Winter shorebirds, etc.

 One doesn't expect the words 'winter' and 'shorebirds' to go together very often, especially in mid-winter after quite a few days of colder than average temperatures and a bit of snow. Yet it happens, as was the case yesterday.

There is a creek not far south of Blenheim where it is fed by some underground springs coming off of the ridge, a feature left over from the last ice age. And it is here, where a Wilson's Snipe can usually be found in the winter at some point. In some years it can be quite predictable, whereas in other years, such as the current one, it can be hard to catch up to. Most local birders, myself included, have stopped by on several occasions trying to see it, but without success. It seems that the colder and snowier the winter gets, the more likely it is to be seen closer to the road.

Here is a photo that I took several years ago when it was relatively close to the road. 

Yesterday I stopped by and initially didn't see any sign of it. An interesting looking dark clump way down the creek prompted me to get the scope out to check. It wasn't the snipe. But since I had the scope out, I began checking out other spots, and then it came into sight, about 75 metres away. This next photo is at the equivalent of a 15X binocular. While most birders use something at about 8X, one can assume that such a well camouflaged bird would not show up very easily. When one knew exactly where the bird was, one could see it.

And here is a highly cropped photo, at about 105X. That explains a bit of the graininess of the photo, but at least it is an identifiable record shot.

This 'snipe' creek, with its open water, has attracted other birds as well. An American Black Duck has been there on several occasions, but well away from the road. A Rusty Blackbird was there on one occasion......

.....and a Great Blue Heron on another.

Along the grassy roadside quite close to this creek were three, and occasionally four, Eastern Meadowlarks. They were very skittish, and one had to attempt photos from the vehicle. Any hint of something outside the vehicle caused them to fly well out of camera range. So as to not stress the birds any more than necessary as a vehicle passes, photography was limited to distant shots, greatly cropped. On one occasion I at least had the sun more or less in my favour.

A subsequent trip and the closest bird was not well lit, especially with a bright snowy background.

While I have seen a Northern Mockingbird in the area immediately adjacent to the creek on a couple of occasions, I have not yet been able to get a photo. Maybe next time....

It was a two species shorebird day. A short distance north of Rondeau is a seepage spot right along the road. Most winters will see a Killdeer show up here, at least for a few days. One wonders where this bird has been, as the past few days and even weeks have been mostly below normal temperatures and there hasn't been any open water to speak of. Obviously this bird had survived up until now.

Traveling back roads can turn up a few other things. Raptors don't usually cooperate, but this Rough-legged Hawk did allow a relatively close approach, with photos through the open window.

Horned Larks were mostly absent a month or so ago, but in the last couple of weeks they have been fairly abundant along roadsides and adjacent fields.

Snow Buntings have also been commonly seen along roadsides.

I haven't spent a lot of time at Rondeau in the last few days, but when I am in the vicinity searching out some of the above mentioned birds, I stop in for a walk and look around. White-tailed Deer aren't normally out and about in the middle of the day, but this one, along with two others, were out in the open along Lakeshore Road on a relatively busy Sunday afternoon.

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National Tallgrass Prairie Day

Today, June 6, 2020 is National Tallgrass Prairie Day. At least if you live in the USA, where the first Saturday of June was established by the Missouri Prairie Foundation as a state recognized day, and eventually gained national recognition. Tallgrass prairie doesn't have nearly the same profile in Ontario, or even Canada, as it does in the US. However there are significant prairies scattered across parts of Ontario and Canada, with some amazing colour and diversity. They are considered ecological treasures by anyone interested in significant natural areas protection.

They occur at places like Walpole Island, as in the next two images......

 ....and also in the greater Windsor area, such as at Ojibway Prairie and nearby....

 ...or even on a smaller scale, at places like Rondeau, where the relatively sterile, sandy soils were largely the result of the prairie habitats occurring here....

 ...as well as savanna vegetation, not because of being the result of fire.

Some occur as far east as Alderville, in the Peterborough area.

All of them have their own character, and while fire may not have been the reason for their occurrence, either in the past or the present, fire may be used as a 'tool' to maintain them.

A good quality tallgrass prairie will support myriad species of flora and fauna. In fact some of the only known locations for some species of insects are in tallgrass prairies. But the wildflowers are the most appealing feature to many observers. Even the most casual observers can appreciate the colour and diversity. The first few photos above featured iconic species such as Dense Blazing-star, Culver'stoot and Colicroot. Other species are shown below.

Tall Ironweed

Giant Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot

Flowering Spurge

Whorled Milkweed

Virginia Bush-clover (endangered)

Monarch

Lily-leaved Twayblade (threatened)

 With the loss of so much of the original prairie in Ontario, it is not surprising that some species have been lost along the way, including the Yellow-fringed Orchid.

 This next one only occurs on First Nations lands, as well as a single site in the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve.

Pink Milkwort (endangered)

 This next one, Grey-headed Coneflower, is common on prairies, but quite uncommon anywhere else.

 Wild Lupine is a rare prairie/savanna species.

Some of the grassland species of birds are rare and declining, and are often legally a Species At Risk, protected under the Endangered Species Act. The first three species are in that category.

Bobolink

Eastern Meadowlark

Henslow's Sparrow

 This next one, Savannah Sparrow, is common on grasslands, but not restricted to the quality tallgrass prairies that the first three are. so fortunately their populations are in relatively good shape.

Fortunately the interest in tallgrass prairie in Ontario is increasing, with both public and private landowners intent on restoring or even establishing tallgrass prairie habitat, so hopefully some of the prairie species at risk will have a little more security in the future.

Next time you see a grassland, and especially a quality tallgrass prairie, take a few moments to enjoy it!

Birds, butterflies and orchids, mostly in Chatham-Kent

I haven't gone too far these last few days, but enough to find some interesting things.

Dickcissels are around again, but not in nearly the numbers of 2017, nor in 2018. I had found a few at the Dealtown Crown Land prairie both of those years, and have been there twice this year.  I had a good variety of shrubby/grassland birds as well as aerial insectivores, some of which gave me some good photo ops, but no Dickcissel.

Bank Swallows were quite abundant, not surprising though since this site is only about a kilometre from Lake Erie where the steep clay cliffs often have this species nesting in.

Bank Swallow

 No Bobolinks this year either, but a couple of Eastern Meadowlarks are there.

There are some early southern-bound shorebird migrants. Usually the local sewage lagoons are the places to find them, and there is a very small number there, but with all of the flooded fields to choose from, they will be spread out wherever there is shallow water. Lesser Yellowlegs are the more common shorebird so far, although a few others have also shown up.

 I've checked the flooded fields along Lagoon Road where a lingering Franklin's Gull has been seen on occasion, but I did not catch up to it. There were Lesser Yellowlegs and lots of Killdeer. A few of the typical summering gulls were around, as well as a few Caspian Terns.

 The Blenheim lagoons have good conditions for shorebirds, but except for lots of Killdeer and a few Lesser Yellowlegs, the shorebirds have not made a point of hanging out there yet. But there are a few other waterbirds, including a few Ruddy Ducks, this pair of Blue-winged Teal....

....and a Ring-necked Duck. There had been a pair of Ring-necks not that long ago, but the male was not visible on this visit.

I stopped at Erieau on one occasion. As has been the case throughout the spring, the water continues to be very high. The pier gets washed over periodically, even when there is very little wave action.

 On the vegetated part of the beach dunes, the Common Hop-tree is in full flower. It is Special Concern, one notch lower than Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Of course I managed to get to Rondeau a couple of times. Birds have been fairly typical, just the usual breeding species or vagrants. American Redstarts are scattered about the forest.

 A couple of pairs of Prothonotary Warblers continue along the Tuliptree Trail. I can never get enough of these critters!

While watching the Prothonotaries for awhile, this Green Frog was plinking like a banjo string in the slough nearby. It is surrounded by a plant called Frog-bit, which is not native to North America but arrived several decades ago. It was first discovered at Rondeau in 1976 when I was out canoeing in the Rondeau marsh with my university Aquatic Vascular Plants professor. It has expanded at Rondeau considerably since then, being found almost anywhere there is some sunny, quiet water.

The White-winged Dove continues along Lakeshore Road, south of the Visitor Centre. The stainless steel chimney at 17168 continues to be a favourite hang-out.

Earlier in the week I was out to show some friends a small population of Puttyroot, an orchid they had never seen before. The Puttyroot had finished flowering and had developing seed capsules. But before these folks left the park, they checked out a couple of trails and came across another orchid: Ragged-fringed Orchid. It is not a common species anywhere, but can be found in wet woods and sometimes in wet grassy meadows. This particular individual was at the base of a tree in a slough. I had access to a pair of hip waders to get close enough for these photos.

On one occasion I ventured beyond the boundaries of Chatham-Kent. Fellow blogger Blake had reported that the Oak Hairstreaks had appeared at the Reid Conservation Area in southern Lambton, so one partly sunny and very hot morning I headed there. There were lots of European Skippers, several Banded Hairstreaks, and at least two Oak Hairstreaks.

Banded Hairstreak

Oak Hairstreak

The butterflies were not as prevalent as they often have been for the time of year, so it will be interesting to see if the upcoming butterfly counts show this trend or not.