Weekend wildlife

I know that wildlife is around more than just on weekends, and in semi-retirement one would think I would have lots of time on normal weekdays to get out and explore. However that isn't always the case, and most of this past week had me otherwise occupied.

But the last day or so was a great change of scenery and included several of my 'go-to' places in Chatham-Kent.

Rondeau Prov Park is always worthwhile, for many reasons. It was a relatively quiet, windless morning, so I stopped first at the Spicebush Trail hoping that the Louisiana Waterthrush which has been noted there on occasion would make an appearance. Not today.

The South Point Trail is usually a good place to meander along. Eastern Towhees are regular.

There has been an influx of White-throated Sparrows in the last couple of days. In places, the ground seems to be moving as they shuffle through the leaves searching for food.

A large number of Chipping Sparrows were in the sandy beach dunes at the forest edge. I scanned through as many as I could, hoping that a Lark Sparrow as was found at Point Pelee a couple of days ago, might be mixed in with this group, but it was not to be.

I got my first of year (FOY) Pine Warbler, and one of the two I saw even allowed me to get at least a record shot as it came down to a leafless branch. When they are flitting through the pines, it isn't quite so easy.

Pine Warbler not in a pine

 I was interested in getting a FOY Red-headed Woodpecker. It used to be a common species here and throughout southwestern Ontario. In fact on one occasion, in 1983, we recorded an astounding 114 on the Rondeau/Blenheim Christmas Bird Count! The species has been in serious decline for quite awhile, and that could be the topic for an entire post. In a typical year now, there may only be one or two pairs nesting in the Rondeau area. At any rate, since one had been reported in the previous day or so, I wanted to track it down if possible. Initial efforts were not successful, but Garry S advised me he had seen one going between a willow tree and a feeder at a lot just south of where the White-winged Dove spent most of 2016 and part of its time to date in 2017. It didn't take a long time to find the bird, and it was on the move between various trees in about a 3 cottage lot area.

Woodpecker in the willow

I had tried to get a photo of Northern Flicker from time to time, and I often find that if you move in their direction, they quickly move on. But while waiting near the willow tree that the Red-headed Woodpecker was supposed to come to, I noted this flicker arrive and start feeding on the lawn, apparently not concerned about my presence.

A short while later, I checked up on another red, white and black bird, the reported Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and found it coming to a feeder just north of the Visitor Centre.

The White-winged Dove continues at its alternate site, trying to build a nest on top of a stove pipe. I'm not sure what goes through its head when the material it keeps depositing on this slippery and shiny surface disappears almost as fast as it is deposited.

Another member of the dove family, Mourning Dove is, at this point, having more success than the White-wing. This nest was in a honeysuckle bush along the Tuliptree Trail.

I stopped at the Spicebush Trail again, just in case the Louisiana Waterthrush was in the area. Still no waterthrush, but the highlight was to have a visit with Rob and Pauline, two former MNR colleagues whom I hadn't seen in many years.

Before leaving the park, I checked out the maintenance loop. No new birds for the day, but I got my FOY Question Mark.

The species is not common in April but does occur in very low numbers. The dark upper hind wing indicates it is a summer form, which is apparently typical of spring migrants.

A brief swing by Erieau had distant waterfowl and a few Caspian Terns.

Yesterday afternoon, we went to the Mitchell's Bay area, exploring both the south shore trail and north shore trail. I noted a sub adult Glaucous Gull and a Common Gallinule, both FOY but no photos. There were some cooperative Forster's Terns.

The Purple Martin houses have attracted the target species.

An American Coot was close by the north shore trail......

 ....as was a Ring-necked Duck.

The target species I was hoping for was Yellow-headed Blackbird. I had intended to go out on Friday afternoon, since it had been a few days since my previous visit, but some other projects kept me away. Later that evening I noted that Blake had seen about 7 males, so I figured my chances were good on this day. Sure enough, three were seen foraging on a lawn near the south trail, while at least another four were hanging out with a large mixed flock of blackbird types in the field to the east of the trail. I didn't see any females, but they should arrive soon and let the nesting begin!

Photographing from a 'wildlife blind'

Photographing wildlife is fun, but can be quite challenging. It helps to use a blind, of course, but you have to know where the wildlife is likely to be, understand the 'target species' behaviour and then set up a blind and let them acclimatize to it so they can carry on their normal activities. It can take a lot of time, with limited success.

Another option, which I have had the pleasure to have available, is to visit the summer trailer of some friends of mine, Bill and Judy, on the waterfront of Mitchell's Bay. They have a lovely covered deck, just a few metres from the water's edge. These first two images were taken with a wide angle lens, from the deck. The water's edge is literally about 3 metres from the deck, which is raised just high enough to look over the marshy vegetation and see into some of the open areas.

The view looks north, so the sun is mostly behind us, making photography better for longer periods of the day. That is Walpole Island First Nation in the background. This next photo is looking the same direction, but shifted slightly to the right. Note the large log in the centre right, and the smaller log beyond it. These logs arrived during higher water levels, and definitely attract wildlife.

Because these trailers are here all the time, and the human activity is minimal, the wildlife have gotten used to the setting. So this is effectively a permanent wildlife blind, and because the semi-open wetland is attractive to wildlife, it provides numerous photo ops. A huge bonus of this location is that there is no Phragmites! It used to be present but several years ago there was an effort to get rid of it, and fortunately it was quite successful.

In the first photo above, there is a Great Egret in the stand of Pickerelweed at the centre left. Being taken with a 17mm wide angle lens, it doesn't appear very large. But a decent telephoto makes all the difference.

Great Egrets fly by regularly....it helps that there is a good egret nesting colony on Walpole, and they venture a bit looking for food.

 The log is a popular place for egrets.....

....as well as Great Blue Herons, Spotted Sandpipers.....

Spotted Sandpiper

 ....and Mallards, among others.

Mallards are wild here...not the semi-domesticated types. Nonetheless, some are quite willing to come in close to feed in the aquatic vegetation right at the edge of the water.

The farther log is smaller, but also is used.

Green Herons fly by with regularity, and occasionally drop in.

Great Blue Herons are frequently seen, flying by or hunting in the emergent marshy vegetation.

Caspian Terns are frequent as well, especially late in the summer.

Osprey show up on occasion.

The semi-open marsh is perfect for nesting birds. At least one family of Pied-billed Grebes is in the area.

Adult Pied-billed Grebe

Full-grown youngster

One of the highlights in the last few weeks has been the ongoing activities of a family of Common Gallinules. This is at least the second year in a row where they have nested close by. This year they were in the patch of cattail in the lower right of the first image above. The nest is no more than 15-18 metres from the deck we photograph from. Unfortunately it is not visible from the deck, but one often heard the coos and clucks of the adults, and the adults would occasionally be out in the open.

This was likely a second nesting of the season, since the young probably hatched somewhere between August 7-11. (Normally the first nesting begins in early June.) The first few days after hatching the young stay in the nest, but after about a week, they venture out with the parents. This next image was taken on Aug 18, where the young had been out briefly with the adults, but this adult was poking around at the edge of the cattails when all of a sudden it let out a startled cackle. Note the slightly churned up water at the extreme centre left of the image. Something swirled around....possibly a Snapping Turtle....causing a lot of cackling and wing-flapping as the gallinule escaped the danger.

The adults and young did come out again, venturing through the sludge mat. There were four chicks....fluffy balls of dark, fluffy down and their trade mark partially bald red head.

Here, one of the adults feeds a tiny tidbit of something to one of its chicks.

But there are risks to such vulnerable members of wildlife. A day or so later there were only three chicks. We don't know what got one of the chicks.....it could have been a turtle, or it could have been a Northern Water Snake, one or more of which was known to hang out in the general area.

This snake is a large one, and it appears to be a female based on its size and relative girth. Water snakes give birth to live young, and for several weeks prior, spend as much time as possible basking. This lets the sun's warmth increase the snake's physiology to ensure the young develop in time to be born so they can adjust to life on their own before the time comes for hibernation. It is interesting to note that shortly before we realized one gallinule chick was missing, we heard some agitated clucks from the vicinity of the nest.

At any rate, the gallinule family was down to three chicks, but they carried on in the area as before, travelling along the edges of the marsh, and sometimes crossing open areas to access the large stand of Pickerelweed.

On occasion they would be in the cattail area almost right below our 'blind'. This next one is less than two metres from the edge. A chick is just out of the photo.

At last visit, the number of gallinule chicks was down to two. As mentioned earlier, this wetland area and in fact much of the Lake St. Clair shoreline is a favourite travel corridor for all sorts of avian wildlife. This includes Northern Harriers, which are seen regularly.

On one occasion, Bill reported seeing a harrier drop down into the stand of Pickerelweed where the gallinule family had been, only to see it emerge with a dark ball of fluff clutched in its talons.

While one feels a sense of loss after watching these gallinule chicks grow in their new world only to disappear one by one, at the same time many folks anxiously look forward to the raptor migration, which is now underway. We would be chagrined if the numbers and diversity of raptors dwindled, but in order for that not to happen, raptors need to feed on a lot of young wildlife! Such is the balance of nature....

This shoreline of Mitchell's Bay is great for sunsets, too. The North Shore Nature trail is just a short distance from the 'wildlife blind', and a great spot to view wildlife and sunsets as well.

Sun dog