Rondeau Rounds 2.0

This past Wednesday I went back to Rondeau Park. I arrived early, right at 5:00, in hopes of hearing some Whip-poor-wills. It took a bit, and several woodcocks (out of a total of 28) later, we found the first one! One of four total, all singing along Lakeshore Road. A new park bird for me. Seems I never spend as much time as I want down there! You can hear a recording I took here.

I went to the Marsh Trail parking lot, where I noticed a bunch of swallows going by, I estimated about 15,000 total. The majority seemed to actually be Bank Swallow, from what I saw and heard, but there were some Tree and Barn mixed in as well. I caught a glimpse of a couple Northern Rough-wingeds, and thought I saw a Cliff, but other than that, not too much variety!

As per usual, I started out in the campground. Easily one of my favourite places in the park! It was vastly different than last Friday, very few birds around! I spied Barb Charlton and her group (which included the MacNeals, the Rileys, Charmaine Anderson, and Isabel Apkarian), so I went and joined them. Nice to see some familiar faces again! Nothing crazy, but we turned up Yellow-throated Vireo and a female Cerulean Warbler. I saw the White-eyed Vireo that they had found just before I met up with them. I had all six vireos this day!

Takeoff

I bid farewell to the others, and joined Tim Arthur on a walk around maintenance and down Harrison. Pretty quiet! A few warblers here and there, but nothing really of note (as shown by my lack of photographs).

Tim and I parted ways at the VC. My dad and I made a quick loop of Tulip Tree Trail, picking up the day's first Red-eyed Vireo and Prothonotary Warbler. I drove down Lakeshore Road a bit, no White-winged Dove (I'm used to that by now). I stopped in at Dog Beach, where I found a nice assortment of shorebirds, including Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Dunlin, and Least Sandpiper.

I next went to the west part of the South Point Trail, somewhere I have actually not been! They usually have Rondeau Road blocked off at Bennett Ave, so I don't venture down that way!

Dad looking at something, probably a Yellow Warbler

If you wanted Yellow Warbler, this would be the place! Very few other warblers. I looked for plants mostly.

Hairy Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum pubescens)

White Bear Sedge (Carex albursina)

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)

Licorice Bedstraw (Gallium circaezans) 

Bulbous Cress (Cardamine bulbosa)

Rattlesnake Fern (Botrypus virginianus)

Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana)

One of my main targets was Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis), which I saw a couple plants of. None in flower though. This is a pretty uncommon orchid.

I had this sedge near the end, which stumped me for a bit. I'm pretty sure it is just Awl-fruited Sedge (Carex stipata) with immature spikelets, something I don't recall seeing before. I was hoping it'd be something new, but alas, not.

You can see why they split South Point Trail in half...

An odd tree.

Near the end of the trail, I was hunched over some plant, when I heard the telltale song of a Prothonotary Warbler! We quickly located it in a slough. It disappeared into a cavity in a tree at one point.

After the hike back, we ate some lunch, then went to Spicebush Trail. Not many birds, so again, it was time for some good ole botany.

Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

Twoleaf Mitrewort (Mitella diphylla)

Goose Egg Moss (Arrhenopterum heterostichum)

Well, there was one bird. A very cooperative Canada Warbler (hi Allen!).

I made a stop along Bennett before leaving the park. Finally saw that Eastern Screech-owl that everyone has been seeing! Also had my first and only Bay-breasted Warbler!

Just before I embarked for home, I stopped into Keith McLean CA. Even more flooded than last time. Still a few shorebirds.

Least Sandpiper

I think this may look good for a the griseus subspecies of Short-billed Dowitcher.

Finally saw some Black-bellied Plovers! They have evaded me in Chatham-Kent for awhile now. They were in the company of some Dunlin and a turnstone.

Slow day full of some quality birds! I managed to hit 110 species in the park, and added about 10 more at McLeans, so I am happy with that!

Homebound Northbound

Migrants have been slow to trickle through, but when they are moving, we don't have to go far to see them!

I have much enjoyed spending time around home looking for birds. On clear mornings, I like to sit in my backyard and count birds as they fly over. The highlight is always Common Loons. In the past week I have counted a total of over 180 loons migrating over my house, 124 in one day!

All the loons have been northbound, except one, which was in basic (non-breeding) plumage. That one was heading south. A bit odd if I do say so myself!

Loon going the wrong way

With the loons, there are occasionally small flocks of Double-crested Cormorants that go by.

I've even mananged to get a couple yard birds out of it! The most surprising was probably Eastern Meadowlark (I live in a subdivsion), which was also a new neighbourhood bird.  I also had a couple American Wigeons this evening.

Broad-winged Hawks are moving through in small numbers. I have had a few over my yard.

As well as in one of the local woodlots.

After the morning watches are over, I try to go on a walk around the neighbourhood. A few days ago an American Bittern was found at a wetland near me. This is the second bittern I have seen there, the first being one I found in 2018. American Bitterns are surprisingly rare in the county! I saw it again today.

The Virginia Rail I found last weekend now has a friend. The habitat isn't great, but is sufficent, so one has to wonder just how long they'll stick around. Other wetland birds are moving in, such as this Green Heron.

Odds and ends include my first of year Northern Rough-winged, Barn and Bank Swallows, as well as my first Fox Sparrow of the year. Funny enough I has just been thinking about Fox Sparrows when this one popped up!

Word is on the street that tomorrow is looking good for birds...we shall see.

Some Local Stuff

For obvious reasons, I haven't gone too far. But I have gotten out a couple times just around the neighborhood. There is still a noticeable lack of migrants, but hopefully things will pick up!

Last Sunday, it was quite nice, so I went out for a brief walk. I was pleased to find Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), a native spring wildflower, new for my neighborhood plant list (425 species and growing!).

I was also very happy to stumble across a fox den, with five kits.

With a shrew (Sorex sp)

A couple days later, I went out and found some more plants.

Goblet Moss (Physcomitrium pyriforme)

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Family Bryceae (tentatively thinking Ptyschostomum)

Bonfire Moss (Funaria hygrometrica)

Yesterday, I went out hoping for some new birds. It was pretty quiet, but I did come across a few things. One highlight was a Lesser Scaup, a new bird for my neighborhood list (#171).

I came across a banded Canada Goose. I managed to get the band number and reported it.

There was a goose on a nest as well. The beavers have once again done a good job at damming up the place. There used to be a grassy field where this bird was nesting!

My efforts of a Virginia Rail finally paid off (I tried in five different spots today!). This is my second record for the neighborhood, and the first visual. I wasn't toting around my big lens today, so he came in quite close!

Stay safe out there, hopefully there are local areas for you to explore!

Christmas Bird Counts 2019

This past weekend I participated in two Christmas Bird Counts (CBC).

On Saturday I did the London CBC. My area is a 5 kilometer stretch of pathway along the river in south London. It can be quite good, however this year I averaged lesser numbers of birds, and it was my lowest species count out of the previous years, with 30.

While there isn't too much to comment on, I did have a few highlights. Cardinal numbers were higher than previous years, with forty tallied. Early on I had a Red-winged Blackbird in a cattail marsh, which is a good one on the count. The best bird was a House Wren, which is the second record ever in the 100+ years of the count.

After the morning walk, I went down to the landfill. Best bird was a Slaty-backed Gull, which was found the previous day. The first record on the London CBC, and a first record for Middlesex county. Other gulls included thousands of Herring Gulls, lesser numbers of Ring-billed, and some Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, and Glaucous. I couldn't turn up any Iceland Gulls.

Herring Gulls and Glaucous Gull

Overall, the results of the London count revealed that it was a below average year, but with some exceptional highlights. Another new one for the count was a Wilson's Warbler. Other highlights included Greater White-fronted Goose, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Cackling Goose, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

On Sunday I did the Rondeau/Blenheim CBC with Blake Mann. We did the area in the park south of the visitor center.

We started the day with a lakewatch off Dog Beach. It was quite cold with limited birds. We had four Red-throated Loons, which means I can keep my Red-throated streak! I have had them on every Rondeau count I've done. The one I had in my first count four years ago was the first seen since 1981. As others have noted, sighting of this species are increasing in the Rondeau area, which is quite odd.

After the lakewatch (we also had three Long-tailed Ducks, which was nice), we went and started our usual walking route; down South Point Trail to the washout, then back up Lakeshore to the VC, and back down Harrison. As it has been the last couple years, it was a fairly uneventful. Best bird was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, which was the only bird around it seems! A Pileated Woodpecker was also good to get.

On our Lakeshore walk, we had an Eastern Towhee, as well as Common Grackle. A Tufted Titmouse at the feeders may have been the only on the count. Harrison was mostly uneventful, but we did have a Hermit Thrush.

After lunch, we did a quick walk around the campground, where we basically had no birds! Seemed to be the theme that day...

Blake went off on his own to check some other areas, so I went to check a few areas on my own. I went to the maintenance loop, where the only notable birds were a Carolina Wren and Carolina Wren. I basically gave up on birding and did some botanizing.

I found two mulberry (Morus) species on the loop.

The rare Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) has one of its last population strongholds in Rondeau Park. From what I understand the Rondeau population includes some of the best examples of this species in Ontario. With only a few hundred trees left in the province, it is at risk due to habitat loss and this next species, White Mulberry (Morus alba) which is invasive, and rapidly hybridizing with Red Mulberry, which is resulting in genetically impure trees.

Next I went to the beach off of the VC. I found a few more plants.

Common Yucca (Yucca filamentosa)

Canadian Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis)

I also found this on the beach, not quite sure what it is. (EDIT: pharyngeal teeth of the fish Freshwater Drum, thanks Kate!)

 Afterwards I went to the trailhead of the Marsh Trail, because why not? Had a Winter Wren, as well as some more plants. I saw some winter stems of Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), a somewhat rare plant in Ontario. Saw a couple other things too.

Swamp Loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus)

Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Prairie Cordgrass (Sporobolus michauxianus)

Afterwards I went to Erieau to do a quick check before heading off to the compilation.
Not much of note, other than a couple Field Sparrows in a flock of tree sparrows, and a Winter Wren along the rail trail.

Common Hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata) was locally abundant in the sandunes.

A few Muskrats were around.

The dinner and compilation was good as always. In total the count had 102 species, which is quite good considering the circumstances. I always enjoy Rondeau!