Rondeau....always a good choice!

I've been to Rondeau a few times lately, with varying number of photos to capture. The shoreline has definitely been changing. This first photo shows what the south end of the park looked like in mid-January before the cold, snowy spell.

Next is the same spot in late February, with the lake covered with ice.

 These next two photos show the lakefront, just a bit farther along the beach from the previous two. These were taken about two weeks after the previous one.

 Still some ice, but by now, even most of the ice is gone, and the birds are on the return, or at least more active! Some of the more cooperative birds were:

Song Sparrow

This Pileated Woodpecker seemed really intent on this tree trunk, a little way from the boardwalk, perhaps digging a nest cavity?

Cardinals are always fun, and sometimes cooperative.

Mute Swans, well they are attractive in their own way, although they play havoc with native species all too often.

Killdeer

Hairy Woodpecker

Fox Sparrows are nicely coloured and distinctive.

Not many flies around for this member of the flycatcher family, but I have known it to eat berries when necessary.

Eastern Phoebe

Black-capped Chickadee

Although there has been the occasional Robin stay over winter, they have returned in large numbers in the last week or so. On one day I looked out my kitchen window and counted 47 scattered around in the community park beside the house!

Some birds were playing a little harder to get, such as this Yellow-rumped Warbler, next....

....and this very active Golden-crowned Kinglet.

One of the bird highlights of the last week or so was the sighting of a Brewer's Blackbird in the park. It was associating with a mixed flock of blackbirds, which were always moving around. I saw the photo of the one, and it was convincing. However only one other person thought they saw it a day later. I checked flocks of blackbirds a few times when I was out, but never saw it. Brewer's Blackbirds are fairly rare in this area, although back in about 1978, a pair nested in a small tree along Erieau Road, across from McGeachy Pond. I didn't have the camera equipment then that I have now, but did photograph the nest.

In June of 2011, on one of my excursions to the Bruce Peninsula, I managed to get a couple of photos of a Brewer's Blackbird on its territory. They have a bit of a glossy head, like a Grackle, but they are smaller, and the beak is smaller.

At times, they can look a bit like a Rusty Blackbird, which is quite regular in southwestern Ontario, although on the decline. I photographed this one a couple of days ago. It is transitioning from its overall dark appearance, showing much more of the rusty appearance.

Of course as the weather fluctuates, there are even some warmer species of overwintering insects showing up.

Long-tailed Aphideater Complex

Black Blow Fly

Other things that captured my eye, include this Eastern Chipmunk, which had emerged on a sunny day. Its tail is still in the hole it emerged from, and although the critter was kindly cooperative for me, it didn't take long to get back down the hole.

Eastern Squirrels are active all year, but on some days they seem to be extra numerous.

Even fungi will survive the winter. This next photo is of a Splitgill Mushroom.

 There's always something! Can't wait to get back out there again!

 

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Autumn migration continues

 The weather ups and downs continue, as does the bird migration. The snow of a few days ago is just a memory. Not sure how long that will last.

I've been out here and there, although one of my regular 'go to' spots, the St. Clair NWA, continues to be off limits due to trail maintenance. I have meandered around the former Dover Twp a bit, and have managed to get a few photos of seasonal things, including the following.

At one spot that I regularly check out at this time of year, I encountered at least 14 Sandhill Cranes back against the edge of the field. This first photo is of a few at the south end of Walpole Island.... 

...and this next flight shot is of 4 of the 14 a bit farther north....

 ...that flew from the far edge of this field.

Tundra Swans are arriving in ever increasing numbers. Soon many will be seen in flight almost anywhere in the southwest, or out on the recently harvested fields of corn. That is until the corn stubble is plowed up.

Heading south, a stop at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands did not turn up much in the way of shorebirds, but I did manage photos of a few Red-breasted Mergansers swimming by...

...and three Killdeer showed up about the time I was ready to leave. A low, searching flyby of a Northern Harrier did short work of the Killdeer stay, however.

Camping is over at Rondeau, and now it is all available to fellow birders, a few dog walkers, and some birds. This Blue Jay was maybe hoping for a return of some campers, to provide some handouts on the picnic table.

Cedar Waxwings are fairly plentiful and widespread these last few days.

Dark-eyed Juncos are quite abundant.

It is always a highlight to see Fox Sparrows, and this is their time. They can be found at the edge of the roadways...

...or partially hidden as they dig out something in the leaf litter.

Northern Cardinals are here year-round, but not always cooperative for a photo, as this female was, sort of.

White-breasted Nuthatches are fun to watch going up or down a tree either searching for something they have hidden in the cracks in the bark, or putting something away for a future meal.

White-throated Sparrows are increasingly abundant, and at least some will stay over the winter.

Blackbirds are passing through in good numbers, including the Rusty Blackbird. Note to potential Rondeau hikers, the park will be closed for a couple of days at a time in order that the November/December deer hunt can take place. In preparation for this hunt, some cracked corn has been put out at feeding stations, and I sometimes check them to see what critters are taking advantage of the food. I found 6 Rusty Blackbirds at one spot, as shown next.

The raptor migration is winding down, and although technically not a raptor, Turkey Vultures are always counted at the various hawkwatches. Turkey Vultures have gone through in their normal many thousands, and seeing one now is more of a rarity.

 In other news, not related to Rondeau, I had a friend from the K-W area send me a photo of a bird that had been coming to his suet. He is not an avid birder, but enjoys what comes to his back yard feeders. At first he thought it might be a female Evening Grosbeak, and indeed a few of them are making their way south. However it turned out to be a female Summer Tanager! Summer Tanagers are not common or predictable in Ontario at anytime of year, but more likely to be encountered in the summer. That said, they can show up at really unexpected times. In checking the rare bird report for this past week, there had been one seen in Toronto a few days ago. This next photo is of one I photographed at Rondeau back in December of 2015! It was feeding on the berries of a vine that had been growing up the chimney of this cottage.

With birds, expect the unexpected!

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Autumn's final warm fling?

 Butterflies in late November? Yes, and a few other warmish season creatures have been out and about. Eastern Comma, first, is a species that will overwinter as an adult, so when the weather is warm, they can be out basking as this one was.

Common Buckeye does not overwinter in southwestern Ontario, but there has been a good number of them this late summer and fall, so it isn't all that surprising to see the occasional one stick around in this unseasonably warm weather.

  There have been a few Autumn Meadowhawks flitting around in sunny, sheltered places.

Next is a Black Blow Fly.

...followed by a Common Drone Fly.

There were a few of this next one around. It is a possibly a Tufted Clusterfly, although the exact type of clusterfly has not yet been determined.

Woolly Bear Caterpillars are often seen, even in winter. It is the larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth, and this first image shows the typical coloration.

According to a specialist on iNat, this next one is a Tiger Moth of the Phragmatobia species.

Reptiles are cold-blooded, and are not often seen this late in the season. However due to the warmer than normal temperatures, a few Eastern Garter Snakes were out....

.....as were a few Midland Painted Turtles.

I even heard several Spring Peepers on more than one occasion! I'm sure all these reptiles and amphibians are now safely in their winter quarters!

On one of my outings to Rondeau, I spent a bit of time scanning the lake from the east beach. I was hoping for a few loons, especially a Red-throated Loon or even a Pacific Loon. Both have been seen on occasion in the last week or so. I did see up to a couple of dozen Common Loons.....

....and there was at least one Red-throated Loon mixed in from a distance, but I didn't get any photos of it. As for a Pacific Loon, I struck out on that one so far, but I have seen them in Ontario in the past. When I was involved with some wildlife surveys at Polar Bear Provincial Park in about 1990, we came across a nest, and one of the adults was cooperative enough to allow me this photo. The fall plumage is considerably more drab than this photo, however.

While looking for loons, there was a massive movement of Red-breasted Mergansers flying by. I think they had been stirred up by a passing ship, so there were probably 3-4000 of them in flight that stretched like this photo, for at least a kilometre with smaller groups going by as well.

I spent a bit of time up along the Mitchell's Bay North Lakeshore Trail, and while I didn't see any shorebirds on this occasion in spite of the extensive mud flats, there were some raptors in the area keeping an eye on waterfowl and other things. There were probably three adult Bald Eagles in the area, although they were sometimes on the move for a short distance and maybe there were only two.

This Merlin, next, was initially seen hopping around in some shallow water. Not sure what it was trying to do, maybe wash something before eating? It wasn't clear, but after a few moments it got up and left....

....and this next photo is likely of the same bird, on the top of a pole a short distance away, surveying its domain.

I also spent a bit of time along the Erieau Marsh Trail. There wasn't a huge diversity of birds, but a few things caught my eye and gave me some photo ops. I was a little surprised to see at least a couple of dozen American Pipits flying around in a loose group and landing near the tree tops. I usually see them in much fewer numbers, and typically on the ground, but these were migrating so were behaving a little differently.

American Tree Sparrows are one of the more common sparrows this time of year. This one was busily tearing into some goldenrod seedheads.

A Downy Woodpecker was digging into a tree trunk....

...and this is a Rusty Blackbird, one of a small flock of a dozen or so on the move.

This Great Blue Heron was first noticed when I heard its loud 'croak' that indicated where it was, so enabled me to get this rather distant and cropped photo.

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