Mega bird rarities of the Rondeau checklist area

Back to the rare birds series, and here is hoping that the production of this blog post is a little smoother and less problematic than the previous post! Nonetheless, I need to do a bit of revising since some of my birding friends have pointed out some things that I should have considered in my first version. Thanks, guys!

With 365 species of birds on the Rondeau checklist, there are some birds that are extremely rare, with maybe only one or two appearances in spite of the intensity of birding there over the past century or more. There are some species that I just don't have any photos of that fit into this mega rarity category, including species such as Passenger Pigeon or Eskimo Curlew, obviously, but also others that are not extinct and would include White-collared Swift, Thick-billed Murre, Northern Gannet and Northern Wheatear. The swift was seen by a single observer. The murre and the gannet were way before my time at Rondeau, and when the Wheatear showed up, I was out in southern Alberta. Maybe someday I will get have the privilege of seeing these species and get photos as well.

But here are 17 species that I would place in the mega rarity category that I do have photos of. Some of them will appear near the end, in what I consider a "mega-mega rarity" category due to their very unexpected presence. A quick note here: as often as possible I have included photos of the birds actually seen at Rondeau, but in a few cases, which will be noted, they were taken elsewhere.

This first photo is of a Cinnamon Teal. There are about three records for the Rondeau area, and two of them are from birds that were shot during the autumn waterfowl hunt. Identification of them in the autumn is much more challenging, and it is possible that there are records that have been missed. There has been only one record of this species in the spring breeding plumage, in the 1990s. The photo here was taken in southern Saskatchewan in July, 2018, with a single bird surrounded by Wilson's Phalaropes.

There have been a few, scattered records of this next species, Glossy Ibis. In fact one of my earlier birding memories at Rondeau was seeing 4 of these out along the South Beach while on a birding trip with the park staff, back in about 1966. The bird shown here was taken in May, 2019, at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands just outside the park.

Lark Bunting, shown next, has only been recorded on 2-3 occasions. I have not seen this species in the Rondeau checklist area, but did see one in Essex a few years ago. This photo was taken in July, 2018, near Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan.

 Little Blue Herons show up in Ontario from time to time. However there have been very few records for the Rondeau area, less than half a dozen. The one below showed up along the causeway just outside the park in late August, 1982 and stayed around for a little more than a week. There have been a few records since, usually in late summer, but nothing that I have come across since 2000, where one was seen from August 26 until September 14, during which time it was reported by numerous birders.

 There have been a few records of this next species, Sabine's Gull but it is often very hard to come by. Records across Ontario are not plentiful, but with all of the waterbirds that come through Rondeau, it is a bit surprising that we only had the first record in November, 2007 following some stormy weather. I didn't see my first one in the Rondeau area until 2015, shown below. It was seen in the Erieau area, and the south beach of Rondeau is in the distant background here.

This next species, Sage Thrasher, could almost be considered in the mega-mega category. Prior to this one that occurred in April, 1981, I believe there had only been one accepted record for Ontario. I discovered this bird well out along the Marsh Road while I was trying to track down a Louisiana Heron. I did not immediately identify this bird, and even after I got several far more experienced birders to check it out, (e.g. the late Norm Chesterfield, Alan Wormington) and we all scratched our heads, did we decide it was a Sage Thrasher. The bird stayed around for at least three weeks along the southern half of the Marsh Trail, and since it was the first real opportunity for Ontario birders (and many birders beyond Ontario) had a chance to see it, there were probably well over a thousand people who trekked out to look for it. It isn't the greatest photo as it has been scanned from a slide. Due to its rarity and celebrity status, I didn't want to venture too close and risk scaring it. Of course the photo equipment I had at the time was not as high a quality as I eventually acquired. The likes of the late Dennis Rupert and Jim Flynn, both expert photographers with high end equipment, got better photos. An interesting little side story to this bird record is that because of its fairly extended presence, about a month later I had the opportunity to spend an hour or so birding along the Tuliptree Trail with none other than Roger Tory Peterson and one other Ontario birder.

 While the bird in the previous photo was the second Ontario record, Chatham-Kent, and specifically Rondeau, was to enjoy the presence of other Sage Thrashers over the next few years. This next photo was taken at the southern end of Rondeau in the early summer of 1985, of a bird that was only present as far as we know, for a couple of days. A few years later, a bird showed up in the winter in the Wallaceburg area. And in 2008, I had one on the Christmas Bird Count out on the Marsh Trail! I think I can safely say that I am the only one who has seen 4 Sage Thrashers in Chatham-Kent.

Members of the Flycatcher family are well known for their sometimes erratic migration, and they can show up most often in the late summer. Our first record for this next one, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, was in 1987 not far from Blenheim. Another record was in the early 2000s just outside of Rondeau, which is the bird that I saw briefly. The bird shown here is of a nice adult which I photographed in southwestern Missouri in 2009, a place where they are much more likely to be seen than in southern Ontario.

There have been a handful of records for Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in the Rondeau area, but for some reason, none in the last two decades. This first photo shows an adult that appeared along a slough on the Tuliptree Trail in May of 1990 and was seen by at least a few folks.

 This next one is a photo of an immature bird that spent some time in a slough just south of Gardiner Avenue and was seen by many over the course of the day or so it remained.

 Western Grebe is a species that for some reason is not often encountered in the Rondeau area. In fact this is the only record, and it occurred off the south beach of Rondeau in mid June of 2013. I trekked out the South Beach to get this photo. It was also seen by a few birders from Erieau, but only with 'scope views. This species likely passes through on rare occasion but is just missed, as it is seen with more frequency at the eastern end of Lake Erie and the western end of Lake Ontario.

The next few bird records are what I would consider to be "Mega-mega" rarities, although it is a personal choice as some of them aren't really any more rare than ones in the first part of this post.

There are relatively few records of Black Skimmer anywhere in Ontario. I believe there are no more than three, including the one shown here. It was present at Erieau and the south beach of Rondeau for several days in September of 1981. I think the only previous Ontario record was a flyby along Lake Ontario, and only seen by one or two birders. The bird here was seen by many especially since one could drive up to the edge of the pier and 'peer' across the channel to see it surrounded by various gulls.

There is only one or maybe two records for Brown Pelican at Rondeau. I have not seen it in the Rondeau checklist area, although the one shown here I photographed in Chatham-Kent at Wheatley harbour in late August, 2013.

There is one record for Burrowing Owl, a bird which showed up at the McGeachy Pond area back in late June of 1977. It was around for a couple of weeks. I saw the bird, but did not get any photos. The photo shown here is one I took at Grasslands National Park, in southern Saskatchewan, in June of 1986.

 The following dead specimen is of Cassin's Kingbird. I found it along the southeast beach in late November of 2013. Although it is now on the park's checklist, no one can count it since it was already dead when discovered. As mentioned previously, members of the flycatcher group are known for showing up well out of their range following, presumably, a mis-direction in their migration. I seem to recall that this bird was only the second or third record for Ontario. I think there has been one since.

 Still on the mis-directed theme associated with flycatchers, this next one fits as well. It is a Say's Phoebe, a western species found in late September of 2018, in a farm yard a bit north of Erieau. Interestingly this was the second one of this species for the Rondeau area, and credit goes to the Burks, Jim and Keith, who found both of them. The first one was in another farm setting only a couple of kilometers or so east of this one. I only got some distant photos of the first one, so will use photos of this second sighting which turned out much better. Way to go guys!

I'm not sure how many Western Tanagers have been discovered in southern Ontario, but they are very few and far between. The one shown here occurred at the southern end of Lakeshore Road at Rondeau in mid-May of 2011. Fortunately it was in prime time for many birders, so although it didn't stay around for a long time, it was seen by a fair number of birders.

During the general mid-summer lull of birding, this next one was discovered in very early July of 2012. It is a Magnificent Frigatebird, and it was present in the Rondeau area for a few days. The best views were from a boat off shore of the South Beach (thanks Ric & Anne!) as it perched at the top of an Eastern Cottonwood tree for several hours. It was apparently first seen a few kilometres east of Rondeau during some Canada Day celebrations the day before. There have been a very few records of this species showing up briefly in southern Ontario in the years before and after this record. It is likely that such birds got caught up in some severe hurricane type storms that arrived from the south and got blown well north of their normal more tropical range.

Last, and certainly not least, of the Mega-mega rarities is this next one: Great Kiskadee. It is not a species known for meandering beyond their normal range of the extreme southwestern USA and Mexico and even farther south. So for this one to show up and cooperate/tease/tantalize thousands of birders for a week to ten days at a time, off and on from early September until early December of 2018, was nothing short of phenomenal. It is the first Canadian record, and since it spent its entire known time at Rondeau in the north end, including the beginning of the Marsh Trail, and the southern end of the campground, birders who put in a bit of time were guaranteed to have satisfying to excellent, if not crippling, views.

There will be a couple of articles in an upcoming issue of Ontario Birds, the official publication of the Ontario Field Ornithologists, so for any member of OFO, be on the lookout for it. One article has been written by Laura Rainbow Dragon, the finder of this incredible bird, while I have written a related article discussing a bit of background on this species and some extralimital records.

There are a few other species which I would love to feature as part of this series, including Tropical Kingbird, Black Rail, Lazuli Bunting, Gyrfalcon, Bell's Vireo, Bewick's Wren, Swainson's Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Painted Bunting, etc. but I have yet to get photos of them. Perhaps in a future post if I am so fortunate to photograph them!

4W weather = Sabine's Gull, etc

The very recent 4W (wild, windy, wacky and weird) weather is a time that birders (and photographers) love to see arrive. One could use a few different synonyms to describe the weather, such as tempestuous, rough, inclement, turbulent, violent, etc. and all would fit. It is unusual for the strong northeast to east winds to be sustained for several days.

It is not a time that is likely appreciated as much by the birds or other types of wildlife, as it can be stressful in finding food and shelter, and migrants are sometimes blown off course from their usual routes. Of course such winds from these directions may hasten the migration of certain types of birds, such as raptors, as evidenced by significant movements observed at the various hawk watches. And when watching some of the gulls and terns over the lake these last few days....well it almost seems as if some of these strong fliers revel in it.

These conditions are instrumental in shaping the landscape, particularly shorelines, as anyone who has waterfront property can attest. Sand spits in particular, being initially formed by water currents and wave action, are also altered by them.

I've shown this first photo previously, but it is relevant to today's post. The pier provides shelter from the prevailing winds and waves, but it also interrupts the shoreline currents and causes long-term deposition of sand on one side. This results in the severe loss and erosion on the other side. Before this pier was constructed in the 1800s, the beach of Erieau on the left more or less aligned with the south beach of Rondeau Provincial Park, on the right. This photo taken in 1989 shows how much a century or more of interference with the normal water currents has modified the shoreline. Erieau is being built up, and anyone who has been to Rondeau is well aware of the major erosion along the shorelines there.

These next few photos show what was happening at Erieau in the last few days. Clearly it was not advisable to be walking out on the pier! Even the gulls, terns, cormorants and shorebirds which are often seen there were not doing so these days. The first three images were taken on Friday.

 The next images were taken on Saturday. Note the difference in the colour of the water....clearly a muddier look to it due to the roiled lake. Needless to say, it was a thrilling (and damp) time to be so close to these forces of nature in action.

The beach is normally connected to the base of the pier at this point. The continuing spilling over of the waves has washed that away.

This next image shows the water pouring into the campground, which is at least 100 metres from the channel.

There were dozens, probably at least 100, Horned Grebes flying back and forth in the troughs formed by the waves. This group of 20+ was taking shelter in the relative quiet on the western side of the pier.

There were hundreds of gulls and terns flying along the lakeshore at times. Occasionally they would be soaring high up and other times they would disappear in the trough between the 3 metre high waves, only to wheel up again. When they got tired of this, they would come to rest on a quiet stretch of the beach. An occasional jaeger would be seen well out, and almost always too far away to conclusively identify it to species, but it was believed that all three species....Parasitic, Long-tailed and Pomarine.....had been seen.

A Black Tern was noted on a few occasions, and at one point came in close enough to attempt a photo.

Ducks of various species were seen, including scaup, mergansers and scoters, but always too far out to photograph. Small numbers of shorebirds were noted, including Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling and White-rumped Sandpiper. At one point a possible Purple Sandpiper flew by mixed in with some Sanderling.

Black-bellied Plover

White-rumped Sandpiper

There are at least a couple of Sanderling in the spilled-over water in foreground of this next image.

One of the main attractions of being at Erieau these last few days was the occurrence of up to four Sabine's Gulls. Given that they moved around a lot, it is impossible to know how many for sure, but this species was first noted on Wednesday and sometimes two or more were seen daily until Saturday. All were juveniles.

I first saw one on Wednesday afternoon. Steve Charbonneau had seen one shortly after day break that day. When I arrived mid-morning, he and I got side-tracked by the sight of a jaeger off in the distance. We are sure it was a Long-tailed, but cannot be conclusive due to the lighting and distance. At any rate, there was no further sign of the Sabine's. However later in the day when I returned to Erieau and started scanning the lake under much better light conditions, I did observe a Sabine's Gull out over the lake, and coming my way. In the few seconds it took to reach for my camera anticipating the bird getting within shooting distance....I lost it and did not see it again.

Fast forward to Saturday, and one or more were reported at various times, but never where I was. I was actually at the Rondeau entrance, in hopes that the sheltered area at the north end of the park would have a few gulls, terns, etc. There were gulls and terns, and rafts of ducks but I never looked through them all. It was then when Steve texted me to say that a Sabine's was on the water between the Erieau marina and the western tip of the Rondeau sand spit. Fifteen minutes later I was there, only to be advised that a Peregrine Falcon had come through moments earlier scattering the gulls. We looked and looked, and eventually noted the Sabine's flying with a few other gulls over the surf near the rocks east of the pier. After awhile, it returned to the relative quiet water along the Rondeau sand spit. It was a distant shot, with the bird bouncing around on the waves so focus was challenging, so most of my images were not kept. Here are a couple of the better ones. (Camera info: Canon 7DII, Canon 500mm II f/4, Canon 1.4X III, ISO 800-1600, 1/800-1/1600 sec, f/5.6 or f/4.5)

In between my times at Erieau, I ventured elsewhere to look around Rondeau Bay. Shrewsbury was a definite stop, as the sheltered area to the southwest of the dock area was good for gulls and terns. Upwards of 500 or more gulls, mostly Bonaparte's were arriving and resting on the water, but I couldn't see anything more unusual with them. A steady stream of Common Terns were passing through the area.

At least 20 Pied-billed Grebes and a few Horned Grebes were nearby. Some of the Pied-billed Grebes were right close to shore in the emergent vegetation.

Several small flocks of Rusty Blackbirds were working their way along the shoreline. These are the first I have seen this autumn.

In some of the larger drainage canals emptying into Rondeau Bay were some species taking shelter from the less favourable conditions on the bay.

Double-crested Cormorant

Redhead and Ruddy Duck

The weather looks like it is settling down for a few days, but who knows what has blown in waiting to be discovered? The occurrence yesterday of a Eurasian Dotterel along the Lake Huron shoreline is tantalizing, to be sure, but what else is out there?