A Visit to Rondeau P.P.

Brown Thrashers are often heard, but not so easily seen.  We saw this bird as we were parking at a trail head in Rondeau Provincial Park and the photo was taken while I was still in the car. They're most obvious when they sing their loud songs from shrubs and treetops. The song is a complex string of musical phrases, many copied from other birds' songs, with each phrase typically sung twice. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds)
 

While walking along the beach, I noticed a Savannah Sparrow skulking through the plants. He was looking for food which includes beetles, grasshoppers, spiders and millipedes. I found it interesting that they eat spittlebug nymphs. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds)

In a few weeks, we will start to see spittle masses on goldenrod. The nymphs of Leaf Hoppers excrete bubbles after chewing on the plant sap. The spittle helps to keep the larva from drying out until they reach the adult stage. (They are actually living in their own poop!) When white frothy spittle masses appear on goldenrod plants, Savannah Sparrows will hop on the plant and devour the spittlebug nymphs hiding inside the foam. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds) 

Our most exciting find was a pair of Wilson's Phalaropes on the beach. Phalaropes are the only shorebirds that regularly swim in deep water. They bob on the surface, often spinning in circles to bring small food items within reach of their slender bills. Unlike most birds, female phalaropes desert their mates once they've laid eggs. While the male raises the young by himself, the female looks for other males to mate with. This unusual mating system is called polyandry, and is reflected in the way the two sexes look with the females more brightly coloured than the males. (Cornell Lab, All About Birds)  They are an uncommon species in our area.