Bird influx continues in southern Chatham-Kent

 The Birds of Chatham-Kent, then and now, series, will continue eventually, but right now, spring birding is heating up nicely. My previous post discussed this somewhat, based on a couple of really good days last weekend. While there hasn't been any major weather changes to bring huge numbers, that may happen over the next few days. In the meantime, there has been a very pleasing variety of birds to be found, if one is willing to cover a fair bit of habitat and area.

I have put my energy of recent days checking out places like Rondeau Provincial Park and Keith McLean Conservation Lands. It has been well worthwhile. I haven't had a 100 species day yet, but I did get an 85 species day.

Birds are scattered, with the very south end of the park being more or less the most productive, but the narrower north end of the park can be good as well. As the saying goes, birds are where you find them! It is a bonus when the photo ops occur at times, and so what follows features some of those photo ops.

There was the occasional White-throated Sparrow which over wintered, but very few. It is always a treat to see some nice fresh looking ones, and hearing them singing on occasion. It is one of the most abundant land birds in the park at the moment, with seeing several dozen quite easily as they scurry throughout the forest and edges.

White-crowned Sparrows are just starting to arrive. I have yet to see more than a handful even after several hours of birding.

Hermit Thrush is the first of the Catharus thrush species to show. It is the most common of this genus right now, but Swainson's Thrush, which follows, is running a close second, and will very soon be the most common one.

Brown Thrashers are rather skulky birds. There are a few around, although undoubtedly much more common than what any daily bird checklist will show.

Closely related to the Brown Thrasher is the Northern Mockingbird. There has been one or two lurking around the maintenance area for a couple of weeks, or in the nearby picnic area. I have seen it, or another one, on several occasions, and they usually can be somewhat cooperative for the camera.

One of the real highlights for me in the last few days was to see not one, but probably two, Sedge Wrens. Another birder reported three of this species in the same area. Given that they are very furtive, scurrying around dense grass mats and shrubby areas, there could be quite a few of this elusive species. In all of my birding/photographing years, this is the first time I have been able to successfully photograph one.

Members of the Wood Warbler group are what many birders equate with highlights of spring migration. There has been a moderate influx of species diversity considering the relative early aspect of the season. At least 16 of the ~40 species on the park checklist have been reported at Rondeau as of yesterday. I've only seen about 10 species in the last week or so. However the major part of their migration has yet to come, so there is lots of time over the next few weeks to see most of them. Will there be any new species added to the checklist? Only time will tell.

Palm Warblers are one of the early species.....

....as are Black-and-white Warblers.

Another highlight was to see a fairly cooperative male Hooded Warbler scurrying around a brush pile at the north end of the park. This species used to be quite a rarity in Ontario, but in the last couple of decades, has gradually expanded its breeding area so that while it is still uncommon, it isn't quite the rarity it used to be.

White-breasted Nuthatch is a permanent resident of the southern Ontario woodlands. Now that the breeding season is here, it is more common to hear their 'yank-yank-yank' calls along the trails.

Of course there are other things to see along the trails as well, including butterflies such as this American Lady....

...and sometimes a dead critter. This is a Short-tailed Shrew. It didn't show any overt signs of trauma, so why it died is a mystery. They are secretive creatures that spend most of their lives in the leaf litter or underground.

Eastern Gray Squirrels are abundant, of course.....

...and Spicebush is dominant throughout the wetter areas of the woodlands. It is about in peak flowering right now.

At one point I spotted this Red Fox crossing over the road from the campground, and heading south into a shrubby thicket. It wasn't apparent whether it was just on the hunt, or heading to or from a den. It is one of the few times I have seen a fox in the park, and the first time I have photographed one in the park. Their numbers have dwindled due to the high numbers of Eastern Coyotes in the park, which will prey on things like fox and feral cats etc.

As mentioned, I have also been checking out the Keith McLean Conservation Lands. There is lots of shorebird habitat, as has been the case for the last few years. There have been some rather rare shorebird types over the last few days, such as American Avocet, Willet and Marbled Godwit, but none of them have stayed for long, in some cases just a few hours at most. I didn't see any of them. Much more common are shorebirds such as Dunlin.....

....and Least Sandpiper, although it is a bit early for this species.

Lesser Yellowlegs, next, and Greater Yellowlegs, are around in small numbers.

In the cattail edges there are lots of sparrows, including an occasional American Tree Sparrow, most of which have moved farther north.

Brown-headed Cowbirds are seldom appreciated by birders, but when a good photo op shows up such as this female, I will try and make the best of it!

Cedar Waxwings have not been all that common lately, but I saw a small flock of about 8 feeding on some berries.

The nesting platform seems to be holding the interest from a pair of Osprey.

Tree Swallows are by far the most abundant swallow species right now. Hopefully they can survive any future cold spells that sometimes occur in early May!

The main highlight for me at KMCL was this Grasshopper Sparrow. It had been hanging out in the same vicinity as an even rarer Lark Sparrow. I have not caught up to the Lark Sparrow, but did manage to see the Grasshopper Sparrow on a recent visit. It was somewhat back lit, so I had to do a bit more processing than normal to get this result. It is the first time I have photographed this species, so was glad for the opportunity!

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Some fun ups and downs of spring

 What a difference a few days make. Last Tuesday, April 19, I took this photo out the kitchen window. It's 'sno' fun being a robin in these conditions. How am I going to find any worms?

However that didn't deter them from doing what robins do. Two days later, it was well underway constructing a nest. It did most of it in a single day.

The finished product just a day or two later, as it was observed putting some final touches on the nest, and building it a bit higher. I haven't checked, but I suspect at least one egg is now lying in it, awaiting to be incubated. Usually 4-5 eggs are laid, with incubating starting on the day the next to last egg is laid.

I was out at Rondeau shortly after the snowy days. There wasn't an awful lot to report with respect to newly arrived migrants, but it was pleasant just the same. For anyone who had been to the park since April 12, one might have noticed some different changes to the grassy parts of the park, especially along the northeast side. What had looked like this first photo.....

was now looking like this. Finally, after about three or so years, the park staff were able to carry out a prescribed burn. These next few photos were taken about a week after the burn, so with the snow and rain, the black ash had been washed away, leaving it looking a bit less black. It was a bit too soon for any greenery to appear.

In the absence of several years of fire and the presence of a higher water table, the shrubs had really expanded, making it look less like an oak savanna that it should have appeared as.

However with there being enough fuel for the fire to enter the stands of shrubs, the intent is for the heat and flames to damage the sensitive bark, suppressing the shrubby growth and give the grasses and wildflowers a chance to rebound. Time will tell how effective this burn has been, and perhaps another one will be required next year. There were other areas that the park staff had intended to burn, but due to the conditions of the day, the fire was slower moving than hoped for, so the areas covered were limited.

The few days after the burn, and before the sudden upswing in temperatures, were still pleasant to get out for. A few Eastern Phoebes were around.....

...as were some Hermit Thrushes.

Pileated Woodpeckers were usually detected by their distinctive drum roll heard off in the distance, but on occasion I would catch a glimpse of one, and even get a heavily cropped photo.

While looking through pine trees for an elusive Pine Warbler, I noticed this ball of fur resting on a branch. I knew immediately what it was, but it was interesting to note that when I uploaded it to iNaturalist, the first choices they gave me were incorrect, and included things like Porcupine, and some mammals that don't even occur in North America. It is a Raccoon, having a rest while soaking up a bit of sun.

Eastern Gartersnakes were out soaking up a bit of sunshine, or at least hoping for a bit of sun.

While walking the Black Oak Trail, I flushed up this Turkey Vulture. I could smell something, and it wasn't the vulture. It was a decomposing raccoon not far off the trail, but I didn't bother with getting its photo.

Here is a bird quiz for you. I was busy trying to capture a different photo of this bird, but one of the photos turned out like this. Note the small size, olive-green lower back, and lighter coloured edges of the darker tail feathers. Any ideas?

Here is the same bird without the upraised wings. Obviously it is a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a species which is fairly common these days.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet giving me a quizzical look

One of Rondeau best known denizens was out attempting to cross the road when it spied me. I could almost sense it deciding what its best options were, whether to race across or retreat.

It selected the former option and here I caught it with all four hooves in the air....

...just before it landed and leapt through a brushy tangle. This buck, as evidenced by its small black knobs which will grow into antlers in a few months, might have had a tougher time if its antlers were fully grown, likely snagging on some of the shrubby growth.

There are other things to see and photograph, such as this Common Greenshield Lichen.....

....and early spring wildflowers, such as this Early Buttercup.

Next is one of my favourites of early spring, the Round-lobed Hepatica, which differs slightly from a close relative, the Sharp-lobed Hepatica. As you might suspect, they have slightly different shaped leaves.

A few butterflies were out, although most weren't sticking around for a photo session like this Mourning Cloak was. This species overwinters as an adult, and a closer look shows some wear and tattering of its hind-wing.

 Fungi can be found in good condition, such as this Scarlet Elfcup, one of the earliest to be seen in spring.

A plant I am often on the lookout for in spring, before the forest floor greens up very much, is this orchid known as Puttyroot. The leaves are quite distinctive. It is a legally threatened species, so I won't divulge any details of where I found it. But it is part of a population that I have been watching for most of 40 years, and this year the leaves were the most abundant I have ever seen. I counted 117 of them, which is almost twice as many as I have seen in the past. It will be interesting to see how many send up a flowering spike, as typically only about 10-20 per cent do so.

The landscape features of the park are attractive in their own way at this time of year, as one can see much more detail than when all of the leaves are out. This first one is of a slough along Bennett Ave.....

These next ones are of a slough along the west South Point Trail. Sloughs showing so much openness, and not being choked with either buttonbush or the invasive Phragmites are getting harder and harder to find.

This distinctive tree root is that of Yellow Birch, which typically begins its life sprouting on a log or other exposed organic surface.

A trip or two to the Erieau area can be a nice change. Along the Rail Trail there is usually a good variety of ducks, although not always close enough to get a good photo of. This next photo shows a pair of Blue-winged Teal, which may stick around to nest.

A sunny day will cause a lot of turtles to be basking, and at this stage, most will be Midland Painted Turtles, the only Ontario turtle species that as yet, is not considered legally at risk.

Forster's Terns are the most commonly seen tern at the moment.

At the outset of this blog post, I mentioned what a difference a few days makes, and it was just so evident in the weather of the past few days. A warming trend, caused by brisk southerly warm winds, brought a lot of migrant birds that were just waiting for the right conditions to leap forward on their migration pathways. On the weekend there were at least 10 species of warblers recorded, including lots of Yellow Warblers. Even the rare Prothonotary Warbler was seen and photographed, but most were the early species typically seen first. They weren't always easy to photograph, however.

Yellow Warbler

There was an abundant diversity of new arrivals, including species such as Orchard and Baltimore Orioles, White-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos, Lincoln's Sparrow, Wood Thrush and Veery, several flycatcher types, etc., etc. One of the highlights for me was to have this stunning male Scarlet Tanager so cooperative, while feeding on some berries on this Red Cedar. The brilliant scarlet and black against a background of green and blue, made for a delightful time with the camera. While I was being dazzled by the cooperativeness of this beauty, I missed out on seeing an adult male Orchard Oriole that my birding companions saw. Such is birding.....and I shall not complain a bit after spend the time with this impressive bird.

So even though things are to cool down a bit over the next few days, I have no doubt that some of the birds that arrived on this warm period will stick around. I will be out trying to see and photograph as many as possible.

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