May is Wood Warbler Month!

 It is also Lyme Disease Awareness Month, but I won't go into detail about Lyme Disease on this post. If you want to read one of my most informative posts on that subject check out this link. 

May is the month when many birders are out on the hunt for those (mostly) colourful birds that are arriving from southerly areas, heading to our area to nest or stopping by for nutrients before continuing on their way to more northerly breeding grounds. While this year has been average at best for warbler movement, almost all of the regular species have appeared, at least in small numbers. One always hopes for a major event when warblers seem to be 'dripping from the trees'. That hasn't happened to any great extent yet this year, but one can always hope.

In the meantime, I thought I would feature a few photos of many of the warblers, which I have been fortunate to capture digitally over the years. Almost all were taken at Rondeau and in the spring, when they are at their most colourful, before they turn to those 'confusing fall warblers'. They are in no particular order. If it is labelled (B), it has been known to breed in Chatham-Kent, and especially at Rondeau. If it is labelled (M), it is a migrant moving on to more northerly habitat.

American Redstart (B)

Black-and-white Warbler (M)

Bay-breasted Warbler (M)

Blackpoll Warbler (M)

Blackburnian Warbler (M)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (M)

This next one, the Black-throated Green Warbler, has not been confirmed as a breeding species at Rondeau, but has probably nested. And given the number of conifer plantations that are becoming more mature in scattered parts of CK, it is possible that it has nested.

Black-throated Green Warbler (B?)

These next three are interesting. The first one is Blue-winged Warbler, an elusive and not common species. It has possibly nested in the area, but it has not been confirmed.

The Golden-winged Warbler, next, is not common either. In fact its numbers have declined considerably over the last couple of decades, and it is now a Species At Risk, with the status of 'Special Concern'. Part of the reason for the decline is that it shares habitat with the Blue-winged Warbler, and they regularly hybridize. The result is a hybrid known as 'Brewster's Warbler', which depending on the family lineage, can result in quite a variable plumage.

Golden-winged Warbler (M)

The image below shows an example of a Brewster's Warbler.

 Canada Warbler is next. It is also listed as 'Special Concern' due to declining numbers.

Canada Warbler (M)

Common Yellowthroat, next, is common and nests regularly in the area, especially in wetlands and shrubby areas.

Common Yellowthroat (B)

I include two of the following species, Cerulean Warbler, since the male and female are quite different in appearance. This species used to be a regular nesting species at Rondeau, but is quite irregular now. It is a Threatened species in Ontario. They are often fairly high in the trees, so getting a good photo is not easy!

Cerulean Warbler, male (B)

Cerulean Warbler, female (B)

Cape May Warbler (M)

Next is Chestnut-sided Warbler. It has nested at Rondeau on very rare occasion, being much more common farther north.

Chestnut-sided Warbler (B)

A species that used to be a Species At Risk in Ontario is shown next, a Hooded Warbler. It was quite unusual to see one, but in the last couple of decades, their numbers have increased considerably, and have been removed as a Species At Risk. It is seen somewhat regularly at places like Rondeau, and on occasion one might see two or three in a day on migration. It has not been confirmed nesting at Rondeau, although it is believed that attempts have been made.

Hooded Warbler (M)

Louisiana Waterthrush, next, is also a Threatened species, with its breeding range in Ontario limited to the very south. It has nested at Rondeau on rare occasion.

Louisiana Waterthrush (B)

A very similar looking warbler is the Northern Waterthrush, next. There are subtle differences, such as the width of the light stripe above the eye, the amount of speckling on the throat, and the slightly yellowish cast to the belly feathers. It is more common, but does not nest at Rondeau as far as any records show.

Northern Waterthrush (M)

Magnolia Warbler (M)

A regular, but not common species is the Mourning Warbler. It has nested at Rondeau on rare occasion.

Mourning Warbler (B)

Nashville Warbler (M)

Northern Parula (M)

Next is an Orange-crowned Warbler. It was photographed in the autumn, as you can tell by the seed heads of a goldenrod in the photo.

Orange-crowned Warbler (M)

Ovenbird (B)

Palm Warbler (M)

This next one is a Pine Warbler. It is a winter shot, as I got it coming to a feeder in January!

Pine Warbler (B)

I have featured Prothonotary Warbler on many occasions, as it is Rondeau's unofficial bird species, and certainly my favourite.

Prothonotary Warbler, male, (B)

Tennessee Warbler, (M)

The Townsend's Warbler is a western species. I found the first Rondeau record back in May of 1983. Interestingly, the Rondeau area has had more records of this species than any other location in Ontario. It is more often found in late fall here. This photo was taken in late November.

Worm-eating Warbler, next, is a southern rarity. There are not many records for Rondeau, with barely one report annually.

Worm-eating Warbler (M)

Wilson's Warbler, (M)

Yellow-rumped Warbler (M)

Yellow-throated Warbler, next, is generally a southern species. There are a few records for Rondeau, and at one point, for several years in a row, a male showed up in the vicinity of a cottage and the Visitor Centre. On one occasion there was a female as well, and it is believed that attempts were made to nest, although in spite of the search efforts of various birders, it was never confirmed.

Yellow-throated Warbler (M)

One of the most common warblers in southern Ontario and elsewhere, is the Yellow Warbler. It is an abundant breeding species, and it is not unusual to see several dozen on a day in May. On occasion, one may encounter more than 100 in a single day in May.

Yellow Warbler (B)

There are several other warbler species that have been recorded at Rondeau, some of which are almost annually occurring. These include Kirtland's Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Swainson's Warbler, Kentucky Warbler and Connecticut Warbler. For various reasons, I have yet to be able to photograph any of these five. Will it happen in 2022? Maybe!

 

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Birds, and other wildlife, of course!

Even without some of the 'best' spots to spend time in these days, there is lots of wildlife to see! I have continued to get out, safely without seeing many other people, so all is well. Certainly one of the highlights so far are the three American Avocets, as shown in my updated header, with a single bird below. It is certainly one of the most striking of shorebirds, especially in its breeding plumage this time of year. The fact that it is large, and fairly rare for this part of Ontario, makes it all the more appealing. The three of them were discovered yesterday at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands, which is looking good again this year for water birds given the high water conditions.

I spent a bit of time just outside of Rondeau, since the park itself is still closed, and there was a nice variety of things, including my first Baltimore Oriole of the year.....

 ...there were at least three Blue-grey Gnatcatchers flitting about, making photography a challenge.

 Brown-headed Cowbirds are typically detested by birders and non-birders alike. I am not a big fan of them, but they are native, and have managed an interested strategy for long-tern survival. This is a female.

 Hermit Thrushes are fairly plentiful these days, with a few of the other thrush species starting to appear.

 House Finches are often in full song.

 Ruby-crowned Kinglets are darting every which way looking for something to eat. I often don't bother trying to photograph them as they are constantly on the move, but occasionally one is a little more cooperative, remaining in one spot for a fraction of a second.

 Tufted Titmice are not often seen, but these days they can be pinpointed more easily since they are in song.

 White-throated Sparrows are fairly common these days as they scrounge amongst the leaf litter looking for something to eat. This particular day, the ones I saw were all back lit, making the photos less vivid.

In other locales, there have been a few other birds to enjoy. While American Robins are quite abundant these last few weeks, I came across this one near Paxton's Bush. The speckled nature is the result of the partial loss of pigment in the feathers. There is a recent article in the Ontario Field Ornithologists publication Ontario Birds, which features a variety of species that have shown this phenomenon.

 Also at Paxton's Bush, I have recently seen Blue-headed Vireos....

 ....and Black-throated Green Warblers.

 A flooded field is always worth checking out. In addition to several Wilson's Snipe on this occasion, I also found three Pectoral Sandpipers.

 All of the expected swallow species have been back for awhile, and Purple Martins are gathering at martin houses. There is an easily accessible martin house at Mitchell's Bay park, where I shot the male and female shown here.

 Turkey Vultures are frequent. I haven't caught up to a Black Vulture yet this year, but I keep looking.

 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are quite regular these days.....

 ....and Chipping Sparrows are common on lawns and other short grass sites.

I photographed this Chipping Sparrow while I was waiting to 'shoot' a Red Fox. I had been notified of a fox den on a piece of private property that I had access to. The first evening I was out, I watched and waited for more than two hours, without seeing the fox. I did see more than 20 species of birds while I was standing waiting. But the second time I went out, after an hour and a half, and just as it was getting very dull, the fox showed up briefly. I saw him/her for about 15 seconds and managed three photos. Since it was running through a shrubby area, the focus was thrown off, and so I only got this one photo that was worth keeping.

There are other types of wildlife to shoot at this time of year. Again, while I was waiting for the fox to show, I photographed this cottontail. Clearly it has survived being close by the fox's hangouts, at least for now.

 Eastern Chipmunks are out and about, and often fairly vocal.....

 ...as are their larger relatives.

 On the occasional sunny day, a wetland can have dozens of Painted Turtles out soaking up the sun, necessary for the egg development inside the females so they can lay them in another month.

 The Narrow-headed Marsh Fly is one of the most abundant types of syrphid flies in the spring, and throughout the year for that matter.

 Mourning Cloaks are flitting around or pausing to soak up some sunshine....

 ...as are a few Red Admirals.

 And a Great Horned Owlet, not the ones at Paxton's Bush, is growing and will soon be leaving this nest. You can just barely see it peering out at me, as I am possibly the first human this owlet had seen.

Ahhh...spring time! So much is happening, and there is so little time to catch up with it all!