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!

The East and the West

Last week two rarities were found in the province. One was a Common Eider in Toronto, and the other a Black-throated Grey Warbler in Burlington. Common Eiders, although they breed in far northern Ontario along the Hudson Bay coast, are quite rare in the south. They winter in the Maritimes (the east) but seldom make their way to the Great Lakes. Black-throated Grey Warblers are warblers from western North America (the west). Although they are the most common western warbler vagrant, they are still quite a treat to come across. Lucky for me, those two rarities stuck around until this past Saturday, when I planned to go and try to see them.

The first stop of the day was Humber Bay park in Toronto. We got there early (with my friend Ethan in tow), as the eider was known to head out further into the lake as the day progressed, It did not take us long to see her.

Some other waterfowl present included Long-tailed Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers, and White-winged Scoters.

Long-tailed Duck

There was a lingering Yellow-rumped Warbler.

I don't get to see too many mockingbirds down where I live, or any for that matter, so seeing one was a treat (despite my Toronto friends laughing when I told them that)

We went to quickly check out Colonel Sam Park afterwards. Nothing really of note was found, but Red-necked Grebe and another mockingbird were highlights (I don't see many Red-necked Grebes either!)

Northern Mockingbird

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-necked Grebe

I saw a bunch of this plant, Oriental Bittersweet, on this day.

We went down to Burlington in hopes of spotting the Black-throated Grey Warbler. As soon as we arrived we saw a group of 25 people all looking in the same direction. We figured that was a good sign.

Within a couple minutes we saw our target bird.

After enjoying the warbler, we went out to see what other birds we could find. There was a lot of waterfowl on the bay.

Mallard

Ring-billed Gull

Common Goldeneye

Redhead

Canvasback

Carolina Wren

All three species of swans could be found.

Trumpeter Swans

Mute Swans

Tundra Swan

With all the bird feeders, there were plenty of fat squirrels.

We decided to try and see if we could get any better photos of the warbler before we left. Everyone else had left by that point, so when we found him again we had him to ourselves pretty much, there were a couple other people just arriving to enjoy it as well. It took some patience, and many failed photos due to the warbler hiding behind leaf (so many perfect shots ruined!), but we left with some photos we were very happy with!

Nothing like the feeling of seeing some good birds!

Weekend Wrap-up

This past weekend was quite eventful. On Saturday I birded Komoka Provincial Park. It was relativity quiet, but I was able to find a sizable group of robins, some Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-tailed Deer, and my first Pileated Woodpecker of the year.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Afterwards I went to Kilally Meadows, because I had a hunch that there'd be some American Woodcocks. It wasn't long until I found four displaying males, my 100th species for the year.

Yesterday we were in the Hamilton region, so we spent a couple hours birding in the area.

We first checked out LaSalle park in Burlington, where were saw dozens of Trumpeter Swans and Mute Swans.

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Mute Swan

A couple other ducks were around as well.

American Black Duck

Greater Scaup

Wood Duck

I also managed to find my first Horned Grebe and Red-necked Grebe of the year in the bay.

Afterwards we made a quick stop to check out the huge group of Ring-billed Gulls.

I stopped into Windermere Basin to see what was around. It was fairly quiet (or maybe I just didn't look hard because it was cold and windy)

Lesser Scaup

Ruddy Duck

Our last stop was to look for Short-eared Owls near Stoney Creek. Although we didn't find the owls, we did mange to find a Snowy Owl, an American Woodcock, and duetting Great Horned Owls. Great way to end the day!