Early November birding travels

 This is the best time of year for me to see one of my favourite sparrow species. Fox Sparrows are fairly large as sparrows go, and are distinctly marked and somewhat colourful. Late October through November are when they seem to be at their most numerous, with typically a dozen or more seen. They are often seen foraging on the ground, in typical sparrow style, but sometimes they will sit up and right in the open.

 

 

If they are in the area, they often respond to 'spishing' and will come quite a bit closer, which is nice for the photographer.

Generally more abundant and a sparrow species that usually sticks around longer, is the White-throated Sparrow.

I have enjoyed tracking down these and other sparrows on my recent forays to places like Rondeau and St. Clair NWA, where the above photos were taken recently.

A few of the other species that I have managed to photograph at either of those areas include Robins enjoying the abundance of red cedar berries.....

...and a shy Black-capped Chickadee. Actually it wasn't shy at all, as it came in quite close in response to spishing, but was so intent on looking for food, I only got this one photo before it moved off.

Downy Woodpecker

Purple Finches, such as this female, are around in better numbers now.

Of course gulls are quite abundant, and when the common Ring-billed Gull gives opportunity for a good photo, as a photographer I will take it.

There are hundreds of Ruddy Ducks out on Rondeau Bay and Lake Erie, although not typically very close to shore.

They are a little easier to get close-up photos at the local sewage lagoons.....

...as are Bonaparte's Gulls. I was looking for a Little Gull that had been there briefly, but none of us there that day saw it, so I satisfied my photographer's itch with this Bonaparte's Gull.

 A juvenile Peregrine Falcon has been hanging around St. Clair NWA on a couple of my visits there...

...as have at least a couple of Sandhill Cranes, although they are more often heard than seen very close by.

The occasional Snow Goose can be found mixed in with the more abundant Canada Geese. This was one of two along the shore of Lake Erie just outside of Rondeau....

...whereas this blue phase Snow Goose was at St. Clair NWA.

On one sunny but cool day, I came across this Midland Painted Turtle catching some late season sun.

Given that it is right in the middle of hunting season, ducks aren't always so cooperative when things are aimed at them. This Mallard didn't seem to mind.

Shorebirds are becoming much more scarce. There had been many dozens of Dunlin at most mudflats along a wetland, but those numbers have dropped considerably. When I was out at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands, I was actually hoping to see a Hudsonian Godwit that had been seen there from time to time. But each time I was there, it was not in view. And even the Dunlin were harder to find. In just a few days, their numbers went from at least a couple of hundred, to only three on my most recent visit. This one was scared up by a Northern Harrier on the prowl, but it came back to this pile of rocks.

It seemed like it wanted to play hide-and-seek as it never came out in full view. Two others flew by but didn't stop.

This Greater Yellowlegs continued along a mudflat at the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail.

On another time at Rondeau, a few Hermit Thrush were noted, but seldom gave a decent photo op. This was one of the better ones, and only for a brief time as they preferred to rustle around in the bushes searching for berries.

When the sun was out, the occasional Green Darner dragonfly was seen buzzing around. There weren't many flying insects like midges for it to feed on.

Raptors are continuing to migrate through the area, and it has been a great time to see Golden Eagles. Some of the hawkwatch sites are reporting 30 or more in a day! I stopped by the Morpeth Cliffs area for a couple of hours on a promising day, and had two young birds fly by. One flew right overhead, and not that high up. Unfortunately it was heavy overcast, so the following two photos had to undergo some serious processing to get the critical characteristics somewhat visible.

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