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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Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks....a first for Chatham-Kent

For those in tune with the bird rarities in Ontario of late, it is no secret that the occurrence of two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks this past Saturday was the highlight. More on that shortly.

Earlier on that day, many birders had been drawn to Rondeau to seek out the Lark Sparrow and Clay-colored Sparrow that were in close proximity along Lakeshore Road. Due to all the rain of the previous 48 hours causing some water issues in our basement, I didn't get to Rondeau until mid-afternoon. The Lark Sparrow had last been seen about 30 minutes before I got there, but I did catch up to the Clay-colored Sparrow, and got some decent record shots.

After awhile, it seemed that the Lark Sparrow was not going to show, and then came the message via Ontbirds, that two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks had been seen right along Talbot Trail just west of Port Crewe. If the pavement hadn't been wet, I think we would have seen a cloud of dust along Lakeshore Road as vehicles made a very quick exit to go after the ducks, just in case time was of the essence. I couldn't go immediately, as I felt the water issues in our basement needed to be checked on, just in case. But after I got home, and realized that things were under control and not deteriorating, I considered going out to look for the ducks. When an early evening Ontbirds update indicated they were still there, I realized I had time to make it out there. So off I went. And there they were, as advertised, but a little farther away from the road then they had been earlier. The big telephoto lens came out and I got a few pics. Several more vehicles arrived, and the birds actually came closer to the road. By this time it was between 7:45 p.m. and 8 p.m., and sunset was quickly approaching, not that with the misty rain and heavy cloud cover one could even see the sun, so it was definitely challenging for photography. Here are some of the shots I got, after a bit more tweaking than usual.

Most of these were taken at an ISO of 6400, definitely higher than I like. But it was that or nothing, so it was an easy choice.

I had seen Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, their relative, along the south beach of Rondeau back on September 26, 1979. But these whistling-ducks were a first ever for me. This species has been seen in Ontario from time to time, and it seems every few years there is a very small influx of them. I hadn't gone looking for them elsewhere before, and these two birds, if accepted by the Ontario Bird Records Committee, will be the first for Chatham-Kent. They were a one-day wonder, and were not seen again after, although who knows if they might show up again somewhere else.

Yesterday, April 22 was Earth Day, and I was out at Rondeau for awhile. The weather was terrific, with sun, warm temperatures and light winds. There were quite a few birders out enjoying the great weather even though the birds were not terribly abundant. The White-winged Dove was quite cooperative, and most birders who tried for them got great looks. This male bird is attempting to build a nest again, on cottage owner Mel's car.

The South Point Trail was wet, but not nearly as wet as it was in May last year. Probably about 20% of the trail has water on it, varying from about 2-15 cm. Good waterproof footwear is a must.

Along the side trail that goes to the lighthouse, it is quite wet as well, and there were a few Green Frog tadpoles wriggling around in the water over the trail.

With the sun and warmer temperatures that day, there was the most butterfly activity that I had seen so far this year. I had four species, including a couple of Eastern Commas, several Red Admirals, a single American Lady and about a dozen Spring Azures, but only got photos of the latter two.

I stopped at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons and while there was a good variety of ducks and grebes, there was nothing unusual, and most of the ducks were a long way out so I didn't bother trying to get photos. Rumour had it that someone had been there recently with a shotgun, so that may have made the ducks a bit more wary than usual for the time of year. The sprinkler cells had just a tiny bit of water in them, presumably left over from the deluge of precipitation a few days earlier. The only shorebirds were Killdeer. Hopefully that will improve soon. There were several Savannah Sparrows on territory, allowing me to get a few photos.

My day on the Rondeau Area Butterfly Count

Yesterday was the most recent butterfly count for the Rondeau area. The day was sunny, with light winds to start off, but they steadily increased until by mid day, they were often above 30 km/hr with gusts to 40 or more. Certainly not the conditions one would hope for, and I'm sure the butterflies weren't happy with it either. But at least there was minimal cloud cover and no rain.

I started off in the Erieau vicinity, covering the McGeachy Pond Trail and then the Rail Trail. There were lots of flowering plants, including Canada Thistle, Common Milkweed, Sowthistle, Common Yarrow and such. Except for the yarrow, most flowering plants are non-native, but the butterflies made use of what was available. The butterflies were scattered but not overly abundant.

There were a few Monarchs, but almost all were constantly on the move. This faded individual took a rest for a few moments before moving on.

(Summer) Azures were here and there.

A nice surprise, and perhaps my most interesting sighting of the day, were two Bronze Coppers. I don't think I have ever had them on this count before. They were quite fresh looking and cooperated nicely.

The Rail Trail is mostly shaded at this time of year, but did have a few sunny spots where a few butterflies hung out. I got my only American Lady of the day here.

By late morning, I met up with Steve, Keith and Jim who had been butterflying elsewhere. We normally meet up to cover a nice weedy field close to Blenheim. The milkweed is abundant, as are a few other species that attract butterflies. Highlights here included:

Mourning Cloak

Delaware Skipper

 This next one had the two of us who saw it perplexed at the time. I managed to get one shot, and it was eventually decided it was a more boldly marked than usual Northern Broken Dash. (Thanks, Blake.)

Little Wood-Satyrs were more plentiful here than anywhere else I was over the day.

Common Wood Nymphs were, well, relatively common compared with most other species noted in various places on the day.

 On the other hand, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails were not common. I only saw two all day.

After enjoying a fairly productive time at this large milkweed patch, I went on my way leaving the other three to continue on with various spots. I made several stops at grassy/weedy fields in the Blenheim area, including some railroad track areas, the grassy field NE of Blenheim that has harboured several Dickcissel and Bobolink in the last few weeks, and ended up at a 40 ha pasture a little farther NE of Blenheim where I have had as many as 19 Dickcissels. But the windy conditions were getting a little out of hand, and with the exception of Monarchs fighting the wind somewhat successfully, there was very little else. I did find my one and only Black Swallowtail in a field of horticultural wildflowers. I tried several shots, but there was always too much movement. In a very brief lull this individual managed to hang on to a Wild Carrot (a.k.a Queen Anne's Lace) where I got one shot that was worth keeping.

Altogether I managed to see 21 species of butterfly, which isn't too bad considering the windy conditions and the fact that I had no woodland area to work with. However I tallied fewer than 150 individuals for the day, a bit less than normal.

There were other interesting sightings of winged things over the day, which just might make it into a future blog post.