Happy Birthday Rondeau!

Today marks the 126th birthday of Rondeau Provincial Park. A year ago we had a nice celebration of former and current park staff, as well as numerous visitors. This year, with the park being closed, there is no on-site celebration, and in fact most people won't even be aware of this milestone at all, unless you are reading about it here. So consider yourself one of the knowledgeable few.

All of the parks in the provincial park system, including Rondeau, have been closed since March 19. No one is allowed in at Rondeau, other than cottagers, although I have heard that some folks are ignoring the closed signs and status. They do so at their own risk, since the potential fines can be substantial.

I was last in the park on March 18, the day before it was closed as it turned out, so I can only imagine what might be happening over the last few weeks. With the spring bird migration normally in full swing right now, one can only wonder what might be arriving without being seen. Perhaps there would be some new species for the park checklist, and no one is there to document the event! In the meantime, I will dig into my photo files and provide some idea of what may have occurred.

The first two photos were taken earlier this year, just before the park was closed. The mood even then was sombre, perhaps a foreboding of the future closure, with the foggy light filtering through the still mostly dormant forest.

 Wood Ducks had appeared.

 The leaves of an uncommon orchid, Puttyroot, were still visible late in the winter. They will then dry up and disappear as the flowering spike then develops to be in flower in early June.

But as the spring slowly unfurled, here are a few things that have likely occurred, or arrived. Blue Jays were fairly common this winter. Some will have moved back north.

 American Robins have arrived in numbers outside the park, so one can only expect that there are many of them inside, busily carrying on with their usual routines.

 Eastern Towhees have arrived.

 Spring wildflowers are emerging, such as Bloodroot, one of the earliest.

 Sharp-lobed Hepatica, as defined by the pointed leaf structure, will have undoubtedly almost finished by now.

 Spicebush is an abundant shrub, thriving in the damp soils that are so common at Rondeau. There is often a yellow hue to the forest understorey about now, indicating the abundance of this fragrant shrub.

 Dutchman's Breeches are common on the higher, drier parts of the forested ridges.

 A somewhat rare plant, Wood Violet, should be in flower in the next few days. It only occurs in a few small spots in the more northerly parts of Rondeau. Will anyone be able to enjoy it this year?

 ....or that of the diminutive False Mitrewort, the delicate flowers of which are barely half a centimetre in diameter?

 Red Trillium is not nearly as common as its white, provincial counterpart, but is widespread and as their average first flowering date is about May 4, should be in flower right now.

 Sometimes there are unusual forms of the Red Trillium to be found, such as this next one which I have seen on several occasions along the Spicebush Trail. Will it be there again in 2020, or has it completed its life cycle never to be seen again?

In another couple of weeks, this declining orchid will be in flower. Although its name is Showy Orchid, it is small and anything but showy unless one gets down to its level for a close-up view.

Of course birds are one of the things that many people look forward to at hotspots like Rondeau right about now. Undoubtedly they will arrive as usual, but will they notice the lack of birders with binoculars pointed in their direction? Probably not, I'm thinking. These first two species are some of the almost 40 species of warbler recorded at Rondeau, and are pretty common any year.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

 And then there are the less common ones, that always get a little more attention when they are found, such as Hooded Warbler....

 ....and including, of course, the unofficial bird of Rondeau, the Prothonotary Warbler. Rondeau remains the provincial, indeed the national, stronghold for this dazzling warbler.

 Common Nighthawks aren't so common any more, and to find one cooperatively resting on a visible branch along a trail is always a treat.

 The Red-headed Woodpecker, which used to be fairly common, is now far less often seen anywhere in Ontario, although in any given year there may be one or two pairs of them still nesting at Rondeau.

 The White-winged Dove has been back for a few weeks now so I am told. If its past behaviour is any indication, it will still be easily found by the time the park (hopefully!) opens up again.

As May continues, there will be other highlights, including an array of colourful butterflies flitting along the trails.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

 So regardless of the current closure of the fabulous natural areas that we tend to enjoy, and to some extent take for granted in both the Provincial and National park system, it is some consolation to know that nature will likely thrive nonetheless. In fact it is almost certain that there will be far fewer road killed critters adorning the roadways!

The sun will rise again and it is just a matter of time before we can enjoy these special places.

In the meantime, stay safe, and

Happy Birthday Rondeau!

The trickle continues

The spring migration of most species continues to trickle in. Of course many birders are anxious for a big push of birds, especially warblers and other passerines, but with the many north to east winds and very few weather systems with good south to southwest winds, the birds are not getting any help in arriving from their quite southerly wintering grounds. Nonetheless there is always something relatively new, or in larger numbers, to be found when birders put in the effort. There have been about 10 species of warbler reported so far, but according to most eBird reports, it is rare that a birder gets more than a couple of species a day. Hopefully in a week or so it will not be difficult to get 20 or more species of warbler in a day!

Yellow-rumped Warblers have been the most numerous, as expected. Some are fairly drab, not yet having attained their breeding plumage.

 More and more are looking quite dapper.

 I had my first Palm Warbler a couple of days ago. It was hanging around an open grassy area with several dozen Chipping Sparrows, as well as an ongoing Clay-colored Sparrow and a few Field Sparrows.

Palm Warbler

Clay-colored Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Other than Chipping Sparrows, found in open areas, the sparrow that is becoming the most numerous is the White-throated Sparrow, which is more often to be found scratching around in the leaves on the forest floor.

Hermit Thrushes are quite common.....

 ....but certainly are not the most common of the thrush family. That honour currently belongs to the American Robin.

Brown Creepers are a lot more common these days, but their small size and cryptic coloration makes them difficult to see.

The great thing about this time of year is that if the birds are few and far between, the wildflowers are showing well, so there is always something to see.

Spicebush

Last Saturday, just before I was heading out, I got a message that there was an Eared Grebe in the lake off of Erieau. This western species is not often seen in this area, so I made Erieau my first stop. Several others were there looking at the grebe already. It was not close, and could really only be satisfactorily seen through a scope. I attempted to get a record photo, but was barely successful, as this following photo was the best of the bunch. Its darker appearance, especially on the neck, as well as the more pointed tufted head, made it a relatively easy identification.

While it was nice to see here, I was fortunate to have seen dozens last July while travelling through southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and was also fortunate to have been able to get some fairly good photos of them in prime breeding plumage.

While we were at Erieau watching this grebe, a young Glaucous Gull was observed resting on the far breakwall. Its very large size and almost pure white colour really makes it stand out amongst the gulls.

The gulls got up and were flying around when all of a sudden we noticed about a dozen Willets flying in and landing on the armourstone surrounding the fish tug harbour. While at rest, they blended in really well against the colour and pattern of the armourstone, and initially we thought there were only 11. A closer look at the photo showed an even dozen.

The Erieau Rail trail hasn't been terribly productive lately, although there are always a few things to look at. Certainly the Wood Duck nesting box leaves a lot to be desired as a nesting feature, unless the ducks want one with an indoor swimming pool. I doubt it came with a sump pump, a feature I am glad to have at our place these days.

On the occasional sunny day, Painted Turtles will be out, soaking up some hard-to-come-by sunshine.

After leaving Erieau, I headed to the park. There wasn't much new to add to recent visits. I did stop at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands, as with the high water levels, portions of the fields are flooded, making it attractive to gulls and shorebirds. Steve C had seen about 27 Willets there yesterday. The smallest flooded area is visible from the road, but the better area for gulls and shorebirds is not. One has to walk along the very muddy edge of the trail (the trail itself was partially under water in places) to the bridge and just before crossing it, follow along the creek downstream. It paid off on this occasion. Several folks that I had talked to earlier indicated the Willets were not present, and not much else was either. But on my visit, I came across a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs and at least three Greater Yellowlegs, both expected species. However there were also two Willets, and I was able to get some fairly good photos, which were much better than the ones I got earlier at Erieau.

Gulls were noticeable by their absence on this visit. For some reason there was only this one Bonaparte's Gull at this spot, and there must have been something less than 100% about it, as it let me approach quite closely and never moved. Perhaps exhaustion, or perhaps ate something that didn't agree with it. Who knows...

There are always Red-winged Blackbirds about the wetland edges.

On Sunday afternoon, I decided to check out the Fletcher Ponds, between Merlin and Tilbury. It isn't a large area, but is kind of an oasis in the middle of extensive agricultural fields, so with the various ponds, shrubby areas and larger trees, you never know what might drop in. If you want to know a little more about the Fletcher Ponds, check out my blog post of about a year ago.  It doesn't take a long time to walk the trail and see what was there, and on this day there wasn't a lot. However I did see a few species and heard several Chorus Frogs. And I got my first Ring-necked Ducks there.

In just a couple of days, the month of May arrives. Over about a three week period, there will be a major influx of birders to southwestern Ontario, especially at places as well known for birds as Rondeau. Hopefully the birds will greatly outnumber the birders but there may be some days when they don't. It is always interesting to see the many people who arrive. Some of them you see annually at this time and are easily recognizable. Others will be new; perhaps it will be their first of many future trips to the park. And while some faces are well remembered from past years, others will not be, and have you stumped.