Early January 2026 outings

 New Year's day dawned clear and cold. It was the date for the annual St. Clair NWA Christmas Bird Count. As usual, my territory started at SCNWA, along the northwest berm that is normally off limits to visitors which I have permission to access. It is very much out in the open, subject to wind. Since the day started off at about -13C and a wind chill making it to about -23C, it was not easy going, especially since I have to hike about 2 km or more, carrying a tripod and 'scope along with binoculars. 

This is what I encountered from a landscape perspective:

...and this was the adjacent St. Luke's Marsh a bit to the north.

 The vast majority of the wetland was frozen, not surprisingly given the recent weather, but as is often the case, there is a small area at the extreme NW part of my route which has open water. And  there are many individuals of waterfowl making use of it, hence the need for the 'scope. The birds were packed in so it was difficult to pick out anything unusual, but there were many hundreds of Mallards and Canada Geese with a few Tundra Swans and American Black Ducks there as well.

Some readers will be aware that the NWA was closed to public access for three months while some trail/bridge alterations were made. It re-opened just before the end of December, fortunately for the CBC. Here is the new bridge structure...

...and the view from the bridge looking generally south:

After covering this part of my territory I went elsewhere, and fortunately came across a few more things, such as a few Dark-eyed Juncos coming to a feeder....

...a few Northern Cardinals along a roadway...

....and four Wild Turkeys scattered well out in a field

An Eastern Screech Owl was cooperatively sitting out in plain view.

At another spot, a small amount of corn was present at the roadside, and the birds found it. There were several Horned Larks, which are sometimes hard to get photos of. As it turns out, the American Birding Association has declared the Horned Lark to be its featured Bird of the Year.

A few other winter birds were also making use of the corn availability, including a species that is always fun to see.

Snow Bunting

 

Mourning Dove

Elsewhere, there were always crows to see!

 I 'managed' to get to Rondeau on a couple of occasions a few days later. While birds were not abundant where I hiked, I got a few photos of things. This sub-adult Bald Eagle was surprisingly tolerant along the east South Point Trail on my way out...

...but on my return had decided to move a little farther away, on a white pine branch right at the edge of the forest.

A Fox Sparrow is not common at this time of year, but I got a few photos of this one along the north end of Harrison Trail.

 Northern Cardinals are scattered about....

...as are Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

On another occasion I walked the west side of the SPT. A wind storm had knocked over a dead American Beech tree across the trail. No doubt as American Beech trees continue to be affected by the deadly Beech Leaf Disease, this will become a more regular occurrence. I brought this to the attention of park staff, and was advised the next day that the trail had been cleared.

The view from the very south end of the trail is always intriguing as the shoreline with ice and waves are constantly causing change.

A quick trip to Erieau had a fair variety of water birds to see, but most were too far to attempt a photo. However American Coots are usually fairly close by.

 

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Winter shorebirds, etc.

 One doesn't expect the words 'winter' and 'shorebirds' to go together very often, especially in mid-winter after quite a few days of colder than average temperatures and a bit of snow. Yet it happens, as was the case yesterday.

There is a creek not far south of Blenheim where it is fed by some underground springs coming off of the ridge, a feature left over from the last ice age. And it is here, where a Wilson's Snipe can usually be found in the winter at some point. In some years it can be quite predictable, whereas in other years, such as the current one, it can be hard to catch up to. Most local birders, myself included, have stopped by on several occasions trying to see it, but without success. It seems that the colder and snowier the winter gets, the more likely it is to be seen closer to the road.

Here is a photo that I took several years ago when it was relatively close to the road. 

Yesterday I stopped by and initially didn't see any sign of it. An interesting looking dark clump way down the creek prompted me to get the scope out to check. It wasn't the snipe. But since I had the scope out, I began checking out other spots, and then it came into sight, about 75 metres away. This next photo is at the equivalent of a 15X binocular. While most birders use something at about 8X, one can assume that such a well camouflaged bird would not show up very easily. When one knew exactly where the bird was, one could see it.

And here is a highly cropped photo, at about 105X. That explains a bit of the graininess of the photo, but at least it is an identifiable record shot.

This 'snipe' creek, with its open water, has attracted other birds as well. An American Black Duck has been there on several occasions, but well away from the road. A Rusty Blackbird was there on one occasion......

.....and a Great Blue Heron on another.

Along the grassy roadside quite close to this creek were three, and occasionally four, Eastern Meadowlarks. They were very skittish, and one had to attempt photos from the vehicle. Any hint of something outside the vehicle caused them to fly well out of camera range. So as to not stress the birds any more than necessary as a vehicle passes, photography was limited to distant shots, greatly cropped. On one occasion I at least had the sun more or less in my favour.

A subsequent trip and the closest bird was not well lit, especially with a bright snowy background.

While I have seen a Northern Mockingbird in the area immediately adjacent to the creek on a couple of occasions, I have not yet been able to get a photo. Maybe next time....

It was a two species shorebird day. A short distance north of Rondeau is a seepage spot right along the road. Most winters will see a Killdeer show up here, at least for a few days. One wonders where this bird has been, as the past few days and even weeks have been mostly below normal temperatures and there hasn't been any open water to speak of. Obviously this bird had survived up until now.

Traveling back roads can turn up a few other things. Raptors don't usually cooperate, but this Rough-legged Hawk did allow a relatively close approach, with photos through the open window.

Horned Larks were mostly absent a month or so ago, but in the last couple of weeks they have been fairly abundant along roadsides and adjacent fields.

Snow Buntings have also been commonly seen along roadsides.

I haven't spent a lot of time at Rondeau in the last few days, but when I am in the vicinity searching out some of the above mentioned birds, I stop in for a walk and look around. White-tailed Deer aren't normally out and about in the middle of the day, but this one, along with two others, were out in the open along Lakeshore Road on a relatively busy Sunday afternoon.

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Hints of spring

 It looks like we are going to get a taste of spring or at least a teaser, as locally, the temperatures for the next 10 days are forecast to be slightly above freezing. With the warmer day time temperatures, and the still below freezing night time temperatures, I expect that those people in the maple syrup producing business will be getting excited.

There actually have been a few hints of spring besides the weather or the progressing days on the calendar. Indeed, waterfowl have started to pair up, and their feathered plumage looks fresh and inviting. A recent check of the water outlet along the Thames River has some impressively plumaged birds.

A male Redhead, shown first, is looking dapper.

A pair of Redheads were taking a nap in close proximity to each other.

There have been at least three Wood Ducks at this spot, but this photo just shows the not-to-be-confused with any other duck species colouration. Although they are smaller than a Mallard, it was interesting to watch them act aggressively towards the Mallards, getting them to move out of the way.

American Black Duck

In spite of the Mallard, or 'greenhead', being so abundant and taken for granted, there is no question that it is a distinct and nice looking bird.

The female, shown next, is much more subtle.

Common Goldeneye, female

Hooded Merganser, female

Snow Geese are not to be expected at this location. But for one day, six of them were hanging out. There were 4 white birds and two of the 'blue' colour phase.

Even some of the adult gulls, such as this Herring Gull, are looking crisper and cleaner in their developing breeding plumage.

Other signs of spring are around. For example it is a good idea to check existing raptor nests, especially those of Bald Eagles. I checked the one just east of St. Clair NWA on the weekend, and saw a full adult at the nest. It was hard to tell if it was incubating due to all the branches, or whether it was just inspecting the nest. Regardless, other eagle nests such as the one near Shrewsbury in south Chatham-Kent have had an adult sitting in an incubating posture for several days now, so the nesting has begun for that species. While I was checking the nest near SCNWA, a 4th year eagle was soaring over the road I was on and I got a few quick photos. The head and tail are not completely white like a full adult, but it is developing as a probable 4th year bird, and 4th year birds are known to be of breeding age. It was not conclusive whether this is the mate of the one on the nest, but being as close as it was, is possible.

Another sign of approaching spring is the arrival of so many Horned Larks. There are hundreds and hundreds of them along the roadsides. They are one of the earliest migrants to return and while they aren't quite into nesting mode, it won't be long before they are paired up and establishing their territory.

In addition to Horned Larks along the roadsides and fields, there are lots of Snow Buntings to enjoy. They've got a long way north to go before they get to their breeding grounds....

.....as have Lapland Longspurs. They are not nearly as numerous as the previous two species shown.

An even more careful look at some of the roadside birds may turn up a Savannah Sparrow, a quite uncommon species here in mid-winter.

In other news, there are still flocks of geese and swans around. It wasn't that long ago that seeing Tundra Swans in winter was quite unusual, but with the shortening of winter in recent years, there are a fair number of swans that stick around. It is likely that there are at least a couple of thousand here in Chatham-Kent.

I checked out the Bear Creek Unit of SCNWA on the weekend, and the Chenal Ecarte, which separates Chatham-Kent from Walpole Island First Nation, has some open water. And there were at least a thousand waterfowl. Most were Mallards, but there were lots of Tundra Swans and Canada Geese, as well as a few Convasback, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Goldeneye and Hooded Merganser. The main bunch of waterfowl were not really close, and one had to look into the sun, so it is likely there were a few other species present that I didn't pick out.

It won't be long before there are tens of thousands of waterfowl arriving.