Mid 'Winter' Birding?

 OK technically, early to mid February is mid-winter, but with temperatures sometimes being like late March or even early April, it has felt anything but winter. I don't mind not having to shovel snow, however.

We did have a bit of snow in mid-January, and so the Mourning Dove nest that was occupied in late summer.....

....was now looking like this.

 But since then, I am sure even some of the not-so-regular winter birds are even a bit confused. Things like American Robins have been fairly widespread, even plentiful at times.

Killdeer are beginning to show up in widespread areas. Perhaps some of them never really left southwestern Ontario.

Areas that typically are partly to totally frozen over, such as the Thames River at Jeannette's Creek, just upstream of where it outlets into Lake St. Clair, is mostly wide open.

No Great Egrets here like has happened occasionally in the past, but typically three or more Great Blue Herons are hanging out within sight of the boat launch.

When the river is mostly frozen over, but with some open spots remaining, there can be a concentration of water fowl. And when that happens, there can be a concentration of Bald Eagles perched on trees along the river, keeping and eye open for an available injured bird to swoop down upon. On one occasion when these conditions occurred, I counted at least 28 eagles from this vantage point!

Elsewhere in wetland areas that are sometimes open and sometimes frozen over, there are lots of waterfowl using them. The Ridgetown Sewage Lagoons are productive, but mostly for Canada Geese. However there is often a much rarer goose species mixed in amongst them, such as a Snow Goose. In this case it is a young blue-phase Snow Goose, showing the mostly dark body and blotchy white head....

...as well as a Greater White-fronted Goose, or Speckle-belly, with its orange bill, white at the base, and brownish feathering with black bands across the belly.

Both species are smaller than the average Canada Goose, so sometimes are hard to pick out when they are at a distance or mixed in with a lot of other geese. If the head of the White-front is not visible, sometimes the orange legs are. This next photo shows all three species together.

Canada Geese are by far the most abundant.

In other wetland areas, and sometimes in roadside ditches, one can come across various duck species. I came across these Northern Shovelers near Bear Creek.

The males are quite striking.....

....this one is going through its plumage development, and in a few weeks will likely look as crisp and clean as the other male.

Along another roadside ditch I came across a pair of Wood Ducks. They are often quite skittish, even though the hunting season is over, and the female was a short distance away so I didn't get her photo. But I manages a couple of quick shots of the male from the vehicle as follows.

While I was out roaming around the former Dover Twp, I encountered this Snowy Owl. I had checked this spot on numerous occasions over the past few weeks, as this general area often has one or more Snowies, but this year they have been hard to find. This is my first one of the winter.

It is barely a record shot, as it was several hundred metres from the road. With my telephoto lens combination, and further cropping, it is shown at about 100X magnification!

I've been to Rondeau a couple of times in recent days....no big surprise there. Birds have been quite widely scattered, and not always photograph-able. I managed to get this White-breasted Nuthatch as it scurried around a tree trunk....

 

 The long-staying Red-headed Woodpecker continues in its usual little wooded patch at the corner of C-K Rd 15 an Wildwood Line.

 

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Some mid-winter exploring

 But has it really been winter? Probably more to come, but hopefully not in April and May! 

My blog posts are a bit out of sync. I am a few days behind the usual timing, but life sometimes gets in the way! Nonetheless I did get out periodically up until a few days ago. 

One of the highlights was to get a few shots of this overwintering Red-headed Woodpecker.

Red-headed Woodpeckers are far less common than they used to be, even during the breeding season. Having one over-winter is extremely unusual. I hadn't seen this one since late December, but about a week ago, there it was, in virtually the same location. Fortunately it has been a mild winter, as the patch of wooded area is quite small and very exposed.

My first attempts to photograph this individual did not result in much more than record shots. But I persisted, and even though these are highly cropped, it ventured out into more exposed areas of the trees it was moving around on, so got these much more satisfactory photos.

It was actually a short distance after leaving Rondeau that I re-encountered this individual. I had been at the park on several occasions, mainly to take advantage of the relatively mild, snow-free conditions for a good long walk. I didn't encounter many birds, but that wasn't my goal. Large wooded areas in mid-winter are typically very quiet when it comes to bird activity, much less photo opportunities for them. I did, however, come across the occasional Pileated Woodpecker, always nice to see....

....the somewhat unpredictable Eastern Screech Owl was sitting up nicely in its favourite American Beech.....

...there are lots of Dark-eyed Juncos scattered here and there.....

...and I am usually on the lookout for a new species of lichen to photograph. This one is likely the Mealy Rim Lichen.

On the return home, I managed to get a cooperative Rock Pigeon sitting on a wire in good light. I find this species to be typically flighty, not wanting to sit for long when a vehicle approaches.

With lots of open water still available, Great Blue Herons are in various locations. This one was in a ditch right along the road, allowing me to get these photos from my vehicle window, even at close range.

This next one was up along Bear Creek, across the channel.

While walking along the trail at St. Clair NWA, there wasn't much to photograph, but there always seem to be a few Canada Geese around. 

I did manage to get this highly cropped photo of a Northern Harrier cruising by at a great distance. It was taken and cropped to the equivalent of about 80X, and hard to maintain spot on focus, so isn't the best, to be sure.

I spent a bit of time at Erieau where, in spite of all of the open water of the lake and bay, some birds hung close by the marina slips and immediate area. Several American Coot were close by....

....as always there are gulls around, such as this Herring Gull.

There are several hundred to several thousand ducks around, most of which are well beyond good photo range. There were a dozen or more Redhead in the slip, including this nice male...

...and this female, apparently going through some unusual plumage change.

I usually go into southeastern Lambton Co once or twice a winter, as it is a good spot to see overwintering eagles. I have had moderate success in seeing and photographing Golden Eagles there, but not yet this year. This is one from a couple of years ago.

The only eagles I saw were these two Bald Eagles, perched in a tree well out in the open and a long way from the road.

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Feb 2, a noteworthy date, for what reason?

 Feb 2 is well-known for being Groundhog day. But is it really that important of a day to recognize? Will whether the groundhog sees its shadow or not, really be an accurate forecast of what is ahead for the remainder of winter?

I rather doubt it. 

Perhaps the best thing about the attention given to groundhog day is that it provides us something to talk about during this normally long period of winter, when many are patiently waiting for spring!

Perhaps a much more important day on Feb 2 is the recognition of it being World Wetlands Day. Wetlands include coastal marshes, flooded forests, wet prairies, bogs, peatlands, etc. Wetlands are some of the most important elements of nature for so many reasons. For example they are indirectly the source of our drinking water. They harbour thousands of native species, both plant and animal, many of which are declining and at risk. They prevent flooding. They filter out sediment and pollutants from entering the rivers and lakes. They store carbon.

Canada is home to about 70% of the world's freshwater wetlands. We have been blessed far more than we realize, yet wetlands are constantly under threat of increased pollution and loss. They are being invaded by aggressive non-native flora and fauna. They are an easy target for conversion to some other purpose, including agriculture/commercial/industrial/residential development.

This first photo shows what a normal creek system looks like.

This next photo shows the same creek system, from the same spot, during a high water flood event only 5 days earlier, due to the heavily drained/tiled lands upstream.

This next photo show the invasion of non-native Phragmites into a high quality wetland along Lake St. Clair.

Exploring accessible wetland areas are immensely important for a person's mental and physical well being. For example watching a sunrise or sunset is generally a healthy event for a persons mental health, but when viewing it in a wetland setting increases its value.

Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail sunset

Chenal Ecarte sunset, north end of Bear Line

Sunrise from Erieau, looking towards Rondeau Bay

 The greatest amount of freshwater wetlands in Canada are in the far north. In Ontario this includes the Hudson Bay Lowlands as shown by these next two photos taken while I was on a wildlife survey project at Polar Bear Provincial Park in the early 1990s.

At the opposite end of the province is Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve at the southern tip of Pelee Island, with a small but quite functional and important wetland.

And in between, are many wetlands that feature that Canadian icon, the Canadian Beaver.

 The central parts of Ontario are well endowed with small lake/wetland complexes.

North of Huntsville

Other wetlands feature wildlife such as the Common Gallinule, a species easily heard, but not often seen.

Here, a young family skirts the edge of a cattail and Phragmites stand.

Rare species such as orchids occur in quality wetlands. This next photo shows a person (centre right) involved in a survey for the endangered Eastern Prairie White-fringed Orchid at a wetland in Chatham-Kent.....

Eastern Prairie White-fringed Orchid

Wet woodlands, often called woodland swamps, or just plain swamps, are common place.

Bickford Oak Woods Conservation Reserve

Rondeau Prov Park

Large wetlands along Lake St. Clair provide excellent habitat for migrating, as well as breeding, waterfowl.

St. Clair NWA

St. Clair NWA

Rondeau 

 

Let's give wetlands their due!!!

 

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