Early migration continues, nesting begins

 Spring is teasing us, and bringing back more birds, as well. A recent visit to St. Clair NWA didn't turn up a lot of migrants, as most of the wetland is still frozen. However there were lots of Red-winged Blackbirds scattered throughout. They were in the trees....

....and spread out amongst the remnant cattails. All were males, trying to establish their territory for when the females return in a few days.

I made a trip out to the mouth of the Thames River. The river is almost entirely open in the lower reaches, but when it enters Lake St. Clair, there is still lots of ice. I figured there would be lots of gulls, and I wasn't disappointed. There were easily 4-5000, but most were too far out at the edge of the ice. I had hoped for some of the rarer species, but all I saw were the more expected ones. However the ones that were in close are always an interesting study. There are numerous 'battles' over a dead fish. Given the number of dead fish lying on the ice, one would think there was enough for all, but most had been picked over. These Herring Gulls were by far the most common and close enough for photos.

Some seemed content to just stand and watch. Maybe they were trying to look inconspicuous, waiting for an opportunity to swoop in and catch another gull looking the wrong way.

Others were squawking about something or other.

This next one was taken at a different time, but illustrates the type of feistiness that gulls can display.

Ring-billed Gulls were not nearly as common.

One of my all-time favourites was taken a few years ago, showing these two Ring-bills definitely having a difference of opinion. I liken it to a mated pair, and one is definitely 'hen/gull-pecked.' Regardless, these adult gulls are at their most impressive appearance, with the feathers looking crisp and clean, and the bare skin parts looking quite vibrant. I especially like the bright red mouth.

A recent trip to Rondeau was good for a nice long walk, but not for seeing many birds. This Red-tailed Hawk was the only bird I was able to photograph successfully.

After being at Rondeau, I swung by Shrewsbury, and amidst a large group of Canada Geese, I spied this Cackling Goose. They are often hard to get a photo of, as they are so much smaller and often at least partially hidden behind the larger Canada. But this one came out into the open enough to get a clear view. The size difference of the body and the bill is pretty obvious.

Yesterday there were two Greater White-fronted Geese at the Ridgetown lagoons. Since I was heading that way anyway, it was an obvious reason to stop and check them out. Unfortunately at that particular time, they had gone into hiding. I met the Sadler brothers, so I hoped that more eyes would give a better chance to locate them, but it didn't work out that way. They weren't visible in the north lagoons or the south pond. There were hundreds of Tundra Swans, and a mix of other geese and various ducks, but no white-fronts. I even drove around to the west side of the south lagoon and stood on the cover on the back of the truck to see over the berm, but still no white-fronts to be seen. There is a fairly extensive stand of tall shrubs in the water along one part of the lagoon, and it is possible they were out of sight there. At any rate, some other birders who stopped by an hour or more later did report seeing them. While we didn't see the white-fronts, we did see a small group of Snow Geese drop in. But once they got mixed in with the swans, their much smaller white bodies were harder to pick out. The first photo shows at least parts of 4 of the Snow Geese......

.....and this one stands out a bit better.

Tundra Swans were coming and going regularly.

And in other news, there are now more local eagle nests showing evidence of nesting. This first one is just east of Thamesville, seen from Longwoods Road, and an adult seems to be in an incubating posture.

This next photo is of the nest at the north end of Scane Road. It shows two adults right on the nest, but with them both standing on or in the nest, they may not have any eggs in it quite yet. But I'm sure there will be eggs soon, and a few weeks later, the eaglets will be peering over the edge.