Birds, birds and more birds....'tis the season!

 While I haven't been out enough to maximize the number of birds around, I have been out and managed to get a good representation of the masses of birds that have arrived, or are in the process of arriving.

Certainly one of the recent highlights was the one-day wonder of an American White Pelican that showed up along the Erieau Marsh Trail. I managed to get a variety of photos, with it swimming, resting and even in flight as it took a quick aerial tour of the area in front of me.

I had this Belted Kingfisher come by, and while it was hovering before diving for a fish, I caught it.

A couple of Semi-palmated Plover were roaming on the far muddy shore.

 Not a bird, but a pair of what appears to be two female Snapping Turtles wrestling around. I'm not sure what they were up to.

Also not a bird, but an unusual sight was to see these two Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles along the muddy edge of the marsh trail. They are an endangered species, but there seems to be a reasonably healthy population in the Rondeau Bay area.

They are sometimes called the 'pancake turtle', and when they flatten themselves out, it is easy to see how they got this name.

Northern Map Turtle (l) and Midland Painted Turtle

 This Eastern Kingbird popped into view for a few minutes.

I spent a bit of time roaming beyond the normal birding hotspots, partially to follow up on an unusual sighting in Chatham-Kent. Fellow blogger Quinten Wiegersma reported this Common Raven nest a bit north of Thamesville. It isn't in the greatest spot for viewing, let alone photographing, but there it was, a nest on the side of a silo.

At least one head of a young raven was showing from time to time.

Not nearly as unexpected as a Common Raven, this pair of Osprey had set up a  nest along a fairly busy road, and railroad, between Prairie Siding and Longwoods Road that leads to Tilbury. This species has at least attempted to nest in C-K in the past, but I don't recall any confirmation of success. This nest is easy to keep tabs on, so perhaps it will be successful in spite of the busyness of the immediate area.

While roaming about, I noticed this pair of Wild Turkeys near a wooded area.

I haven't been to Rondeau as much as in past years, but hopefully that will increase a bit in the near future. And those times when I have been out, the birds have been somewhat scarce. But I haven't done too badly, considering the amount of time spent. I have managed photos of the following:

Hairy Woodpecker

This next one is probably a Least Flycatcher. At least it has the general characteristics of one, but it wasn't singing, so Empidonax flycatchers are sometimes difficult to determine with absolute certainty.

 Lots of vireos are around, such as this Blue-headed one.

A Northern Flicker was busily digging out a nest hole.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are relatively common.

Of course Song Sparrows are fairly plentiful almost year round.

This Veery posed nicely on a fallen log.

White-crowned Sparrows are sort of plentiful, but not for long....

...as are Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Green Herons are often only partially seen....

...and sometimes one can get a relatively unobscured view and photo.

Along one of the Mitchell's Bay trails, I had this Eastern Bluebird in my sights....

...and Great Egrets are often quite cooperative for the camera.

This Greater Yellowlegs was squawking its disapproval of me along the trail.

A walk through nearby Paxton's Bush on the north side of Chatham is close to home, and a pleasant walk when it isn't too crowded.

Great Horned Owls returned this winter, and this youngster was sitting up nicely.

This family of Mallard ducklings were quite content along the trail. Mother Mallard was very close by.

The Black-billed Magpies continue to occupy a territory not far from Shrewsbury. It  isn't clear what  stage of nesting they are at, as initially they were seen carrying nesting material into the upper part of a spruce tree, but more recently they seem to have begun nesting in a White Cedar. At least they are persisting, and only time will tell if they are successful.

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Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and more birds

 An adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was the star of local birding in the last couple of days.

It was seen at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands, at the pond closest to the house. It was quite tolerant of the dozens of birders who came and went over several hours, giving extremely good views.  The parking lot to the property got filled up quickly, and undoubtedly will continue to do so as the weekend has arrived.

There have been a few records for the Rondeau area in the past, but none since 1999, although with the extensive habitat present in the Rondeau vicinity, it is entirely possible that more have come and gone without being recognized. I have seen two, both an adult at a slough along Harrison Trail, and a sub-adult in a slough at the west end of Gardiner Ave, and managed to get photos of both.

Most of the time while I was present, the bird was standing on one leg, as herons often do. It does have both legs, as this next photo shows.

While birding, at least related to migration, has slowed down somewhat, there has been a continuing trickle of migrants. Shorebirds in particular have been around where there is suitable habitat. A few days ago, the Erieau Rail Trail was good to see shorebirds. Black-bellied Plovers are always a highlight to see. There were at least 40 present while I was there, and showed various stages of plumage as the following two photos illustrate.

Dunlin are pretty regular....and were photographed along the beach/lake in the townsite of Erieau...

....as are Sanderling.....

...and Semiplamated Sandpipers. I saw them also along the Rail Trail, but were too far away to get photos like these. Clearly the sandy/gravel beach was not on the mudflat!

Still along the Rail Trail were other birds on the shore, but not 'shorebirds' per se. Three or four Canvasback have been seen regularly. It is hard to know why they are still present, as they should be farther west and busily nesting.

This Mute Swan family also fell into that same 'shorebird' category.

The family of Great Horned Owls continue to be seen, at least from a distance. There are two owlets here, although the one at the lower right of the photo only shows a partial pic.

Other wildlife show up from time to time, including this family of Groundhog while I was photographing the plovers. There were actually two youngsters but the other one had already skedaddled out of the camera frame as this one was in the process of doing.....

...leaving momma to go back and keep an eye on them.

A visit to the Mitchell's Bay area turned up a few things. Black-bellied Plovers again, this time with some out in a field along the North Shore Trail, and a few more on the mudflats between the trail and the lake.

This one-legged Dunlin was able to hop around fairly easily, but I am unsure as to whether it could get enough to feed on to attain the energy required to get it to its northern breeding territory.

A single Ruddy Turnstone in fairly full breeding plumage was there....

...as were three Semipalmated Plovers.

Great Egrets are, of course, quite regular since there is a breeding colony a couple of kilometres away. When they are at the edge of a pond feeding, I find them quite wary and quick to depart.

If I come across one in a tree, they seem to feel much safer looking down on me and allow a closer approach without showing much concern.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes flew by. There is often a pair in the area.

And Mute Swans....what can I say. There are usually several dozen within view, although since this one, I thought, was photogenic so I obliged.

An Eastern Kingbird paused briefly for a photo shoot.

On an outing to Rondeau a few days ago, I was concentrating mainly on forest photography. The smoky skies allowed for an evenness in the light, reducing the contrast one will typically encounter on a bright sunny day. More on that in a future post. But I kept an eye and ear open for birds, and came across these along Tuliptree Trail. Most were in the lower canopy, giving some challenging light conditions to work with.

There were at least a dozen Cedar Waxwings....

...and the local, resident Acadian Flycatcher cooperated better than usual.

Hunkered down into some regenerating Green Ash was this Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

Continuing with a flycatcher theme, in a more open spot with a blue sky, was this Eastern Wood-Pewee.

And a stop at the grassy field area of Clear Creek Forest Prov Park, turned up at least 20 Bobolink claiming territory. Most were males. They didn't get too close to my vantage point, however, other than the occasional one.

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