Rondeau....always a good choice!

I've been to Rondeau a few times lately, with varying number of photos to capture. The shoreline has definitely been changing. This first photo shows what the south end of the park looked like in mid-January before the cold, snowy spell.

Next is the same spot in late February, with the lake covered with ice.

 These next two photos show the lakefront, just a bit farther along the beach from the previous two. These were taken about two weeks after the previous one.

 Still some ice, but by now, even most of the ice is gone, and the birds are on the return, or at least more active! Some of the more cooperative birds were:

Song Sparrow

This Pileated Woodpecker seemed really intent on this tree trunk, a little way from the boardwalk, perhaps digging a nest cavity?

Cardinals are always fun, and sometimes cooperative.

Mute Swans, well they are attractive in their own way, although they play havoc with native species all too often.

Killdeer

Hairy Woodpecker

Fox Sparrows are nicely coloured and distinctive.

Not many flies around for this member of the flycatcher family, but I have known it to eat berries when necessary.

Eastern Phoebe

Black-capped Chickadee

Although there has been the occasional Robin stay over winter, they have returned in large numbers in the last week or so. On one day I looked out my kitchen window and counted 47 scattered around in the community park beside the house!

Some birds were playing a little harder to get, such as this Yellow-rumped Warbler, next....

....and this very active Golden-crowned Kinglet.

One of the bird highlights of the last week or so was the sighting of a Brewer's Blackbird in the park. It was associating with a mixed flock of blackbirds, which were always moving around. I saw the photo of the one, and it was convincing. However only one other person thought they saw it a day later. I checked flocks of blackbirds a few times when I was out, but never saw it. Brewer's Blackbirds are fairly rare in this area, although back in about 1978, a pair nested in a small tree along Erieau Road, across from McGeachy Pond. I didn't have the camera equipment then that I have now, but did photograph the nest.

In June of 2011, on one of my excursions to the Bruce Peninsula, I managed to get a couple of photos of a Brewer's Blackbird on its territory. They have a bit of a glossy head, like a Grackle, but they are smaller, and the beak is smaller.

At times, they can look a bit like a Rusty Blackbird, which is quite regular in southwestern Ontario, although on the decline. I photographed this one a couple of days ago. It is transitioning from its overall dark appearance, showing much more of the rusty appearance.

Of course as the weather fluctuates, there are even some warmer species of overwintering insects showing up.

Long-tailed Aphideater Complex

Black Blow Fly

Other things that captured my eye, include this Eastern Chipmunk, which had emerged on a sunny day. Its tail is still in the hole it emerged from, and although the critter was kindly cooperative for me, it didn't take long to get back down the hole.

Eastern Squirrels are active all year, but on some days they seem to be extra numerous.

Even fungi will survive the winter. This next photo is of a Splitgill Mushroom.

 There's always something! Can't wait to get back out there again!

 

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"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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Winter owls and fungi

 Okay, owls and fungi aren't a normal mix of topics I cover. But it works for the moment. Owls have become more visible at this time of year, and are always highly sought after by keen birders and even casual ones. Some are year-round residents, such as this Eastern Screech Owl.

It shows up regularly in the cavity of this American Beech tree at Rondeau, although it can be frustratingly absent for long periods. I managed to photograph this on the day of the Christmas Bird Count, as well as a day or so afterwards. Speaking of the CBC, this count totaled 102 species! Considering the windy, cool and rainy weather, that was quite remarkable, but with a good number of excellent birders out to cover their territories, it turned out quite well. This count regularly ends up in the top one or two counts in Ontario.

Continuing with the owl theme, a Barred Owl, usually a resident of much more northern areas, showed up at a small conservation area within the count circle, where a good stand of pine trees were established a number of years ago. It was only seen on one day, and fortunately it was within the CBC count period although not on the count day, so it gets to be added to this year's overall count. I went out to look for it the following day, but was unsuccessful in finding it. Another keen birder had been out slightly earlier in the day, and also did not see it. I know when a Barred Owl showed up in Rondeau on our CBC several years ago, which my birding partner and I discovered, although it remained in the park for several weeks, it moved around quite a bit, so one was never sure where to find it. This next photo is of the one we discovered on that CBC in 2018.

A few years later, in January of 2023, I photographed this next one, in the village of Shrewsbury.

It was sometimes quite visible from one of the streets, and there were many people who got to see it. Again, it moved around so wasn't always found at the same spot, but a little bit of perseverance often paid off. It remained in the area for several weeks. Hopefully the one that was seen just a few days ago in the local conservation area will show up again!

Another even more northern owl species that may show up in southwestern Ontario in winter is the Snowy Owl. It isn't a guarantee every year, but some years there can be quite an influx. A couple of years ago, on the St. Clair NWA CBC, there was a total of 23 Snowies observed! But the following year, there were none. It has been mostly absent this late autumn, but one has shown up intermittently in the area not far from Mitchell's Bay. Sometimes they are sitting on a pole and quite photographic, but more often than not, they are well out in a field, and even with a high powered lens and lots of cropping, the photo is a good record shot only, such as this next one.

Moving on from owls, the late autumn is a good time to look for the fruiting bodies of lingering fungi. Here are some of the ones I have found.

Fan-shaped Jelly Fungus

A type of Inkap

Not sure about this next one, but it could be a Honeycomb Coral Slime Mould.

Aspen Oyster Mushroom

These next two are in the Bonnets (Mycena) group.

A Common Gilled Mushroom

Rosy Crust

Milk-white Toothed Polypore

Pear-shaped Puffball

These next two show different angles of the fairly common Turkey Tail.

A few birds were willing to be photographed on some of my travels.

Hairy Woodpecker

Horned Grebes are in their winter plumage, and scattered here and there, but are typically quite shy for photographers as they dive under and pop back up a little way from where they went down. I managed to get these next two photos in the marina at Erieau.

There were about 20 Killdeer seen on the above mentioned Christmas Bird Count. I photographed one of the 4 I found a day or two later, along the marsh trail of Erieau.

And while Rondeau Bay is mostly unfrozen, it means most waterfowl are well out from shore, probably with the lingering effects of the recent hunting season causing them to be cautious. However some birds, such as this male Redhead, lingered also in the marina at Erieau.

Not something I would usually find while out exploring, but this kayaker chose a day when Lake Erie was quite calm, and paddled quite a way along the east beach of Rondeau, heading to some unknown destination. Perhaps Erieau?

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