Birding Festivals!
This is the time of year for Birding Festivals! Rondeau and Pelee both have had theirs from the 1st of May to the 21st. They are fun events that coincide with the spring migration of birds from their southern wintering locations. This past weekend I went to Pelee on the Sunday of the last weekend. Point Pelee National Park is located at the southernmost point of Mainland Canada. extending into Lake Erie. It is known for its diverse ecosystems, it is Canada's second smallest and most ecologically diverse national park. The park is also on two dedicated migration flyways, the Mississippi and the Atlantic. Birds congregate on the tip before they make their way northward, so sometimes rarities are seen.
I decided to wake up bright and early and get to the Park by 7 am so I could take the tram to the tip by 7:15.
I was welcomed by this 'rafter' of Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo on my way into the park and of course stopped traffic to let them cross and take a few pics!
It was an awesome experience with mainly birders on the tram (I usually walk but it is about 2 km in so I thought I'd save some time by riding) The weather was cool and windy and I regretted not wearing my coat (lots of layers though) Noone is allowed to the tip til after 10 am to respect the early birds, so we watched from a respectful distance the numerous gulls and shorebirds. There were many Bonaparte's Gulls Chroicocephalus philadelphia, Herring Gulls Larus smithsonianus , Ring Billed Gulls Larus delawarensis and Lesser Black Backed Gulls Larus fuscus, as well what I thought was a Glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus, that upon a second opinion was just a really bleached out Herring Gull! The best bird was a pair of Little Gull Hydrocoloeus minutus doing a fly by at the tip.
I also stuck my foot in the Lake, it was cold! (its a tradition!)
There were a few super cute Dunlin Calidris alpina and other shorebirds.
I was pleased to see some familiar faces at the tip, as well as getting to know some new friends. On the way back I sat with a lovely young couple with their little dog, they had been there for several days and got to know the area very well. They were leaving for home that night, back to Hamilton, and they really wanted to see the Yellow Billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus that had been seen. As we disembarked the tram, the gentleman said ,"listen", and we watched and listened as the group outside of the trolley had the bird! We all got a good look and even some photos!
At the Visitor Centre the Friends of Pelee had put on a breakfast and lunch bbq for the birders and there were a few companies doing bird walks. I decided to go on my own and see how I faired. Birders are a friendly and welcoming lot, they are enthusiastic to talk about birds and nature in general. They are my tribe! I saw the usual suspects, with not much success in photographing the forest birds amongst the vegetation. Though I did realize if you slow down and observe closely, sometimes you will get rewarded. I did the trails around the visitor centre, the Tilden Woods Trail, the Cactus field footpath and Redbud footpath. I was pretty much done by 1:30 and decided to leave. The Park was getting very crowded and the park staff were about the close the parking lot, so I decided to 'exit stage left'!
I continued on my Essex county tour with a visit to Hillman Marsh. This is always a great spot and it doesn't take too much time. As I approached the first cell I noticed the Neotropic Cormorant Nannopterum brasillianum perched high in a tree. There were some fellow birders with scopes and binos on the boardwalk, and they let me know that it is worth going a few hundred feet more to the bird hide to see some interesting shorebirds. I walked up and was amazed to see the numbers of Black bellied Plovers Pluvialis squatarola, and Dunlin. Many lifers were seen, 1 Red Knot Calidris canutus that I helped to positively i.d. amongst the Plovers, the Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor, which is more of a Western species and other unique shorebirds. Hillman Marsh is a barrier protected coastel wetland and is classified as an Environmentally Significant Area, Provincially Significant Wetland and an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest. It's a must see for birding!
By this time I was pretty exhausted, but in a good way! A good day out!
I also saw 5 species of butterflies and dragonflies on my travels.
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