Early November birding

There have been some interesting rarities in various parts of Ontario recently....for example a Gannet, Mountain Bluebird, Western Tanager, King Eider, Harlequin Duck and American Avocet..... but they seem to have missed Chatham-Kent so far. But that could change at any time, which keeps birders out looking and hoping. We got spoiled a bit last year with the first Canadian record of Great Kiskadee that showed up several times from early September to early December. But there are birds around to be enjoyed anyway, and just getting out even without seeing rarities is still very much worthwhile.

Carolina Wrens are always a treat to see up close. They are never very common, but more or less permanent residents.

 Red-bellied Woodpecker is also a permanent resident and pretty regular in small numbers.

 Most warbler species have departed, although some linger. The occasional Yellow-rumped Warbler, shown below, may even be around throughout the winter if there are enough berries for them to subsist on.

 Ruby-crowned Kinglets have been quite abundant lately, migrating from their breeding grounds to points that will mostly be far south of here. Some may linger at least for the local bird counts coming up in a few weeks.

 Chipping Sparrow, are also fairly abundant, but will be mostly gone in another few short weeks.

 Mixed flocks of blackbirds, made up of Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Rusty Blackbirds and Common Grackles, are fairly plentiful. This next photo shows a small portion of a medium sized flock along Rondeau's Lakeshore Road earlier this week. All of the 4 species listed here were represented in this flock.

 Once in awhile there is a medium to even large-sized flock of mostly one species. That was the case earlier this week, when there were several flocks including a very large one along the south end of Lakeshore Road, made up almost entirely of Rusty Blackbirds. This species is considered At Risk due to their declining numbers. They nest in the wetlands of the boreal forest region of northern Ontario and other provinces. They used to be seen regularly in spring and fall migration in large numbers, but not so much lately. The ones I saw on this day totalled at least 800 birds which is the most I recall having seen on one occasion in quite a few years. It was fairly late in the day when I saw these, so was unable to get any photos of the flock, just the occasional bird that happened to be close by and reasonably visible. A high ISO and lots of photo processing was the only way I could even make use of any of the photos I took.

 In more open areas, groups of American Pipits can be seen, but usually in flight. This one happened to land on a hydro wire long enough for a photo or two.

 In the waterbirds category, there are lots of waterfowl around. The most interesting ones I have seen lately were these two Greater White-fronted Geese, at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands (KMCL). There are lots of waterfowl there as it is off limits to hunting.

 At least two or three dozen Hooded Mergansers have been hanging out there as well.

 Shorebirds are a little more tolerant of photographers, since they aren't hunted. But the season for their migration has mostly passed. A few species are lingering and busily feeding to get the energy for the next leg of their southern migration. Some of them have to go all the way to southern South America.

Dunlin are probably the most abundant shorebird around this late. Flocks of 30-55 or more birds have been seen in various places.

 Greater Yellowlegs are still around in small numbers. I saw at least a dozen at the Keith McLean property yesterday.

 What I found interesting was that in the declining ponds of the KMCL, there were a few small fish that were being fed on by these yellowlegs. Most of the time, this shorebird feeds on much smaller fare, including aquatic invertebrates, but I expect there is a fair bit of energy to be gained by gobbling up a few fish.

 Pectoral Sandpipers are virtually gone with only a couple at KMCL recently.....

 ...and White-rumped Sandpipers, never very common even on fall migration, are quite rare now. This one only had one and a half legs, with the one leg missing the section below the knee. It could fly fine, but did have a bit of difficulty hopping along on the mud with only one useful leg.

 The diminutive Least Sandpiper, with its yellowish-green legs, are really hard to find these days, but there have been a couple at KMCL, and this one at the Blenheim lagoons today.

 Long-billed Dowitchers, here in the last photo, are usually few and far between, but show up in small numbers towards the latter part of the shorebird migration. These two were still present at the Blenheim lagoons today.

With the colder than normal temperatures which have arrived recently, shorebird habitat is quickly disappearing. Even the Blenheim lagoons are partly frozen, so hopefully the lingering shorebirds have put on enough fat to get them to where they should be.

Four winter shorebirds in four weeks

It hasn't exactly been shorebird weather, but I'm now up to four species in Chatham-Kent in the last three and a half weeks. It has been the tale of two winters, with an unusually mild beginning up until late January, and then the brutal cold and freezing rain over the last few weeks. So the first two species of the new year, Dunlin and Purple Sandpiper, were late lingering ones and presumably left mere hours before the arrival of the polar vortex.

Dunlin is to be expected, as it is a regular and sometimes abundant spring, autumn and early winter migrant. The Purple Sandpiper normally comes through somewhere in Ontario in the late fall and early winter, but the latter part of 2018 was almost totally devoid of this species anywhere in Ontario. Only two birds were reported until I came across this one on January 18, at Erieau, traveling in the company of the Dunlin.

Wilson's Snipe is not normally a wintering species, but one has been found annually in a creek that never freezes southeast of Blenheim. It is not a guarantee anytime one checks on it. I have seen it less than half the time I've looked for it.

Yesterday, Keith reported seeing a Killdeer along Rose Beach Line, just east of Rondeau. As I was headed out that way anyway, it was easy to check it out. (I stopped to look for the snipe on the way out, without seeing it.) There are a couple of seeps in a low spot close to the road which even in the coldest weather seldom seems to freeze, although it might get snow covered. And there it was.

It was feeding in the saturated grassy area adjacent to the bit of ice. At times it would venture right out onto the ice, looking quite out of place!

The bird was seen shivering, which is not something I recall having seen before. Given the weather though, perhaps it was not such a surprise. It was there until at least early afternoon, but by mid-afternoon it had moved out of sight. Killdeer are typically an early spring arrival and often appear by late February or early March. However, maybe this one felt just a little too enamoured with the brisk southwesterly winds of the previous day or so, and decided it had jumped the gun on its spring migration and returned to a warmer climate.

What shorebird species will be next? Probably American Woodcock, although I had a Lesser Yellowlegs on Feb 27, 2017!

Natural Areas of Chatham-Kent, Part 10 (Blenheim Sewage Lagoons)

Okay so the idea of a sewage lagoon maybe doesn't sound like much of a natural area. But wildlife have a different perspective, and therefore a complex of sewage lagoons is very much a magnet for wildlife.

If anyone has been out in the prairie pothole region of North America, you may realize that potholes filled with water are common place. Certain types of wildlife in particular are attracted to these potholes. So to wildlife passing through Chatham-Kent, and other areas where sewage lagoons are present, this concentration of 'potholes' filled with water are ideal places to visit, and in some cases nest at. As a result, some species historically found much farther west, have expanded their range to include sewage lagoons in southern Ontario.

These lagoons are easy to find for humans, as well. This particular set is located just west of Blenheim and north of Hwy 3/Talbot Trail on, appropriately named, Lagoon Road.

There is a condition for visiting, however, and that is an annual permit which is required to ensure not just anyone goes in and to protect the municipality from liability. The permit system has been in place for these lagoons since the mid 1980s, and is available from the municipal centre in Blenheim, located next to the post office.

To date there have been ~235 species of birds recorded here. What is so attractive to wildlife? I'm glad you asked.

Water birds, especially ducks, need places where they can rest safely from terrestrial predators.

Ducks, herons and shorebirds can feed on the abundant aquatic life, including invertebrates, fish, frogs, etc.

Shorebirds of various types are abundant especially during the spring and fall, including the Spotted Sandpiper shown above and Lesser Yellowlegs shown below.

Sometimes shorebirds can be extremely abundant.

Others are regular, but less common.

Short-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Dowitcher

Wilson's Phalarope

 Wilson's Phalarope is really a species of the prairie pothole region, which has nested at these sewage lagoons on occasion. In the photo of them below, in their breeding plumage, it is the female that is the more brightly coloured, as it is the male that does most of the incubating.

Still other shorebird species are unusual, and if they occur immediately attract interest from other keen birders.

American Avocet

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Marbled Godwit

Species of ducks that are more typical of the mid-western regions are more common place now, and include the following two species, both of which have attempted to breed here:

Northern Shoveler

Ruddy Duck

The next species, Greater White-fronted Goose, does not breed, but is sometimes seen on migration.

 It is sometimes called speckle-belly, due to the pattern of its belly shown here.

The waters of a sewage lagoon are nutrient rich, as one might expect, and this means aquatic insects are abundant. Land birds such as swallows benefit immensely from insect hatches. This is most evident during periods of cool weather when insects might not be available over the land, but with the warmer water retaining heat and with multitudes of insects hatching and becoming air borne, swallows can feed over these ponds to sustain themselves at a critical time. If one wants to see this, visit the lagoons during a cold spell. For example during a cold spell in mid-May of 2017 when the temperatures dropped close to freezing, there were thousands of swallows swooping over the water feeding, or resting on the berms separating the ponds.

 Tree Swallows were the most abundant, but Cliff Swallows and others were present in larger than usual numbers.

Cliff Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Tree Swallow

The shrubs surrounding the lagoon complex can be a great spot for land birds, especially on migration.

Rusty Blackbird

With such concentrations of birds, raptors that feed on birds such as Peregrine Falcon, are periodically attracted to the site.

Other species of wildlife are found, as well, with some being rare.....

Cattle Egret

 ...some uncommon....

Short-eared Owl

....and some not so rare.

Groundhog

The very openness of the lagoon complex and with it being so accessible to birders due to the berms surrounding the ponds, make it a great spot for birders. Having said that, since it is easy for humans to see wildlife, keep in mind that wildlife, which have great vision and survival instincts, can see humans even better and may be difficult to approach. Binoculars are a must, and a scope is highly recommended.

With all of the openness, there are lots of wildflowers present around the edges, making it a great spot for butterflies as well. It is a regular stopping point for us in our annual Butterfly Count in mid July, but it is sometimes better in the late summer when plants such as New England Aster, which is a favourite nectaring plant for butterflies, are abundant. The first three species are common here, as are others.

Clouded Sulphur

Common Ringlet

Orange Sulphur

 The next two species are rare and irregularly found here in spite of their names.

Common Buckeye

Common Checkered-skipper

All in all, sewage lagoons are a great place to find wildlife......you may be surprised!