3d outings, Nelson's Sparrows and waterbirds

 First of all, I must apologize for not responding to some of the comments that readers have left on the past few posts. For some reason unbeknownst to me, this blog site periodically goes into a funk, and even though I can post blogs and comment on other's blogs, it does not allow me to reply to comments on my own blog! It will eventually straighten around. At least it always has in the past.

On to this post. 

There has been quite a mix of weather these last few days, ranging from wonderful sunny, bright, comfortable days to what I call 3d days: dull, damp and dreary days. I've been out in all types. Sometimes I choose to go out on a 3d day, as I know the places I want to go will not be crowded. On a couple of those that occurred recently, I went for a long hike at Rondeau. On one of them I didn't even take my camera with telephoto lens, just the camera with a short zoom lens. And also an umbrella.

Some readers will be familiar with the term 'forest bathing'. It is becoming more popular, although it is not a new type of outdoor experience. While some attribute it to an experience first developed in Japan in the 1980s, in reality it has been going on for a lot longer than that! I expect that the intensely driven nature of Japanese society to be productive following the war, might have caused some to realize the dangers in such an intensively driven society, and thus realized the benefits of spending relaxing time in nature. But the reality is that humans have been finding comfort, relaxation and inspiration, and therefore many health benefits, for centuries. It just wasn't called forest bathing.

I have been doing it for decades. I intentionally choose places where I am least likely to encounter other humans, especially if there is a lot of human activity on a nice day. 3d days are ideal. One can walk along at a very leisurely pace, soaking up the ambiance of the quiet woods. Or one can go along at a brisk pace, stopping along the way when you want, but getting good cardiovascular benefits as well. If one is out for long enough, both brisk and leisurely time can be done.

I typically try and get about 5-7 km in a walk of this type. Sometimes hiking this far or longer on a 3d day I might only encounter 2-3 people, and then only briefly as the cyclist is going the other direction. As mentioned above, I have been out to Rondeau a couple of time with this in mind. On the occasion when I didn't take my long lens, the only photography I did was to capture the quiet greenery of the forest.

Without focusing on birds, one may notice some of the other inhabitants of the forest. While some might consider them 'lesser' inhabitants, I don't, as they all contribute in the way that they were intended, and without them the conditions of the forest might be quite different!

Fringed Gentian

New England Aster

 Some, unfortunately, will not be around anymore, but the scavengers and decomposers may get some benefit.

Northern Watersnake

On other occasions, I have taken the telephoto lens with me, and encountered scattered flocks of migrant birds. Under the shaded canopy, and with numerous leaves to contend with, getting good photos is not easy. Most photos ended up in the deleted file.

Blue-headed Vireo

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Most of the migrants are busily, even frantically, feeding on whatever they can find, to gain enough energy to continue on their southward journey. Sometimes they get into some rather unconventional positions in their search, which may or may not end up successful. This Black-throated Green Warbler was getting into all sorts of positions looking under the leaves for a tiny morsel of something.

There are lots of berries still clinging to the shrubs and vines that produced them. Dogwoods, Viburnums, Wild Grape and Virginia Creeper are some of the most abundant berry producers, but the one shown next is that of Winterberry, not a very common species here at all. While it likes to grow in damp locations, which there is a lot of at Rondeau, I only know of it occurring in about three locations. These berries seem to be popular, and will not last long with all of the berry-eating migrant birds passing through these days.

On another occasion, Marie and I spent some time hiking the Mitchell's Bay North Lakeshore Trail, and also the southern trail. I find the north trail a bit more enjoyable, as it is less busy and with better view points to appreciate what is along the trail. Parking can be a challenge, however. Very few people, even birders, explore this trail. Nonetheless, almost 140 species of birds have been recorded here.

The trail has been upgraded in the last year. It was closed for most of a year, due to high water damage of the dyke much of it is built on, and this visit was only the second one of the year for me. The trail has had a good layer of crushed stone on it, with one part of it leading to a slightly higher viewpoint looking over Lake St. Clair and the south end of Walpole Island First Nation. There is even a picnic bench at the end, to make spending time at the viewing point more comfortable. Thanks to the municipality of Chatham-Kent for maintaining these trails!

One often will see Great Egrets here, not surprising since there is at least one sizeable nesting colony at Walpole.

Ospreys don't nest anywhere nearby that I am aware of, but given that it is their time to migrate, birds passing through will make use of the watery environment from which to catch their next meal, as this one has done.

As long as there is open water, one will almost certainly see anywhere from one to several dozen of the non-native and problematic Mute Swans.

The Keith McLean Conservation Lands just north of Rondeau continue to be productive for birds. While the water levels are down from the past couple of years, at times migrating shorebirds and others make good use of the more limited flooded field habitat. I have stopped there a couple of times as well, and had good success at finding and photographing some of these migrants, including:

American Golden Plover

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Stilt Sandpiper

Long-billed Dowitcher

 Long-billed Dowitchers are not common, but show up annually in small numbers, at least for a few days. I came across two birds on my second last visit.

 

 Up to a dozen Hudsonian Godwits dropped in for a short time a day after one of my recent visits. Most left, but at least three remained, and on a subsequent visit, I managed to get a very distant photo of them. It is highly cropped. The godwits are to the right of the smaller, single Killdeer, with their heads down feeding in this photo.

Great Egrets are regularly found here as well, although not usually very cooperative at close range.

Turkey Vultures pass through daily right now on their migration, with some sticking around for a short while.

On my second last visit, I saw some small sparrow types that I suspected could be Nelson's Sparrows, but they were furtive and I never got conclusive looks at the. Other birders were there the next day, and confirmed seeing several. As a result, there has been a fairly steady stream of birders spending time here to search for them, and as far as I know, always with some success. Since I was going to the park for some black lighting last Friday, I went a bit earlier to also search. The soybean field along the natural area had been harvested, and the weedy edges along that field that seemed to attract these shy, elusive sparrows, was gone. Fortunately there was enough habitat elsewhere, and in a more concentrated area, to keep the sparrows from moving on. I did manage to see not one, not two, but eleven Nelson's Sparrows! It was a breezy time, and since the birds didn't sit atop the vegetation for their views, they were always a little lower, and with the wind blowing the weedy vegetation back and forth so steadily, it was difficult for the camera to lock focus in time for a clear photo. This first one is one of the 'better' out-of-focus shots I got. Many others were quickly deleted.

Fortunately there were a few photos that I was pleased with.

This next one has two birds, with the front one being in relatively good focus, but partially obscured by vegetation. Another bird is in the blurry background to the left.

I was definitely more satisfied with the results this time. Last year, while there weren't quite as many as far as we know, I did not get a single photo that I was pleased with.

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More migrants and late leps

 There's no question that the bird migration is slowing down, at least for songbirds and shorebirds. For waterfowl, that is another story as those numbers continue to build. And for the crows.....there is no question that they are just getting started, at least here in southwestern Ontario.

There are still a few of the songbirds around. In the warbler family, the main ones of recent days have been Blackpoll and Yellow-rumped, with a few other species mixed in just to keep things interesting.

An occasional vireo, such as this Red-eyed Vireo, lingers.

While the peak of raptors has passed, there are still lots to go through, although nothing like the tens of thousands of Broad-winged Hawks. Nonetheless, there still are a good number of hawks to be seen on a good migration day. The falcon group is always of interest. American Kestrels have been passing through in a steady stream....

...and there have been quite a few Peregrine Falcons, which is a real treat compared to not many years ago when it was highly unusual to see any of this Endangered species. We watched this particular individual, a first year bird below, harass a group of shorebirds from time to time at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands. It was not successful that we saw, so we weren't sure whether it was really trying to catch something or just practising its predatory behaviour.

At one point it even started chasing a Belted Kingfisher, again unsuccessfully, but it was interesting to see the chase, and hear the kingfishers alarm rattle calls. At one point the falcon flew right at us, low down, and we weren't able to get the cameras on it quickly enough before it darted away.

Shorebirds are dwindling at the shallow water mud flats of the KMCL. A small diversity continues, and it seems there is a different mix of shorebirds every few days as the birds arrive, feed and rest for a few days, and then depart for places farther south. This Semipalmated Sandpiper, shown next, has been around for a few days. Notice its leg, broken or at least twisted so that it is not functional. It just dangles behind, but the bird seems to be able to get around. It is not unusual at times, to see a shorebird missing a leg entirely, and just hopping around on one leg. It is hard to say what the future is for this individual.

Black-bellied Plover are hard to find these days, but one or two show up from time to time.

Long-billed Dowitcher, which always occurs in very small numbers, is more or less gone now, although there is an occasional report still coming in.

Least Sandpipers are almost gone, with an occasional one still around......

....and the same can be said for Stilt Sandpiper.

By far the most common shorebird around these days is Dunlin. There have been upwards of 40 individuals regularly occurring at the KMCL lately, and I expect a few to continue to be around for another few weeks, depending on the weather.

An Hudsonian Godwit was a very brief visitor a couple of days ago, but I didn't get to see it. It was only around for a 2-3 hours before something spooked it and it left. Perhaps a passing Peregrine?

Not a shorebird, but the always photogenic Great Egret can still be seen occasionally. There were three individuals around not so long ago, but that isn't to be expected for much longer.

There are still a few Monarchs passing through, but the numbers are rapidly dropping.

On sunny days like today, other butterflies may be out an about, such as this Red Admiral.....

.....or this Common Buckeye.

A few other members of the Lepidoptera group can be seen, but not in flight!  While looking for pollinators at a lingering patch of goldenrod, I came across this caterpillar. It is a Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar, and will likely overwinter as a larva.

This Black Swallowtail caterpillar was on some dill in our garden a few days ago. By now I expect it has formed its overwintering pupa, and if it survives, will emerge on some sunny, warmer day next May.

While the flowering period for most plant species is long gone, there are still a few late bloomers, such as Fringed Gentian. On a cloudy day, they will be closed up like this....

....waiting for a sunny day to open up like this.

A late season goldenrod in woodlands is this Zig-zag Goldenrod, named for the zig-zag of it stem.

A sharp-eyed observer may see something like this although it is not quite fully out. It is the leaf of a somewhat rare orchid called Puttyroot. Its leaves are most obvious from about now until next spring, when they will then wither up as a flowering spike develops.

Berries are more noticeable, such as these Winterberries. But like so many berries, they won't be around long, as the remaining migrant songbirds will be quickly gobbling them up.