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

It ain't easy being green.... Green Heron at Ojibway

Just a quick posting about a Green Heron that sets up residence every year at Ojibway Park. This year, this bird is a little harder to find! I finally saw him today, just hanging out in Pond in Front of Ojibway Park.  I love this bird! He actually stuck his beak skyward like his cousin, the American Bittern might do to camoflage himself with the reeds surely to be behind him.

I would love to see an American Bittern or Least Bittern, but they have proven to just be too shy for this author. I did not see much else, but I swore I heard a Brown Thrasher today at Ojibway, and of course, I saw a House Wren. They are very easily seen at Ojibway this year.

Good summer birding and butterflying!
I will post soon about a walk I did at Rotary Club Ganatchio Trail Extension. It was great last summer, and its great again this summer as well!

Dwayne

Birding in Ottawa

I spent two days in Ottawa (and two day driving :-(  ) over the last week, and talked my wife into letting me go on a 4 hour nature walk. Since we were in Napeon/Ottawa, I decided to go to The Stoney Swamp nature area and walk the "Jack Pine Trail" as well as the Beaver/Chipmunk Trail. That was about all I had time to do.

There are two really good websites for Ottawa Birding that I must link to:

http://www.neilyworld.com/neilyworld/stony20.htm
http://www.ofnc.ca/birding/wheretogo/index.html#Sto

I was hoping to see:
-Black Backed Woodpecker
-Three Toed Woodpecker
-Pileated Woodpecker
-Boreal Chickadee
-Grey Jay
-Winter Wren
-Red Breasted Nuthatch
-Purple Finch?

*** Post Script: It's funny, I thought there would be many birds in Ottawa that are just not in the SW Ontario... but I was wrong... the birds are basically the same. The Woodpeckers that are mentioned above are more common in the Winter. How can anything survive outside in the winter in Ottawa?

Some birds seen/heard include:

Wood Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Blue Jay
Black Capped Chickadee
Common Grackel
Red Winged Blackbird
Downy Woodpecker
White Breasted Nuthatch
Red Breasted Nuthatch
Pileated Woodpecker (Only Heard, and there was a dead tree stump that I flushed him from. )
House Finch
Crows/Ravens (EVERYWHERE!)


Stoney Swamp overall was a gorgeous area. The name is fitting. The soil/ground in Ottawa seems to be shallow topsoil with slate-rock underneath. As you walk these nature trails, you see lots of exposed rock under the topsoil, and clear water with marshland... a northern Swamp. Just gorgeous. A little bit different then the types of natural areas you'd see in Southwestern Ontario.

I also saw some very docile rabbits and squirels. This was a red-tailed squirel that I'm not used to seeing in Windsor:

Finally, a panoramic of what might summarize what Stoney Swamp looked like as you exited the forested path and found the boardwalk:

Happy Birding!


Dwayne

Kayaking Cedar Creek in Kingsville

Just a short posting about a quick paddle I took at Cedar Creek Conservation area.

I kayaked this gorgeous area about 6 times last summer, but did not have a blog at that point. I'm not sure if last summer was a 'bumper crop' of birds... but comparatively, today the place was barron! Not only did I see few species of birds, but few of the few that were present (if that makes sense). I did not even see/hear a Belted Kingfisher! (last summer, they lined the shoreline, one every 250m).

I did see:
Great Blue Heron (3)
Great Egret (1)
Spotted Sandpiper (1  ... Lifer! #176!)
Ring Billed Gull (1)
Red Winged Blackbird (many)
Mallard Ducks (4)

(Thats it?)

On a positive note, ERCA put in a gorgeous new Canoe/Kayak dock.

Good birding!
Dwayne