Birds, of course!

 The month of May is exciting for many outdoor folks. Wildflowers are becoming abundant, trees are coming into leaf and flower, and of course it is prime time for large numbers of birds to arrive here in southern Ontario. And while the migration depends quite a bit on the weather, resulting in some days early in May being rather birdless, at least to the liking of most birders, some days can be fairly good for abundance and diversity. I always say that the middle two weeks of May are on average, the best two weeks for abundance and diversity, but that isn't always the case.

If one is able to get out regularly regardless of the weather, one will usually catch up to a lot of species. My last post focused on wildflowers, and I will get back to more of them soon, but this post will show a wide variety of birds I have been able to catch up to and photograph over the last few days.

This first bunch will be ones I encountered up along Mitchell's Bay or St. Clair NWA. Sandhill Cranes are always fun to see, and not always easy to photograph, but I keep trying! 

With the slightly lower water levels of Lake St. Clair, there are more mudflats than most years. This first photo shows both a Lesser Yellowlegs on the left, and a Greater on the right, illustrating a reasonable comparison of overall size and bill.

Next is a Greater Yellowlegs up a bit closer.

Great Egrets are frequently seen in these open wetland areas, and often cooperate reasonably well for the camera, as long as one has a good telephoto lens.

An anchored log just off the shoreline edge is a great spot for gulls and terns to rest. It is hard to tell from this photo, but I determined after I took this photo that these are Forster's Terns. 

And a Bald Eagle or two can often be seen passing by.

American Coots are often seen either singly or sometimes in a group.

The road on the south side of St. Clair NWA can sometimes be a great spot to see a variety of birds, depending on the wind direction and speed. On the hydro wire were a few swallows, such as this Barn Swallow.

In the shrubbery, I encountered an Eastern Kingbird....

...a Gray Catbird.....

...several Palm Warblers....

....and lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Nearby were, of course, Red-winged Blackbirds.....

...and this Tree Swallow was checking out a potential nest cavity.

On another trail, there was a good number of White-crowned Sparrows....

...and a few White-throated Sparrows.

Of course Rondeau has always been one of my favourite places for a whole lot of reasons most of the year-round. However I don't like it as well in May, as it is quite crowded with birders! It seems more and more people who used to go to Pt. Pelee NP got fed up with the crowds there, and have decided Rondeau is the place to be for their spring birding. I can't say that I blame them, but.....I try and choose times when the park is a little less crowded, so I can enjoy the relative peace and quiet and still see a good variety of birds.

 

This Black-and-white Warbler was constantly on the move in its search for something tucked away in the crevices of the bark. 

 

A Blackburnian Warbler paused long enough for this photo.

This Chestnut-sided Warbler was bouncing around in some shrubbery, so the photos weren't as good as I was hoping. Maybe next time...

A Great Crested Flycatcher was trying to figure out how to consume this insect it had managed to get hold of.

Northern Flickers are fairly abundant, and can be found working on a nest cavity.

A Philadelphia Vireo stopped by for a moment. It looks a lot like a Warbling Vireo, but has a slightly more contrasty appearance, and a dark spot at the lore just in front of the eye. It also has a slight yellowish wash to it belly.

Purple Martins can be found in abundance where martin houses occur.

The number of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are increasing, and some will remain to nest.

This pair wasn't wasting any time!!

And there were lots more Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Closer to home, at least for me, is this family of Great Horned Owls. There are two young, and they have left the nest. Often they will be found resting on a branch, in the company of one of the adults, but not always.
 

More birds will be coming in a future post!

 

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April showers bring....April Flowers!

 New life is increasing at a steady pace these days. Although there hasn't been a lot of April shower activity, the sporadic bit that we have had, as well as the greater abundance of snow these past few months, has allowed the usual emergence of early spring flowers.

I do most of my spring wildflower exploration at Rondeau, which has some of the greatest biodiversity of anywhere in Ontario. However since it is a peninsula sticking out into the cold waters of Lake Erie, the usual prevailing winds coming off the water affects the temperature at Rondeau making the emergence at least a week or two behind inland areas.

Certainly one of the earliest and showiest wildflower is Bloodroot, a native woodland species that I always consider to be a harbinger of spring.

 At about the same time, is Colt'sfoot. not a native species, but somewhat showy itself. It usually is seen at the edge of woodlands.

As the temperatures increase a bit, and the days get longer, there is a progression of colour. In open, grassy oak woodland, Early Buttercup can dominate. This first photo shows the abundance of this species in a section of the picnic area at the north end of Rondeau.

In the more woodland areas, Dutchman's Breeches are nice to find.

Cut-leaved Toothwort emergence can vary a little, as this one shows that it is just about to open, but not quite. This species can be quite abundant on the rich, forest floor.

Hepatica, shown next, come in two types: Sharp-lobed and Round-lobed types, based primarily on the shape of their leaves. As the leaves of individuals are not always visible, it is sometimes hard to determine which is which. But they are attractive, with the flowers sometimes in a rich purplish colour....

...but more often, as almost white.

Flowers also occur on woody plants, and one of the most dominant species at Rondeau is Spicebush. Due to the more open forest canopy of Rondeau in recent years, as a result of the decline of Ash trees from the Emerald Ash Borer, and the slower decline of American Beech trees due to Beech Leaf Disease, the growth response of Spicebush is quite amazing. When the majority of them are all in flower, it can create a distinctive yellow glow to the forest understorey.

In open, dry sandy areas, Lyreleaf Rockcress is fairly abundant.

Other woody plants that are in flower are members of the willow family. Pussy willow flowers are evident, and on this first one, a type of Drone Fly is sipping away at the nectar. It flew off before I could get a better photo of the fly, but it is quite possibly a Narrow-headed Marsh Fly, shown below.

Narrow-headed Marsh Fly

Flowers aren't always large and showy, and even things like members of the sedge family have flowers of some type. This next one is an Oak Sedge, showing a close-up first, and then a small clump which is fairly common along open forest edges. This one was photographed along the north end of Harrison Trail.

Violets can be fairly common. This is Smooth Yellow Violet, which lacks the hairiness on the stems that are more typical of Downy Yellow Violet.

And of course one of the highlights of the spring wildflower season is the appearance of Ontario's provincial wildflower, the White Trillium. They are just starting to show up at Rondeau, although I expect they are much more common in many inland woodlands. 

These are just a foreshadowing of a much greater variety of wildflowers to come in May, as long as there is adequate April showers! We will certainly see in the next few weeks!

 

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