Red-necked Phalarope, Say's Phoebe and more

Both Say's Phoebe and Red-necked Phalarope are unusual, and therefore 'good', birds in the views of birders. The Phoebe is by far the rarer of the two, so to see both of them on the same day in southwestern Ontario was exceptional indeed.

I had spent part of the day yesterday (the 26th) doing some field work at Rondeau. I was finishing up a survey of an endangered orchid, but more on that in another post. Afterwards I checked out the Morpeth Cliffs area, since the winds seemed to be favourable for raptor migration. I didn't spend a lot of time there, but got half a dozen species. I did want to get to the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons, since the weather system with lots of wind, rain, thunder and lightning of the previous 24 hours meant that there was probably a different group of birds there.

There was a greater variety of ducks present than on my previous couple of visits, including more Northern Shovelers and Ruddy Ducks than I had seen in awhile. A female Hooded Merganser was also there. But shorebirds were what I was really looking for, and I was not disappointed. I noted 10 species altogether, quite respectable for the time of year. Included in that number were Short-billed Dowitcher and both yellowlegs species.

Greater Yellowlegs

 Most shorebirds weren't very close, but I was able to get within a reasonable distance of a few.

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Way off by itself in the southeast corner of the middle southern pond was this phalarope, spinning around, darting here and there as it picked things off the water surface. Even from a distance I could see it wasn't a more common Wilson's. But I couldn't get the ideal angle of sun and close vantage point for the kind of photograph I was hoping for. Hence I had to settle for a bunch of attempts, and the one below is one of the better ones, and highly cropped. It was a Red-necked Phalarope. One had been seen at these lagoons several weeks ago, but not for long and only a couple of people were able to see it. Therefore I was pleased to have found this one.

It was sunny but windy, making it good to find butterflies in some of the more sheltered areas. I came across a good variety, including several Monarchs, lots of Bronze Coppers, several Common Checkered Skippers and lots of the usual sulphurs and Cabbage Whites, among other species.

Common Checkered Skipper

Bronze Copper

Viceroy

I was on my way home when I got the word that a Say's Phoebe had been seen, but on a private property between Blenheim and Erieau. It was not a publicly accessible property, but I had permission via the owner to come on to it while accompanied by the owner's representative.

It took a bit of searching and I did see it very briefly as it left a tree, circled around behind a large maple and then disappeared. But it had a habit of moving fairly frequently, so after a bit more patience, we found it again not up too high in a dead tree, and in beautiful late day sunlight. I took a number of photos, of course, and this is one of the better ones. The normally salmon coloured flanks are not all that visible in this photo; the belly is nicely warmed by the late day sun.

This is the second record for the greater Rondeau Checklist area, with the first one being found 4 years previously and about a week earlier in the month.

With Say's Phoebe as well as the mega rarity Greater Kiskadee being present in the Rondeau area just weeks apart, what will be next??