Pelee Rapper - Nov 2, 13

I don't even like hot sauce.. 

The morning started out sans-plover and a healthy dose of birders. Had the place to myself on previous days... Too bad the lil fell'er didn't show! (1 Dunlin was the only shorebird) The waterbird flight was slower than previous days, but the regulars still arrived. Including the hybrid adult Herring X Great Black-backed Gull and the typical assortment of ducks. A huge mass of Mergs was present first thing, but they largely moved further away than days before...

The lower numbers of fowl were supplemented with an increased movement of diurnal migrants down the point (hawks/passerines etc)... A Meadowlark among other things showed flying overhead - although most birds were quite high. Late morning a flock of 65+ Bluebirds went over me at the tip parking lot!

Highlight of the morning was a sly Goshawk (looked like an adult male) - that decided to turn around and hide behind trees the instant I decided to call it out.....


After walking the woods for a while, a steady rain convinced me to start heading towards home... By the time I reached Hillman Marsh - it was letting up - so I decided to walk around. I still had visions of mega-rare flycatcher dancing in my head so I decided to check the shrubbery...

Not what I had in mind, but still charming. 

I did manage a respectable total of sparrows, but nothing rare decided to appear. I was surprised to see that they actually did a somewhat reasonable job of managing the shorebird cell this year. Not sure if/what they planted - but they greatly reduced the tall awful garbage that was growing in previous years. Will be interesting to see if the results are better next spring once flooded! Anyways - back to the birds. NW winds produced numerous hawks throughout the day - including at Hillman. Red-shoulders were impressive, and I had my first Rough-leg's of the pelee-visit.

Nice light morph adult male at Hillman

Anyone know a Cardinal missing a crest? 

A quick check for the Cattle Egret went well:

Wheatley had very few gulls, but all was well when this Golden Eagle passed low over the marina:

I drove up the Lake to Erieau, watching for raptors. I walked the McGeachy pond trail - turning up migrants sans mega's... Along the main drag I noticed an Osprey hunting the shoreline. Getting late - 

How's that for a terrible record photo - that you never needed a record photo for in the first place

Rondeau bay was loaded with ducks - but the weather convinced me to not even bother looking through them. Erieau itself was pretty dull as well. I parked next to these feeders for 10 minutes - just in case...

I've always figured the best chance at "self finding" a mega-hummer is to watch someone else's feeders at this time of year - when you happen to notice them still out... 

That's all she, he, I wrote!