American Avocet in Leamington

While driving on hwy #3 today, I noticed a large shorebird in a newly excavated area in field about 400m west of Talbot Rd East in Leamington.  I stopped to check it out and wow... American Avocet. I wanted to high-five somebody when I saw this bird, but I was by myself on the shoulder of highway three... lol.



I think this is a female Avocet. Female Avocets have a sharp curve near the last 1/3rd of their bills, as opposed to males that have an upward curve through the whole bill. Any thoughts?

It was a tricky day for photography, every 5 minutes it went from being sunny and bright to cloudy and dark. I found myself constantly switching my white balance from cloudy to sunny, then ISO from 200 <-->800. I've never worked so hard to take a photo of a bird! These Avocet photos are not that great, but at least they are diagnostic.

More on the American Avocet : http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Avocet/lifehistory.


I went on to look at Hillman Marsh which had many Egrets and Herons, but not much else of interest. The shorebird cell is completely dry. I can't understand why the shorebird cell is dry with major migration taking place in August and September. Does it cost ERCA money to flood this field?

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Earlier on in the day, I visited Tilbury S.L., which had a good assortment of shorebirds... Nothing new though.

Some included...

Long billed Dowitcher
Short billed Dowitcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper

Good Birding!
Dwaynejava

Lifer Summary:
Lesser Black Backed Gull (correction, never counted #276)
Semipalmated Plover (Correction, never counted #277)
American Avocet #278

Kayaking Point Pelee National Park ... two new lifers?

Today, I was off work and decided to go Kayaking the Marsh at Point Pelee. I also did a walk on Anders Pathway near the Delaurier Homestead area.

Walking near the Homestead buldings, I noticed many wildflowers on either side of the pathway and many large butterflies flying around! So I snapped a few shots... Monarch, Red Admiral, Great Spangled Fritillary and some Hairstreak butterflies were easily seen. I've never seen butterflies acting so aggresively. The Monarch and the Red Admiral were constantly attacking each other when they would land on various flowers!

  I walked Anders Path hoping to find Eastern Bluebirds but did not see any. I saw many starlings, grackels and Red winged Blackbirds. I saw a Common Yellowthroat in the fields adjacent to the path. I also saw that I think  might be my first Yellow Breasted Chat... although... I might be mistaken. Whatever this bird was, it was making alot of noise, chasing a Baltimore Oriole. If it was indeed a Yellow Breasted Chat, that would be a lifer (#177). Please contest me or correct me if you disagree... Its difficult to see any white eyerings on this bird, but I'm pretty confident by its sounds, and skulky behavior that is was indeed a YBC.

I also saw an Orchard Oriold and its woven hanging nest right above the Anders Path trailhead. I then went to the Marsh area and proceeded to Kayak to West Cranberry Pond. There was not much to see until you kayaked to the little peatmoss islands that attract shorebirds.  I did see some basic expected marsh birds such as Black Terns and Common Yellowthroats as well as numerous RWB's. I was very happy to see a Black Bellied Plover (Lifer... #177) & Spotted Sandpiper. I also thought I saw a little Sanderling but it flew away before I could photograph it.

Before I left Leamington, I stopped by the dock to see if the Red Headed Woodpeckers were still there. Yes they were! Today was a little sunnier, so it was nice to see a better view of them with their blue-ish sheen on their black feathers. Also, I even heard the call of the Northern Mockingbird right where I parked my car...

Good Birding and Butterflying!
Dwayne

You gotta love Redheads... Woodpeckers that is...

Driving through Leamington was sobering today. Seacliff drive was like something out of a movie! My heart goes out to the people of that wonderful little town. Leamington was hit by a tornado about 1 week ago, and driving down Lakeside drive... the damage, in particular (or most obvious) to the trees is breathtaking. All you see as you drive are 1-meter in diameter tree stumps. You see chainsawed tree trunks stacked along the roads. With the lack of trees, you can actually see Lake Erie between the houses, which I think is a new phenomenon. You could not really see the lake before because of all the trees that were present.

This posting is about Red-Headed Woodpeckers though. A recent Ontbirds posting from the Point Pelee staff mentioned the survival of a Red Headed Woodpecker nest, so I made an effort to stop by this picturesque little town and check it out. How did this wonderful pair of birds survive an F1 tornado??? 

This was about as good as I could do from the public walkway... 40 meters away. Of course, cloudy crappy weather in the background.

I saw these birds enter a larger hole in this tree, it looked more like an owl hole than a woodpecker hole.I was hoping to see baby woodpeckers sticking out from a nest hole, but no such luck. In the above photo, you can see a former hole outline. I hope this was not their original home!

These trees are about 10 meters to the north of the RHW nest. Any tree over 10 meters tall seemed to have been torn apart. It looks like a giant weed whipper crudely chopped all the tree-tops over 10 m. Incredible. Luckily, nobody died.

Other birds seen were:
Common Tern
Ruddy Duck Mated pair (sleeping and floating)
Red Winged Blackbird
Northern Mockingbird

Various Swifts & Swallows

These two Northern Mockingbirds appeared to be either mating or fighting for territory. They would squabble up in the air about 1 m off the ground then land back on the ground like shown above.

Good birding to the blog-o-sphere!
Dwayne

Spring Flowers at Kopegaron Woods

Work ended early for me today, so I took the wife and baby out for a ride to Leamington to check out Kopegaron Woods. It was awesome. Some flora I photographed included:

Trillium
Red Trillium
Spring Beauties
Jack in the Pulpit
Trout Lilly

After Kopegaron Woods, I talked my wife into going for a walk on Tildens Trail at Point Pelee. It was 4pm and cold at this point. We did not really see much. We saw a Kildeer in the Homestead parking lot, Chirping Sparrow, White Throated Sparrow, Ruby Crowned Kinglet ... and I think an Owl after it jumped off its perched and glided down lower to the ground.

Hopefully, the weather will hold up a little over the weekend. The forecast predicts rain on Saturday and more rain on Sunday. We need it, but its too bad its on the weekend.

Good birding!
Dwayne