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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Bird influx continues in southern Chatham-Kent

 The Birds of Chatham-Kent, then and now, series, will continue eventually, but right now, spring birding is heating up nicely. My previous post discussed this somewhat, based on a couple of really good days last weekend. While there hasn't been any major weather changes to bring huge numbers, that may happen over the next few days. In the meantime, there has been a very pleasing variety of birds to be found, if one is willing to cover a fair bit of habitat and area.

I have put my energy of recent days checking out places like Rondeau Provincial Park and Keith McLean Conservation Lands. It has been well worthwhile. I haven't had a 100 species day yet, but I did get an 85 species day.

Birds are scattered, with the very south end of the park being more or less the most productive, but the narrower north end of the park can be good as well. As the saying goes, birds are where you find them! It is a bonus when the photo ops occur at times, and so what follows features some of those photo ops.

There was the occasional White-throated Sparrow which over wintered, but very few. It is always a treat to see some nice fresh looking ones, and hearing them singing on occasion. It is one of the most abundant land birds in the park at the moment, with seeing several dozen quite easily as they scurry throughout the forest and edges.

White-crowned Sparrows are just starting to arrive. I have yet to see more than a handful even after several hours of birding.

Hermit Thrush is the first of the Catharus thrush species to show. It is the most common of this genus right now, but Swainson's Thrush, which follows, is running a close second, and will very soon be the most common one.

Brown Thrashers are rather skulky birds. There are a few around, although undoubtedly much more common than what any daily bird checklist will show.

Closely related to the Brown Thrasher is the Northern Mockingbird. There has been one or two lurking around the maintenance area for a couple of weeks, or in the nearby picnic area. I have seen it, or another one, on several occasions, and they usually can be somewhat cooperative for the camera.

One of the real highlights for me in the last few days was to see not one, but probably two, Sedge Wrens. Another birder reported three of this species in the same area. Given that they are very furtive, scurrying around dense grass mats and shrubby areas, there could be quite a few of this elusive species. In all of my birding/photographing years, this is the first time I have been able to successfully photograph one.

Members of the Wood Warbler group are what many birders equate with highlights of spring migration. There has been a moderate influx of species diversity considering the relative early aspect of the season. At least 16 of the ~40 species on the park checklist have been reported at Rondeau as of yesterday. I've only seen about 10 species in the last week or so. However the major part of their migration has yet to come, so there is lots of time over the next few weeks to see most of them. Will there be any new species added to the checklist? Only time will tell.

Palm Warblers are one of the early species.....

....as are Black-and-white Warblers.

Another highlight was to see a fairly cooperative male Hooded Warbler scurrying around a brush pile at the north end of the park. This species used to be quite a rarity in Ontario, but in the last couple of decades, has gradually expanded its breeding area so that while it is still uncommon, it isn't quite the rarity it used to be.

White-breasted Nuthatch is a permanent resident of the southern Ontario woodlands. Now that the breeding season is here, it is more common to hear their 'yank-yank-yank' calls along the trails.

Of course there are other things to see along the trails as well, including butterflies such as this American Lady....

...and sometimes a dead critter. This is a Short-tailed Shrew. It didn't show any overt signs of trauma, so why it died is a mystery. They are secretive creatures that spend most of their lives in the leaf litter or underground.

Eastern Gray Squirrels are abundant, of course.....

...and Spicebush is dominant throughout the wetter areas of the woodlands. It is about in peak flowering right now.

At one point I spotted this Red Fox crossing over the road from the campground, and heading south into a shrubby thicket. It wasn't apparent whether it was just on the hunt, or heading to or from a den. It is one of the few times I have seen a fox in the park, and the first time I have photographed one in the park. Their numbers have dwindled due to the high numbers of Eastern Coyotes in the park, which will prey on things like fox and feral cats etc.

As mentioned, I have also been checking out the Keith McLean Conservation Lands. There is lots of shorebird habitat, as has been the case for the last few years. There have been some rather rare shorebird types over the last few days, such as American Avocet, Willet and Marbled Godwit, but none of them have stayed for long, in some cases just a few hours at most. I didn't see any of them. Much more common are shorebirds such as Dunlin.....

....and Least Sandpiper, although it is a bit early for this species.

Lesser Yellowlegs, next, and Greater Yellowlegs, are around in small numbers.

In the cattail edges there are lots of sparrows, including an occasional American Tree Sparrow, most of which have moved farther north.

Brown-headed Cowbirds are seldom appreciated by birders, but when a good photo op shows up such as this female, I will try and make the best of it!

Cedar Waxwings have not been all that common lately, but I saw a small flock of about 8 feeding on some berries.

The nesting platform seems to be holding the interest from a pair of Osprey.

Tree Swallows are by far the most abundant swallow species right now. Hopefully they can survive any future cold spells that sometimes occur in early May!

The main highlight for me at KMCL was this Grasshopper Sparrow. It had been hanging out in the same vicinity as an even rarer Lark Sparrow. I have not caught up to the Lark Sparrow, but did manage to see the Grasshopper Sparrow on a recent visit. It was somewhat back lit, so I had to do a bit more processing than normal to get this result. It is the first time I have photographed this species, so was glad for the opportunity!

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