Fair weather brings fair sightings

 The three favourite natural areas I go to, Rondeau PP, St. Clair NWA and Mitchell's Bay North Trail, have all had some better photo opportunities of late, which isn't surprising given the gradual arriving of spring.

At Rondeau, there is an increasing variety of photo ops, although I have missed lots of the first of year migrants. I plan to catch up with more of them very soon!

Eastern Phoebe

Northern Flicker

This next creature is sometimes called a Northern Brown Snake, but more officially it is Dekay's Snake. It is small, not particularly rare but not abundant either.

As the days warm, there is an increasing number of butterflies, including this Red Admiral.

A pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, relatively recent arrivals, were seen 'fighting' for territory on this tree, and as they were so active, neither one really cooperated for a photo that I was hoping for. Maybe next time.

 At St. Clair NWA, with the wide open skies, it can be good for seeing things and even getting a few photos. However it has been cool and windy, so not ideal, but still worth it.

On one occasion there were several flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls, averaging about 40 in number, passing through fairly quickly on their way to points farther inland. Presumably some field being worked up had attracted their interest. Bonaparte's Gulls have just arrived in large numbers in the last couple of weeks. 

Waterfowl are becoming less numerous, but still are around, like this male Bufflehead; its mate was nearby.

Sandhill Cranes are almost a guarantee these days, with as many as 15 or so typically seen in the immediate area. These next two were right on the trail, and let me get closer than I expected.

There was this third one as part of the group, but it left first, and allowed me to get some good flight shots.

At the Mitchell's Bay North trail, there are almost always 2-3 Bald Eagle's passing by, or landing on a small mud flat at the water's edge. Most of them right now are sub-adults, as the adults are presumably on or near their nest.

With the water level being what it is, there is a lot of mud flat, and I am hoping to see a good variety of shorebirds. On this occasion there were a couple of Greater Yellowlegs out feeding.

...and along one of the sunnier, quieter channels, there were a few Midland Painted Turtles enjoying some sunshine.

Tree Swallows were fairly abundant, but mostly in flight. Once in awhile, one would rest on a wire.

Certainly one of the less expected birds seen in Chatham-Kent these last few days was a Black Vulture. It was just a bit north of Clear Creek Forest Prov Park, in eastern C-K. I didn't get out to see or even look for it as I was busy with some other things. However I have been fortunate to see one in C-K in the past, including this one which I photographed inside the Rondeau Park boundary, back on March 15, 2009, a few years before I started Nature Nuggets.

 

 

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Some warmer season niceties

 The ups and downs of the early spring days can be rewarding. At least with the periodic upswing, migrating birds are on the move, and a greater variety of fauna can be appreciated.

I have been to Rondeau on a few occasions, in between rainy days. One of my purposes is to get a fair bit of exercise instead of hanging out and being relatively immobile at home. Some days the camera gets a bit of a workout; other days, not so much. 

In some of my earlier posts, it was plain to see that there was massive amounts of ice on the lake, but it was gradually disappearing. And then there was none.

There is becoming a nice mix of fauna to see. No native spring wildflowers yet, but that won't be long. Wood Frogs are making a bit of noise in the larger ponds of the sloughs.

Tree Swallows are back, swooping after some insects.

A few flies and things are buzzing around, such as this Narrow-headed Marsh Fly

Mourning Cloaks are by far the most numerous butterfly, although I did see one or two of the Eastern Comma type ones but just in flight

There has been at least one Lesser Yellowlegs hanging out in the good shorebird habitat at nearby Keith McLean Conservation Area.

Golden-crowned Kinglets are fairly common.

On occasion, one may see an Eastern Garter Snake out sunning.

Brown Creepers are becoming more numerous, although they hardly ever sit still for a photo! I've even had several show up on trees in my yard at home.

A nice surprise is to see and photograph this American Red Squirrel, which has been hanging around the maintenance area for several years. It is very active, and photos are hard to get. In the case of this one, I had a hard time focusing on it as there was not only a chain link fence to look through, but also branches of a few shrubs.

Other places relatively close to home have proven worthwhile to check out. At St. Clair NWA, there is often a Bald Eagle flying around, but the bland skies don't make it easy to get a good photo of.

On one occasion as I was along the main trail, this Canadian Beaver was swimming by quite close at hand. You don't often see them in the middle part of the day, but there it was.

Sandhill Cranes are almost a guarantee, somewhere either in the NWA or nearby fields.

The Mitchell's Bay trails are worth checking out. Again, Bald Eagles are almost a guarantee, and I often see 4 or more within view, but not always within a good photographic distance. This one is about a year old, due to the brownish back.

Great Egrets are back, and I always look forward to photographing one or more. This first one shows it had recently grabbed what looks to be a small frog.

At other times, they are just busy watching to see what is going on.

There is some great habitat for shorebirds, due to the lower lake levels. This Greater Yellowlegs was a first of the year for me, a little way out from the closest point at which I could observe it.

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Roaming around Chatham-Kent, excluding Rondeau

 I've been getting out to a few places, including Rondeau, but will save the Rondeau highlights for the next post. Instead, I will draw attention to things elsewhere in C-K!

Certainly a highlight now, is to note that Bald Eagle nests are being occupied, at least in a few places. Fortunately Bald Eagles have re-bounded from their endangered status of a few years ago! Some nests are fairly visible right from a road, as is the case of this nest along the south end of Fargo Road. 

It is a new nest this season, and I'm not sure how long it will last, as it appears that the tree is totally dead. Hopefully it lasts at least this season! It is easily viewed from the road, although binoculars are helpful. Being a dead tree, at least any growth of the young up to fledging time should be more visible.

This next photo is one of my favourites, although it was not taken of this nesting pair. But I like it so much, I had a 12" X 24" canvas print made of it!

Closer to home, literally, I have been watching the neighbourhood squirrels maintaining their winter nest. Once the snow left the yard, there were at least two squirrels busily gathering up even more leaves and scampering up the tree trunk to add them to the existing nest.

Not sure if they are just patching things up due to the high winds scattering some of the nest leaves, or whether they are just shoring it up to allow some protection for probable recently born nestling from the weather. Or maybe they know there is more winter to come, and want to improve on the original design.

Now that SCNWA is open, and the trail is free of snow, it is somewhere I will be going to again fairly regularly, especially as it is relatively close to home.

Not that long ago, it was solid ice everywhere. 

Late February

The waterfowl are now able to make use of the openness.

March 8

 Red-winged Blackbirds are abundant, staking out territory.

The occasional Great Blue Heron is around, but not offering the greatest photos (or maybe I just wasn't prepared with the proper settings :-)

Canada Geese are getting paired up...

..or just moving around looking for a mate?

American Tree Sparrows are still hanging around, picking away at whatever they can find on the trail to nibble on.

Nearby one can find the occasional Belted Kingfisher, waiting for something to surface at a recently open spot. They are skittish, and this one didn't allow a very close photo op. It is heavily cropped.

Of the several Wood Duck boxes just north of the NWA, an Eastern Screech Owl continues to hang out, at least for now. Wood Ducks are starting to return, so no doubt they will oust the owl before long.

Sandhill Cranes are around in increasing numbers, and often are paired up. I suspect they are already beginning the nesting process!

More unusual are a couple of Trumpeter Swans. This pair was just hanging out in a local corn stubble field without any other waterfowl nearby. Maybe they will stick around and nest? This species has been suspected of nesting in recent years, but not confirmed that I am aware of. They like the large, open and secluded wetland areas.

The NWA can be a great spot for sunsets!

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