Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks....a first for Chatham-Kent

For those in tune with the bird rarities in Ontario of late, it is no secret that the occurrence of two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks this past Saturday was the highlight. More on that shortly.

Earlier on that day, many birders had been drawn to Rondeau to seek out the Lark Sparrow and Clay-colored Sparrow that were in close proximity along Lakeshore Road. Due to all the rain of the previous 48 hours causing some water issues in our basement, I didn't get to Rondeau until mid-afternoon. The Lark Sparrow had last been seen about 30 minutes before I got there, but I did catch up to the Clay-colored Sparrow, and got some decent record shots.

After awhile, it seemed that the Lark Sparrow was not going to show, and then came the message via Ontbirds, that two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks had been seen right along Talbot Trail just west of Port Crewe. If the pavement hadn't been wet, I think we would have seen a cloud of dust along Lakeshore Road as vehicles made a very quick exit to go after the ducks, just in case time was of the essence. I couldn't go immediately, as I felt the water issues in our basement needed to be checked on, just in case. But after I got home, and realized that things were under control and not deteriorating, I considered going out to look for the ducks. When an early evening Ontbirds update indicated they were still there, I realized I had time to make it out there. So off I went. And there they were, as advertised, but a little farther away from the road then they had been earlier. The big telephoto lens came out and I got a few pics. Several more vehicles arrived, and the birds actually came closer to the road. By this time it was between 7:45 p.m. and 8 p.m., and sunset was quickly approaching, not that with the misty rain and heavy cloud cover one could even see the sun, so it was definitely challenging for photography. Here are some of the shots I got, after a bit more tweaking than usual.

Most of these were taken at an ISO of 6400, definitely higher than I like. But it was that or nothing, so it was an easy choice.

I had seen Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, their relative, along the south beach of Rondeau back on September 26, 1979. But these whistling-ducks were a first ever for me. This species has been seen in Ontario from time to time, and it seems every few years there is a very small influx of them. I hadn't gone looking for them elsewhere before, and these two birds, if accepted by the Ontario Bird Records Committee, will be the first for Chatham-Kent. They were a one-day wonder, and were not seen again after, although who knows if they might show up again somewhere else.

Yesterday, April 22 was Earth Day, and I was out at Rondeau for awhile. The weather was terrific, with sun, warm temperatures and light winds. There were quite a few birders out enjoying the great weather even though the birds were not terribly abundant. The White-winged Dove was quite cooperative, and most birders who tried for them got great looks. This male bird is attempting to build a nest again, on cottage owner Mel's car.

The South Point Trail was wet, but not nearly as wet as it was in May last year. Probably about 20% of the trail has water on it, varying from about 2-15 cm. Good waterproof footwear is a must.

Along the side trail that goes to the lighthouse, it is quite wet as well, and there were a few Green Frog tadpoles wriggling around in the water over the trail.

With the sun and warmer temperatures that day, there was the most butterfly activity that I had seen so far this year. I had four species, including a couple of Eastern Commas, several Red Admirals, a single American Lady and about a dozen Spring Azures, but only got photos of the latter two.

I stopped at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons and while there was a good variety of ducks and grebes, there was nothing unusual, and most of the ducks were a long way out so I didn't bother trying to get photos. Rumour had it that someone had been there recently with a shotgun, so that may have made the ducks a bit more wary than usual for the time of year. The sprinkler cells had just a tiny bit of water in them, presumably left over from the deluge of precipitation a few days earlier. The only shorebirds were Killdeer. Hopefully that will improve soon. There were several Savannah Sparrows on territory, allowing me to get a few photos.