Grey Getaway and More

Friday, I decided to take a longer drive and go up to Owen Sound in Grey County to see the Barrow's Goldeneye which has been in the sound for some time.  It was the first time in several weeks the weather was half decent (for a weekend), but even as I write this blog, we are getting a fair bit of snow! (My weekends start on Friday).

I basically drove straight through, which was at least a four hour drive from home.  The harbour area was frozen, but there was open water off Kelso Beach Park where one can look at waterfowl and gulls.

Goldeneye of the Common type

One of two Glaucous Gulls seen

I was there a good hour and could not find the subject duck.  I then left and drove around a bit, then came back.  There is really no other public access along the west side of the sound, I found.

The goldeneye was right off the park, as I looked on my second attempt!

I do not think I missed it earlier, but it could have been out of sight on the other side of the marina.

For the boat buffs, a couple of the older Algoma ships are resting at Owen Sound for the winter, as well as the Manitoulin Island ferry, Chi Cheemaun.

Algoma Buffalo, Algoma Compass

I have never done much birding in Grey County and mostly passed through in my travels.  One time passing through, I recall coming across a Palm Warbler in a boggy area somewhere near Walter's Falls on 23 June 2000.  It should have been much farther north at that date!

Another time, I specifically went looking for a Northern Hawk Owl that had been wintering south of Williamsford in 2001.  I had never seen one before that, so I thought I would take a chance and look for it, even though it had not been reported for about two weeks.  I got lucky on that one!
I drove around endlessly on January 20 of that winter, and was about to give up as I headed the car back south for home.  Along the highway, I finally spotted the owl atop a spruce tree!  I had no camera at the time, unfortunately.

Back to the present, after seeing the goldeneye, I headed west along highway 21.  By the time I got to Port Elgin there was a fine snow falling, so the weather was not ideal.  I checked the waterfront there, then headed down to MacGregor Point Provincial Park.  I do not think I have been there in the dead of winter before, so I checked it out.  It was very quiet for birds.
Visibility was not that great due to the falling snow.  Just after New Year's, an Eared Grebe was at this location.

Near the VC, there was a group of birds on the trail which were taking advantage of seeds that tourists set out.

Snow continued to fall as I headed south. At the Kincardine waterfront, it was downright gloomy!  There were lots of gulls, but the visibility was too poor to pick anything out.

I continued down to Goderich where I decided to spend the night.  Before sunset, I checked the harbour and walked over the old railway bridge.  Algoma Enterprise is wintering in the harbour.

Today was a much better day, at least in the morning.  South of Goderich, I walked the Naftel's Creek CA.  I usually stop here when I am in the area.  Very quiet today.  It is nice in the breeding season where one can find some good birds.

Skies were clear when I arrived at Pinery Provincial Park.  There were actually quite a few birds around, including several American Robins and a decent flock of Cedar Waxwings.  I looked for a cinnamon butt to no avail.

Wax Cedarwings Cedar Waxwings

Not a Fieldfare

The beach and road out from P9 is severely washed out, so I think there were will be no vehicle traffic there this year.  Seems to be a trend along every shore lately!

A number of friendly birds were at P9 parking lot as usual.  It is here that many people feed them.  Bring your sunflower seeds or the birds will be upset!

Heading south from Pinery, the weather deteriorated to more typical weekend-like conditions, as usual.  That was it for today!

Huron Hummer

Today was the day to go see that rare hummingbird up at Goderich in Huron County.  It was probably the nicest day we have had this month (or at least in a long time) with clear skies.  It was great to be out even though I had to lose a day's pay from work!  It was a good choice, as tomorrow, just like clockwork, the weather is supposed to go for a crap for the weekend.

I left Wallaceburg, timing myself to be at the location in Goderich right at 09:00, when the viewing area was open for business.  Upon arrival, there were already a few familiar faces in the crowd, including Judith King of Port Elgin.
I saw the Calliope Hummingbird within five minutes of arrival.

It took a few sips of nectar then disappeared for a while.  Over the course of a half hour, we saw it three times.

The property host is Linda Johnston, a very friendly and gracious person.  A pleasure to meet.  A guest book and donation box are there for each visitor.

The Calliope Hummingbird is a tiny creature of the west.  This individual is the first record for Ontario, not entirely unexpected I suppose.  So many of these hummingbirds look similar at first glance, but this time of year one must look closely.  As indicated by "experts", this bird is apparently a young male.
An article appeared yesterday in local newspapers:
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/birders-flocking-to-goderich-yard-for-look-at-ultra-rare-hummingbird

Not to linger any longer, I headed towards the car.  After a brief chat with Mark Jennings and Matt Mills who were just arriving, I headed back south.

I stopped by one of my usual spots just south of Goderich,  Naftel's Creek CA.  It was deathly quiet today!

I took my time coming home, stopping at various locations to look for birds.
Although it was such a nice day and a joy to be out, birds were very scarce.  I first stopped at Ausable River Cut CA to walk along the river cut.  Not much to see in the way of avian creatures.

Next stop was Ipperwash Forested Dunes and Swales, in hope of coming across some finches or waxwings.  What finches/waxwings?  There was hardy a bird to be found!  Even Black-capped Chickadees were almost absent.

After losing some weight on the long walk, I checked the lake at one of the lookouts.  A couple of Cooper's Hawks were in the vicinity, and a number of gulls way out on the lake.

Heading down Lakeshore Road, I came across a flock of Common Redpolls on the move near Forest Herb Glen Farm.

I stopped by Highland Glen CA, a popular stop for birders this time of year.  A Double-crested Cormorant, Horned Grebe and a Herring Gull were the only life forms visible.

Next stop was the groyne in Bright's Grove.  The Western Grebe was still present, but one needed the Hubble telescope to get a good view.  There were lots of ducks at this location, but I was too lazy to count them, so no eBird list here.

One last stop was Perch Creek Habitat at Sarnia.  It too was rather quiet, but a few Common Redpolls flew over during the walk.  I looked for owls, but I think one needs to get there first thing in the morning before the locals flush them! I did find one cedar with white-wash from either a slender Long-eared or cute Northern Saw-whet Owl.

We will see what tomorrow brings in the usual weekend weather.....

February Ups and Downs

Record high temps yesterday brought an influx of migrants from ducks to blackbirds.  Some Tundra Swans arrived here as well.  It is almost the end of February, so these were expected, but a nice welcome after a nasty winter (which is not yet over!).

As this bizarre weather continues, the large amount of snow melted quickly and with the endless rain, water levels rose dramatically.  Locally it was dicey, but the ice in the Sydenham broke up this morning and headed downriver out of harm's way.
Fields were flooded today and ditches overflowing.
The McKeough Dam was closed this morning, something that rarely happens, but it helped in preventing a major flood in Wallaceburg.  It was exactly nine years ago a similar weather event occurred and the dam was closed.

South Side of Dam

The Floodway

Peers Wetland

Monday was drizzly, but I headed up to Goderich for a change in scenery doing the same trip from exactly a year ago.  I stopped by Naftel's Creek CA, as I usually do.  This is a good place to go for a walk and check for birds just south of Goderich.  In the breeding season, there is a good variety of birds here, including warblers.

On my walk I found the usual chickadees and nuthatches, but I was surprised to hear a couple of Common Redpolls flying overhead.  They never really made it to the south part of the province this year again, but it was a delight to hear them.

Naftel's Creek

At Goderich, I walked across the old CPR bridge and onto the trail on the north side of the Maitland River.

Everything was frozen so there was not much in the way of waterfowl this year.

Today, it will be a rushing torrent!

A couple of Algoma vessels are wintering in the harbour.  The Algoway will probably be scrapped this year, and the Algorail has perhaps another year.

Algoway

On the way home, dense fog developed by the time I got to Pinery.

Goderich Birding and More River Ducks

Sunday, I got away from the usual weekend haunts and headed north as far as Goderich.  It was a nice day for a drive.  I stopped by Naftel's Creek CA south of the village.  It is a neat little place I always stop for a break when I am in that area.  Some decent breeding birds can be seen here in season, but it is a nice place to walk through during winter as well.  It was rather quiet on this visit though!

Ice was packed along the shoreline at Goderich with very few open spots.  The Maitland River was open though and held quite a few ducks, mostly Mallards.

A good place to walk is across the old railway bridge at the north part of the village. You get a fabulous view of the harbour and river.

Once across, there is a trail through the woods on the slope on the west side which leads out to the marina area.  I found a number of birds here yesterday.
Sun was in the wrong direction for taking photos to the south, as I looked at the two Algoma ships in winter layup.  The Algorail and Algosteel are on their last legs and will likely be retired this year.

Algosteel

Algorail

Near home, I swung out to the St. Clair River and checked out Cathcart Park where there was a load of waterfowl.  Lighting conditions were excellent.  The eight Cackling Geese were still present among a good variety of ducks.

The Harlequin Duck has not been seen since early Saturday morning, but one gets the feeling it could still be nearby.
Regarding the hybrid Redhead X Ring-necked, it was still around.  To add to the confusion, Mike Bouman found a second one in the same raft!  It is quite similar, but has some subtle differences.

With all the spring migrant waterfowl showing up along Lake Erie, I was tempted to head down that way today.  However, conditions were far too good to pass up along the St. Clair River today!  The skies were clear and the river was as calm as glass first thing this morning.

Many Ring-billed Gulls have arrived with this warm weather, while many of the Herring Gulls have departed.  Ducks have thinned out and moved to the lakes, but still lots are to be seen.


This has been an excellent winter for White-winged Scoters in many areas.  Today, I saw the most I have ever seen on the river, including a count of 49 off Courtright alone.

I also picked out one male Black Scoter there.  Riding an ice floe was one of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls off Courtright.  There is a public dock which is good for setting up a scope and checking out the river.  This spot used to be the dock for the rail ferry that crossed the river at one point in time.

There was little to be seen farther upriver, so I headed back down river.  Mike Bouman sent a note that one of the hybrids was off Cundick Park, so I checked that out.  Sure enough, hybrid #1 was with a raft of mostly Redhead.  They were sleeping most of the time though!

In this raft was a female Black Scoter, that blended in well with the female Redheads.

I noticed that more scaup were on the river today as well.

After an hour there, it was time to head home as the sun was high.

Sunrise to Sunset Crop Tour

Sunrise at Warwick

(note light pillar, also Red-tailed Hawk just waking up in left tree)

The day goes by quickly.  I got up early to meet Mike Bouman near Sombra today as we had a trip along Lake Huron scheduled.  There was a nice sunrise, but as usual for the weekend, it turned out to be a mostly cloudy day.
We went as far a Goderich to where the King Eider was seen last weekend.  As usual, we could not find it!  Lots to look at, but unless it was in some inaccessible cranny, it was not there.

Algoma Transfer did not run this year

While driving through a residential area, I caught sight of a flock of Common Redpolls.
Lots of gulls around the harbour, including a few Glaucous.  A number of Bald Eagles were seen today as well.  At least five in the Goderich area, two south of Bayfield, one at Kettle Point, one at Sarnia and three in the Sombra area.  Never bothered for photos as they were distant.
Stopped at Naftel's Creek CA south of Goderich.  It is always a nice place to walk.  At the parking lot a flock of Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatch were making a fuss.  I thought for sure an owl was in the cedar, but no. We could not figure out what the fuss was about!  Only other birds were Golden-crowned Kinglets and Downy Woodpeckers.  The place does have some good birds in the breeding season as I checked it out during the atlas period.

We checked Bayfield and Grand Bend waterfronts on the way too.  Nothing of note, as usual.
Stopped at Pinery, which has been rather dead this winter.  Nothing of note as usual.  We did hear a Common Redpoll fly over at one point along the river at the campground.
We checked Ipperwash and Kettle Point as well.  Many gulls were far out, but nothing of note as usual.

kettle  

 Next stop was Point Edward to view the 1000+ Long-tailed Ducks.  A few White-winged Scoters were far out.  One adult Iceland Gull which has been around for a while.  Nothing of note as usual.
Sarnia Bay was a little more interesting as we found a Trumpeter Swan!  A different one that at Sombra.  It was with two Mute Swans and size was apparent.

Trumpeter Swan

Two Glaucous Gulls were nearby watching it.

Very little was on the St. Clair River.  Practically cleaned out now!
I checked the swans at Fawn Island and the local Trumpeter Swan was amongst them.
As I arrived home, the sun was just setting.