Roaming around at the end of autumn, including some Bald Eagle news

 Well, winter finally arrived, although the last couple of weeks have at times, seemed more winter-like than some winters!

I'm always looking for an opportunity to go for a long, brisk hike at Rondeau, and now that the snow and ice have almost completely disappeared, there is so many of the roads and trails that are less icy to walk on briskly. I haven't found an abundance of things to photograph, but there is always something.

The east beach was always a guarantee to find Canada Geese, but now that the beach was laden with ice piled up, they were typically out off shore a little ways. 

I often walk what I call the central block, which includes both Rondeau Rd and Harrison Trail, and includes both Bennett Ave and Gardiner Ave. It is a nice woodland walk of ~5 km or so. This Destructive Pholiota fungus which I have been watching come and go over the last couple of months, was in surprisingly good condition in spite of the recent weather, at least based on appearances.

Another fungus that was still in fairly good shape was this Fan-shaped Jelly Fungus.

Next is a general photo taken along Harrison Trail. I like looking at the variability in trees, etc.

Wild Turkeys were a little shy, likely due to the shooting that took place during the two deer culls in recent weeks. But this one didn't appear too worried as I drove by, and even stopped with my lens pointed at it.

One of the things I was glad to see was a new nest of Bald Eagle. It was well out along the west edge of the woodland, and there were too many branches, etc., to bother with a photo, but it will be interesting to keep track of it, at least while the trees are leafless.

And more on the Bald Eagle topic, I noted that the eagles at the south end of Fargo Road, just a bit north of Shrewsbury, seemed to be building a new nest. I think this is the fourth nest I have seen along this narrow stretch of woodland, with two already having come down. The first photo shows an adult clutching some twigs and small branches to add to the nest.

The second photo show it down in the nest, working on getting the twigs positioned comfortably,

Continuing with Bald Eagles, I encountered this bird at the edge of St. Clair NWA. It appears to be a 3rd year bird.

 A bit north of the SCNWA, I checked some Wood Duck boxes, and noted an Eastern Screech Owl sitting quite visibly in one.

 Elsewhere in the former Dover Twp, I came across these: Crows, of course. The usual tens of thousand are scattered here and there. They are fairly tolerant if a vehicle keeps moving but when you stop and point something out the window, they tend to move on rather quickly.

At the very north end of the former Dover Twp is a spot I check out periodically, especially for waterfowl and sunset photography. There had been enough of a current to keep the water completely open, but there was not a bird to be seen, not even a gull or a crow, let alone a duck or goose. The wetland across is at Walpole Island First Nation.

Elsewhere there were groups of Rock Pigeons settled onto a hydro wire, with feathers fluffed up trying to keep warm even in the sunshine.

Birds in this part of the upcoming SCNWA Christmas Bird Count seem to be quite scarce. There were a few birds hanging out at the water treatment outlet along the Thames River, at the west end of Chatham, including these:

 A single Herring Gull....

...the usual couple of dozen Mallards....

...and the ever present Canada Geese.

Being that Christmas is almost here, I often include some type of Christmas message. Rather than re-do it here, I will link you to my other blog, Life Is A Journey for some Christmas thoughts. It is a new blog that I started last June, and some people who are on the list to get Nature Nuggets, also get Life Is A Journey. I started this blog due to the challenging things I have had to deal with over the last couple of decades, and especially over the last couple of years. The journey posts essentially start with my early years, and in bits and pieces, go through the decades to what I am dealing with now. It is linked to Nature Nuggets.

Here is the link. Check it out if you like, and all the best as the Christmas season arrives, and the New Year is just around the corner!

 

If you would like to subscribe to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com 

 

Late autumn, early 'winter' birding in prep for the Rondeau bird count

 I had been out a few times, looking to see what might be around in preparation for the Blenheim/Rondeau Christmas Bird Count on Dec 14.

In spite of the wintry weather, it is surprising that there is as much diversity as there is. Of course there are the usual things, including:

American Coot

Bufflehead

Lots and lots of Canada Geese!

A few Hooded Mergansers, mostly in the unfrozen areas around the Erieau harbour.

A pleasant surprise was to hear, and then get out and see some Ross's Geese. At a distance they look like a smaller version of Snow Goose, and this photo was take at quite a distance. Fortunately the head was visible enough to see the smaller stubby bill, and lack of a 'grin' patch, as well as the typical black wing tips.

In the same field with the Ross's Goose, were a couple of Tundra Swans, and lots and lots of Canada Geese.

In a field near the Blenheim Landfill, there were as many as 27 Wild Turkeys out roaming around on the lightly snow covered harvested field.

My territory for the bird count has almost always been inside Rondeau Park. I have been on this count for ~56 years. In the past it has included both the south beach all the way to Erieau, and then driving up to the Marsh Trail where I walked at least the south half. That typically involved walking a total of about 15-17 km, while carrying a tripod and scope, along with binoculars, and sometimes camera equipment as well. But that was yesteryear, and the Marsh Trail has been inaccessibly by vehicle for several years due to erosion, And while I could do the south beach, there is a much younger generation of fellows, in their 20s, who have more energy and better eyes and ears, so I have passed that area over to them. Instead, I roam around some of the roads and trails in the wooded area of the park, which is a lot less conducive for bird diversity, but there are some things around.

I checked several of the deer feeding stations that had been regularly stocked with cracked corn. (As a result of the two weekend deer culls in late November and early December, there were exactly 50 deer harvested, so the ongoing deer browsing will be reduced, much to the delight of saplings and shrubs, I am sure.) 

Birds immediately flushed even as I cautiously approached, but waiting patiently and quietly caused them to return. I guess their hunger won out!

Some would approach carefully...

...and after a few moments, drop down and start feeding.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Fox Sparrows are rather uncommon this time of year, but will hang out with other more abundant birds, and join them in their feeding frenzy.

Dark-eyed Juncos are quite abundant now.

And American Tree Sparrows are fairly abundant, and widely scattered. 

The bird count was held regardless of the cold, wintry weather, as usual. The day started out at about -14C but warmed up to a balmy -8C. The brisk westerly wind made the wind chill more like about -20C! Not exactly late autumn weather, but every year is different.

 White-throated Sparrows, named appropriately, were scattered here and there, and certainly the feeding piles were helpful.

I saw at least 5 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, mostly in the vicinity of these feeding stations.

Pileated Woodpeckers are never abundant, even though they are year-round residents, so just getting one is sometimes a bonus.

Cardinals are always to be found, near a feeding station or wherever, along woodland edges.

A bit unexpected was to see this Hermit Thrush. We don't get this species on every count.

Blue Jays have been in migration mode for several weeks, with some lingering, and likely will be here all winter. There are lots of acorns for them to find and feed on!

And lastly, this American Tree Sparrow was present at a few feeding stations on the day of the count.

Overall it was another successful count in terms of numbers and diversity. I don't think it is official yet, but at this point it seems that there were 101 species seen. Getting 100 or more is quite a feat! Of course there were many, many energetic and highly capable birders out scouring the entire count area, and that makes all the difference. 

There were lots of Bald Eagles seen, along with a couple of Golden Eagles. Sandhill Cranes, Short-eared Owls, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon and even an Eastern Phoebe were counted. Some shorebirds were even found to be sticking around, including Killdeer and Wilson's Snipe. A couple of warbler species were counted, including Yellow-rumped, which is to be expected, as well as a single Orange-crowned Warbler. The Ross's Goose was found; it was trapped in the ice at the sewage lagoons, but was freed by a couple of birders, and the goose was able to fly away!

 

If you are still looking for a Christmas gift, both of my two books, Life On A Sandspit, and Natural Treasures of Chatham-Kent, are available locally at:

Book Brothers, King St E Chatham

Mindful Market and Eco Hub, Main St, Blenheim

Mitton's Jewelers and Gifts, Main St, Ridgetown

Bayview Market, just outside the park gates of Rondeau (open Thursday-Sunday) 

 

 

If you would like to subscribe to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com 

 

 

 

 

Bald Eagle Bonanza, and a couple of Killdeer

 What a difference a few days make. This first photo was taken on Dec 1.

 And three days later, it looked like this.

 The bay was almost entirely frozen, much earlier than normal. Needless to say, the waterfowl hunt came to an end earlier this year as a result.

I had been out those two times looking for things to photograph while I was out for some hiking. Bald Eagles were the order of the day, on both occasions!

On Dec 1, was checking the lake front, and I noted this adult heading my way. It was following the shoreline, and it came closer....

...and eventually flew almost right overhead.

It continued southward, but after a bit longer flight, noted another eagle in a large cottonwood tree amongst some cottages, and flew in to join it.

  On Dec 4, I was again checking the cottonwood trees a bit south of the traffic circle, and came across this one. 

Just as I got to the traffic circle, I came across a couple of others, quietly resting in cottonwood trees.

 I very quietly got out of the vehicle so I could get a slightly better angle and keep the hydro wire out of the photo. The eagles didn't like that, so quickly left and flew up along the lakeshore.

 And there they joined another eagle, this time an adult. Whether all of these over the two days were different individuals, I don't know, but there were at least 5 birds.

 There were a few other things to photograph, some along the lake shore, 

Canada Geese at siesta time

Ring-billed Gull

And a few other things away from the lake. A flock of about 27 Cedar Waxwings landed high in a distant tree. Most of the flock were in this one tree, but there were a few others in adjacent ones. I looked for one to be a Bohemian, but was not successful.

Downy Woodpecker

While checking the feeding stations for the upcoming deer cull, I thought I saw something peering out at me from a hole in a tree. It was at quite a distance, but thinking it might be a screech owl, I took a photo and cropped it heavily at home. Turns out it was an Eastern Grey Squirrel, probably visiting the cracked corn at the feeding station when no one was around.

There were the usual few White-throated Sparrows, and other sparrow species, along with Dark-eyed Juncos feeding on the grasses and goldenrod along the road side.

One of the unexpected species was this Killdeer. It was feeding along the road side where the snow had been scraped. It was always a bit back lit, so not the best situation, and I tried to carefully get beyond it so as to have better lighting, but it was too skittish for that. Not all that unusual for the time of year in a normal year, but with the snow and cold, most of them should be long gone by now. I saw a second Killdeer by the road between the store and the yacht club, but although the light was a better angle, the bird was even more skittish.

I had kept an eye open for the super moon on Dec 4th, but there was cloud at the horizon and it wasn't until I got part way home that I noticed it above the cloud. So when I got home, I took this photo.

 

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