A western visitor and more local denizens

 The highlight of birds in the past few days was the presence of an Eared Grebe. Although this species does show up in various places in Ontario in most years, it is largely a species that breeds in the western half of the continent and roams a bit farther afield on fall migration. It is not reported in Chatham-Kent every year. This individual was at the Keith McLean Conservation Area, in one of the ponds which were established a year or so ago. I watched it for awhile, and it would pop up at one end of the pond, then disappear and show up at the other end. On occasion it would be across the pond from me. It never came very close, so there are all heavily cropped images.

A bit of time at nearby Rondeau turned up a few interesting things, as usual. I went part way out the newly refurbished Marsh Trail. It was nice to get back out there after it being in such significantly deteriorating condition over the last couple of years. Kudos to the Rondeau Waterfowlers group for getting this done.

I didn't photograph a lot on this visit, but did see a Merlin perched on a dead limb a long way up......

....and this Song Sparrow that perched for a short time, showing that it was missing its tail.

Along some of the uncut grassy areas in various parts of the park, mostly on the east side, there are some of these orchids showing up. They are just getting underway, as the latter half of September is when they are in their prime. It is the Great Plains Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum), a rare orchid in Ontario, but fairly regular and sometimes common at Rondeau. There are other members of the Spiranthes genus to be found, but most of them occur a bit earlier in the season in similar grassy areas, and not all at Rondeau.

I spent a bit of time on one promising day at the Morpeth Cliffs, a well-known local spot to watch the hawk migration in the fall, especially when the winds are primarily from a northern direction. I managed to see at least a couple of hundred raptors on the move in the hour and a half I was there, but they were mostly way up high, and difficult to even see without binoculars let alone identify them. I did see various species, such as Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk, American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Harrier and of course, Turkey Vulture. There could have been others. My photos were hardly worth taking, as the birds were so high and the camera had difficulty locking focus on. Here are a couple of my more successful ones, greatly cropped, such as they are:

I went over to the Erieau Marsh Trail, but only photographed these next two subjects. This hatchling snapping turtle was crossing the path. A cyclist had just come through moments before, and fortunately did not run over the little critter. He wasn't moving, so maybe he was still in shock. I picked him up and put him on the far side of the path, in the direction he was going.

A Double-crested Cormorant gave me a photo op.

The shorebirds continue at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons, although I haven't spent much time there as the species mix remains fairly constant. In my limited time there, I got these shorebirds:

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Greater in the back, and Lesser facing the camera

Stilt Sandpiper

A Northern Harrier cruised by a couple of times, and I managed to get some decent photos showing the facial features as well as the white rump. This would appear to be a female, or possibly a youngster.

Checking out the Mitchell's Bay North Lakeshore Trail often provides some nice photo ops, especially for heron types, and occasionally for others. A recent venture to that trail resulted in the following:

Great Blue Heron

Several Great Egrets were around in various locations, some of which provided some good photo settings for me.

There were two Green Herons, which always seem to be skulky, and did not pose in good light.

Double-crested Cormorants were quite abundant, but mostly well out on the Lake. This one liked the quiet water of an inner channel......

...at least until it thought I was getting too close.

Checking out St. Clair NWA can be worthwhile almost any time, but getting photos that I am happy with don't always happen. Here are a couple from my most recent visits. Two Sandhill Cranes landed a little way away, but in some fairly thick cover, while another half a dozen flew in and landed elsewhere.

An Olive-sided Flycatcher was perched at the top of a dead branch, and against the bland sky, was not the kind of photo I was hoping for. Maybe next time.

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