Willet | The Ovenbird Blog

Pelee Week 2

by Ellen Horak | May 17, 2026 | 2026

May 9

Traditionally the middle Saturday of the birding festival is the busiest as many birders expect it to be peak migration. The talk was the park would be closed once 750 vehicles were in the gate. I’m not sure it reached that number but It was packed. We made sure to get up and in the park for just after 5am. We walked to the tip as we have done most mornings so I can warm up a bit from the chilly mornings. There were some migrants in but still nothing like a fall out or even multiple birds of one species. This has been such a strange, late year. It was bound to happen sometime. More people than birds.

Still, birders were happy to look and look again at the same species or the same bird multiple times and of course there is a big social element to this festival. There are some birders we only see at Pelee every year and so it is a time to catch up with old friends and meet new people. Most of us recognize names from ebird lists and Discord so it is always nice to meet new people that you feel like you already know. While we walked 11 km of trails the rest of the day we added only 4 new birds for the year, Yellow-throated Vireo, Swainson’s Thrush, Bay-breasted Warbler, and Black Tern. We had some nice looks at Red-headed Woodpecker and went to see the Yellow-breasted Chat again.

We also stopped to take pictures of the celebrity Eastern-Screech Owl that is on everyone’s checklist as it has chosen to nest right along the main road of the park so that almost every birder, I assume, will have it on their list or a picture of it.

In order to see the Black Terns we had to stop along the east shore of Hillman Marsh where we had distant views of them feeding over the water. Our next stop was one of our favourite places, Kopegaron Woods. This Carolinian Forest has a boardwalk meandering through a wetland and forest of large trees. There were reports of Summer and Scarlet Tanager but we only managed to see the male Scarlet Tanager.

Scarlet Tanager still molting from its winter/juvenile plumage of green

I was super hungry having not eaten much and we had walked the the usual 15km so after Kopegaron we headed to Taylor’s Seafood for perch. It was sooooo yummy that I could eat it every day.

Taylor’s 12 perch plus 2 fries – Yes we shared!!! Although I was hungry enough to eat all 12!

May 10

Mother’s Day is also a busy day in the Park but most birders opt to not go in or just do the tip first thing and get out by noon as many families arrive to enjoy Mother’s Day picnics and hikes. This year we went to the tip but no birds again and then opted to stay in the park for most of the day sticking with the seasonal paths that are less used by the other visitors. We only added American Pipit at the tip and no other new species. We managed to see 77 species in the park so there were birds around but again, not the quantity we expect at Pelee. The weather was lovely and we covered the usual trails for 15 km and chatted with birders we met along the way so the number of birds did not matter. We opted to have dinner in as it is always busy at the restaurants. They were handing out complimentary bags of veggies at the festival food desk so we had a lovely fresh salad with our meal of American Goulash.

May 11

It was 6:15 when we got into the park but since it was Monday we still got into the visitor centre parking. There are fewer birders than normal so we even got onto the tram as there was no line-up. Many birders will not show up until they know that there has been a substantial migration flight. The tip, as it has been for the previous 8 days, was quiet with no discernible migration. We did a loop of the beach and interior paths and saw two Clay-coloured Sparrows in a tree but not much else so we then headed up to the Visitor’s Centre via the road and Post-Woods.

We stopped birding at noon because we were not seeing many birds and decided to go back to the cottage for a rest and showers. While we were at home reports of a co-operating Worm-eating Warbler kept coming in on the Rare Bird Alert. It was annoying us to the point where Jerry said we should just go and see if we could see it. We went back to the park and pulled into Park Orientation which was jammed with vehicles. There was a spot at the curb that was not a parking spot but I could see people with cameras and bins looking at something a few feet away. Jerry stopped the car, we both jumped out and ran over and had beautiful views of a Worm-eating Warbler. Just stellar views! The best we have ever seen in Ontario. Jerry snapped some pictures as it landed on a branch right beside him and then the other photographers and birders moved in around him. He took a few more photos and we jumped back in the car and left so others could use the space. it was a 2 minute twitch (chase)!

We then headed to Hillman and saw some shorebirds but nothing new. We had some lovely looks at Short-billed Dowitchers allowing us to practice our identification skills between Long-billed and Short-billed.

When we left Hillman I wanted to stop at Pelee Wings to rent some binoculars for our friends arriving the next day but they suggested we had to go to the Marsh store in the park to get the bins. While that was happening an Ash-throated Flycatcher had been found in the park near Dunes and we were now just 1.5km from there getting the bins so we had to go for that bird, a mega rarity from Arizona/Texas and an Ontario first for us. We walked over from the Marsh boardwalk taunting the bird to leave by taking our time but I’m a bit curious this year to see whether most rarities have to be chased right away or not. When we got to the beach it was not being seen and after some chasing from beach to seasonal path we found the group that had seen it and ended up with wonderful views from the beach. So far the three rarities we have “chased” later have all been seen.

Ash-throated Flycatcher – first for us in Ontario – should be in Arizona or Texas

We had originally planned to meet Dorlisa for dinner but she went for the Ash-throated and then we went so we were texting back and forth and eventually met for dinner at 7 instead of the original 5:30. Birds before anything else! We ate at Crave Bar and Grill – the food was very good – Jerry tried their Jackfruit Tacos and I had the Perch tacos and once again I forgot to take pictures. What is happening to my brain?

We added only two new birds to the Ontario year list on the 9th and both were rarities. This is really unprecedented for spring migration. A few migrants each day but nothing like the numbers we are used to. There are 3 billion less birds in North America since the 70’s and so each year the number migrating is less. Sometimes they bypass Pelee but all along the lakes it is the same story right now – few warblers. The talk now is it might not happen until Friday/Saturday and we leave on Saturday so we might have to make it a very late day on Saturday before heading home. We will see what tomorrow brings.

May 12

Still nothing at the tip. Ten days and not one day of a decent influx of birds. We did have our best looks at Ruddy Turnstones close to the birders instead of down at the tip.

We walked the familiar trails and added nothing to the year list. There are birds but the same birds we have been seeing for the last few days. Our friends Marg and Lawson arrived at noon and spoiled us by bringing lunch. How nice it would be to have a personal chef LOL. Thanks Marg! Marg has been my editor extraordinaire for all the blogs I have posted from 2023 on which has been awesome for me as I hate making errors in these posts. I owe her bigly! We took them into the park and did the touristy things since this was their first visit to Pelee and their first “bird-watching.” We took the tram to the tip and walked out a ways to take the obligatory selfie at the southern most point of Ontario and the 42nd Parallel sign. The guys walked up the tower while Marg and I sat on a bench and caught up.

We took the tram back down to the visitor centre and walked through Tilden. It was birdy and they saw 12 species of warbler including a Red-headed Woodpecker. We had nice low looks at Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, and a Cape May having a bath in one of the sloughs.

Dinner was at Freddy’s and the Fattoush salad and Perch dinner were excellent as they always are. The forecast was for SW winds and rain in the night so maybe something will arrive if there is anything on the other side of the lake. Fingers and toes are crossed.

May 13

We got to the tip later than normal but there had been little there and still limited migration at the tip. Later it was obvious there were more birds that had come in further in the park. But the tip was pretty empty- Day 11. Places along eastern Lake Ontario had mini fallouts of warblers so they are finally starting to move. We took the tram both ways and walked the trails with Marg and Lawson seeing some different warblers from yesterday. They were getting better with using binoculars and getting better at spotting movement and seeing the bird. It was fun to share our passion with them. We saw a beautiful Scarlet Tanager with a bit of yellow/green still on it.

We finally heard a Canada Warbler but did not find it in the tangle of leaves and branches. We spent a bit of time in areas that Wilson’s Warblers were being heard and seen but we could not hear the song or see one. At noon we took them back to the cottage so they could head home and we had some lunch and a short rest and then headed back in for another walk around Tilden. It was still quite birdy and while I was looking at an area I sensed movement beside me and saw an American Woodcock beside me that had walked across the path and then went into the forest leaves. So wonderful to have that experience. It was 6 inches from my foot.

We saw another Red-headed Woodpecker and watched that for awhile. We have seen one almost every day. We talked about going to Hillman Marsh and then back into the park to try for Whip-poor-wills but both of us were tired and just needed a bit of a break from it all. There are clearly birds in the park and we can bird tomorrow and hopefully catch up with a few of the species we are still missing.

May 14

Oh it was a very good day! The trickle of birds everyday and some substantial input through the night made birding very enjoyable with multiples of most warbler species finally seen. I decided to try for the 100 species in a day again. We opted not to go to the tip but started at the top of the park. Then a report came from Hillman that a Willet and a Wilson’s Phalarope were being seen so we opted to drive over and at least get those two rarities that would also be year birds for us. When we arrived people were searching for the Phalarope but the Willet was easy to see. We scoped for a while and then opted to head back to the park. We passed Jean on the way in and just as we were driving out Jean called to say the Phalarope had just been found so we did a u-turn and retraced our steps to find a distant but nice Wilson’s Phalarope. I got Jean her Prairie Warbler and she repaid with this bird. That is the birding karma I talk about in action.

We returned to the park and continued birding down the west and east sides of the park managing to add a few birds and getting nice views of others we have seen. I have not been carrying my camera for a week now and instead am taking all the video you see on my Iphone 16 Pro. I am quite pleased with it and while the birds have to be really close the quality seems to be better than my camera was. At least for showing it on a blog like this.

We finally tracked down a Green Heron at DeLaurier and as always Jerry took some very nice pictures of it.

We also heard the Wilson’s Warbler a few times but did not get eyes on the bird. I imagine we will see it at some point. And we also added a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher to the Ontario list.

When we had exhausted the Pelee Park trails and we were also exhausted we headed out of the park to get some well deserved Mexican food. I managed a picture of the guacamole at Salsa Caliente but can you believe that I forgot to take a picture of my yummy enchiladas? How does this happen? I have birder brain and hunger takes over LOL. Anyway, trust me when I say it looked and tasted delicious! While waiting for our food I put together a trip report from the day so I could see what my species count was. I had seen 90 species at that point.

After dinner we headed to Kopegaron Woods because I thought I had a good chance to add a few birds there that I did not get in the park. Sure enough there were Swainson’s Thrush and then a Rock Pigeon from the farms outside the woods. A bit further along the boardwalk we saw a Hairy Woodpecker. Now I was at 93. A few minutes later Merlin suggested it had heard a Rusty Blackbird. We had not added this bird for the year yet so we retraced our steps and actively checked every blackbird we were seeing. Jerry spotted something a bit different and we both got on it with bins. I confirmed it had a yellow eye and we had our Rusty. #94. It took a bit to get a picture as it was back in tangles but Jerry managed a record shot.

When we reached the end of the loop I opted to start walking the loop again just to see if the Prothonotary had appeared. I had missed seeing it in the Park and it would be a nice bird to add for the 100. As I started down the boardwalk I saw a couple with cameras raised and as I got close they showed me an Eastern Screech Owl sitting in its hole sunning. #95 as the one in the Park had not been visible.

I was getting excited. We still had to go back to Hillman and we planned to walk the Couture Dyke at dusk for rails so I was getting more confident by the minute that I would hit the 100. Jerry took some owl pics, we checked further along the boardwalk but no Prothonotary and so we headed out of the woods to find a group at the entrance with bins and cameras raised – a Golden-winged Warbler! #96 and still two places to visit.

When we arrived at Hillman there were plenty of birds in the marsh and we started scoping right away. I knew I had missed Green-winged Teal earlier so I quickly found those for #97 and then a Greater Yellowlegs for #98. Merlin suggested a Black-bellied Plover had called but we could not find any as we scoped. I found two Ruddy Turnstones for #99. We took turns scanning and suddenly Jerry said he had a Semi-palmated Plover! He tried to get it in the scope and after a few minutes he had it #100 for the day! Woohoo! And it was a year bird for us too. We then added two more species for 102 and one more stop.

Couture Dyke is a walk around a huge marsh land that we visited last year. It is a good place to listen for rails. We ended up hearing Least Bittern, perhaps the one from last week at the tip and a Virginia Rail. While these were not birds we needed to add to our Ontario List they did get added to our day list along with an Osprey and a Field Sparrow giving us a total for the day of 106 species seen! I was more than happy with that and while I was tired I was not exhausted the way I usually am after these 100 day adventures.

May 15

With the ups and downs of this migration it was no surprise to once again have a quiet tip with only a few migrants. We did manage to see a possible Acadian Flycatcher. Flycatchers can be a challenge to ID and so we will wait to hear what others think of the photos taken. It is easiest to identify them when they are singing as their songs are all unique but many look very similar and that causes difficulty in the field with different lighting, distance etc.

With it being our last full day in the park we were not too worried about trying to find the few birds we have not seen this migration. Those left we know we can see elsewhere in the province if we want to do that. Instead we met up with Judy and Cindy and spent a delightful few hours walking the trail chatting, laughing and occasionally birding. There were still birds in the park but the warblers were up high in the trees and so there was little incentive for us to crane our necks to see warblers that yesterday had been seen beautifully at eye level.

Just after noon we decided to leave the park and headed over to Hillman to see a White-faced Ibis that was being seen. As we walked down the path a couple leaving told us that the birds had all flushed, including the Ibis. Oh no! but we continued on and when we arrived at the water the Ibis was just flying back in and landed quite close to us.

We helped a few people see shorebirds in the scope and then opted to call it a day. We had dishes to clean and things to pack at the cottage. We had a nice meal at Freddy’s and spent the evening relaxing. Usually, on our way home we stop at Rondeau but we are going to go to the Tip in the morning to just see if this heavy migration that is forecast actually happens here.

May 16

Well there was migration in the night but the majority of the birds missed the tip and landed further up in the park. We checked out the tip and as it was quiet and rain was forecast we opted to say our goodbyes to the regulars Keith, Jeremy, Cindy and Judy and head for home. We arrived home before noon and the news from Pelee was of a Kirtland’s Warbler that Keith found around 10am. Oh well, that is the way it goes, you get some, you miss some. We were happy to be home after 2 weeks of continual birding. Pelee is always great no matter when you go or how long you stay. While we felt the quantity of birds was less, the quality of our interactions was fantastic this year. We had so many wonderful, up close interactions with these jewels that briefly stop in our area.

We spent 1 day at Rondeau, 13 at Pelee. We went to the tip 11 mornings and walked a total of 167km over the 14 days. The day I got the 100 species we walked 16.6km. The cottage we rent cost $2,200 for the two weeks and our meals out cost around $400 plus gas there and back. We used electric every day in the park. We added 90 birds to the Ontario Bird list for the year and 58 to the Year List of Birds. So at the end of this trip we had seen 223 in Ontario this year and 582 birds seen for the World List this year.

The numbers of birders choosing to go to Pelee has dropped over the last few years with many suggesting it is too packed with crowds but the Park is very large and while there are crowds around the celebrity rarities for a short time most of your time at Pelee can be completely alone on the trails. For those that like to socialize and meet friends you can hang around the more popular trails but there are countless opportunities to be alone too. Hopefully this blog gives you a little taste of what awaits at Pelee. It is a very special place…until next time…

Week 17 200! and Pelee!

by Ellen Horak | Apr 29, 2024 | Ontario Birds 2024

Background on Pelee: Point Pelee National Park (not the Island) is arguably the best place to bird in Ontario because of the migration of 40 warbler species in the spring and fall and the 400 species of birds that have been seen there. The southern most point of Canada sits at the same latitude as northern California – It’s true, look at a map! It is a mecca for birders in the spring and the Festival of Birds every May is a rite of passage for any birder to experience at least once. We have been every year since 2013 but there are birders who have been going for 50+ years! The stories they can tell of the sheer numbers of birds back in the day. Pelee is packed, it is busy, but it is exciting to be with your tribe, to stop and talk with anyone and have a connection. Some people we only see at Pelee each year but enjoy their companionship and stories. It can be daunting in time and energy. The early tram to the tip leaves at 5:15 now, it used to be 6, so that means up at 4:30, in the park by 5 because that first tram is FULL. Otherwise, it is the 3km walk to the tip, which we sometimes opt for. Then 2-3 hours at the tip and then working your way back up through the park through the day. We usually have an early dinner at 3-4 and then get back in the park for the evening when it tends to be empty of people but some good birds can be found. We often walk 14-20km in a day. Then it is back to the hotel for an hour or two to sort pictures and notes and bed before 10 to get up at 4 the next day.

What birders want more than anything in the spring is south winds because birds want to fly over Lake Erie or Ontario with tailwinds to push them and help them use less energy. Bird Cast is an online migration tool (birdcast.info) that forecasts how heavy migration will be based on those winds and fronts. In spring I check the weather and Birdcast daily. The second thing birders hope for is a “Fallout” situation where migrating birds suddenly hit heavy rain or north winds that cause them to be forced to land, hopefully at Pelee or your backyard. We have been at Pelee for a couple of these events and it is fantastic to witness. Colourful warblers can be just hopping on the ground, landing on people and sitting while they regain strength from feeding. There can be so many birds it is difficult to know where to look. These events are now few and far between though as bird numbers have declined and there are many more days of fewer birds and lots of walking and talking about birds and the weather. Still Pelee is always worth the visit and have the chance to experience birds you would not normally see in your yard.

Week 17

Monday we were getting ready to head to Pelee on Tuesday when a report of a Swallow-tail Kite came in from the Long Point area. While not a chaseable bird we talked about going down and driving the lakeshore and the marsh areas in case it was re-found. Then we thought if we drive there we might as well continue to drive to Pelee so we quickly finished up packing and were on the road by noon. We had a leisurely drive along Lake Erie, stopping at areas with good views and never found the Kite but we did have great views of a Golden Eagle at Port Rowan. I had two target birds for Pelee this week – American Avocet and Willet, both southern shorebirds that show up in Ontario fairly regularly. The Avocets generally in the window of April 21-May 7 with a 53% chance the third week in April. One had crossed over the Tip of Pelee on the 21st but was not seen again. We arrived in Leamington at dinner time and had our usual hotel travel meal.

Then we headed into the park for the evening. Things were starting to green up a bit and it was lovely to walk some of the trails we had missed on our half day here last week. Pelee is a beautiful park with trails that all have different habitat. Before the birders arrive in the next week we had the place mostly to ourselves.

It was pretty quiet, not a lot of birds but we managed to add 3, Chimney Swift, Louisiana Waterthrush and Northern Waterthrush. There are very subtle differences between the two Waterthrushes and although we did not get pictures we are confident in the identification as other birders had them in the same spots and the ID had been confirmed. That left us at 199. What would bird 200 be?

The forecast was for south winds Monday night and Birdcast had predicted low migration so Tuesday morning we were up and in the park just after 6 for the 3km hike to the tip (the tram doesn’t start early runs until May 1) and met up with 2 birders to watch the skies and lake.

There had been no migration that we could see, no warblers, no thrushes, if birds had migrated they had blown right past the Tip which does happen. There were also no shorebirds out on the sand of the Tip which is also why birders head there. The temptation to look and leave is strong, but the rule at the Tip is you start every day there and you stay a few hours because good things can come by at any moment. Lake watching is very boring for hours and then super exciting for seconds so much of the time is spent talking with whoever else happens to be there. While scanning for birds we passed the time talking to Cameron and Keith about, well, birding and weather.

At 7:50 Jerry yelled out and all of us saw a flock of 58 American Avocets fly down the east side, land briefly on the tip and then take off over the west side. Our 200th bird was American Avocet! We were thrilled! We had picked the right day by coming early.

About 20 minutes later they made another pass, coming down the east side, stopping briefly (seconds) and then continuing on across the lake heading west. Now all we needed was a Willet. We waited another hour but nothing else appeared and so we headed into the woods to see if we could find some new birds. The woods were pretty quiet again but we did find a few pockets of birds and managed to add 1 more new bird, a Blue-headed Vireo before it started to rain. Four Avocets had been re-found a bit earlier by Max, who had missed them at the Tip earlier, so we headed to the spot hoping to get better pictures.

The wind was howling and the rain was coming at us sideways but we made it down the short path to see the birds and there in the pond with them was a Willet. It had been reported the day before but we did not have the right directions to look for it. We had both of our targets on the first full day!

Willet -this is not the picture he took in the rain – we went back the next day for this better picture.

I had booked the hotel for the week not knowing how long it might take for these birds to arrive and we had just got very lucky! It was nice after the bit of a mess last week. With the rain coming down quite hard we opted to celebrate getting our targets with the standard go to at Pelee – Freddy’s for perch!

Wednesday morning we once again were in the park by 6am and at the tip before 7. It was much colder with north winds and very little was happening. We did add Common Tern for bird 203 and then headed back to the visitor centre through the woods and added Common Yellowthroat as well. We decided to check out Hillman Marsh to see if there were any shorebirds but there was little around. We were hungry and chilled so headed for an early dinner of delicious Mexican food in Leamington and then decided to stop in Kopegaron Woods after dinner. It seemed full of bird calls and birds, more than we had seen at Pelee and we quickly added Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Blue, Eastern Wood Pewee and Swainson’s Thrush. Although we only heard the Pewee and Thrush we know that we will be seeing and hearing lots of them in the next weeks. We also heard Louisiana Waterthrush and hung around trying to find it so Jerry could get pictures. We added 7 new birds on Wednesday!

Having got our targets and with north winds continuing until Friday we opted to head home Thursday and moved up returning to Pelee to Sunday. We stopped at a few places on the drive home and added Green Heron at Erieau Marsh Trail. Friday we headed down to the Trail Head in Glen Morris to see if the Cliff Swallows had returned and saw 5 of them with some already checking the nests from last year.

I haven’t said much about the Top 100 Birders but we have been in the top spot for quite a few weeks now. I don’t know if we will remain there. Migration can make or break things depending how the rarities fall and where. So, I’m taking the screen shot now so there is “proof” that at one point this year we were quite comfortably in the lead LOL.

We have been in the number one spot for a number of weeks but will we maintain it through spring migration?

There was Hype about the weekend forecast – 4 days of south and southwest winds with rain and some front coming up from Texas – I don’t understand much of it but the keen birders were getting pretty pumped that “something” was happening this weekend and it might be big, or epic, or so-so, LOL. The forecast is rain most of the day tomorrow after south winds and we will not be at Pelee.

Saturday the Discord dings started coming in mid morning not only from Pelee but from Rondeau and Long Point – Kentucky, Worm-eating, Chats, Henslow’s, a Snowy Egret near Chatham etc etc. It was excruciating to continue our caregiving chores knowing that great birds were 3 hours away. We finally left around 12:30 and headed to where the Snowy Egret was. A friend had it about 45 minutes before we arrived and no one was “on” the bird when we got there. The weather had gone from cloudy and cool to 25C and humid and I was overdressed. I paced the area back and forth, sweating and hoping for a sighting of the Egret through the branches but only saw Great Egrets. After 90 minutes we called it and headed to Pelee hoping to get at least one of the target birds that had been reported.

We arrived at Pelee 5:20pm and optimistically thinking we could see the Kentucky Warbler, bounce over to where a Yellow-breasted Chat was seen and then walk to the Tip for the Henslow’s Sparrow. Ahhh, the naivety!! LOL! Seven o’clock and we were still standing on the path where the Kentucky had last been seen, apparently minutes before we had got there because I had stopped to use the washroom! People told us it pops up every 10-15 minutes but it had been 90. Finally around 7:15 Jerry and Cameron saw it on the other side of the path we were all watching and then disappeared again. Ugggh I was trying to control my negativity – Jerry had a bird I didn’t – and a good one! We kept looking, other people had not seen it either, the tension was building and then it popped up, flew back across the road, we all raced to the spot and got good looks of it on a log. Yes! Stunning yellow and black! Jerry did not get a picture as it was too quick but perhaps we will have another encounter. And most importantly he went home with a happy wife! Whew!

I’m including Sunday on next weeks blog as this has gotten rather long and migration means long days and no time to write. Pelee to be continued…

So Week 17 ends with 19 rarities 216 species seen J&E