More early bird action

It is that up and down weather so typical of spring. Sunny and mild one day; blustery with cold rain and even snow the next. Nevertheless, birds are attempting to move north as evidenced by some of the latest findings.

A couple of trips to the Rondeau Provincial Park area in the past few days has been worthwhile. Sparrows are a typical early season migrant, and there has been no shortage of them. There have been lots of Chipping Sparrows....

 ....I got my first Savannah Sparrow of the spring.

 ....Song Sparrows are everywhere.

 ....I had at least 4 Vesper Sparrows on one occasion.

I also got my first Swamp Sparrow of the spring, although no photo as it scurried amongst the branches and fallen logs in a slough. There are still lots of American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos present, and an occasional White-throated Sparrow has shown up.

The sloughs are also good for Rusty Blackbirds, although I haven't seen hordes of them yet. Hopefully there are more to come. It is a declining species in Ontario, but not officially At Risk yet.

There have been lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets, although in their continuous active search for food, it is hard to get them in focus long enough for a photo. At least the cooler weather has kept them down low.

 Eastern Phoebes can be seen throughout....sometimes along the forested edges of Lakeshore Road, and other times deep in the forest playing hide-and-seek amongst the trees. They will be nesting very shortly, if they haven't started already.

 There has been an occasional Yellow-bellied Sapsucker noted over the winter, hanging out at the north end of the park. This is the first one I have seen in the forest, so a spring migrant.

On one of my trips around the Spicebush Trail, I had 5 species of woodpecker, missing only Red-headed. There haven't been any spring arrivals of Red-headeds yet that I am aware of, although there has been an occasional one overwinter somewhere in the extreme southwest. Hairy Woodpecker is not as commonly seen as it used to be, and photo ops are even fewer in my experience. This one cooperated for me for a few seconds.

Hairy Woodpecker

Killdeer have been back for awhile now, and their nesting season has begun. One of the adults is usually pretty close to the nest, especially during this cold wet weather. They aren't incubating yet....that won't likely start until the third of four eggs is laid.

Killdeer nest

Some of the park's other wildlife provided photo ops in my travels, including this larva of some insect which was resting on the top rail of one of the boardwalks. I don't expect it to get much older given the exposure and wet weather.

Sandhill Cranes are a normal occurrence these days, which is nice compared to the rarity that they were a couple of decades ago. The first nesting record for the Rondeau area occurred about 15 years ago, and there are probably 2-3 pairs that nest annually now. It might have nested historically, but probably at least a century or more ago and was never recorded to my knowledge. This pair was apparently gleaning residue from a nearby soyabean field just outside the park.

The weekend looks promising, and the camping season at Rondeau begins tomorrow (Apr 7).

Sunny days in the forest

Sunny days are here....I'm sure you noticed!

The forests of Rondeau are looking more like spring every day. The sloughs are full of water, with green plants starting to appear.

 I noted my first of season Ribbon Snake along the Tuliptree Trail. It looks much like an Eastern Garter Snake, but the yellow stripes are brighter and the contrast with the black is more distinct. It also spends more time in wet woods, unlike the garter.

Wildflowers are starting to appear. Hepatica, of which there are both Sharp-lobed and Round-lobed types, are fairly abundant along some trails, especially the Spicebush Trail. The leaves are slower to develop than the flowers, but the six-petalled flowers are obvious. They can be bright white or have a bluish or purplish tinge to them.

Butterflies have been active on the sunnier days. Yesterday I saw Eastern Comma, Mourning Cloak and Red Admiral.

Eastern Comma

Mourning Cloak

The Red Admiral didn't stick around long enough for a photo. It was trying to get to the tree sap that was flowing out of the holes this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker had made, but the sapsucker was busily chowing down on the sap as well as some of the smaller flying insects that were attracted to the sap, so the butterfly didn't take any chances. Sapsuckers are getting more abundant these days.

In the more open areas, I came across a pair of Killdeer. One of the adults was at the nest until it saw me heading its way.

My first Killdeer nest of the season

This nest is in the parking lot near the churches and tennis courts. A nest close by in 2015 did not survive. Maybe this one will have better success.

Also in the grassy areas nearby were at least 3 Vesper Sparrows and a dozen Chipping Sparrows. The Vespers do not stay in the park for long, as they nest in open and grassy agricultural areas. Chippies are common and widespread throughout the open area of the park, especially where there are coniferous trees.

Three White-tailed Deer were grazing nearby. Their winter coats are looking a little rough these days, as their heavy brown coat is beginning to shed. By late May, they will be their usual reddish-brown.

In some of the sheltered grassy wetlands, Leopard Frogs are noticeably abundant as they are in full mating season. One pond I noted had at least 36 frogs, and some egg clusters were visible as a result of some successful mating. The one in this next image is in full 'song'.....its pouches just behind the eye are inflated, as it gives its snore-like call.

I have almost stopped measuring trees these days, now that the weather is getting warmer and ticks are out. I've tracked down a few more big trees, however, such as this Red Oak that measures 95 cm dbh. It is located just a bit south of Bennett Avenue.

This next one is a Tuliptree, and at about 125 cm dbh, is the largest one of that species I've measured so far. It is located along Rondeau Road, a bit north of Gardiner Avenue.

Enjoy the great weather in southwestern Ontario over these next few days! And beware of ticks...I've already has some Black-legged Ticks (a.k.a. Deer Ticks) on my pants!