Blue Heron? (hint: it's beside the Red-breasted Merganser)

The next day, we started in Sarnia.

There really wasn't all too much to look at other than a large raft of Redhead/Scaup and a Black Scoter (trip lifer #5) off Canatara Park.

Since there wasn't anything else to look at, it was off to Kettle Point!

Immediately I managed to find a small group of about 8 scoters with White-winged, Black, and Surf (trip lifer #6).

Pied-billed and Horned Grebes were abundant. I found a Common Loon as well.

There was some hunting going on, so there wasn't too many ducks.

Forest Sewage Lagoons was the last stop. A number of Mallards, Green-winged Teal, and Black Ducks were flying around.

GW Teal

Common Milkweed is pretty much done for the season.

South-western Ontario residents may have noticed the large flocks of migrating crows lately.

Happy Halloween!

Sparrows were abundant, and I saw several FOS American Tree Sparrows.

I also added a new shorebird species to the trip list, Black-bellied Plover, a Dunlin was with them.

A few Sulphurs were flying around, including this Clouded Sulphur.

It was quite the couple of days, and I'm sure that I'll be out again soon!

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On a side note, my life list is now at 233, only 17 off from my goal of 250 by the end of 2016.

Birds that I still have a chance to see:

1. Red-throated Loon
2. Black Vulture
3. Red-shouldered Hawk
4. Golden Eagle
5. White-rumped Sandpiper
6. Little Gull
7. Thayer's Gull
8. Long-eared Owl
9. Short-eared Owl
10. Northern Saw-whet Owl
11. American Pipit
12. Common Redpoll
13. Lapland Longspur
14. Yellow-headed Blackbird
15. Bohemian Waxwing

plus maybe a few rarities will show up!