Some late winter encounters

 There certainly have been some ups and downs of the weather as of late! But it is March, being March, so it is to be expected. Hopefully there won't be a major ice storm like there was in early March of 1976, when almost every tree in Rondeau (and likely elsewhere) was affected to some extent, resulting in the park being closed for several days due to the massive clean-up required.

One of the highlights of the last couple of weeks was to continue on my photographic search for owls. In my previous post, I managed a poor record shot of a Long-eared Owl. A few days later this one perched in quite an open spot, allowing this photo.

There have sometimes been several birds roosting in this thick cedar hedge, but are hard to see, with the occasional exception such as this.

Open water is becoming more prevalent, now that temperatures are getting above the regular intensity of cold over the last few weeks, and this has resulted in more waterbirds being visible.  At one location a bit northeast of Chatham, I came across this Great Blue Heron, presumably hoping for a small fish to come by and become a meal.

Swimming by just in front the heron, note the heron's legs, was this pair of Hooded Mergansers.

Nearby were some Wood Duck boxes, with an Eastern Screech Owl residing in one.

 Elsewhere in open water spots near Erieau was a variety of ducks in relative close proximity. There were lots of other ducks, but most were too far to even identify easily, let alone photograph. With the approach of the breeding season, many of the males are showing their attractive colours and patterns.

Bufflehead

This next one is of a Canvasback, a young male not quite in its prime breeding plumage.

This next one shows an older male, in its prime pattern. However a closer look shows that its right eye appears to be damaged. I see that somewhat regularly, and especially if food is a bit scarce, there is some fighting going on when a duck emerges with something. Other waterfowl of various species will fight to gain possession, and some damage can occur.

These next two photos are of Greater Scaup, with the male first, and a pair which follows.

Redheads, especially males, are quite distinctive....

...as are male Ring-necked Ducks, one of my favourites.

I stopped at McGeachy Pond CA on one occasion, and finally caught up to a long-staying Northern Mockingbird, surviving on some of the berries that linger. Most of the berries that persist this late in winter are that of European Highbush Cranberry. The berries look tempting, but are quite bitter early in the winter. They become more palatable to birds later in the season.

On another day at McGeachy Pond, I watched and waited for a River Otter to appear. One has been seen on a couple of occasions in the past week or so, in the proximity of the beaver lodge. River Otters are not typically found in this part of southern Ontario. However I recall back in the 1970s, when we were trying to assemble mammal records for Rondeau, a mammalogy specialist from the University of Guelph, a former professor of mine, was in the park checking on things. He reported seeing River Otter tracks near the south end of the park, but there was never a confirmed sighting of an actual animal. It is interesting to note that one was seen at McGeachy Pond, just a short distance from Rondeau, about 50 years later! Of course it wouldn't be the same one, but it just goes to show that some mammals can be present but hard to confirm. Whether the species is a short or long-term resident of the area is open to speculation, but the habitat is suitable. As in the case of beavers, they were almost totally gone from southwestern Ontario in the latter half of last century, but there is no question that they have re-established themselves in many aquatic habitats here in the southwest.

While I didn't seen any sign of the otter, I did photograph this pair of Mute Swans, even exhibiting courtship and breeding behaviour. It won't be long before their nesting is underway.

Sandhill Cranes have continued here and there, in small numbers. They are often quite a distance from the road, so even with a good photo lens, they are not as crisp as I would like, and the sunlight haze over the distance interferes with the clarity to some extent. These two were part of a group of five, foraging in a field near St. Clair NWA.

Typically by late February, birds such as Horned Larks are well represented near agricultural fields. They were almost non-existent in January and early February, especially with the snow and cold, but since that weather is abating, this species is fairly common in small groups. They will be forming up pairs, soon to be nesting. Many of them get underway well before agricultural activity begins, in the hopes that they can raise a brood before having the nest turned under by equipment. Others will continue to move north, nesting in the wide open tundra habitat of the Hudson Bay lowlands.

 Here is a photo of a nesting Horned Lark that I took while doing wildlife surveys in Polar Bear Prov Park back in 1991.

As hints of spring arrive, species like Killdeer are beginning to show up, at least on those occasional days with southerly winds and relatively warmer temperatures. There have been a few reported already in the last few days, but I haven't caught up to one yet. This next photo is of a lingering one I photographed in January.

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Migration ramps up, bringing some rarities

 It is a busy time of year. Lots of birding to do, lots of photographs to process, and lots of garden preparation to do, among other things. I've been able to squeeze a few trips out to natural areas amongst the other things, and although the bird migration has been a bit slower than birders would like (surprise, surprise), it has definitely been fun to get out. 

Visits to Rondeau are always worthwhile. Warblers have been scattered and not in any great numbers, but that is bound to change soon. Many that do show up are hard to photograph against a bland sky and through branches, so more have been seen than photographed. When they are low down, I have a chance, as this Nashville Warbler and Yellow Warbler illustrate.

Getting ready for take off!

There are lots of sparrows, such as this Field Sparrow, shown next, a local breeding species. I missed an extremely cooperative Henslow's Sparrow. White-throated Sparrows have been by far the most common sparrow, but often are furtively scavenging amongst the branches and leaves on the forest floor.

One or more Northern Mockingbirds seem to be taking up residence at the north end of the picnic area. Maybe it will be a breeding species this year, so that will be nice to add to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas currently underway.

Swainson's Thrush is the most abundant of the Catharus group of thrushes these days.....

...and a few Veerys are showing up.

I have seen more Red Foxes lately, or maybe it is the same one on more than one occasion. This one decided to take a rest in a shrubby thicket, which made focusing tricky.

Eastern Chipmunks are plentiful, and occasionally will cooperate for the camera. I try and oblige.

I've spent a bit of time along the wetlands of Lake St. Clair, including at St. Clair NWA as well as the nature trails north and south of Mitchell's Bay. It has been very worthwhile. At SCNWA there are still some Ring-necked Ducks hanging around.

Canada Geese are quite common, not surprisingly and sometimes give some quite nice photo ops.

There were several young families out swimming around, with adults keeping a close eye on the surroundings.

What is a wetland without Red-winged Blackbirds! There are dozens and dozens.....

....and also lots of Swamp Sparrows, but they are much harder to get in front of the camera.

Occasionally one will be sitting up and trilling away, advertising its territory.

Right beside the observation tower is a broken off cottonwood, with a few holes. The top gives a good perch.

One can hear the 'witchity witchity' of the Common Yellowthroat regularly, but getting a photo as they skulk through the cattails, is another challenge.

Persistence sometimes pays off a bit.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are not confined to woodland areas. It is not uncommon to see a few in the shrubbery at the edge of the wetlands....

...while the occasional Palm Warbler will be hopping along the trail.

 

 

Birder along the SCNWA trail

Farther north, along Angler Line and either of the Mitchell's Bay Nature Trails also gives some worthwhile viewing and photo opportunities. Bald Eagles are almost a guarantee, with typically anywhere from 3-5 seen from various vantage points...

...and sometimes flying relatively close by. There are at least 3 active eagle nests within a relatively short flight, so it is not surprising that with the gradual increase in the eagle population these last couple of decades, the species is commonly seen.

 

Great Egrets nest in a colony at Walpole Island, a short distance away at the north end of Lake St. Clair. They also likely nest on the cattail islands out from Mitchell's Bay, so they are frequently seen feeding nearby.....

...or in flight from one feeding location to another.

 Along the trail, you can see coyotes! But not to worry, they won't harm you. They are signs that the neighbouring farmer has put out to presumably give the local Canada Geese reason not to venture onto the field and start eating the newly planted crops. I'm not sure how effective the signs are, as I did see geese on the field, but not right close to the signs.

The slightly lower water level has allowed for some mud flats to be exposed. From a distance, I could hear this Greater Yellowlegs quite clearly, and loudly, but from a distance I had a harder time seeing it. The yellow legs helped!

This Killdeer was not difficult to see at all.

A bit of a surprise was to see amongst about 30 Mute Swans, this first year Trumpeter Swan. Trumpeters are still quite a novelty in Chatham-Kent, but as the population slowly expands across southern and central Ontario, it will become a bit more common here, I expect. This one stood out with its still grayish feathering on the body and neck. It was at least as large as the nearby Mute Swans. The wide black area in front of the eye stood out...

...as did the slightly pointed feathering at the top of the beak, unlike the rounded feathering of a smaller Tundra Swan.

While I was in the Mitchell's Bay area, I got a couple of texts, first from Steve C, and a bit later from Jim B, alerting me to the presence of a White-faced Ibis that was along the Erieau Rail Trail. Jeff T had discovered it earlier that morning, and the word was put out. Instead of stopping at home in Chatham, I went as quickly as I could to get to Erieau. There were about 15 others there, and a fair number had already come and gone after having seen this rarity. It wasn't all that close to the trail by the time I got there, so a reasonable telephoto lens, and lots of cropping and processing of the digital images was required. Some folks who got there earlier had closer looks. However I shot a bunch of images, many of which were not all that great, due to the general cloudiness and back lighting, but here are a few that I kept.

It looks quite similar to Glossy Ibis, but the key differences are: 

-a white band all around the eye; the Glossy does not have as extensive a white line;

-the eye is dark red, not almost black;

-the bill is gray as opposed to brown.

Under less than ideal viewing conditions, it can be a challenge to distinguish between the two species, but with 'scope views, and photos that can show the differences, it can be determined that this is indeed a White-faced Ibis, and as far as we know, only the second record for the Rondeau checklist area.

With migration underway, what will be next????

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