A mix of rarities and more common things to enjoy!

 One of the birding highlights in recent days was to hear about a Western Cattle Egret hanging out with a few black angus cattle a bit north of Erieau. I had been out at Keith McLean Conservation Area on the lookout for migrating raptors with the favourable winds, when I got the word, so I headed over to look. Sure enough, there it was, but it was flighty, moving from one group of cattle to another before it finally got up in the air a little higher and headed towards Rondeau Bay.

A few days later, this past Tuesday to be exact, an even rarer bird got the attention of many, many birders, at the KMCL, a Mountain Bluebird. More on that a little later.

In between these bird highlights, I was out and about looking for whatever I could find. The sometimes breezy winds from a northerly direction was promising for raptors, and I spent a bit of time at the Morpeth Cliffs area. There were a few raptors on the move, but most were very high up and difficult to see against the almost entirely blue sky. My hope was to see a Golden Eagle or two, as this is prime time for their migration, and several of the hawkwatch sites had reported then regularly. Even though I had been on the lookout for them at other times over the past few weeks, today was to be the day. I had two fly over, way up high. This photo of one of them was the lowest. Fortunately my camera/lens combination latched onto it with good focus, and this is what I ended up with.

Both birds were almost impossible to see with the naked eye, up against the brilliant blue sky. Binoculars were a necessity. After I got the photos processed, and greatly cropped, these were the best of the bunch, and after all was said and done, they are shown here at the equivalent of about 100X magnification!

There were some sunny warmish days to go out wandering around Rondeau on occasion, so out I went. Birds were not always that plentiful, but there are always other things to see and photograph.

During the sunniest period and sheltered from the wind, there were often a lot of dragonflies flitting about. They were all of the Autumn Meadowhawk species as near as I could determine, and their pale/yellow legs were telltale. It used to be called the Yellow-legged Meadowhawk, and perhaps is still referred to as such.

Common Buckeyes were still around, and sometimes paused long enough for a close approach with the camera.

As there were still the occasional dandelion flowers quite visible, they attracted several of this next critter, the Common Drone Fly. It is not a native species, but has become quite abundant at times.

Eastern Black Squirrels are quite common, as usual, especially where there were a few oak trees around, as they were searching for acorns.

Another butterfly is this next one, a Fiery Skipper. It is typically more of a southern species, and arrives in Ontario in the later summer. Some will stick around for quite awhile!

Another butterfly I caught up with is this Question Mark.

There were a few birds to be found, and some allowed me to get some worthwhile photos. Blue Jays are migrating through in good numbers, with some searching for sustenance to carry them on their journey.

No doubt some will stick around all winter, as usual.

Dark-eyed Juncos are fairly common. Here are a few having a bath in a shallow puddle.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are permanent residents now. They were extremely rare up until the 1980s or so, and have since became well established here in southwestern Ontario.

Rusty Blackbirds are not as plentiful as they used to be, but still migrate through in decent numbers. This one was feeding on a seed of some sort on the ground.

Mushrooms have not been plentiful compared to some years. The quite dry spell we have experienced over the last few months made all the difference. But a few have appeared. This first one is a type of puffball, and may be the Pear-shaped Puffball.

Next is the Orange Jelly Fungus...

...followed by Shaggy Mane.

Some days have had some quite brisk east winds. This first image is of the waves along the east beach of Rondeau.

I went over to Erieau hoping for some impressive wave action hitting the pier and splashing over. This next one is one of the better ones, but overall it wasn't as impressive as I was hoping. Maybe a different day...

This next photo shows one of the better ones I took in late October of 2021. Some of the waves and spray almost obscured the lighthouse!

Getting back to the Mountain Bluebird. It was first seen this past Tuesday, and I got word from Steve Charbonneau who was the one who found it, in the very early afternoon. I am not on Discord, the birding app that keen birders who like to chase the latest notable birds are on, and since Steve is aware of that, informed me directly (thanks, Steve!). However it just didn't work out for me to scoot out to the Keith McLean area to catch up to it that afternoon. It was apparently feeding quite readily in a good spot, and since this species is fairly hardy even in poor weather conditions, I thought it might still be around on Wednesday. A lot of others were hoping for that outcome as well. There were lots of people who saw it on Tuesday, and even when I went out on Wednesday, I could barely find a spot in the parking lot. Unfortunately no one reported seeing it at any time on Wednesday. Perhaps the strong wind forced it to take shelter, and it might have been around and was even amused by the number of people roaming around with 'scopes, binoculars and camera gear. However it was not reported. Hopefully it might still be around at an accessible location not far away. This species has been considered long overdue for the Rondeau checklist area. But so far I cannot add it to my Rondeau list. I have seen it on two occasions in southern Ontario in the past, as well as on a few trips to the western part of the country. The first time in Ontario was one I saw on a Christmas Bird Count on Pelee Island, back in the '90s. The second one was one I heard about in southeastern Lambton, so Marie and I went searching. We successfully tracked it down and photographed it, just a short distance from Chatham-Kent. We caught up to it on January 20, 2012.

January 2012 provided another good photo op for an uncommon species, this time for White-winged Crossbill. There have been a few migrating through so far this autumn, and on one occasion I thought I heard one or two, giving their high-pitched rattle calls, but could not find it perched anywhere. It was probably passing through quickly and vocalizing. At any rate, here is a photo I took of one at Rondeau on January 25, 2012. It was part of a flock of a couple of dozen feeding in this spruce tree.

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Autumn warmth continues, as does the bird migration

 The unseasonable warmth continues, but birds are migrating nonetheless. Bald Eagles are both resident, and migratory. Here an adult is passing through, visible from the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail...

...while this sub-adult is also on the wing.

The water levels of Lake St. Clair are down considerably over the last couple of months. This first photo shows the view from the observation point closest to the lake, in early August.

This next one shows the same area, but on November 2.

Clearly there is a lot more exposed mud, which can be attractive to shorebirds. Normally I wouldn't consider this trail to be especially good for shorebirds, but they are making use of it this year. I've shown a few species seen on previous visits, in previous posts, such as Wilson's Snipe and Lesser Yellowlegs. Killdeer are fairly common, of course, and a few Greater Yellowlegs have been noted.

Great Egrets are usually fairly reliable throughout the season. I had at least a dozen on the last visit, but they were a little way up the shoreline, so not the greatest photo of individual birds....

...unlike the much closer proximity they were earlier in the season.

Turkey Vultures are still going through on their migration out of the province, but in much smaller numbers than even a week or so ago.

A visit to St. Clair NWA is always worth while, although the birds are often a challenge to get good photos of. Northern Harriers dip and dive fairly low to the marsh, so are hard to grab and maintain good focus.

This adult Red-tailed Hawk swooped by, but then hung out in the trees along the edge of the NWA. It was suspicious of me sticking my telephoto lens out the vehicle window.

Swans are building in numbers, such as these Tundra Swans. Soon there will be hundreds, even thousands in the area.

Here are a few things I have 'shot' with my camera in other locations. This first image shows a Black-bellied Plover feeding on the mud at Keith McLean Conservation Area, with a Killdeer for size comparison.

 A lone Ruddy Duck was in the more open water at McLean's. There are lots elsewhere!

 

With the warmth continuing, butterflies are still around feeding on flowers that continue to have blooms. This is a Clouded Sulphur.

Next is a Dunlin I photographed along the Erieau shoreline. I had hoped to see a Purple Sandpiper, but it was too windy and wavy on the pier where it had been seen the day before. It had probably escaped to the more sheltered side of the South Beach of Rondeau, a short distance away.

This Great Blue Heron was nicely posed on a dead tree overlooking the marsh along the Erieau Rail Trail.

I've been hiking in a few places at Rondeau, mainly to enjoy the autumn colours and get some fresh air and exercise, as well as remember times here with Marie . The colours are quickly winding down, as the windy conditions especially of late have blown a lot of the leaves off.

I came across this Northern Brown Snake sunning along the same trail. It is also known as a Dekay's Snake.

And working their way in between cottage lots, were a couple of Wild Turkeys. They seem to have had a productive year this year, as 3-4 are seen fairly regularly

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Some early autumn outings: birds, herps, leps and odes

 The autumn weather so far has been a boon to birds, and birders alike. I have spent a few outings exploring some of the wetland areas along Lake St. Clair. The skies at sunset can be impressive, especially when there are myriad individuals of waterfowl in the air. This first image was taken from the trail at St. Clair NWA. There were almost always some groups of waterfowl in the air nearby, but I was taken with the larger numbers of them almost continually flying along the shoreline. It was a beautiful sight.

Waterfowl of various species are building in numbers and diversity. On one or more outings to SCNWA, I was treated to the following.

Mallards are by far the most common duck.

A bit of a surprise was a group of three Trumpeter Swans, two of which are shown in the next two images. I first saw them from afar, but as they emerged from an open part of the marsh, circled around and flew by in a good range and in good light.

Trumpeters are not common here in the southwest, although they have been around in slightly increasing numbers in recent years. Given the time of year when the much more likely Tundra Swan is around, a little more careful look shows the broad black area in front of the eye, and no yellow colour on the bill.

Right about the same time, Tundra Swans are showing up, with several dozen being in view during my last outing. Here you can see the narrower black area in front of the eye, and a spot of yellow on the bill.

The next photo shows a family of three Tundras, with a young bird on the left. Being mixed in with Canada Geese, is a good size comparison. There was a good variety of other waterfowl species mixed in and widely scattered amongst the geese and swans.

There are other birds to see while being out and about. American Tree Sparrows, next, are increasing in numbers.

A sub-adult Bald Eagle was soaring high overhead.

A Red-tailed Hawk was also noted flying through.

A few White-crowned Sparrows were observed right along the trail.

There are usually a few non-birdy things to enjoy, especially given the sunny, mild weather. Common Buckeyes are fairly common this year, and always nice to see.

Leopard Frog

Next is a young Northern Water Snake, which was reluctant to move off of the sunny trail.

Up along the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail, there are more of the same types of things, but with its own variety. Great Egrets continue, although the numbers are gradually declining.

I came across this Long-billed Dowitcher feeding along the muddy shoreline. It is very similar to its relative the Short-billed Dowitcher, but the gray tertials and the split eye-ring are helpful.

The occasional Monarch is still flying through. Many I have seen look rather worn, but this individual looked quite fresh.

In some of the dead trees not far off the trail, there can be dozens and dozens of Tree Swallow taking a rest in between forays out over the marsh prowling for insects.

This pair of Wilson's Snipe was along the muddy shoreline, but didn't linger before disappearing behind some vegetation.

I have been out to Rondeau on several occasions, but mainly to chat with the park staff, deliver some canvas prints of things relevant to Rondeau and to follow the change in colour of the forest. More on that in a future post. The Visitor Centre is currently open Thursday-Sunday. 

I have managed to photograph a few other things, as follows:

Dragonflies were fairly abundant along the trails, on those bright sunny days. Here a male Autumn Meadowhawk is resting on the boardwalk.

There were a few less brightly coloured females as well. This one is munching on a midge, and allowed me to get fairly close.

Blue-headed Vireos were scattered here and there....

...Brown Creepers were seen on occasion.

Another Common Buckeye!

I have seen a few Eastern Bluebirds. This one was perched in the shade with a bright background. I tried to pull out as much detail as I could in the processing.

Eastern Phoebes, even though it is a flycatcher, will likely be seen into December depending on the weather.

An Eastern Gartersnake was enjoying an open sunny spot along one of the trails.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are quite plentiful, although challenging to photograph due to their constant, rather frenetic, activity.

Turkey Vultures have been passing through steadily, in some impressive numbers. Many are quite high up...

...but on occasion one will be quite low.

Certainly the most abundant warbler to be seen is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. Some will likely be present all winter.

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