May 2
Yes, it is finally that favourite time of year for all birders, no, not Christmas, Spring Migration! We anticipate and dream of trees dripping with warblers and rarities at our feet but usually the actual experience is quite different. We are however, easily mollified with the odd precious, beautiful looks at a few warblers where a dreary, cold day becomes “the best day ever”.
This will be our first two week trip to Pelee not having to chase birds. Before our Big Years we only spent 3-4 days at Pelee each year and the last two years have been grueling marathon two week chases for many birds. This year we can truly relax and just enjoy the birding experience. And so true to our “relaxed” birding instead of our normal 4:30 am departure we slept in and left at 5:45 LOL! The laziness is kicking in already!
We stopped in Chatham-Kent on the way, which is our usual practice. Rondeau Provincial Park, Keith McLean Conservation Area and Blenheim Sewage Lagoons all have migrating birds stopping in and we were sure we would pick up some Ontario year birds there.
Shortly after we arrived at Keith McLean we saw a bird we did not immediately recognize, which does not happen often anymore, we know Ontarian species. Initially we said Grasshopper Sparrow? but it did not fit that, too big, different bill, It was bright with fresh feathers but we could not place it. I sent a pic to Steve and he could not really tell from our horrible back of the camera shot but confirmed it was not Grasshopper. After looking at a few more of Jerry’s pictures and putting it to Merlin it suggested a female Bobolink! Of course! This is a female species we have struggled with before and I’m not sure why it does not seem to stick with us. Maybe this time?
We ended up also adding Marsh Wren, Dunlin and White-crowned Sparrow to our list and Jerry was happy to be taking pictures that did not require blowing out the exposure to compensate for dark rain forest. We finished the hike circling the property and headed around the corner to Rondeau Provincial Park.
The Park was really quiet, we knew it would be having seen reports over the last few days but Yikes! it was QUIET. We managed to add Gray Catbird, Northern Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole and Palm Warbler. Then we opted to move on to Blenheim Sewage Lagoons.
We had so much fun walking through a sea of Tree Swallows as they flew back and forth feeding over the grass and water of the lagoons. We added Cliff, Bank, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow to our list. Then we scoped through many shorebirds to find a Baird’s Sandpiper that had been reported previously.
It was another hour drive to our cottage at Pelee to “check in”. Once we were unpacked and sorted out a bit we opted to head into the park. We needed to renew our park pass. We buy the family pass as it lets you use the fast lane that opens a gate for you instead of waiting in line behind people who are asking questions and buying passes. It is worth it to us to use this rather than saving on the senior rate. The person manning the booth happily let us know that they have extended all those passes until November of this year so we did not need to buy a pass this year! How cool is that? Thank you Point Pelee National Park!
There are so many places to go to in Pelee but I picked the spot that most of the reports had been coming from – Tilden Woods. It is generally the go-to if you are short on time and usually has the most birds. Just along the trail a short distance is a water slough and we stopped to see what someone was photographing. It turned out to be a Lincoln’s Sparrow and as we watched and Jerry took pictures a Northern Waterthrush flew in and then a bright Yellow Warbler and after that a Swamp Sparrow. They were not all new birds but they were right in front of us offering great views of all of them.
We moved on and chatted with people we knew along the way eventually ending up at a slough off the seasonal footpath that we had been told had a Louisiana Waterthrush. We waited a bit and suddenly saw a Waterthrush that looked quite a bit whiter and cleaner than the Northern. It was very far back and behind an assortment of twigs, shrubs and broken branches. Many photographers were trying to get pictures as I and another birder called out its location. Going left on the log, now behind the tree, oops coming right now, in the open on the black log. You get the picture? While we were mostly on the Waterthrush, a Prothonotary Warbler dropped in and a Blue-winged Warbler teased us all with stellar views in front of our faces. An Eastern Phoebe also started feeding at the back. We were there about 45 minutes helping people that arrived see the bird and trying to take video and pictures of the stunning Blue-winged Warbler as well. These kinds of views are why people come to Pelee.
There are many years when you “see” a bird with glimpses behind logs, peeks through leaves, but the views we were getting from all the birds were extremely good. We did eventually move on as a group and worked our way down the path. We had been talking to a few couples who were trying to get their 100th species to get a Pelee pin and a few people walking past overheard the conversation. Minutes later the woman rushed back to us to say they had seen a Hooded Warbler back where we had just come from. We all rushed back en masse and had great looks at a Hooded Warbler that was racing up and down a tree trunk, not the usual way we see a Hooded at Pelee.
We once again moved towards the parking and along the way saw a Black-and-white Warbler, some Baltimore Orioles and heard our first Wood Thrush. It was now almost 8 and light was fading fast. We were more than happy with our 20 species for the day to add to our Ontario year list.
May 3
It was a cold morning, 8C feeling like 4C and because we are keeners we were in the park at 5:10am when it was still dark. It was a full moon and we hoped we might hear a Whip-poor-will on our walk to the tip. We did not but others saw one on the path and heard one in another area before we got there. Oh well, not a necessary bird to hear or see. It was a beautiful sunrise.
When it was light enough to discern what was out on the tip we added Black-bellied Plover and a cute, tiny Piping Plover to our year list.
With no warblers dripping off the trees we walked back towards the Visitor Center birding along the way and chatting with many people that follow our blog or we have met on previous years to Pelee. To be honest, with the lack of birds it was more socializing than birding. We met up with Amy and enjoyed a walk through Tilden together. The sun came out a bit and things warmed up and we managed to add 7 more birds to the Ontario year list with great views of Northern Waterthrush and Blue-winged Warbler.
We left the park around 2 and got back to the cottage to rest a bit, drink water, and update pictures for a couple of hours. Then went to and early dinner at Salsa Caliente our fav Mexican food restaurant in Leamington where you get authentic Mexican at inexpensive prices. I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures. The plan had been to head to Hillman Marsh but we we were sooo tired! Showing our age! Judging from the migration forecast and favourable south winds I suspected that the next day would be very good so it was better to be well-rested for the “good day” .
May 4
Oh, it was a good day! Not those dripping off trees day but more birds finally in the park and sunshine and warmth as well. Lots of happy, smiling birders moving from sighting to sighting along the paths. I decided to try for the 100 species in a day pin. Well the pin is 100 species between May 1 and May 18 but I like to challenge myself to 100 in a day. The rule is within the Pelee birding circle which included Leamington and Hillman Marsh. We were in the park at 6am. There were not many new warblers at the tip but I was intent on counting everything we saw, which is the only way to get to the 100. We were in the park at 6am and stayed for almost 9 hours seeing 69 species. The highlights being a few new warblers at the DeLaurier Trail. We had nice eye level views of Cape May, Northern Parula and Chestnut-sided Warblers.
But at 69 species I knew I was in trouble and not likely to get the rest at Hillman Marsh but I was not giving up so off we went. We stopped along the road and then at the East Beach Access to Hillman where we met up with Paul and Joanne and added 6 more species for the day. At Hillman Marsh we added another 15. At the time I actually did not know how many species I had because I had not even finalized the Park list and figured there might be birds that I had missed adding, still I knew I was close but not over 100. Shortly after we had left DeLaurier there was a report of a Prairie Warbler being seen and so after we finished at Hillman we opted to go back and see if it was still there and add a few more species. When we arrived Jean, John and Victoria told us they had been waiting 2 hours trying to re-find it with no success. We walked the boardwalk and saw an Orange-crowned Warbler to add to the list and decided to hang around a bit longer. Shortly after we found a Least Flycatcher. The others had left and after 15 minutes we decided to leave as well. There were two choices to leave as it is a circle trail. Jerry started towards the shorter, south route and I said why not take the north longer route? Maybe some more new birds. As we walked on a birder coming our way stopped to tell us a Prairie Warbler was ahead on the boardwalk! We rushed for the first time on this trip and sure enough the Prairie Warbler was feeding in small trees right beside us on the boardwalk. The rest of the birders watching were on the far side of the bird. I got eyes on the bird, had some good looks and called Jean to let her know it was still being seen. Then I posted to What’s App as the new location had not been posted and it was quite a way from the original spot.
Of course it flew back and out of sight shortly after. Jean and others arrived and we waited. I felt bad that the bird had left, I know I don’t have control but I want everyone to have a happy ending. After 15 minutes Jean saw a bird further back and we all got on it to find out it was the Prairie! Many high fives and hugs! A super happy ending to the day. It was after 7 and the light was dimming but I did have another hour maybe to add more birds but I was DONE! Birded non-stop for 13 hours, walked 15.6kms, I was happy to call it a day and get my 100 pin for birds seen over the 2 full days we had been at Pelee. I knew that number was over the 100. We headed back to the cottage and I finally put all the lists in to find I had ended up with 96 species for the day and had 107 species for the two days. Good enough for the pin and if there is another day with lots of birds I might give the 100 another try.
May 5
The forecast was for rain starting around noon so we knew we might not have a long day to bird. We were in the park at 6:30am – do you notice how each day has gotten later and later? The park has not been as busy as it has in the past as the weather and lack of birds has kept people from coming so we are not having to rush in early to get parking at the Visitor Center. That will change as the weekend nears and the bird numbers increase. We took the tram to the tip thinking we would take our scope and then forgot to get it out of the car. No problem, there was not much to see by the time we got down there anyway. Again, no birds dripping off the trees. A FOY (first of the year) Red-eyed Vireo was well-photographed by a fairly large group that had deemed it a Tennessee Warbler until I corrected the ID.
There are many new birders out at Pelee and I think many species get misidentified like that and put on ebird in error. Certainly as a newer birder I would never have spoken up to dispute an identification but I feel pretty confident to do so now. The highlight for many at the tip might have been the flock of Avocets that quickly flew down the side of the beach. We, and many others were looking into the woods with our backs to the water but I noticed a few people coming onto the beach raising their bins and cameras to the water behind and spun around in time to see them whiz by.
We left the tip fairly quickly and walked up the west side (in the raging wind) and found nothing new (not surprisingly). Can you tell it was Jerry that wanted to walk up the west side? And that I always follow the birding rule that birds are on the opposite side to the direction the wind is coming from?
We walked Woodland, then Tilden and spent much time catching up with fellow birders, Greg who we had met in Costa Rica, Barry and Dave from Hamilton, Grant and Lindsay. It has been rewarding hearing from people using these blogs to help plan their own trips to birding destinations. It was one of the reasons I opted to put as much detail into them as possible. We ended up only adding another 5 species to the Ontario list. We opted to beat the rain and headed back to the cottage before the rain started and spent the afternoon writing this blog and getting pictures added through a very slow internet.
For the non-birders I should clarify about the “lists”. Our year list right now stands at 557 species seen because we went to Costa Rica. And in Costa Rica we saw some of the birds we also see here in Ontario like Baltimore Orioles and Chestnut-sided Warblers so my “Year list” is different from my “Ontario List” this year and so now we are at home we are working on our “Ontario List” although many of these birds are also added to the Year list of course. I also have a Point Pelee Birding Circle List that is the one I can use to track the species for the 100 pin. Our Ontario list is at 183 species and the Point Pelee Birding Circle is at 118 species seen. All of this is kept straight by ebird – for free! It makes life infinitely better!
May 6
We opted not to go to the tip as the forecast for migration was low and instead started at the top of the park just in the gate and worked our way down the west side stopping at all the small access areas along the way. We would park the car, do a loop along the seasonal paths, return to the car, drive to the next area and do a loop there. It was still relatively quiet but we did see birds that we had already added. Northwest Beach was the birdiest and we spent some time doing a loop. We had nice views of a White-eyed Vireo and a few other warblers and then decided to head down to the tip because a Cerulean Warbler had been reported. It is a warbler not always seen well. Hundreds of birders saw it in the morning and there were only a few people around looking for it. We heard some intel that it had been seen out along the beach but was going north. We opted to split up with Jerry going onto the beach and me staying in the interior where it had last been noted. After a bit I checked out onto the beach and Jerry was way south and 3 women were way north with large lenses up taking pictures of something. I decided to check it out. They could have been just photographing a Gnatcatcher but it was, of course, the Cerulean! I took a look, called Jerry and then took an Iphone pic in case he did not make it in time. The bird had flown back further by the time Jerry got there but he did get some pictures before the bird moved deeper into the woods along the path.
We walked out to the tip after that because after 10am you can. Before 10am there is a line that humans cannot cross to allow the migrating birds time to rest without being flushed by humans and dogs. After 10 you can walk out and most birders do their utmost not to get close the birds. Tourists, not so much. Jerry took some pictures.
Friends Angela and Michael from Hamilton joined us a bit later and we went back to try and see the Cerulean again. With no other reports we started walking north on the path figuring it would be a long shot to re find it but soon a birder coming toward us told us they had been watching it for about 20 minutes just up the trail. He was kind enough to take us back and show us the spot but the bird was no longer there. We continued to walk north and shortly after I saw some movement in the shrubs and it was the CERULEAN! It is crazy to think you can re find these birds in the vastness of the woods. It was right along the path and we all had great views of it.
We had a nice walk through the park adding a few more birds along the way and then headed to Hillman Marsh for shorebirds. There were American Avocets! Shortly after we arrived a Peregrine came through hunting and lifted all the birds and everything was gone. We chatted with people, waited and watched a few birds and left to go to dinner when none of the shorebirds returned.
Dinner was our fav Mexican food and again I forgot to get a picture! After dinner we opted to go try for the Whip-poor-wills and heard American Woodcocks but no Whips.
May 7
We went to the tip, no surprise LOL. You just do not want to miss birds so everyone goes. The same birds were on the tip and things were quiet so Jerry wandered off down the beach as I chatted with all the birders around the scopes. A few minutes later he called me, one of the few places there is signal, and just said “Least Bittern”. I hung up said “Least Bittern” loudly to people around me and we all left en mass. It was high up in a tree on a narrow path and a few hundred people were trying to see it. It is a very good bird to see like this as it is usually tucked away in a marsh were you are more likely to just hear it.
After the excitement of the Least Bittern people found a Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireos and lots of the same species we had seen before.
We eventually left the tip to walk up through the woods but things were quiet. A few warblers here and there. When we came out to Woodland Trail a young boy let us know he had just seen a Chat and so we walked slowly further down the path paying more attention. I saw the underside of a bird hanging on a branch just above the ground with a white underbelly and i could see some white. I had my bins on it and called the others to take a look and it turned out to be a CHAT! Woohoo! Another great bird. We all had good looks and another few birders close by saw it and then it was gone. I reported it later to the Visitor Center hike leaders and others re-found the bird a few times. Jerry did not get a picture but we did see a lovely co-operative Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Angela and Michael headed off to check out Delaurier and we decided to go back to the Tip as a Yellow-throated Warbler, a rarity, had been reported earlier. We went out on the beach and no one was on the bird. There were a lot of birders milling around and looking into the trees. Way down the beach I saw a man waving his arms over his head in the universal language of “its over here”. Unless he was just trying to get his wife’s attention LOL. I yelled to the group to head down the beach and we all had spectacular looks at the Yellow-throated Warbler.
We still walked our regular 10-11kms but saw less birds and decided fairly early at 4:00 to call it a day and not head to Hillman Marsh. Of course I was just out of the shower and reports came in of a Black-headed Gull and then a White-faced Ibis that had arrived at Hillman. Sheesh! But both of those birds we have seen in Ontario and so I opted not to chase. This is the chill, non-urgent birding year so limited chasing. Maybe we will still come across them organically in the next week.
May 8
Guess what was at the tip this morning? The Black-headed Gull! Not the great views they got at Hillman but we at least got to see it flying around with the Bonaparte’s Gull. It takes a bit of patience as you are looking at 30 gulls and waiting to see one with black under the wings. It did eventually land and I took a quick view in the scope of someone to confirm the sighting. So there you go! Not chasing, in this circumstance, paid off and we saw one of the birds anyway.
There were definitely more birds at the tip but not much variety and all species we had already seen. Still you have to check the whole area in case you are missing something. The numbers of birders have increased substantially and the beach is very crowded with people and cameras. You will think a group of 20 people all taking pictures means a great warbler only to find they are photographing a Kinglet or a Gnatcatcher. Nothing against these very cute birds but there are MANY of them in the park. And yes, I understand that they are lifers to maybe many of these birders, just pointing out what it is like traveling the beach trying to find anything rarer.
It was Angela and Michael’s last day so we were trying to help get them both to 100 for their pins. Angela hit the 100 before we left the tip but Michael took until lunchtime. A Brewster’s Warbler, a hybrid between a Golden-winged and a Blue-winged Warbler, was reported on Redbud and even though it is not countable as a species many people want to see them in case they are ever added. We joined many other people and eventually had some very nice views. The pictures, not so much.
We then headed through Tilden and finally saw our first Black-throated Blue Warbler, one of my favourites. Jerry managed to get pictures of a Louisiana Waterthrush that is very similar to the Northern Waterthrush. The clear white throat with no streaks makes it a Louisiana over Northern.
We heard that there were Yellow-breasted Chats giving great views at Cactus Field so we headed up to that area even though we had seen one yesterday. You can never get enough of looks at Chats. The birds were singing (loud burbles, rattles and clucks) and then we saw the two chasing each other through the cedars and for a bit one posed on a branch for us. In our 13 years at Pelee we have never had looks like this year.
We said goodbye to Angela and Michael and headed over to Hillman Marsh to see if there were any new shorebirds. We added Short-billed Dowitchers and then decided to get pizza in town.
Cattle Egrets had been reported near Hillman but they were gone by the time we went by so I was watching the fields and lawns as we drove to town for the small white herons. While we waited for the pizza a report came in of the egrets just 10 minutes away and on the road I had just carefully scanned. Obviously not well enough! We ate a few pieces of pizza and then headed back and stopped and saw 3 of them off the road in a wetland area. We had to next stop for milk on the way to the cottage and while I was waiting for Jerry a report came in of a Black-necked Stilt just 15 minutes away so really not a chase LOL just a drive over. I didn’t get the right directions into google but we did find the pond after some help from Discord and sure enough a Black-necked Stilt was wading along the shore. It flew to another pond minutes after we arrived but Jerry managed a few pictures before we went back to the cottage. A long day, but a good day.
Some extra pics of the birds we have seen…
and creatures…
In the last 7 days we have walked 79.2 km or 122,537 steps and we have added 70 birds to our Ontario List and 46 birds to our Year list. Whew! One more week to go and south winds forecast tonight!