Winter waterfowl, Sandhill Cranes and Eastern Bluebird

 For a change of scenery, I went up along the St. Clair River a few days ago. At this time of year it is typically a significant overwintering area for ducks, and this year was no exception There are thousands scattered wherever there is suitable open water. There is often lots of ice on the river, and that concentrates the ducks, which is especially good for photographing them, as long as one of the open spots is close by, but isn't always the case.

 One of the most productive spots for me on this day, was near Fawn Island. I could stay in my vehicle and photograph from there.

Wide angle phone photo

Getting out to get a bit closer, only caused the ducks to move farther away, which I observed happen when another photographer walked out onto a ramp. And with the steady cool breeze and freezing temperatures, it was certainly more comfortable inside with my telephoto lens!

Redheads, with a few Canvasbacks mixed in, were by far the most numerous where I was.

Canvasback stretching its wings

Common Goldeneye were not common, but scattered here and there.

Female Common Goldeneye

Bufflehead pair

Hooded Merganser female

Red-breasted Mergansers, next, were not common.

A highlight for me is to see Long-tailed Ducks. This river is one of the better places to see them here in southwestern Ontario, although they are often not very close. If one scans the open spaces that are well out in the middle of the river, they can be much more abundant.

Mostly Long-tails, at a distance

Occasionally one or two will be closer, in proximity to the other ducks. This first photo shows the male, where the 'long-tail' is evident.

These next two photos are of a female.

Due to the concentrations of ducks, not all of which will stay healthy over the course of the winter, there are usually a few Bald Eagles ready to pick off a susceptible duck. Sometimes one can spot as many as 7-8 from one vantage point! I saw 4 from the Fawn Island locale during my time there.

 There were a couple of adults such as this one.....

 ...and a sub-adult, probably about a 2 or 3-year old.

 After leaving the river, I headed inland along a quiet gravel road. Much to my surprise, I came across not one, but 50-60 Sandhill Cranes!

A vehicle passed by quickly, and a bit noisily, causing the flock to take to flight, but only for a short distance before returning to the snowy field.

Finding Sandhill Cranes used to be quite a rarity at any time of year; they definitely have been more abundant in recent years. However given the cold and snowy conditions over the last few weeks, it is a bit surprising to see so many lingering this late into the winter.

Yesterday, I headed in a different direction, on the search for eagles, and especially Golden Eagles which are sometimes known to overwinter in the southeastern part of Lambton and adjacent Middlesex counties. I roamed the back roads for a bit, but only saw a single eagle. I only got a quick look, and it was a bit backlit, before it disappeared over a forest adjacent to the road. I cannot be sure which species it was, but perhaps was a Golden. However I have left it as an eagle sp.

But while I was out roaming, I came across a flock of 5 Eastern Bluebirds on a wire!

The second photo of the same bird appears to show some damage to its left eye. However it didn't seem to affect it in any way.

 

 

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A Long-tail, lingering shorebirds, snow geese, and puttyroot

 More about fungi in a future post, but for now, there is a bit of catching up to do mostly regarding birds. With the weather being above normal, there is lots of open water, including muddy edges for lingering shorebirds. I was at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons a few days ago, and was treated to some good photo ops. Certainly a highlight was to get a pair of cooperative Long-tailed Ducks fairly close to the edge of the middle pond, and they didn't seem to mind my presence all that much.

Long-tails are not seen all that often in southern Chatham-Kent, although they do occur on Lake Erie, but usually seen only from a distance. The southern end of Lake Huron at Point Edward can be a good spot in the winter, so seeing them so handily at the lagoons these last few days was a real treat. They swam back and forth, dove under at times,

...and got up to fly around. They didn't go far, staying at this middle pond all the time I was there.

Some shorebirds were there to be found as well. Three Dunlin, which also stayed close enough to be photographed were there. Again, with the weather being what it has been, it wasn't a bit surprise, but nice to see just the same.

There is a lot of mudflat along the Erieau Marsh Trail, and a Pectoral Sandpiper has been seen from time to time. It is much less likely to be seen this late in the season than the Dunlin, so I was pleased to get this photo, even though it was at the far side of the mudflat and the photo is greatly cropped.

There were three Lesser Scaup in the more open area of the mudflat, where there was open water, but they were far less tolerant of me aiming my lens at them. I guess it being hunting season, with a couple of hunter's duck blinds not all that far away, it wasn't too surprising.

While I was at Erieau, I checked the waterfront, hoping that there might be a Purple Sandpiper or some other shorebird hanging out along the shoreline, or even at the pier, but it wasn't to be on this day. I did manage to get a reasonable photo of a Snow Goose along the shoreline, as it was with a large flock of Canada Geese....

...and when I took a drive by St. Clair NWA, in amongst the gazillion Canada Geese were at least eight Snow Geese....

...including several blue phase Snows.

In meandering around the former Dover Twp.,  I knew that a particular Wood Duck box was often used by an Eastern Screech Owl. It was there on this visit, nicely peering out at me.

I went out to the Jeannette's Creek boat launch, hoping to catch sight of a lingering Great Egret, which happens this late in the season from time to time. In fact it was just a few short years ago when up to three hung around for the SCNWA Christmas Bird Count, and even stayed well into January! But there were none to be seen on this day, although there is lots of area for one or more to still be around. So instead, I satisfied my birder/photographer's urge by shooting this Belted Kingfisher. It was on the far side of the Thames River, so is greatly cropped. I doubt it even knew I was there.

There were up to 6 Great Blue Herons that I saw, or at least partly saw. They were usually obscured by something or other.

I usually make it out to Rondeau on one or more occasions each week. I haven't been out at the right time to catch up to the Western Flycatcher of a few days ago, or even the adult male King Eider that was a flyby for a few hours one day. The Western Flycatcher would definitely have been a new species, but the King Eider is something I have seen before. It was on the Rondeau CBC back in about 2000 when one that had been seen in the Erieau area off and on. It was present when I got to the west end of the south beach of my territory, so already had that species on my Chatham-Kent list. But there is no question that an adult male would have been great to see. But in my various wanderings through the park, I was able to digitally capture a few of the more expected species, as follows.

American Tree Sparrows are fairly commonly seen....

...as are Dark-eyed Juncos.

House Finches are resident, although not abundant.

White-crowned Sparrows, such as this immature one shown next, seem to be declining this late in the season....

...but White-throated Sparrows are plentiful.

At one point this accipiter type of falcon showed itself briefly, but I only got a look at it from the backside. Based on the overall size, and the length of its tail beyond the wing tips, as well as the slightly pale back and side of the head, I felt it fit Cooper's Hawk most closely. It certainly is a relatively common accipiter type.

On one of my trail jaunts, I checked the leaves of a rare orchid: Puttyroot. The leaves are most visible from about November through April, as long as they aren't covered with snow. While this known population only had two flowering stems this past June, on this visit I counted a total of 146 leaves, one of the highest totals I have ever had in all the years I have been watching this population! It will be interesting to see how many flowering stems appear this next June.

Since it is getting close to Christmas, I will put in a plug for my first book, Life on a Sandspit, which I published last spring. 

 It is still available at several locations in Chatham-Kent, including:

Bayview Market, Rondeau

Mindful Market and Eco Hub, Blenheim

Mitton's Jewelers and Gifts, Ridgetown

Five-Eau, Erieau

Book Brothers, Chatham

Sydenham Field Naturalists, through their web site sydenhamfn@hotmail.com

Friend's of Rondeau Bookstore at the Rondeau Visitor Centre, although the centre is only open on weekends and the bookstore is not always open. The centre will be open more frequently during the Christmas break.

And just so you know, I have a second nature book at the printer, titled Natural Treasures of Chatham-Kent. I am not sure when it will be available for purchase, so stay tuned for a future blog in the very near future describing it in some detail, as well as where it would be available, price, etc.

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Hiking is good for the soul

 Last evening was one of those times when it was just about perfect to be out along the trail at St. Clair National Wildlife Area. Fortunately it is only a few minutes from home, and I somewhat spontaneously decided to go out late in the day. It was sunny, fairly mild and quite calm. The sounds of birds was quite entrancing, even with my less than great hearing. I had the place to myself, other than the wildlife, so I could just soak up the amazing atmosphere without human interference.

There were lots of waterfowl in the air, coming and going in various directions. These Tundra Swans were heading out to the lake, and I thought the golden sky background made it extra appealing.

Even the few that I saw with a different background had the golden sun influencing their white feathering.

There were other birds of note, including lots of Canada Geese.

At least 5 Sandhill Cranes flew by within camera range, although not always in the best light.

The cattails were sporadically dotted with Red-winged Blackbirds perched on them, all males, and defining a territory in hopes that when the females arrive shortly, they can get into the nesting cycle as soon as possible.

A male Norther Harrier was settled into a small tree. I was hoping to get farther along the trail for better lighting, but as the photo shows, he was keeping an eye on me. Shortly after I got this photo, he flew off well out of camera range. I saw two others, both females, a bit later.

As I was leaving, I got a shot of the moon, almost full but not quite. That will occur in another day or two.

It was truly a glorious couple of hours spent in this special natural area!

Previously I had been out to the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail a couple of times. It is always worthwhile, especially if there is not a brisk westerly wind. Bald Eagles continue to be somewhat common, but usually at a distance. I have seen anywhere from 27-32 eagles from the slightly elevated end of the trail looking out over the lake in my last couple of visits. They are widespread, anywhere there are trees along the lake shore, or even on islands out in the lake. On occasion one may fly by relatively closely.

A good variety of waterfowl  are scattered across the lake, and number in the thousands. This Northern Pintail was at least close enough to get a greatly cropped photo of.

Sandhill Cranes are quite regular along this part of the lake shore wetland. This one flew by fairly cooperatively.....

...and a pair landed in a field near the trail.....

...with one coming quite a bit closer before veering farther out in the field.

There have been some shorebirds appear recently. Killdeer, of course, are quite regular, and I have seen a dozen or more on occasion in the Erieau area. But my hopes were to see either the Lesser Yellowlegs or the Pectoral Sandpiper which have recently been seen in the McGeachy Pond area. So far I have been unsuccessful, especially since with the recent snow and rain, the fields have rather large ponded areas giving the birds lots of area to choose from. Neither species is rare, just a bit early, so I don't expect it to be too long before I get my camera focused on one or the other.

I did manage to get a few shots of a striking duck, a Northern Shoveler.

And en route to Erieau, I have seen this escaped Whooper Swan in its new pond along the Erieau Road. It will be interesting to see how long it stays, or will the owners of the area wildlife zoo be successful in reclaiming it?

While roaming around looking for shorebirds in wet areas along Lagoon Road, I came across a rather large flock of Snow Buntings. Seeing Snow Buntings in the middle of winter, especially when there are winter storms occurring, is not that unusual. But this was a clear day and the snow and rain of the previous day or so had completely disappeared, and usually by then the buntings have returned to points farther north. I managed to get a couple of quick shots, but didn't have quite the right camera settings, so this is the best I could come up with. You might have to use your imagination, just a little.....

 

Of course I have been to Rondeau a couple of times, usually for an invigorating walk, but always with camera gear handy just in case.

A walk down the east South Point Trail got me to the water front, where I watched 4 Long-tailed Ducks cavorting and displaying. I only got photos as they were flying by.....

On one occasion as I was exiting the park, I noticed this coyote passing through some cottage lots. It was acting somewhat strange, limping a little and not paying any attention to me. Usually they are quite furtive and are seldom seen in broad daylight. I managed to get a few quick photos, and a closer look indicated why it was behaving abnormally. One cannot see the limp in a still photo, but a closer look at its head showed a possible blind eye, as well as an injury to the side of the head around the ear.

Clearly the animal was not healthy, and it may be doomed. Hopefully it does not cause problems to humans or their pets, while it is dealing with this agony and potentially its demise.

It eventually disappeared into the wooded area along the road.

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