Blenheim Sewage Lagoons / Laughing Gull / and bird #294

Although I had a breeding Laughing Gull earlier this year near Rock Point Provincial Park, a good bird is a good bird, and I wanted to check out the nonbreeding Laughing Gull that was reported from Leamington Harbour by Alan Wormington (thanks for getting me on this one!). So, on the 11th, I went down to the boat ramp in the afternoon when gulls are loafing on the docks nearby, or looking for handouts from children with bread crumbs.

It didn't take me long as I scanned a large group of Ring-billed and Bonaparte's Gulls to pick out the darker mantle of the Laughing Gull. It had its head tucked but the dark gray feathers behind the eye were also obvious. Eventually the bird stood up and gave me decent enough views to iScope it for a record shot.

For some reason, I thought this species was OBRC-reportable but I see only records from pre-1994 require documentation. I just filled out a report for the Little Blue Heron at Holiday Beach Conservation Area Mark Field and I drove down from Toronto to see earlier in the summer and was in Rare Bird Report mode but I guess I don't have to do one. Oh, and yes, I have tampered w/ the photo a bit. This is post-Instagram to bring out the mantle colour a bit more.

Yesterday evening (August 12th), I had great luck at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. There were fewer shorebirds than the last time I visited but the variety was decent. The Red-necked Phalarope hanging out there that had many, including me, confuzzled (man, I wish it had been a Red!) was absent.

Tangent: I went for that bird the day after it had been reported and when I found it, something just didn't feel right. Its bill was just a bit too long and thin for me to feel comfortable. I went back and forth with my opinion, but ultimately decided to send my iScoped photos around to see what people thought (I was able to snap one that showed a long, pointed bill). After more discussion on the bird and better subsequent photos, the conclusion was made: Red-necked Phalarope. A good bird, but not a year bird.

Back to yesterday evening: Amongst the shorebirds present included a White-rumped Sandpiper (I think I've seen more of these this year than any other year), a couple Short-billed Dowitchers, and a dowitcher that had me quite interested (black barring in the tail feathers thicker than the white bars, completely reddish underbelly, and some barring that didn't fit Short-billed. It also had a different structure when foraging: rounded, hunched back, and looked plumper than the nearby Short-billeds). I studied the darn thing for some time and wanting to make sure I was making the correct identification (just to be safe), sent off my iScoped photos to confirm my ID. I was right and the Long-billed Dowitcher took me to #294 for my Big Year. Just 6 away from my 300 goal!

On this photo, you can see that the black barring in the tail is wider than the white barring. Short-billed Dowitchers have white bars that are, on average, as wide or wider than the black bars. On the upper photo, you can see the extent of red on the bird.
Some other birds of interest included a juvenile or female Ring-necked Duck, one of the long-staying Greater Scaups, a few Redhead, and a good number of Blue-winged Teal. I love these lagoons.

My next target species is the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. I imagine one will be showing up in the Onion Fields pretty soon. Other shorebirds on my radar include the aforementioned Red Phalarope, Red Knot (this one is a guarantee in James Bay), Hudsonian Godwit, and Willet (a boy can dream...since I ain't driving all the way to Presqu'ile).

Pelee Area August 10

With the poor weather conditions, I decided against a trip to Blenheim Sewage Lagoons today even though I really wanted to look for Long-billed Dowitcher there. On a nicer day, I'll head over and see if I can find one amongst the many shorebirds that have been there in the last week.

Instead, I decided to birdwatch around the Pelee area including the Onion Fields, Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, Leamington Marina, and Pelee Days Inn/Sturgeon Creek.

I didn't have a lot of luck today, but a few interesting birds nonetheless. The Onion Fields produced a few shorebirds but still no Buff-breasted (later in the month I expect to get one before I head up to James Bay for the shorebird surveys). I ended up seeing 4 Semipalmated Plovers, a single Semipalmated Sandpiper, 9 Leasts, and a total of 31 Killdeer. Tons of blackbirds and starlings are present now and along Mersea Rd. 19, it sounds like gun-fire noises are being made periodically to keep them away from the crops.

At Pelee Days Inn, I unfortunately couldn't get a good view of any mudflats so I only had a quick view of a flyovers including peeps and yellowlegs; however, I did see a Green Heron in the harbour area, a nice addition to the day list.

Next stop was Leamington Harbour, where there was a Laughing Gull reported from the boat launch, but I didn't see it. I was birding from the Pelee Island ferry terminal so I wasn't at the right side of the Marina to get this one. I'll be trying for it tomorrow though. A long-staying Pied-billed Grebe was still in the area and I had a group of 4 Ruddy Turnstones at Seacliff Beach among the Bonaparte's, Ring-billed, and Herring Gulls.

I made a brief stop at Hillman Marsh before heading home and got another Pied-billed Grebe for the day as well as a 2nd Green Heron and a Black-crowned Night-Heron juvenile. I viewed all 3 from the bridge at the northwest end of the conservation area (Mersea Rd 2 and Mersea Rd 19).

Good numbers of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons are in the vicinity. I had 34 Great Blue Herons: 1 in the Onion Fields, 7 at Sturgeon Creek, 1 at Leamington Marina, and 30 at Hillman Marsh, and 17 Great Egrets: 6 at Sturgeon Creek and 11 at Hillman Marsh. I didn't check Muddy Creek this evening but I'm sure there were a number of both of these species present.

Hillman, Onion Fields, and Leamington Marina

A hot day of birding and butterflying today around the Point Pelee area. I started at Hillman Marsh Conservation Area w/ a walk over to the Shorebird Cell. The Cell is planted w/ crops right now so nothing in the way of birds there but the lane around the Cell was good for butterflies. One of the first ones I saw was a Dainty Sulphur, a lifer for me as I continue to learn my butterfly identification and put more effort into finding uncommon species.

Dainty Sulphur at Hillman Marsh - I ended up seeing 4 in total.

Next up was a calling Willow Flycatcher where you would expect at the Shorebird Cell corner w/ the bench. Ridiculously, I completely forgot to keep an eye and ear out for Dickcissel so I didn't even end up getting this species today despite them being reported there recently. 

I was also able to take a photo of what I believe to be a Pearl Crescent (if anyone disagrees w/ this ID, please let me know. I had about 12 Northern Crescents in Hillman as well, all of which lacked the full black line across the above hindwing. This individual does have orange on its antenna clubs but my understanding is that female Pearl Crescents may have orange here as well). 

Pearl Crescent? - Hillman Marsh

Many Painted Ladies about and 1 Common Checkered Skipper were other highlights.

Butterfly list from Hillman:

Cabbage White

Silver-spotted Skipper-1

Painted Lady

Dainty Sulphur-4

Viceroy-3

Monarch-4

Red-spotted Purple-1

Common Checkered Skipper-1

Eastern Comma-1

Orange Sulphur

Buckeye-1

unidentified skipper-1

At the south end of Hillman near the lake I also found 12 Northern Crescent just at the parking lot and many more Cabbage Whites.

Next stop were the Onion Fields. As of today, there are some mudflats in the north end of the Pelee Marsh on the gravel turnoff at the end of Concession E. Shorebirds present here included 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Least Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Sandpiper and Killdeer. I was hoping for more shorebirds today and Pelee Days Inn did not disappoint. 

In Sturgeon Creek, there are some mudflats visible from the boardwalk at the back end of the Days Inn. Here I had a good number of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, a single Wilson's Snipe that I flushed near the boardwalk, 4 Pectoral Sandpipers, and single Lesser Yellowlegs. 

I finished my day at the Leamington Marina where I added my first juvenile Bonaparte's Gull for the year, found both Common and Forster's Tern (juveniles of each species present), and added Northern Mockingbird and Pied-billed Grebe to my day list. 

Not a terrible morning but still hoping to run into a surprise year bird one of these days around the area!