Most years in late October, early November, birders get the chance to see Cave Swallows in Southern Ontario if the winds are right. Large numbers of Cave Swallows reside in Texas and if there are very strong South, Southwest winds that move up from the Gulf of Mexico and Texas to the Great Lakes Cave Swallows will be drawn up and end up along Lake Ontario. Fifty Point Conservation Area is a known spot to watch them fly over as the birds cut the lake and come inland a bit across the parking lot. Jerry and I have been down to the park a few times with south winds in the last weeks but this week the path was specifically from Texas all the way up to the Lakes. We had a late start on Tuesday but Jude saw one swallow at 8:42 and then Andy had a few more around 9:25 and 9:50. We arrived just after 11 and set ourselves up at the parking lot berm and Andy who was down near the lake had another Cave Swallow at 11:06! Missed it by minutes! We waited around and birded a bit but did not have any other swallows appear. This is also the trend of the past that the swallows come through in the morning but by 11-12 there are few if any going by.

We made plans with Jude and Margaret to be back early Wednesday morning since the south winds were continuing. We arrived at 7:00 and watched for a bit until a downpour sent us to our cars around 8. Once the storm passed the young birders, Leo, Jax and Kale arrived and we set ourselves up across the parking lot looking up. The winds had completely died down and we were a bit worried but right at 8:40, the same time as Jude had them, Jax shouted he had one and as we all ran to where he was we realized there were 7 flying slowly over our heads! Much excitement! High fives and hugs! Everyone got pictures and it was obvious that they were indeed Cave Swallows. Bird #330! It turned out that these two days Nov 5,6 are the exact same dates Cave Swallows were seen back in 2022. Last year none were recorded but perhaps no-one checked for them either.

Thanks to Margaret for allowing me to add her photo, she has a better camera than Jerry and I wanted you to see what we saw with our binoculars. Thanks Margaret!

We had caregiving duties so did not stay too long but did a quick lake watch and stopped along the lake at a few spots into Hamilton. Our attention continues on the lakes looking for the Kittiwake and any other rarities these South winds might bring up.

Unfortunately, we did not get out to bird the rest of the week except for a quick jaunt on Friday while his mom was at her adult program. We checked our local storm ponds and then tried for a reported Cattle Egret that we need a better picture of. We didn’t find the Egret. The winds continue to not be ideal for lake watching and it looks like it might be mid-week before we get a day to hang at Van Wagners.

Week 45 1 species added 330 species J&E