Purple Sandpiper Plus Other Bird Photo Highlights

 Birds continue to be one of the highlights of this time of year. There is the continuing migration in effect, and the relatively fine weather, has resulted in some individuals lingering a bit longer.

Waterbirds in particular have not been forced to flee southward due to encroaching ice. The availability of food is typically the deciding factor in causing birds to migrate. A recent somewhat dramatic example of this is the ongoing movement of winter finches, whose food source farther north has diminished more than usual, resulting in good, even large, numbers of northern finches passing through southern Ontario. My previous post expanded on that somewhat. But on the waterbird front, shorebirds in particular continue to be present, albeit in smaller numbers than a few weeks ago. Where there is shallow water, there likely will be shorebirds, and the Keith McLean Conservation Lands continue to attract several dozen shorebirds. By far the most common has been Dunlin.....

.....with one or two Greater Yellowlegs as well.

A Semipalmated Sandpiper has been present on occasion. One or more Great Blue Herons will continue for awhile.

On a recent visit to Erieau, it is always worth checking the pier for gulls and shorebirds. While I was moving into position to get the best angle of light for these Sanderling, shown next, I heard a 'kwit' call that I didn't recognize at first. Upon turning around, I saw a chunky dark shorebird fly in and land on the lower side of the pier behind me.

It was immediate apparent that this was a Purple Sandpiper, a rather rare, but somewhat regular, species in the area as it passes through from its high arctic breeding grounds. We don't get to see them every year, so it is always nice to have one in the area, however briefly. In a relatively mild winter, one may stay for weeks, or possibly the entire winter. Last year there was one around and seen intermittently up to about the middle of December, then wasn't seen again. But one was present along the south beach of Rondeau in early March. Given how open that winter was, perhaps it was the same bird that was able to stick around?

When I saw this one, I got some photos, and put the word out on the local bird alert. However being that it was a nice day, there were non-birders enjoying the walk out the pier. Although this species is relatively tolerant of people, I watched three non-birders continue to the end, and the bird kept moving on. When I last saw it, it had flown out over the lake, heading for the south beach.

Within minutes of observing this, I noted that the first local birder had arrived, with a few others shortly after. Disappointment was obvious, not surprisingly, so we 'scoped every other location within view, including parts of the south beach, but without success. I had to leave, but the others decided to check the pier again, and before I got too far out of Erieau, I got a text indicating that the bird had returned to the pier, so persistence paid off! Since there were several out-of-town birders in the area or passing through Chatham-Kent, they decided to try for this bird, and were successful. So all's well that end well.

I did manage to see and photograph an American Pipit on the pier during this time as well.

Hiking around Rondeau is always worth the effort. Even if there aren't many birds to see, or photograph, the hiking and enjoying the ambience of this remarkable provincial park has untold benefits. Seeing and photographing birds is the added bonus!

I have been there a few times of late, and the birds and fine weather have resulted in the following highlights: 

A trio of Carolina Wrens were vying for territory, vocalizing frequently and chasing one another.

A few flocks of Cedar Waxwings were around, usually in the vicinity of berry bushes such as this Multi-flora Rose bush.

It is always fun to watch their antics, vying for these berries.

The birds above are adults. The one below, is a first year bird.

Most of the warblers one might find this time of year would be Yellow-rumped, some of which may even stay the entire winter as long as there is a food supply. So finding a non Yellow-rumped is a bit more exciting. I had this Orange-crowned Warbler pop out of a clump of goldenrod in the campground. Fortunately it remained in the open for a few seconds while I managed to rattle off a few shots.

I liked this next one, with the bird giving me a somewhat quizzical look, wondering what I was up to and perhaps also wondering what that frequent clicking noise was.

Black-capped Chickadees have not been very plentiful these last few weeks. This one paused briefly, although against a very bright background, and it required a fair bit of tweaking to get it to even look like this.

With the sunny and warmer than usual weather, even a few butterflies have been out. I've seen several Eastern Commas.

When the winds are in the right direction, it is often worthwhile to be somewhere along the lake shore to hopefully see a few raptors on the move. In Chatham-Kent, places like Morpeth Cliffs or the Craford Road are two of the best vantage points. The raptors that are seen are all too often too distant for good photos, but once in awhile they may come within range of the camera. A fair bit of cropping is required nonetheless. 

Red-tailed Hawk

Canada Day! And more.....

Ok officially Canada Day doesn't come for another few weeks. But a couple of days ago, there was an influx of Canada Warblers into the Rondeau area. They were seen in multiple parts of the park, but probably the best location was along Spicebush Trail, where several were seen, including one very cooperative male that gave photo ops for several people. Even during the relative short time I was there, I think I heard at least a thousand shutter clicks.

It was right adjacent to one of the boardwalks, giving people slightly elevated views as it spent several hours flitting back and forth, feeding, resting, searching for food and whatever. It would perch on a stump....

 ....pause and give quizzical looks at the people around.....

 ....flit to a branch....

 ...jump down to the base of a tree hunting for something....

 ...sometimes get bored with the audience....

 ...and occasionally find something to munch on. All in all, it was a very entertaining time with this declining species.

Of course there has been a good variety of other warblers, although I haven't caught up with some of the rarer species.

American Redstart

Blackburnian

Cape May

Common Yellowthroat

Chestnut-sided

Magnolia

 Sometimes you only get a partial view, and hopefully enough to make a positive identification before it disappears.

Nashville

Orange-crowned

There is a good variety of the usual non-warbler species, including those that may now be here to nest.

Baltimore Oriole

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Towhee male

 There had been a Spotted Towhee seen in the campground by a few birders. I wasn't in the area at the time, and so missed seeing it. However from photos I have seen, it wasn't very cooperative. It wouldn't be a new Rondeau species for me, as I had one coming to a feeder back in late 1979 when I was the park naturalist. That was before it became an official separate species rather than a western subspecies, so although it was an interesting sighting back then, it wouldn't have created the same stir as today.

Eastern Towhee female

 I've periodically thought that this next species should be the official bird of the Grand River Conservation Authority, given that its 4-letter bird code name is GRCA.

Gray Catbird

 Vireos have not been very abundant as of yesterday, although that could change any day now. Red-eyed Vireos, one of the most common of all songbirds in the eastern deciduous forests, have been noticeable by their absence. I think I have seen less than five so far this spring.

 Warbling Vireos are a little more common.

 Scarlet Tanagers have been around, although not abundant at all.

 Of course the 'resident' White-winged Dove has been back for a few weeks now, and as before, likes to build a nest on Mel's car.

 An Eastern Screech Owl is back in a frequently occupied hole. There is no guarantee that it will be visible, and if anyone goes off the trail to get a closer look, it will very quickly back up and disappear from view.

Yesterday when I was out, I got word of a Clay-colored Sparrow in the campground (thanks, Mike!). Since I was at the north end of the park at the time, I headed over and met Mike. Even though only a few minutes had passed by, the bird was nowhere to be seen. Which is often what birds do. Mike had indicated he had seen it loosely associating with Chipping Sparrows, so we used that clue to continue and broaden our search. However after another 30-45 minutes went by without seeing it, we decided it was gone. We did see several Chipping Sparrows, including this one which was putting the finishing touches on its nest.

 About 3 minutes after Mike and I had gone our separate ways, I heard him call out that it had re-appeared a little way down the campground road, so I hurried over. It was active, and not willing to allow us to get too close, so the long lenses were put to good use.

 Who knows, with the closed campground and open grassy/shrubby nature of the campground vegetation, might it be appealing for this species to nest if it can find a mate?

There is always something else to see along the way, including things like this Eastern Chipmunk. It has been a good year for chipmunks, and with the less traffic during the time the park was closed, fewer road kills. On some trails I have seen more chipmunks than warblers!

 This Eastern Cottontail was out in a grassy part of the campground.

 Leopard Frogs are widespread. I took a break from photographing the Canada Warbler to shoot this guy who was on the other side of the boardwalk.

 Tiger beetles, such as this Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (which can have either more, or fewer, than six spots) can be seen on sunny days along the trails and roadways.

 While walking along a grassy trail a few days ago, I flushed up a Song Sparrow. Its nest was not too hard to find.

 Spring wildflowers are continuing, such as this rarity known as Goldenseal. It occurs in a couple of places at Rondeau, and as of a few days ago, had just about completed its flowering for this season. Due to its rarity and Species At Risk status, its location will not be divulged.

 A spring-time orchid is this Showy Orchis. It isn't large and showy in spite of its name, as it seldom gets more than 15 cm (6") high.

Last year's flowering stalk

Butterflies have not been too plentiful, not surprising given the cool, windy conditions. With the promise of summer-like temperatures in the next few days, I anticipate a lot greater variety very soon!

Red Admiral