"Only" birds here and there

 In spite of the winter, there have been opportunities to get out, go for a long walk, explore and even get a few photos to feature the season.

A recent eBird post indicated a Snowy Owl had been seen not far from St. Clair NWA. Since I was heading out somewhere anyway, I decided to swing that way since it was only a couple of hours later. Unfortunately, even with slow and careful viewing, the owl was not to be seen. It wasn't reported by anyone else either. But I did get photographs of a few other things while I was in that vicinity.

Sub-adult Bald Eagle

As I crossed over a wide creek, I noticed this Great Blue Heron standing on the ice, waiting for....something. Maybe spring????

A little further down the channel, was another one. At least it was standing in some water. I am amazed that in spite of standing in almost freezing water, on ice, it apparently doesn't seem to bother them. And even farther down the channel was a third heron.

In a field nearby, were 7 Sandhill Cranes.....

...and a few Tundra Swans flew overhead.

But no Snowy Owl to be seen.

An outing at Rondeau and area didn't produce a lot to photograph, but there always seems to be something. 

White-throated Sparrow

It was bright/heavy overcast, which didn't produce great lighting for a mostly dark House Finch perched on a branch against the sky. It seemed to be busy feeding on the numerous berries of some of the Red Cedars in the campground.

A Hairy Woodpecker was busy searching for insects.

American Tree Sparrows are relatively common, or at least somewhat regular at the moment. They often travel in small flocks.

A single photo gives a good view....

In other odds and ends, there are often Canada Geese somewhere around...

...or a Ruddy Duck...

...or even a Red-tailed Hawk.

No butterflies, insects, or plants to photograph these days, but at least there are a few birds!

 

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Migration ramps up, bringing some rarities

 It is a busy time of year. Lots of birding to do, lots of photographs to process, and lots of garden preparation to do, among other things. I've been able to squeeze a few trips out to natural areas amongst the other things, and although the bird migration has been a bit slower than birders would like (surprise, surprise), it has definitely been fun to get out. 

Visits to Rondeau are always worthwhile. Warblers have been scattered and not in any great numbers, but that is bound to change soon. Many that do show up are hard to photograph against a bland sky and through branches, so more have been seen than photographed. When they are low down, I have a chance, as this Nashville Warbler and Yellow Warbler illustrate.

Getting ready for take off!

There are lots of sparrows, such as this Field Sparrow, shown next, a local breeding species. I missed an extremely cooperative Henslow's Sparrow. White-throated Sparrows have been by far the most common sparrow, but often are furtively scavenging amongst the branches and leaves on the forest floor.

One or more Northern Mockingbirds seem to be taking up residence at the north end of the picnic area. Maybe it will be a breeding species this year, so that will be nice to add to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas currently underway.

Swainson's Thrush is the most abundant of the Catharus group of thrushes these days.....

...and a few Veerys are showing up.

I have seen more Red Foxes lately, or maybe it is the same one on more than one occasion. This one decided to take a rest in a shrubby thicket, which made focusing tricky.

Eastern Chipmunks are plentiful, and occasionally will cooperate for the camera. I try and oblige.

I've spent a bit of time along the wetlands of Lake St. Clair, including at St. Clair NWA as well as the nature trails north and south of Mitchell's Bay. It has been very worthwhile. At SCNWA there are still some Ring-necked Ducks hanging around.

Canada Geese are quite common, not surprisingly and sometimes give some quite nice photo ops.

There were several young families out swimming around, with adults keeping a close eye on the surroundings.

What is a wetland without Red-winged Blackbirds! There are dozens and dozens.....

....and also lots of Swamp Sparrows, but they are much harder to get in front of the camera.

Occasionally one will be sitting up and trilling away, advertising its territory.

Right beside the observation tower is a broken off cottonwood, with a few holes. The top gives a good perch.

One can hear the 'witchity witchity' of the Common Yellowthroat regularly, but getting a photo as they skulk through the cattails, is another challenge.

Persistence sometimes pays off a bit.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are not confined to woodland areas. It is not uncommon to see a few in the shrubbery at the edge of the wetlands....

...while the occasional Palm Warbler will be hopping along the trail.

 

 

Birder along the SCNWA trail

Farther north, along Angler Line and either of the Mitchell's Bay Nature Trails also gives some worthwhile viewing and photo opportunities. Bald Eagles are almost a guarantee, with typically anywhere from 3-5 seen from various vantage points...

...and sometimes flying relatively close by. There are at least 3 active eagle nests within a relatively short flight, so it is not surprising that with the gradual increase in the eagle population these last couple of decades, the species is commonly seen.

 

Great Egrets nest in a colony at Walpole Island, a short distance away at the north end of Lake St. Clair. They also likely nest on the cattail islands out from Mitchell's Bay, so they are frequently seen feeding nearby.....

...or in flight from one feeding location to another.

 Along the trail, you can see coyotes! But not to worry, they won't harm you. They are signs that the neighbouring farmer has put out to presumably give the local Canada Geese reason not to venture onto the field and start eating the newly planted crops. I'm not sure how effective the signs are, as I did see geese on the field, but not right close to the signs.

The slightly lower water level has allowed for some mud flats to be exposed. From a distance, I could hear this Greater Yellowlegs quite clearly, and loudly, but from a distance I had a harder time seeing it. The yellow legs helped!

This Killdeer was not difficult to see at all.

A bit of a surprise was to see amongst about 30 Mute Swans, this first year Trumpeter Swan. Trumpeters are still quite a novelty in Chatham-Kent, but as the population slowly expands across southern and central Ontario, it will become a bit more common here, I expect. This one stood out with its still grayish feathering on the body and neck. It was at least as large as the nearby Mute Swans. The wide black area in front of the eye stood out...

...as did the slightly pointed feathering at the top of the beak, unlike the rounded feathering of a smaller Tundra Swan.

While I was in the Mitchell's Bay area, I got a couple of texts, first from Steve C, and a bit later from Jim B, alerting me to the presence of a White-faced Ibis that was along the Erieau Rail Trail. Jeff T had discovered it earlier that morning, and the word was put out. Instead of stopping at home in Chatham, I went as quickly as I could to get to Erieau. There were about 15 others there, and a fair number had already come and gone after having seen this rarity. It wasn't all that close to the trail by the time I got there, so a reasonable telephoto lens, and lots of cropping and processing of the digital images was required. Some folks who got there earlier had closer looks. However I shot a bunch of images, many of which were not all that great, due to the general cloudiness and back lighting, but here are a few that I kept.

It looks quite similar to Glossy Ibis, but the key differences are: 

-a white band all around the eye; the Glossy does not have as extensive a white line;

-the eye is dark red, not almost black;

-the bill is gray as opposed to brown.

Under less than ideal viewing conditions, it can be a challenge to distinguish between the two species, but with 'scope views, and photos that can show the differences, it can be determined that this is indeed a White-faced Ibis, and as far as we know, only the second record for the Rondeau checklist area.

With migration underway, what will be next????

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Harlequins and Sandhills

First, an update on the Harlequin Ducks that have been hanging out at Erieau these last few days. I was checking on them a couple of days ago, in much calmer conditions, and both of them were in the vicinity of the farthest rocks on the eastern side of the channel. Still fairly distant but a lot easier to focus on than the previous time

After a bit, the Harlequins drifted off out of sight on the southeastern side of the rocks, so I left for awhile to check other things. When I came back a little while later, they had appeared in the channel, at the lake end, and were seen drifting in with a small group of Bufflehead. They didn't come real close, but I was definitely pleased with the better results.

Inland a little bit from Erieau, I noticed some drainage tiles going full tilt. The rain storm of a couple of days prior resulted in about 30 mm that fell, so there were wet spots in the saturated fields. Not surprisingly, water was being directed into the various ditches and canals......

 .......and from the canals, the water was being pumped into Rondeau Bay in large quantities.

It is a little surprising how saturated the soil is, considering how little moisture we've had. Certainly some of the woodlots are not wet at all. One forest that I check out periodically, the McKerrall Forest, is a swamp forest with Silver Maple being the dominant species. I usually have to wear good rubber boots to get around at this time of year. A few days earlier I had gone out to look and listen for the spring chorus of frogs, only to find that I could have used running shoes and not got even the least bit damp! There wasn't a single frog to be heard.

This first image is of an Eastern Cottonwood, which measured 108 cm dbh, which is often found near water.

This next image is of the largest Silver Maple in the forest, which measured 143 cm! Normally there would be 10-20 cm of water all on around the forest floor, but it was completely dry.

Last evening, I decided to go to St. Clair National Wildlife Area. It can be interesting either in the early morning or early evening. The light at the end of the day was particularly nice for photography, and I always consider that when I pick my travel spots.

There weren't a lot of ducks close at hand. Some hikers with dogs had been out just a bit ahead of me. But I heard Pied-billed Grebes giving their hooting and hollering. There were Ring-necked Ducks a-plenty, but not close by. A small group of Bufflehead had attracted a male Blue-winged Teal.

Red-winged Blackbirds were abundant. I was hoping for a Yellow-headed Blackbird, but it is a bit early for them, and in the last few years they seem to have avoided this NWA in favour of the marshes farther north near Mitchell's Bay.

 Canada Geese were abundant, as usual. It is a bit of a shame that they are somewhat of a nuisance in some areas....they really are a handsome species! It was relatively easy to get some flight shots in the beautiful light and crisp blue sky.

This next one was trying to look inconspicuous, skulking along the far side of the open water. It obviously had a nest nearby, likely with its mate incubating the eggs.

A highlight at any time of the year is to come across Sandhill Cranes. They used to be a novelty in southwestern Ontario, but have steadily increased in numbers so they are more predictable. They feed in nearby fields, and roost in various parts of the vast Lake St. Clair wetland complex. They probably breed in some of the marshes, too. Usually you hear them from afar giving their trumpet/tremolo, long before you see them. This pair came towards me without warning, flying soundlessly and low over the marsh. The camera wasn't at the ideal settings, but I was pleased with some of the shots.

 In just a few seconds, they were out of the good light and heading into the sun, so the images at that point required a lot more tweaking to overcome the high contrast.