Early migration continues, nesting begins

 Spring is teasing us, and bringing back more birds, as well. A recent visit to St. Clair NWA didn't turn up a lot of migrants, as most of the wetland is still frozen. However there were lots of Red-winged Blackbirds scattered throughout. They were in the trees....

....and spread out amongst the remnant cattails. All were males, trying to establish their territory for when the females return in a few days.

I made a trip out to the mouth of the Thames River. The river is almost entirely open in the lower reaches, but when it enters Lake St. Clair, there is still lots of ice. I figured there would be lots of gulls, and I wasn't disappointed. There were easily 4-5000, but most were too far out at the edge of the ice. I had hoped for some of the rarer species, but all I saw were the more expected ones. However the ones that were in close are always an interesting study. There are numerous 'battles' over a dead fish. Given the number of dead fish lying on the ice, one would think there was enough for all, but most had been picked over. These Herring Gulls were by far the most common and close enough for photos.

Some seemed content to just stand and watch. Maybe they were trying to look inconspicuous, waiting for an opportunity to swoop in and catch another gull looking the wrong way.

Others were squawking about something or other.

This next one was taken at a different time, but illustrates the type of feistiness that gulls can display.

Ring-billed Gulls were not nearly as common.

One of my all-time favourites was taken a few years ago, showing these two Ring-bills definitely having a difference of opinion. I liken it to a mated pair, and one is definitely 'hen/gull-pecked.' Regardless, these adult gulls are at their most impressive appearance, with the feathers looking crisp and clean, and the bare skin parts looking quite vibrant. I especially like the bright red mouth.

A recent trip to Rondeau was good for a nice long walk, but not for seeing many birds. This Red-tailed Hawk was the only bird I was able to photograph successfully.

After being at Rondeau, I swung by Shrewsbury, and amidst a large group of Canada Geese, I spied this Cackling Goose. They are often hard to get a photo of, as they are so much smaller and often at least partially hidden behind the larger Canada. But this one came out into the open enough to get a clear view. The size difference of the body and the bill is pretty obvious.

Yesterday there were two Greater White-fronted Geese at the Ridgetown lagoons. Since I was heading that way anyway, it was an obvious reason to stop and check them out. Unfortunately at that particular time, they had gone into hiding. I met the Sadler brothers, so I hoped that more eyes would give a better chance to locate them, but it didn't work out that way. They weren't visible in the north lagoons or the south pond. There were hundreds of Tundra Swans, and a mix of other geese and various ducks, but no white-fronts. I even drove around to the west side of the south lagoon and stood on the cover on the back of the truck to see over the berm, but still no white-fronts to be seen. There is a fairly extensive stand of tall shrubs in the water along one part of the lagoon, and it is possible they were out of sight there. At any rate, some other birders who stopped by an hour or more later did report seeing them. While we didn't see the white-fronts, we did see a small group of Snow Geese drop in. But once they got mixed in with the swans, their much smaller white bodies were harder to pick out. The first photo shows at least parts of 4 of the Snow Geese......

.....and this one stands out a bit better.

Tundra Swans were coming and going regularly.

And in other news, there are now more local eagle nests showing evidence of nesting. This first one is just east of Thamesville, seen from Longwoods Road, and an adult seems to be in an incubating posture.

This next photo is of the nest at the north end of Scane Road. It shows two adults right on the nest, but with them both standing on or in the nest, they may not have any eggs in it quite yet. But I'm sure there will be eggs soon, and a few weeks later, the eaglets will be peering over the edge.

Shoreline Ice and Some Late Winter Birds

 Shoreline ice can be dramatic and provide some really scenic photos, but it is usually short-lived. Marie and I used to live along the Lake Erie shoreline, in Rondeau Prov Park. In years when the temperatures got consistently low, there would be at least a covering of ice, sometimes as far as the eye could see. It might be only a few centimetres thick, and those were the best of times. I can remember listening at night, when a gentle wind would blow creating some slight swells of the water underneath. The ice would tinkle and groan, breaking up slightly with the ice plates creaking against one another. Then if a strong enough wind eventually occurred, and for long enough, those jagged ice plates would pile up along the shoreline, creating some dramatic sights. Here are a few of the best images I remember taking.

Most of the first set of photos were taken in March, of a fairly cold winter. This next photo shows a scene from about a week ago, taken just off the east beach by the Visitor Centre. While the first set of photos were taken with a short lens, even a wide-angle lens since the ice plates were right on the shoreline, this next one was taken with a telephoto lens since the shoreline ice was not as impressive.

In fact the ice right along the shoreline was fairly typical: slushy ice that had been washed ashore and piled higher and higher, but always fairly rounded and mounded. It is easy to walk along unlike the jagged ice plates shown above, but hardly as photogenic in my opinion.

At the right time, both of the season and the day, there can be some quite impressive sunrises along the shoreline. This next photo shows a sunrise photo I took several years ago near McGeachy Pond, just outside of Erieau.

As mentioned in previous posts, if there is open water, chances are you will find water birds, and that has continued to be the case along the Thames River at the west end of Chatham. The usual suspects continue, especially Mallard and Am Black Duck. A couple of female Hooded Mergansers are still hanging out there.

The three Wood Ducks are down to two males.

A nice surprise was to see this American Coot in the water at one point with a fish in its beak....

...and other times just standing around on the ice.

An even nicer surprise was to see this beautiful male Northern Pintail floating around on the water.

With the warmer weather and the run-off from melting snow being directed into the rivers and streams, I expect the small open water at the Thames that has been so attractive to waterfowl will get much more open quite quickly, and the ducks will disperse to many other spots.

In other wanderings of the past few days, I came across several flocks of Tundra Swans in the vicinity of the Ridgetown lagoons, as well as near Lake St. Clair.....

I got this very distant photo of a Rough-legged Hawk in the vicinity of Bear Creek/SCNWA. It isn't a great shot, since this is taken and cropped to about the equivalent of 90X, but at least the sky and lighting worked well....

...unlike for this Cedar Waxwing, part of a flock of at least a dozen feeding on the berries of Red Cedars along the road by the Stefina Line pasture. I was shooting almost directly into the sun. Cedar Waxwings have not been very plentiful this winter, but a few have shown up in the last week or so.

This Eastern Screech Owl shows up in this cavity at Rondeau from time to time, but I only see it about once in every 6-8 times checking.

I was on the lookout for a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, which has been seen periodically in the Rondeau campground even throughout this winter, but I haven't caught sight of it yet. This Red-bellied Woodpecker was not too interested in getting its photo taken.

With the generally snowy landscape, Wild Turkeys are more easily spotted, usually close by a woodlot for a quick escape if necessary.

And with the current warming trend, it is just a matter of time before things like American Woodcock will be present, but maybe only detected by their distinctive, nasal 'peent' heard off at the edge of a woods.

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.