Good evening Ontbirders, It was a dark and stormy night ... well, it was overcast and raining at 7:16 pm at the Rondeau Visitor Centre. I was making a last check of the bird sightings board beside our front door when a bright warbler appeared. You guessed it - the Yellow-throated Warbler was back. The bird was methodically working its way along the window and door frames, presumably finding insects and spiders in the crevices there. It actually walked across the After Hours Bird Sightings Box. No, it didn't have a pencil in its beak!
Similar behaviour had been reported previously, when (the same?) individual was seen moving about the outside walls of cottages on Lakeshore Road, as well as around the eavestroughs. It apparently moved from one building to the next, following a similiar routine each time. A Yellow-throated Warbler was seen at the Visitor Centre bird garden / feeders several times from 8:35 to 8:49 am, then again in the afternoon at 12:40, 1:03, and 2:05 pm. On Lakeshore Road, there were reports from #17458 at 12:14 pm and from #17284 at 12:20 pm. Our final warbler tally for the day was 27 species. Noteworthy warblers, in addition to those already reported, included Mourning on Spicebush Trail, and Cape May on Lakeshore Road and South Point Trail. Even with the inclement weather today, some birds were obviously on the move. Numbers of Blue Jays were visible along Lakeshore Road, and residents noted that a good variety of songbirds were passing through. Interesting songbirds included a Lincoln's Sparrow at #17458 Lakeshore, 2 Eastern Bluebirds on South Point Trail, and a Yellow-throated Vireo on Harrison Trail. There was a report of an Acadian Flycatcher on South Point Trail at the tip. Non-passerines of note included Black-billed Cuckoo at #17458 Lakeshore Road and an immature Bald Eagle at the south end of South Point Trail. As posted by Blake Mann, a Cattle Egret in glorious full breeding plumage was seen just outside the park from this morning to at least 2:00 pm. The bird was on the east side of Kent Bridge Road (Chatham Kent Road 15), immediately north of the marsh where Kent Bridge Road meets Rondeau Road. This field is opposite the "Summer Place" campground. The bird was seen in the field, and along the dike immediately to the south of the field. Good birding! Steve Steve LaForest Friends of Rondeau Bird Guide [email protected] _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
