Lark Bunting, and more!

 Certainly the most intriguing bird of recent days was the occurrence of a Lark Bunting, seen at the grassy/shrubby pasture along Stefina Line. It is a young male due to the brownish feathers above the obvious white ones in the wing. It is possible it showed up here due to the very dry conditions in its normal western range, and also perhaps of the air quality caused by the proliferation of wildfires.

This first photo shows what it typically looks like as it perches on a fence post. I was fortunate to take this photo in Grasslands National Park, in southern Saskatchewan a few years ago. 

Even though I spent several hours over a couple of days watching this particular bird at the pasture, the photos I got were not as high quality as I was hoping for. It spent most of its time 100 metres or more well out in the pasture, and although it was observed doing its aerial flight and singing, it seldom came very close. There were many dozens of birders from various parts of Ontario that lined up along the road, to see this unusual species, and in looking at the photos posted on eBird, occasionally someone would get a fairly close photo when the bird stopped by at a good spot for at least a few seconds. Here are a couple of my photos that I managed to get. This first one is when it landed on a steel gate by the corral.

This next one is when it was perched on one of several of its favourite shrubs a long way out. Both photos are heavily cropped.

The Lark Bunting is officially considered Threatened in Canada, and is limited to the western prairie regions, most commonly in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is more abundant in the mid-western USA. 

As I was waiting for better photo ops, I managed to get this dragonfly perched on some grass by the road.

Widow Skimmer

Tis the season for dragonflies, of course. When I was out at St. Clair NWA one late afternoon, as it was slightly cooler, I photographed these two. 

Halloween Pennant

Blue Dasher

I got a few birds along the way, either at this NWA or on another day at the similar type of habitat a bit farther north, at the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail. This first one is an adult Bald Eagle that for some reason was hanging out along the roadside. It probably was after something in the canal immediately adjacent to the road, but after allowing me to get a couple of photos, it decided to move on, so I did also.

This Eastern Kingbird cooperated nicely before heading off to chase an insect.

The adjacent wetlands are often used by Great Blue Herons....

...and Great Egrets, that are always fun photo opportunities.

A critter that isn't often up and visible is this Groundhog, that paused momentarily on the trail before scampering out of sight.

Of course Killdeer are quite common...

....and Red-winged Blackbirds are super abundant, but don't always like sitting up for a good photo at a close distance.

 They are often busy squawking about something.....

...or just hanging out, perhaps keeping an eye on a nearby nest.

If the birds don't cooperate, there are usually other things that are more tolerant of my approach, such as this Yellow Iris, attractive but not native.

This female Northern Map Turtle was busy laying eggs along the side of the trail. Usually if a turtle is well underway in the egg-laying state, it will remain tolerant, unless it feels particularly threatened. I just walked quietly by, got a photo, and let her carry on. Hopefully more of this near threatened species will be emerging from the nest in a few months!

This Northern Blue Flag, in the same family as the Yellow Iris shown earlier, is a common native species found in wetland areas.

Next is a large bracket-type fungus called Dryad's Saddle.

Flowering Rush is another common, but not native wildflower common in or adjacent to wetlands.

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Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and more birds

 An adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was the star of local birding in the last couple of days.

It was seen at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands, at the pond closest to the house. It was quite tolerant of the dozens of birders who came and went over several hours, giving extremely good views.  The parking lot to the property got filled up quickly, and undoubtedly will continue to do so as the weekend has arrived.

There have been a few records for the Rondeau area in the past, but none since 1999, although with the extensive habitat present in the Rondeau vicinity, it is entirely possible that more have come and gone without being recognized. I have seen two, both an adult at a slough along Harrison Trail, and a sub-adult in a slough at the west end of Gardiner Ave, and managed to get photos of both.

Most of the time while I was present, the bird was standing on one leg, as herons often do. It does have both legs, as this next photo shows.

While birding, at least related to migration, has slowed down somewhat, there has been a continuing trickle of migrants. Shorebirds in particular have been around where there is suitable habitat. A few days ago, the Erieau Rail Trail was good to see shorebirds. Black-bellied Plovers are always a highlight to see. There were at least 40 present while I was there, and showed various stages of plumage as the following two photos illustrate.

Dunlin are pretty regular....and were photographed along the beach/lake in the townsite of Erieau...

....as are Sanderling.....

...and Semiplamated Sandpipers. I saw them also along the Rail Trail, but were too far away to get photos like these. Clearly the sandy/gravel beach was not on the mudflat!

Still along the Rail Trail were other birds on the shore, but not 'shorebirds' per se. Three or four Canvasback have been seen regularly. It is hard to know why they are still present, as they should be farther west and busily nesting.

This Mute Swan family also fell into that same 'shorebird' category.

The family of Great Horned Owls continue to be seen, at least from a distance. There are two owlets here, although the one at the lower right of the photo only shows a partial pic.

Other wildlife show up from time to time, including this family of Groundhog while I was photographing the plovers. There were actually two youngsters but the other one had already skedaddled out of the camera frame as this one was in the process of doing.....

...leaving momma to go back and keep an eye on them.

A visit to the Mitchell's Bay area turned up a few things. Black-bellied Plovers again, this time with some out in a field along the North Shore Trail, and a few more on the mudflats between the trail and the lake.

This one-legged Dunlin was able to hop around fairly easily, but I am unsure as to whether it could get enough to feed on to attain the energy required to get it to its northern breeding territory.

A single Ruddy Turnstone in fairly full breeding plumage was there....

...as were three Semipalmated Plovers.

Great Egrets are, of course, quite regular since there is a breeding colony a couple of kilometres away. When they are at the edge of a pond feeding, I find them quite wary and quick to depart.

If I come across one in a tree, they seem to feel much safer looking down on me and allow a closer approach without showing much concern.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes flew by. There is often a pair in the area.

And Mute Swans....what can I say. There are usually several dozen within view, although since this one, I thought, was photogenic so I obliged.

An Eastern Kingbird paused briefly for a photo shoot.

On an outing to Rondeau a few days ago, I was concentrating mainly on forest photography. The smoky skies allowed for an evenness in the light, reducing the contrast one will typically encounter on a bright sunny day. More on that in a future post. But I kept an eye and ear open for birds, and came across these along Tuliptree Trail. Most were in the lower canopy, giving some challenging light conditions to work with.

There were at least a dozen Cedar Waxwings....

...and the local, resident Acadian Flycatcher cooperated better than usual.

Hunkered down into some regenerating Green Ash was this Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

Continuing with a flycatcher theme, in a more open spot with a blue sky, was this Eastern Wood-Pewee.

And a stop at the grassy field area of Clear Creek Forest Prov Park, turned up at least 20 Bobolink claiming territory. Most were males. They didn't get too close to my vantage point, however, other than the occasional one.

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