Some mid-January wanderings

I managed to get out a couple of times this past weekend. First off was to swing by St. Clair National Wildlife Area, where it seems there is always an open spot in the ice, visible from Balmoral Line along the south side of the NWA. As usual, there was a lot of waterfowl there, on the ice or in the water. This first photo shows a typical part of the group. It was hard to estimate numbers since they were packed in so tightly, but there were at least 1500 Mallards, plus a few Am Black Ducks, a single Gadwall and a single Northern Pintail. Some Northern Shoveler had been seen by others, and were likely still there. However I find that when they are in a spot like this, they are often in a tight group with their heads down since they are using their bill to strain water hoping to capture something to eat. Hence they are very difficult to see unless they are in the open.

The rest of the accessible part of the NWA was frozen up, so I didn't bother hiking the trail, although a couple of Rough-legged Hawks and a single Red-tail flew by at a distance. But as I was driving up along Town Line Road right beside the NWA I looked across what used to be a triangular wetland area and there, in the group of trees, was a large nest. A closer look showed two adult Bald Eagles at the nest! This would make nest #18 in the Chatham-Kent area according to my recent records. With all of the Bald Eagles around during the winter period, and well into spring, it is possible that there are more new nests around the landscape, so be on the lookout!

While it is a little early for them to be actually nesting, they are likely putting the finishing touches on this new nest. Egg laying and subsequent incubation won't likely begin in earnest for another month.

I looked for the Belted Kingfisher that had been hanging out at the Rivard Line pump station, where the pumping action keeps some water open. I didn't find it, but there were two Common Goldeneye resting on the water.

I next headed south towards Erieau, and drove through Bagnall, a very small community which is right along the Thames River downstream from Prairie Siding. There was a large flock of birds feeding along the roadside....mostly House Sparrows and Starlings, but one bird stood out. It was a smallish blackbird, and I got a brief look at it through the car window. As I was manoeuvring so as to get the camera and telephoto lens out the window, something spooked the entire group except for a single Mourning Dove, and no photos of this blackbird were obtained. My first inclination was a Brewer's Blackbird based on the size, the overall glossy appearance and relatively fine bill. The open agricultural/rural residential landscape fit as well. Unfortunately it was not a 100% conclusive look, and birders who were out to look for it the next day could only come up with an odd looking Rusty Blackbird, out of the species' usual wetland habitat. So maybe it will go down as blackbird sp.

I made it to Erieau and noted a bit of open water at the bay end of the main channel. There were lots of Canada Geese and a handful of ducks, including both scaup. Something startled the geese, and I immediately saw a smaller, white goose in the air with them only to come down on an area of the ice hidden behind the armourstone that protects the fish tug mooring area. In spite of several attempts to go to the end of the piers and hopefully get a view of the white goose, it was not to be. There has been a variety of opinions on this bird from those who have seen it and been able to get photos of it, ranging from a relatively pure Ross's Goose to a Snow Goose. The head and bill seemed fairly good for a good Ross's, but the bill might have been a little too long and overall the bird appeared a bit large for a pure Ross's. In all probability it is a hybrid between the two, something that happens with increasing frequency, it would seem, based on the number of smaller white geese that have at least some characteristics of both. It would also appear that hybrids are able to continue cross-breeding, making subsequent generations even more muddy with various combinations of physical traits.

While searching for the white goose, I did manage to see the two Greater White-fronted Geese that had been associating with the flock of Canadas for awhile. There was an adult and an immature. I only got a photo of the immature, as the adult waddled out of sight behind the armourstone.

 I left Erieau, stopping briefly at McGeachy Pond, but everything in the lake was frozen solid. I was in the car waiting for traffic to go by, when all of a sudden I saw a head appear just above the vegetation on the far side of the road. It was a Red Fox, and it clearly wanted to cross the road. I grabbed the camera and got a single, blurry photo through the glass as it darted across and disappeared into the shrubbery behind the parking area.

On the way home I stopped to look for the wintering Wilson's Snipe. One has been seen in a wide creek along Stefina Line, southeast of Blenheim, almost annually for well over a decade. Even in the coldest winter weather there is always some open water, so presumably the creek is spring fed. Since it is on the 'down-side' of the Blenheim-Ridgetown gravel ridge left by the glaciers many centuries ago, being spring fed is not unlikely.  Given that shorebirds don't normally live more than a few years, it is doubtful that it is the same bird, but maybe by not having to expend energy migrating much farther south, it is able to survive more years than normal. Who knows? At any rate, this one is around again, although persistence and patience is required as you only see it about a third of the time you look for it.

It blends in nicely, and if it is very far down the creek, it is easily missed. On this occasion, it was within about 15 metres of the road.