Harbingers of Spring

It is finally spring. Not that here in southwestern Ontario we really had a lot of winter to complain about. I guess the most we could complain about was that it wasn't really winter, and it wasn't really spring. Perhaps this past winter will be the new normal.

Regardless, spring has officially been here for a few days now, and it is more and more like it, so is fun to get out to see the hints of things that we associate with spring. Of course some of our favourite natural areas to visit are closed due to the COVID-19 issues, but with care there are still places to check out. Maybe even some of the places that sometimes get ignored more than they should, will experience a little more love and attention from us. The challenge is to find places that aren't getting too much attention so that it is hard to practice social distancing.

I have managed to get out a few times over the last week or so, and I think been fairly successful in maintaining that social distance.

A few days ago I was at St. Clair NWA. Over the course of the time I was there, 3-4 other people were there, but we kept a safe distance. While I was on the lookout for any and all birds I could find, my target species was a Eurasian Wigeon that Blake had seen well out from the tower earlier in the day. Shortly after I started out from the parking lot, several Sandhill Cranes were flying about, mostly in pairs.

 I got to the tower, and 'scoped all the open patches of water I could see. There were lots of American Wigeon and other puddle duck types, but no sign of the Eurasian. I waited, and kept scanning, but no sign of it. After awhile, Kit came along and together we kept looking. And then I spotted it emerging from behind a wall of cattails. It was a long way off, and 'scope views were all we could expect. I decided to try some photos. This one is one of the better ones, and the combination of camera plus lens plus converter, and then cropped heavily to about the equivalent of 80X, shows the rather unimpressive result. But at least it is identifiable.

After I left the NWA, I checked a couple of nearby fields, hoping for some more photo ops of the Sandhill Cranes. I was not disappointed.

They were working their way along the edge of the field towards the road, and then decided to cross it. I guess they were trying to emulate a chicken? They made it successfully, unlike numerous 'coons and 'possums that have left their carcasses scattered along many roadsides

Next I headed towards the Tilbury Sewage Lagoons, but other than a few Canada Geese, there wasn't much to see, so I drove to the mouth of the Thames River. There were thousands of gulls! The highlight was this nice adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, which I was able to photograph right from the vehicle. Social distancing was not an issue.

 Most of the gulls were flying and as you can see, the sky wasn't the greatest background. This adult Ring-billed Gull was resting on the pier quite close by, so I 'shot' it. We take them for granted due to their abundance, but I think even a ring-bill in fresh breeding plumage is quite attractive.

There were several sub-adult Bald Eagles near the river mouth, but not too close.

I made a visit to Rondeau the day before it, and all provincial parks, were officially closed due to the virus. I was out mainly for a long walk, but got this photo of a female Wood Duck. The male was nearby but not in a photographable spot.

The new Bald Eagle nest that is just barely visible from the South Point Trail had a white head showing, so they are officially incubating. And along one of the trails near a slough, I saw my first of the year Northern Ribbon Snake.

I swung by the Ridgetown Sewage Lagoons on the way home that day, and got this quite distant shot of the Greater White-fronted Goose that has been hanging around.

Yesterday was one of the nicest days we've hand for weeks, maybe months. Sunny, temperatures approaching 12C or more, and light wind. I headed out to Clear Creek Forest Provincial Park. Although it is officially closed like all Ontario Provincial Parks, there are no staff or facilities, so with care I ventured out. There were a couple of other vehicles parked along the road where the one trail is, so I chose a part of the park where there wasn't anyone at all around the old gravel pits. I came across a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, which cooperated nicely, although there often were a few branches from nearby shrubs obscuring the view.

I saw several Mourning Cloak butterflies, but they were very skittish and I only got a couple of distant shots, and not with the angle of light I would have liked.

Along one of the creeks traversing this part of the park was this next view. There are a lot of deer in this provincial park, and while hunting is not permitted, I did see a makeshift blind not far away. This carcass had been picked clean.

My final stop for the day yesterday was an out-of-the way woodlot that I check out a few times each year. As is always the case, I have never seen anyone else there other than the time I led a spring nature walk there several years ago.

Shortly after I first entered the woods, I noticed a large raccoon scampering off through some brush. No big surprise really as I thought I had spooked it, but then I noticed something else, even larger, a little way behind. It stopped briefly and I realized it was an Eastern Coyote. I got a couple of shots, shown here. Not the greatest, as both I and the camera had difficulty nailing the focus due to the many shrubs in the way. But you take what you get.

It soon realized I was there, and so after a few seconds it took off in the opposite direction. I noticed it bounded away in a rather odd manner, and I seemed to notice that one of its front legs was either injured or even partially missing.

I wandered through the woods for another hour or so, and although I never saw the coyote again, it probably saw me. There weren't many birds to see, but I did manage to see a couple of Eastern Comma butterflies, and one eventually cooperated with a nice view.

Some greenery was emerging from the leaf litter. I noticed a few Wild Leeks starting to show.

Avian Harbinger(s) of Spring

Today, March 20, spring arrives. It seems to have been slow in coming compared to some years. In considering some of the bird arrivals, there have been a few indications of its arrival. Certainly one of the ones quite obvious has been the arrival of Tundra Swans. But by now, many of them have moved farther along their northern migration pathway.

 Ducks are present in quite impressive numbers. As the ice disappears from places like Rondeau Bay, there can easily be 10,000 or more birds of a couple of dozen species scattered across the water. And flooded fields are popular with some. The flooded fields of the Keith McLean Conservation Lands, just north of Rondeau, have had several hundred ducks. One of the more common species in recent days was American Wigeon.

 On occasion there will be the much rarer Eurasian Wigeon somewhere in the mix. Such was the case late last week, although it was never very close for photography.

 Also seen from time to time was another unusual wigeon, which may be a hybrid between American and Eurasian. I haven't seen it yet, but may do so soon.

Some waterfowl are already getting underway with nesting. Pairs of the non-native, and very aggressive, Mute Swan are establishing territories in marshy sections.

 Other species are pairing up even as they pause here in southwestern Ontario before making the next leg of their journey.

Northern Shoveler

Bufflehead

Land birds are becoming more plentiful. American Robins have arrived in good numbers lately, with the darker headed males being the first to arrive.

 Golden-crowned Kinglets are constantly on the move in the shrubs and grasses, searching for an insect to devour.

 Northern Cardinals are frequently heard in song on the sunnier, warmer days.

 There has been an influx of Song Sparrows lately. It is not unusual to see 50 or more in just a couple of hours or so, scattered throughout the open areas and shrubby edges.

But the real harbinger of spring, at least to many, is the Eastern Bluebird. On occasion one or more will manage to stay the winter here in southern Chatham-Kent, but this year there were none to be found once winter finally arrived. So it was with great delight that birders came across half a dozen or so of them at Rondeau in the last few days. Most were seen in the oak savanna habitat between the campground and Lakeshore Road.

 For a brightly coloured bird, they can sometimes be difficult to find as they perch quietly on a branch scanning for evidence of an insect in the dead vegetation below. But watch carefully and eventually their movement will give them away. They don't like to be approached, so waiting quietly for them to come closer is often the best solution. At least it worked for me as they got closer and did not seem to mind my presence.

Showy Snowies and other interesting birds

It is clear that this winter is shaping up to be another 'invasion year' of Snowy Owls. It wasn't that long ago that they were relatively scarce, and some years it was hard to find any or at least not with any regularity. These last few years, however, there have been up to a couple of dozen just in Chatham-Kent alone. In the Rondeau-Erieau area, up to 10 were noted on one day, and in the former Dover Township, at least 5 are around, and likely more if one did a thorough search.

If you check the species maps of ebird, it is clear that this autumn they have been seen in southern Essex, in various parts of Lambton, in the greater Long Point area and towards the western end of Lake Ontario. Occasional single birds are scattered elsewhere across southern Ontario. Of course some of the ones on ebird are likely duplicates.

Often they are not very close, at least not as close as the average photographer would like them to be, so good light conditions with a long telephoto lens is required.

Last weekend I was at Erieau, scouting around for the Harlequin Duck that had been seen on occasion. It was not visible, but a Snowy Owl was noted perched at the top of a harbour entrance sign. There were people standing right below, and the bird did not seem to be concerned. This is a photo from below. I would have liked to have been able to get a photo from farther away from the base of the tower, but that would have required me to be treading water in the middle of the channel! As it was, if I had taken one step back, I would have been in the water.

The bird was hardly visible from the lake side of the marker, but after a few minutes it hopped/flew the short distance to the left hand side of the marker.

I moved to the park side of the tower and was able to get much more satisfactory photos, with the brilliant blue sky background.

After leaving this spot, I checked the southern part of Rondeau Bay, visible from behind the village's library/fire hall. A Eurasian Wigeon had been reported there from time to time, including earlier on this day. Fortunately when I got there, the large raft of waterbirds comprised mostly of American Coot, American Wigeon and Gadwall, with a few others in the mix, was fairly close and the water was relatively calm.

 Almost immediately I was able to pick out the male Eurasian Wigeon, and managed to get a few acceptable photos.

A day or so later, I wandered through the former Dover Township, looking for Snowy Owls. I found five altogether, widely scattered and not nearly as close to the road as I was hoping.

This next one was perched on the end of a grain auger behind some farm buildings.

There were other raptors around, including several Northern Harriers. This species is usually very wary of vehicles stopping, and I got this one photo before it took flight.

 Red-tailed Hawks are reliably scattered around the area.

Red-tailed Hawk

I also saw a nice looking Rough-legged Hawk, not very common in the area yet this season. It did not cooperate for the camera.

I often check out the north Mitchell's Bay Lakeshore Trail. Last year a little bit earlier in the season, I had a Nelson's Sparrow, but small birds were almost non-existent on this visit. A Great Blue Heron flew by at a bit of distance, but there were very few ducks out in the bay. Being a hunting day probably had something to do with that.

The most notable sighting at this location was a Trumpeter Swan. I saw this one in close proximity to a Mute Swan, an aggressive non-native species.

Mute Swan (l), Trumpeter Swan (r)

There were at least 40 Mutes a bit north of this, at the southern end of Walpole Island, and there were no Tundra Swans nearby. I immediately thought this bird required a closer look, and I was able to get some photos which were helpful.

Many readers of this blog will quickly pick up on the characteristics of this bird that provide evidence for it being a Trumpeter. But for anyone less familiar with the differences, here is my analysis:
-its large size, similar to that of the Mute is indicative, as Tundras are noticeably smaller;
-it has a long, slender neck, typically longer and more slender than that of a Tundra;
-the back of the Trumpeter is more evenly rounded, less humped than a Tundra, although that isn't always apparent;
-the Trumpeter has, by comparison, a very large, almost massive, all black bill, with the upper edge slope being almost straight. Also the black area immediately in front of the eye is wider, with a less 'pinched' look compared to a Tundra. The bill of a Tundra usually has at least some yellow in it, it is smaller, and the upper edge slope is not straight. Also the feathering at the base of the bill is a bit more curved on a Tundra, especially at the bottom area.

Here is a typical Tundra Swan for comparison.

Behaviour is also a good character to consider. Mute Swans are very aggressive towards most native waterfowl, and their large size makes it easy for them to chase other birds such as Tundra Swans and Canada Geese away. This Trumpeter Swan did not seem to be concerned with the presence of the Mute Swan, and on occasion could actually be seen to be aggressive towards the Mute, behaviour one would hardly ever see a Tundra Swan exhibit.

Trumpeter Swans used to be present in low numbers throughout the southwest a century or more ago, but were wiped out. It was only in the past few decades, when a re-introduction effort of them into central Ontario took place, that the species regained a foothold in southern Ontario. Although they are still much more concentrated in central Ontario, they are gradually spreading out. Even a decade ago, a sighting of a Trumpeter in Chatham-Kent was exceedingly rare, but in the last few years there are several sightings annually. Let's hope they become firmly established, as they will potentially out compete the invasive and aggressive Mute Swan!