Some great May Highlights

There has been so much to see in May. Birds, of course, but also various wildflowers as well as reptiles, insects, mammals, etc. I have been doing some black lighting, and will devote one or more posts to that topic in the near future. But for now, I will try and catch up with some of the various highlights that I encountered recently, whether it be a rare plant or an opportunistic photo op.

One of the first things you may notice when checking out this post is a new header photo. I hate to see the American Avocets go, but this next one deserves the profile. It highlights a wonderful experience I had earlier in the month at the Sydenham River Nature Reserve. The Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are truly spectacular here, but only for a few days. They are so abundant that in the overall site, on both sides of the river, there must be at least 40 acres of them! It isn't a rare Ontario species, but certainly is not common although they can be abundant where they are found. It is ranked as S3, which means there are more than 20 locations but fewer than 100 locations in Ontario. I think it is safe to say that there are fewer than 50 naturally occurring populations in Ontario.

Once they finish flowering, the plant flops onto the ground and quickly gets hidden by other vegetation, and in just a few weeks the entire plant seems to disappear. But for a couple of weeks in early May, it is a sight to behold.

There are other wildflowers about, although not many in the deeper woodland areas which are almost fully shaded now. Jack-in-the-pulpit is quite common and widespread.

 Large-flowered Bellwort can be abundant.

 One of the least observed spring wildflowers is this next one: Mitrewort. The plant is not usually very abundant, but is not rare by any means. However the entire plant is seldom more than 40 cm (16") tall, and the tiny flowers are barely 4-5 mm across.

 In woodland pools, this Yellow Water Crowfoot, a type of buttercup, can be abundant.

On one of my most recent visits to Rondeau, I came across this Eastern Foxsnake, an officially endangered reptile, enjoying the quiet roadway.

Elsewhere in the park were these Five-lined Skinks, also endangered and Ontario's only lizard. It is sometimes called a Blue-tailed Skink, as the one in this next photo shows, but it is only the young ones that have the blue tail. This particular individual is playing Ostrich, with its head buried in the sand. It was quite healthy as far as I could tell, as it quickly scurried away shortly after I got this photo.

Adult Five-lined Skink

I wanted to get to the southeast beach to check on shorebirds. Along the way I came across this clump of Puccoon, the only one I saw in flower that day, but by now, there should be plenty out.

 I did encounter some shorebirds, including these two Ruddy Turnstones, along with Dunlin and Least Sandpiper.

 My real hope was to find a few Whimbrel, a large brownish shorebird with a long, down curved bill and are typically found in the area for only a few days in spring. I was pleased to find 6 birds, and got these 5 in the photo.

I also had a visit to the McGeachy Pond and Erieau Rail trails for a few hours one day. There were a few birds, but the day before it had been really exceptional with numbers and diversity. American Redstarts were plentiful the day I was there, including this young male which really wasn't trying to serenade me I am sure.

 There were at least a couple of Northern Parula, a species of warbler which always used to seem hard to find. This one was quite approachable, almost too close to focus on!

 I saw both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, which are typically hard to photograph. However this Black-billed Cuckoo obliged me for a few minutes.

 The trail edges have lots of this next species along it: Dame's Rocket is very colourful, but not native.

 The wetlands had lots of turtles. I did see a couple of Blanding's Turtles, but got no photos. However this adult Midland Painted Turtle....

 ....and this hatchling of last year, were more cooperative.

The Blenheim Sewage Lagoons are now open to birders, with a municipally provided permit. Birders have to keep numbers down to 5 or less, and practice social distancing. I went to check them out the first day they were open, and unfortunately the overall bird diversity was quite low. Only 4 species of waterfowl (Canada Geese, Mute Swan, Mallard and Ruddy Duck) and only two species of shorebird (Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper) were there. Nothing to get excited about, and with the water in the ponds very high, and the sprinkler cells totally dry, they aren't going to be very exciting for birds or birders anytime soon. However I did have an unexpected highlight. A couple of Red Fox pups were scampering around, and quite surprised to see a human based on their apparent urgency to get far, far away when I appeared. They were partially back lit, so not the ideal photo but I was certainly happy to get these.

Canada Day! And more.....

Ok officially Canada Day doesn't come for another few weeks. But a couple of days ago, there was an influx of Canada Warblers into the Rondeau area. They were seen in multiple parts of the park, but probably the best location was along Spicebush Trail, where several were seen, including one very cooperative male that gave photo ops for several people. Even during the relative short time I was there, I think I heard at least a thousand shutter clicks.

It was right adjacent to one of the boardwalks, giving people slightly elevated views as it spent several hours flitting back and forth, feeding, resting, searching for food and whatever. It would perch on a stump....

 ....pause and give quizzical looks at the people around.....

 ....flit to a branch....

 ...jump down to the base of a tree hunting for something....

 ...sometimes get bored with the audience....

 ...and occasionally find something to munch on. All in all, it was a very entertaining time with this declining species.

Of course there has been a good variety of other warblers, although I haven't caught up with some of the rarer species.

American Redstart

Blackburnian

Cape May

Common Yellowthroat

Chestnut-sided

Magnolia

 Sometimes you only get a partial view, and hopefully enough to make a positive identification before it disappears.

Nashville

Orange-crowned

There is a good variety of the usual non-warbler species, including those that may now be here to nest.

Baltimore Oriole

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Towhee male

 There had been a Spotted Towhee seen in the campground by a few birders. I wasn't in the area at the time, and so missed seeing it. However from photos I have seen, it wasn't very cooperative. It wouldn't be a new Rondeau species for me, as I had one coming to a feeder back in late 1979 when I was the park naturalist. That was before it became an official separate species rather than a western subspecies, so although it was an interesting sighting back then, it wouldn't have created the same stir as today.

Eastern Towhee female

 I've periodically thought that this next species should be the official bird of the Grand River Conservation Authority, given that its 4-letter bird code name is GRCA.

Gray Catbird

 Vireos have not been very abundant as of yesterday, although that could change any day now. Red-eyed Vireos, one of the most common of all songbirds in the eastern deciduous forests, have been noticeable by their absence. I think I have seen less than five so far this spring.

 Warbling Vireos are a little more common.

 Scarlet Tanagers have been around, although not abundant at all.

 Of course the 'resident' White-winged Dove has been back for a few weeks now, and as before, likes to build a nest on Mel's car.

 An Eastern Screech Owl is back in a frequently occupied hole. There is no guarantee that it will be visible, and if anyone goes off the trail to get a closer look, it will very quickly back up and disappear from view.

Yesterday when I was out, I got word of a Clay-colored Sparrow in the campground (thanks, Mike!). Since I was at the north end of the park at the time, I headed over and met Mike. Even though only a few minutes had passed by, the bird was nowhere to be seen. Which is often what birds do. Mike had indicated he had seen it loosely associating with Chipping Sparrows, so we used that clue to continue and broaden our search. However after another 30-45 minutes went by without seeing it, we decided it was gone. We did see several Chipping Sparrows, including this one which was putting the finishing touches on its nest.

 About 3 minutes after Mike and I had gone our separate ways, I heard him call out that it had re-appeared a little way down the campground road, so I hurried over. It was active, and not willing to allow us to get too close, so the long lenses were put to good use.

 Who knows, with the closed campground and open grassy/shrubby nature of the campground vegetation, might it be appealing for this species to nest if it can find a mate?

There is always something else to see along the way, including things like this Eastern Chipmunk. It has been a good year for chipmunks, and with the less traffic during the time the park was closed, fewer road kills. On some trails I have seen more chipmunks than warblers!

 This Eastern Cottontail was out in a grassy part of the campground.

 Leopard Frogs are widespread. I took a break from photographing the Canada Warbler to shoot this guy who was on the other side of the boardwalk.

 Tiger beetles, such as this Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (which can have either more, or fewer, than six spots) can be seen on sunny days along the trails and roadways.

 While walking along a grassy trail a few days ago, I flushed up a Song Sparrow. Its nest was not too hard to find.

 Spring wildflowers are continuing, such as this rarity known as Goldenseal. It occurs in a couple of places at Rondeau, and as of a few days ago, had just about completed its flowering for this season. Due to its rarity and Species At Risk status, its location will not be divulged.

 A spring-time orchid is this Showy Orchis. It isn't large and showy in spite of its name, as it seldom gets more than 15 cm (6") high.

Last year's flowering stalk

Butterflies have not been too plentiful, not surprising given the cool, windy conditions. With the promise of summer-like temperatures in the next few days, I anticipate a lot greater variety very soon!

Red Admiral

Roaming locally, and safely!

Spring continues to unfold, somewhat slower than many would like, but I'm not in a rush to get into full-blown summer. Some years seem to have a long, cool spring, and then it is like someone turned a switch and the heat and humidity are in full force, leaving us to wonder if spring took a vacation. It will be nice to have things a bit closer to normal over the next few days however, as long as the leaves don't unfurl too quickly to obscure the various warblers, vireos, etc. passing through.

The partially leucistic American Robin continues in the vicinity of Paxton's Bush. I might try and canvass the neighbours to see if and where this bird is nesting. It would be interesting to see what any young birds will end up looking like.

I haven't chased any of the rarities that have been surreptitiously reported over the last few weeks. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Pacific Loon, Black-necked Stilt and such would be nice to see again, but I have had fabulous views of them elsewhere in Ontario, and sometimes even in Chatham-Kent, so didn't go looking.

I did make a few brief ventures away from home these last few days for various reasons, however. One spot to check out was the Moore Wildlife Area in central Lambton. I wanted to investigate just where I could set up my black light equipment, in good proximity to the Sydenham River as well as being surrounded by forest, to maximize the potential for a good variety of night-time insects. It turns out that a moth I photographed there last year was the first record for Ontario. Who knows what else is out there? While I was examining the prospects, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak serenaded me from the upper branches of a tree. He had his beak full of things, so it wasn't a full bore song.

There wasn't a lot of bird action there, but I did pick out a couple of spots for my black light adventures, as the weather permits.

A brief stop at Clear Creek Forest on a cool, windy day, kept the birds quiet and under cover. Even this Great Egret, the first I think I have ever seen at this site, was taking shelter amongst some shrubbery along the far side of the upper pond.

While I was in eastern Chatham-Kent, I checked out a very large White Oak that someone had told me about. It is near the municipal campground at the south end of Clear Creek Forest Provincial Nature Reserve, and officially on the boy scout property. You can get a glimpse of it from the road. I took my diameter tape with me, and it turned out to be about 180 cm (70") in diameter. That is a large tree!

I stopped at Peer's Wetland one time as I was passing by. There was a ton of swallows of all types, attempting to snatch up a few insects to carry them through the cool weather. The pair of Mute Swans have successfully hatched their brood.

 While watching the swans for a few moments, I noticed that the male swan was constantly patrolling the water, making sure to keep any and all others away from the little ones. He would first go after one Canada Goose, then another, then another, and so on. While Mute Swans are large, impressive waterfowl, they are also not native, no thanks to humans of European descent who, decades ago, thought they would be an addition to the fauna of North America. And since they are naturally so very aggressive towards the native wildlife, it makes it challenging for the native inhabitants to carry on normally. There is a lesson here....

At any rate, while I was exploring the McGeachy Pond Trail on another day, I noticed that the Mute Swans there are down to one remaining youngster. Presumably the others have served as food for some of the naturally occurring turtle population, most of which are considered officially At Risk. It may sound rather callous, however I can not help but root for the turtles and hope that their numbers will be at least partially sustained by this non-native food source. Go turtles!

I was at the McGeachy Pond Trail due in part to look for a Grasshopper Sparrow, which had been seen earlier in the day at the far end of the trail. I had heard about it while I was over in the Bate's subdivision just outside of Rondeau, and since the birding was fairly quiet at the time, decided to take my chances in going over to Erieau. Arriving at the location about an hour and a half after the sparrow had first been reported, it was not to be found. There was no one else looking at the time, and there had been a variety of walkers, some with dogs, and cyclists passing along the path that the sparrow had been seen. There were lots of sparrows, including White-crowned, White-throated, Swamp, Song and Lincoln's, but no sign of the target species. I looked for at least half an hour and just as I was leaving, another birder came along, so together we looked for a little longer, but came up empty. But that is birding.

I did manage to get a distant view of about 15 Black-bellied Plover out in the field across the road.

On the way back to the parking lot, I came across a couple of Northern Waterthrush....

...and several Gray Catbirds feeding on a shrub of European Guelder Rose, sometimes confused with the native Highbush Cranberry. The berries of the European Guelder Rose are much more tart, so they stay on the branches until late winter or even early spring, when they are still available and birds are hungry enough to go after them.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are everywhere.

There is a lot of Garlic Mustard showing up in many places.

 Manitoba Maple has just about finished flowering.

While I was so close to Erieau itself, I decided to check out the water front. Some less common gulls are always a possibility, as a Laughing Gull had been seen a few days ago, and I had a Lesser Black-backed Gull quite recently. The brisk easterly winds on this day caused many birds, other than cormorants, to find another spot to be. But just as I was starting to drive away from the channel, I caught a glimpse of a black bird with vivid white wing patches, just as it dove into some shrubbery. I quickly pulled off the road and started looking. Was it a Yellow-headed Blackbird, or a Lark Bunting, or a Myna? The first of these three was the most likely, and still an unusual bird for the location. After a few moments, I got a glimpse of the bird amongst the shrubs and on the ground. It was a Yellow-headed Blackbird, my first for the year. It was acting very un-blackbird like. Normally this species will be out on a lawn searching for grubs or something. This was acting more like a thrush or a thrasher, two of the latter which happened to be in the shrubs as well, and difficult to see.

I got a few record shots and put the word out to a few local birders. Steve came by a few minutes later and we got a few more partial looks, but no better photo ops. Garry arrived a bit later, and for some reason this bird escaped without being seen again. As before, that's birding.

Rondeau opens tomorrow! It will be nice to see it after the almost two month hiatus since it closed!