Striking Scoters and Cute Coots!

A visit to LaSalle Park Mariner scored us close looks at a pair of White-winged Scoters! In winter these birds eat mussels and can hold their breath for a minute or more underwater. They breed around lakes of the far north, where their diet changes to crustaceans and insects.

These large sea ducks have a heavy, sloping bill and bold white patches (which can sometimes be hidden) in the wing. Males are velvety black with an upturned comma of white around the eye and an orange-tipped bill.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Scoter/overview

Although it swims like a duck, the American Coot does not have webbed feet, and is not a duck.

An American Coot pair, sporting matching green plant life on their white bills.

Ring-billed Gulls resting on thin ice!

Wood Duck: First one we have seen in 2026!

View of Burlington Bay with Burlington Skyway in background. We wondered if there would be any open water at LaSalle Park, but it was open enough to keep the swans, geese and ducks happy!

Close up of a Trumpeter Swan. Each winter, a flock of Trumpeter swans travels to LaSalle Park until spring weather indicates its time to head north.

Video: Trumpeter Swan bath time!

A few Trumpeter Swans spent time in the air.

White-breasted Nuthatch awaiting his turn for food.

Hungry White-breasted Nuthatch

While photographing these Canada Geese, I totally missed the Bald Eagle which was the reason the geese took flight.

Lots of Rock Pigeons (feral pigeons)

Fun to watch "Ice Boats Sailing" on the Burlington Bay.

Video: Ice Boat Sailing on Burlington Bay.

Birds, Water and Icy Things!

Blue Jay with a special treat! It is surprising to hear how much noise they make when food is provided. If they were quiet, they likely wouldn't have to share.

Dark-eyed Juncos are also taking advantage of the backyard food source during this very cold winter.

Peregrine Falcon's have been nesting on the Michigan side of the Bluewater Bridge since 2005. Most years, young birds are successfully raised. As we were walking towards the bridge on Friday morning, the falcon flew through the structure and came in for a landing. It was my first view of this species in 2026.

Common Mergansers taking flight. What a difference a week makes! Last week the St. Clair River was full of ice. Today, most of the ice was gone. We will likely see more congestion as ice is expected to continue floating down from Northern Lake Huron.

There are a few places to pull over when driving down the St. Clair Parkway. When the car door slammed, all ducks took flight. One Redhead had the (fill-in-the-blank) scared out of him. (top middle). We were more careful with the doors at subsequent stops.

We saw over 3,500 individual birds - 15 species at this one stop along the St. Clair River.

Black-capped Chickadee eating berries.

Looking over Lake Huron from Canatara Beach.

Ice crystals in Lake Chipican.

Hoar Frost at Camp Saredaca.

My brother shoveled a skating maze on the north shore of Lake Superior. One morning, a beautiful sunrise added colour to the scene!

 River Cruising from Shore! 

We visited the Grand, Thames, and St. Clair Rivers last weekend.

Luckily these Trumpeter Swans were "trumpeting loudly" as they approached us from behind, or I may have missed the opportunity to photograph them. We were walking beside the Grand River near Cambridge at the time. It is nice to see this species expanding its territory, following a remarkable recovery from near extinction!

The trail was elevated above the Grand River when we looked down on 6 male Common Goldeneye and one female.

Many holes in this dead tree have likely housed generations of woodpeckers. Every year woodpeckers carve out new cavities and their old nests are used by other cavity nesters who don’t have the ability to excavate holes.

A recently broken branch may have exposed the winter sleeping spot for the insect that the Downy Woodpecker is about to devour. The insect likely thought it had a secure hiding spot for the winter months.

We had heard that a female Harlequin was visiting the Thames River in London. She was preening close to the river’s edge, giving us some good views!

Video: Harlequin female preening

The hillside was covered in duck tracks as the birds decided to walk, not fly, down the hill. Many wing tip prints are also visible in the snow as they tried to maintain their balance!

A Great Blue Heron taking a break: As long as open water is available for hunting, Great Blue Herons occasionally spend the winter in southern Ontario.

Back in Sarnia, many people were ice fishing on Family Day weekend when fishing licenses were not required.

A sign of spring! Pussy Willows beginning to emerge from the buds!

Mother Nature at work! It was a treat to find a stack of Snowy Hearts in lower Lake Huron on Valentine’s Day! They were visible from the lighthouse.

 County Tour

On a recent county drive, a road kill was found that had attracted a Bald Eagle. Although fish is a main diet staple for the species, they are scavengers and will eat most any available food. In this case, raccoon was on the menu!

While visiting Henderson Conservation Area, I had my first good look at 2 Pine Siskins this calendar year. I have heard them flying over but looks have been brief. They were busily eating White Cedar Cone seeds.

2 Song Sparrows feasted on seeds from plants in a marshy area.

Cattails provide shelter and food for lots of critters.

I had heard that a Belted Kingfisher was staying at Henderson C.A. this winter. (Very unusual, especially in this cold winter.) While standing at an open water patch, the Kingfisher flew in, circled and then left when he saw us standing near his fishing hole.

Snowy log, potentially providing shelter for small rodents.

Back to the River!

The St. Clair River hosts the largest concentrations of birds locally. A female Common Merganser was found “surfing” in the waves.

Double-crested Cormorant surrounded by steam in Talfourd Creek.

Iceland Gull flying overhead.

Iridescent colours on the head of this male Bufflehead are visible in the bright sunshine.

A Bufflehead dive is reflected in the calm water of the St. Clair River.

Common Merganser male in flight over St. Clair River ice.

A Canvasback Duck is dwarfed by a pair of Trumpeter Swans which are North America’s largest native waterfowl.

Behind the Trumpeter Swan is a row of 4 Ring-necked Ducks. I always think these ducks were misnamed because the ring around their bill is much more noticeable than the ring around the neck.

On Valentines Day, Mother Nature created a stack of 3 Hearts in lower Lake Huron.