Early November birding

There have been some interesting rarities in various parts of Ontario recently....for example a Gannet, Mountain Bluebird, Western Tanager, King Eider, Harlequin Duck and American Avocet..... but they seem to have missed Chatham-Kent so far. But that could change at any time, which keeps birders out looking and hoping. We got spoiled a bit last year with the first Canadian record of Great Kiskadee that showed up several times from early September to early December. But there are birds around to be enjoyed anyway, and just getting out even without seeing rarities is still very much worthwhile.

Carolina Wrens are always a treat to see up close. They are never very common, but more or less permanent residents.

 Red-bellied Woodpecker is also a permanent resident and pretty regular in small numbers.

 Most warbler species have departed, although some linger. The occasional Yellow-rumped Warbler, shown below, may even be around throughout the winter if there are enough berries for them to subsist on.

 Ruby-crowned Kinglets have been quite abundant lately, migrating from their breeding grounds to points that will mostly be far south of here. Some may linger at least for the local bird counts coming up in a few weeks.

 Chipping Sparrow, are also fairly abundant, but will be mostly gone in another few short weeks.

 Mixed flocks of blackbirds, made up of Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Rusty Blackbirds and Common Grackles, are fairly plentiful. This next photo shows a small portion of a medium sized flock along Rondeau's Lakeshore Road earlier this week. All of the 4 species listed here were represented in this flock.

 Once in awhile there is a medium to even large-sized flock of mostly one species. That was the case earlier this week, when there were several flocks including a very large one along the south end of Lakeshore Road, made up almost entirely of Rusty Blackbirds. This species is considered At Risk due to their declining numbers. They nest in the wetlands of the boreal forest region of northern Ontario and other provinces. They used to be seen regularly in spring and fall migration in large numbers, but not so much lately. The ones I saw on this day totalled at least 800 birds which is the most I recall having seen on one occasion in quite a few years. It was fairly late in the day when I saw these, so was unable to get any photos of the flock, just the occasional bird that happened to be close by and reasonably visible. A high ISO and lots of photo processing was the only way I could even make use of any of the photos I took.

 In more open areas, groups of American Pipits can be seen, but usually in flight. This one happened to land on a hydro wire long enough for a photo or two.

 In the waterbirds category, there are lots of waterfowl around. The most interesting ones I have seen lately were these two Greater White-fronted Geese, at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands (KMCL). There are lots of waterfowl there as it is off limits to hunting.

 At least two or three dozen Hooded Mergansers have been hanging out there as well.

 Shorebirds are a little more tolerant of photographers, since they aren't hunted. But the season for their migration has mostly passed. A few species are lingering and busily feeding to get the energy for the next leg of their southern migration. Some of them have to go all the way to southern South America.

Dunlin are probably the most abundant shorebird around this late. Flocks of 30-55 or more birds have been seen in various places.

 Greater Yellowlegs are still around in small numbers. I saw at least a dozen at the Keith McLean property yesterday.

 What I found interesting was that in the declining ponds of the KMCL, there were a few small fish that were being fed on by these yellowlegs. Most of the time, this shorebird feeds on much smaller fare, including aquatic invertebrates, but I expect there is a fair bit of energy to be gained by gobbling up a few fish.

 Pectoral Sandpipers are virtually gone with only a couple at KMCL recently.....

 ...and White-rumped Sandpipers, never very common even on fall migration, are quite rare now. This one only had one and a half legs, with the one leg missing the section below the knee. It could fly fine, but did have a bit of difficulty hopping along on the mud with only one useful leg.

 The diminutive Least Sandpiper, with its yellowish-green legs, are really hard to find these days, but there have been a couple at KMCL, and this one at the Blenheim lagoons today.

 Long-billed Dowitchers, here in the last photo, are usually few and far between, but show up in small numbers towards the latter part of the shorebird migration. These two were still present at the Blenheim lagoons today.

With the colder than normal temperatures which have arrived recently, shorebird habitat is quickly disappearing. Even the Blenheim lagoons are partly frozen, so hopefully the lingering shorebirds have put on enough fat to get them to where they should be.