Birds are picking up!

It has been a slower than hoped for spring migration here in southern Ontario so far. On some trails one sees more chipmunks than warblers!

I don't mean to denigrate Eastern Chipmunks......they are entertaining to observe, and they also make a great menu item for many predators!

But fortunately the spring migrant birds are picking up in diversity and overall numbers. Some species are less common than they were a few days ago, such as Rusty Blackbirds...they are very hard to come by these days.

White-throated Sparrows have declined.

Other sparrow species are more obvious, such as White-crowned Sparrows.

Both of the previously mentioned sparrows are heading north to their breeding ground, so it is expected that their numbers will diminish.

Field Sparrows are a local breeding species, and can be seen here and there.

Field Sparrow

A sparrow that breeds in the sub-arctic tundra region and northern boreal forest, is the Lincoln's Sparrow. It is a beautiful looking sparrow upon a close examination, with all of its warm colours and fine markings unlike the bolder appearance of other sparrows. Lincoln's Sparrows are just starting to appear in southern Ontario.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Clay-colored Sparrows are an uncommon migrant. At least a couple of them have been at Rondeau in the last few days.

Clay-colored Sparrow

Vireos are becoming more abundant, although I have only been able to photograph Blue-headed Vireo so far this year. I got my first White-eyed Vireo today.

Blue-headed Vireo

Rose-breasted Gorsbeaks have been back for a few days and it is always a delight to hear their melodious songs through the forest.

 Baltimore Orioles are also back en masse. Orchard Orioles are far fewer.

Baltimore Oriole

Scarlet Tanagers are just beginning to show up. Today I had three, but for some reason, I could only find females, and the light was not very good for this one.

The che-winking of Eastern Towhees can be heard throughout the forest edges and shrubby openings.

Eastern Towhee

Flycatchers are back. Eastern Phoebes have been back for a few weeks, but the small grayish-green Empidonax flycatchers just appeared in the last few days. Another flycatcher, the larger black and white Eastern Kingbird, arrived in good numbers in the last day or so.

Bluebirds haven't been all that common this spring, in my experience. I was pleased to see this male towards the end of today's outing.

The Bald Eagles are now feeding young. This nest is the one along the Marsh Trail.

Earlier in the week there was a very cooperative Solitary Sandpiper in a small pond right along the road. I got some decent shots, but had even more success when a friend offered me the use of his Canon 600 mm II lens. (Thanks, Arni!). Arni was the one who, a few years ago, lent me his Canon 500 mm lens, and I subsequently ended up getting my own 500 mm II lens. I don't think I will be switching my 500 to a 600 anytime soon, however.

Solitary Sandpiper

It was right near this same location where today, a Northern Mockingbird showed up. Mockingbirds are not typically migratory like other members of the Mimidae family (thrashers and catbirds), and one hadn't been reported in the park since at least last year to my knowledge, so it was nice that this one appeared. It was very cooperative, at times coming almost too close to focus with the 500 lens.

Of course this time of year, birders are out to see as many warblers as they can. Today I came across at least 16 species, certainly my best outing so far this year. Highlights included a couple of Northern Parula, Canada Warbler, Wilson's Warbler and Northern Waterthrush, as well as the more common species. Unfortunately most were high up in a pine tree, silhouetted and very active, so my photos are few. Yellow Warblers are abundant....it is hard to believe that back in the 1970s, they were on the Audubon Blue List, indicating a concern about declining populations. Fortunately their decline did not continue.

Yellow Warbler

I saw several Black-throated Blue Warblers, but only this female allowed me to get a reasonable photo.

On the way home, I came across this cooperative Savannah Sparrow singing along the roadside.

All too often, one sees feral cats on the landscape, even in the forest. Feral cats are very good hunters, and quite adept at killing birds and small mammals. Some studies have concluded that there are about a billion birds a year killed by cats!!!

 Fortunately the cat in this tree should pose no threat to the woodland birds!

Rondeau....naturally photos

The 2017 Rondeau....naturally calendar is hot off the press. I just picked up some from the printer late this afternoon, and I will be delivering them to the Friends of Rondeau bookstore tomorrow (Saturday, May 7).

It is a 13 month calendar. Here are the photos (please note that the © P. Allen Woodliffe shown on most photos here does not appear on the actual calendar).

The cover photo was taken from the fishing tug harbour at Erieau, looking at a sunrise over Rondeau Bay and Park

Cover 

The January photo shows a Giant Swallowtail butterfly sipping nectar from a Wild Bergamot along Harrison Trail.

January

The February photo shows an attractive part of the Tuliptree Trail in late May, as it crosses ridges and sloughs to the interior part of the forest.

February

The March photo shows a water-filled slough along Bennett Avenue after a late winter snow storm has passed through, leaving wet snow clinging to the trees.

March

The April photo shows a Leopard Frog with inflated vocal sacs, as it tries to attract a mate. A cluster of eggs previously laid by a female is nearby.

April

The May photo shows an endangered Prothonotary Warbler reflected at the water's edge along the Tuliptree Trail. Rondeau has been the Ontario and Canadian stronghold for breeding Prothonotaries ever since they were first discovered nesting in Canada here in the early 1930s. It was none other than Jim Baillie, ornithologist from the Royal Ontario Museum who was on a field trip to the park who made this noteworthy discovery.

May

The June photo is a closeup of a gorgeous Tuliptree Flower. The Tuliptree is the unofficial flagship tree of the Carolinian Life Zone, and it is abundant at Rondeau. Here they can reach 35 metres in height. The largest diameter one I have measured recently was 125 cm.

June

The July photo is a closeup of Michigan Lily, a beautiful orange flower that can be found in the oak savanna habitat and along the edges of open oak forests.

July

The August photo is of a Great Egret flying against the blue sky. It doesn't nest at Rondeau, but is a frequent summer and early fall resident. Its closest nesting colony is at Walpole Island, about 70 km away at the north end of Lake St. Clair. Another nesting colony is on the islands in the western basin of Lake Erie.

August

The September photo is of a Midland Painted Turtle, the only turtle species in southern Ontario that is not officially 'At Risk'. Turtles are cold-blooded, as are all reptiles and amphibians, and this one is basking in the sun so that the sun's warmth will assist with the turtle's physiological processes.

September

The October photo is a close-up of an Eastern Chipmunk. Chipmunks are favourites of many visitors, (as well as many predators)!

October

The November photo shows a pair of Sandhill Cranes lifting off from the marsh. This species was quite rare in southern Ontario until a few years ago. It is now a regular breeding species here, with one or two pair breeding annually in the Rondeau area.

November

The December photo is of the very rare yellow form of the Red Trillium. Red Trilliums are not nearly as abundant in Rondeau as White Trilliums are. The yellow form is extremely rare. In almost 50 years of exploring rich deciduous forests, I have only seen this on two occasions, and one plant has occurred at Rondeau for at least the last 3 years.

December

A bonus is the January, 2018 image of one of Rondeau's most popular mammals, a White-tailed Deer. Deer are antlerless in the winter, and have a greyish brown fur coat. By spring, the winter fur will be shed, leaving them with their reddish brown fur coat.

January, 2018

So stop by the Rondeau Visitor Centre and check out the informative displays as well as the diverse array of books and other items available at the Friends of Rondeau bookstore. And while you are at it, take a look at this calendar. It might even make a good Mother's Day gift!

Important message if you spend time outside!

Ticks are out. Not just the presumably harmless Wood Tick (a.k.a. Dog Tick) but the really nasty Deer Tick (a.k.a. Black-legged Tick), which is the prime vector for transmitting Lyme Disease. Wood Ticks are the larger of the two; in fact they are several times larger than the Deer Tick.

Wood Tick

Deer Tick

Both images show the adults. The scary part is that the nymphs, which can also transmit Lyme Disease, are considerably smaller. In fact a really young nymph of the Deer Tick is about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

Size is one way to tell them apart, but if you look closely, you can see that the coloration and pattern on the dorsal (back) side is different as well.

I have contracted Lyme Disease at least 6 times over the course of my tramping around places like Rondeau for more than 40 years. I posted a fairly extensive blog post about it a year ago, and you can read about it here.

I made a follow-up post a little later, which is shown here.

In some jurisdictions, May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. To learn more about what the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation has to offer in terms of science, awareness and support, check out their link.

Enjoy the outdoors, but be safe!

White-winged Dove....again!

White-winged Doves are a southwestern bird, common in southern Texas and Arizona. So what is one doing at Rondeau Provincial Park in May, again?

Earlier today, Steve Charbonneau and Reuven Martin had a White-winged Dove along Lakeshore Road, south of the Visitor Centre. This is the third record for the park. The first one was back in late January, 2013, when one showed up at the Visitor Centre feeder area, and stayed almost a week. We think it succumbed to the wintry elements, or the talons of a local Cooper's Hawk.

WWDO 2013

The second record was in 2015, when one showed up briefly for a couple of days in late May. It was also in the vicinity of the Visitor Centre and roamed up to a half kilometre north. In spite of searches, it seemed to have disappeared. But on June 24 of that year, while I was photographing a plant along Lakeshore Road near the Visitor Centre, I heard the distinctive call of a White-winged Dove, and tracked it down to a grove of White Pine trees just north of the Visitor Centre. It was a one day wonder....at least no one else reported it in the following days.

WWDO 2015

For a bird to show up in the same general vicinity almost a year later makes one wonder if it is the same bird, which is again confused and is subject to a peculiar migration route. Given that the species doesn't usually migrate long distances in the first place makes it even more peculiar, although there are quite a few records well north and east of their normal range.

At any rate, one showed up at Rondeau this morning, in the vicinity of cottage lot 17266. I came by a bit later, and by then it had disappeared. There were several cars of birders parked along the road watching and listening, but without success. Apparently the most recent bit of information they had was that the bird had headed into the forest in a somewhat southwestern direction.

I decided to park at the Visitor Centre and walk south along Harrison Trail, hoping to hear or see it. I walked south to the end, with no success, so I headed back along Lakeshore Road. Just a bit north of the Dog Beach Access, I heard its distinct call off towards Harrison Trail! Since at that point, Harrison Trail was only a couple of hundred metres in from where I was, I ventured in that direction to get a look. Fortunately it kept calling, and in just a few minutes, was seen heading my way.

I got a few shots, but the light was horrible, and there were branches in the way.

WWDO, May 2, 2016

 It was active, never staying in one spot for more than a minute before moving elsewhere. It did land on the roof of a cottage a time or two, and I got a few unobstructed, but distant pics. At this point it was in the vicinity of Lot 17134 and 17140.

WWDO, May 2, 2016

It took off, heading north through the cottage lots and I followed it with my binoculars for about half a kilometre north before it disappeared from view. So I kept walking north along Lakeshore Road.

I came across several other birders who were looking for it, and while I was showing them some pics on my camera, I heard the dove call in the distance. And it came closer. And then it flew right into a willow tree where it had been first spotted earlier in the day, at Lot 17266. There was a feeder beside the cottage, and the bird briefly looked for food underneath it, before returning to the willow tree where it stayed for at least half an hour, giving a dozen or so birders who had arrived fairly decent views in spite of the poor light and bright white sky background.

WWDO, May 2, 2016

WWDO, May 2, 2016

May is getting off to a good start!

April showers.....

...and you likely know the rest of the saying. While it is a cute little saying that has been around forever, it isn't entirely true. After all, there were lots of flowers in April...what stimulated them? And it is fortunate they are present in April. Since at times the birding is a bit slower than most birders would like, why not take a few moments to diversify one's interest and check out other things?

Some of my fellow bloggers have already highlighted wildflowers they have come across, which is great. Allow me to share some of the things I've encountered in various woodland settings over the past few days.

One of the earliest species is the Hepatica, either Sharp-lobed or Round-lobed. The difference is in the subtle shape of the tips of their leaves, which often are not all that visible when the first flowers appear. The flowers can be quite white....

Hepatica

 ...or an attractive shade of purplish blue.

 Cut-leaved Toothwort can be fairly abundant in places.

Lots of Cut-leaved Toothwort

Cut-leaved Toothwort

Blue Cohosh can occur in two species: the earliest one being Giant Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum giganteum) with its purplish leaves, and the slightly later one being Blue Cohosh (C. thalictroides), with its greener leaves.

Giant Blue Cohosh

Blue Cohosh

 Purple Spring Cress is an attractive purplish flowered plant, usually growing in wet woods.

Purple Spring Cress

Dutchman's Breeches is often fairly abundant, and easily identified by the spray of white flowers resembling pants hung upside down.

Dutchman's Breeches

Similar in some ways to Dutchman's Breeches but not nearly as abundant, is Squirrel Corn. The dissected leaves are similar but the flowers are more heart-shaped.

Squirrel Corn

While I was busy photographing this Squirrel Corn, I had an audience. This Raccoon was watching me, enjoying the warm, sunny day from its tree limb perch.

Spring Beauty is just that...a very attractive pinkish flower with darker purple lines.

Spring Beauty

 A very abundant spring flower is Trout Lily (a.k.a. American Dog-toothed Violet). Its mottled leaves are extremely abundant on the forest floor of rich woods. However only a very small per cent of plants will have flowers, and even then, they will only be fully out on a bright sunny day. If the sun disappears behind a cloud for a few hours, the petals close up.

Trout Lily

Trilliums are just beginning to appear in flower. White Trillium, Ontario's provincial flower, is by far the most abundant.

White Trillium

Red Trillium (a.k.a. Stinking Benjamin since the flowers have a stinky smell to attract flies, which transfer the pollen) is far less common. The red flowers usually hang down and are less noticeable than the more upright flowers of the White Trillium.

Red Trillium

A very rare colour form of the Red Trillium is sometimes found, although in several decades of exploring woodlands, I have only seen it on a couple of occasions. I will be checking a known spot for it in a couple of weeks, where one plant has appeared for the last three successive years.

An undesirable wildflower just beginning to appear is Garlic Mustard. It is highly invasive, and produces massive amounts of seed. The seed can be transferred from one location to another on the mud of one's boots, so be careful when you are tramping around an area with this species!

Garlic Mustard

Spring flowers are not limited to herbaceous plants. Spicebush, a very common shrub in southern Ontario's wet woods, is in flower before the leaves appear.

Spicebush

Eastern Cottonwood also has its flowers appear before the leaves. This next image shows the male flowers of this species.

Eastern Cottonwood

Other trees are beginning to flower, and will continue for the next several weeks. Some are distinctive and can be told easily before the leaves or flowers emerge, such as this next one.

Bitternut Hickory

The bright mustard yellow leaf buds, visible all winter, are just beginning to expand into new leaves. This is a distinctive characteristic of Bitternut Hickory, an uncommon but widespread tree in southern Ontario deciduous woodland.