Today (Sept 11) is the first day that Gull island is open to the public after the water bird nesting season. This usually means birders will wade from Owen Pt but with the high water levels many may be wondering about access.
I went over this morning in calm conditions wearing chest waders. The crossing was about 175-200m of open water and averaged about 2 feet deep. The deepest part was about 3 feet deep for about 20 meters nearer the Owen Pt side of half way. The water was clear and the bottom can be seen the whole way but note some people experience vertigo looking into the rippling water. Also note that with wind and seiche conditions the current and even water depth can change noticeably in a few hours. When I went over at 8:30am there was no current. Coming back there was a noticeable current of about 40cm/sec. It would not be recommended to walk over in any kind of waves. Gull Island itself has very little shorebird habitat, with no mud or algae flats along the shore. There were a couple of muddy hollows that had no birds. The central pond is generally too deep for shorebirds right now but has a bit of an edge. Beyond gulls, cormorants, mallards and swans there were few birds but is often the case Gull Island held some nice surprises. A Red-necked Phalarope was feeding in the pond the whole 2hrs I was there. I also glimpsed in my scope a large black bird with an ochre face and yellow breast that I can only think was an immature Yellow-headed Blackbird. It flew off and dropped in the rank grass. I walked to where I thought it had gone but never saw it again. In addition there was 2 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 American Golden Plover, 1 Sanderling, 1 Ruddy Turnstone, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 peeps and 3 Pectoral Sandpipers. The Turnstone, peeps, and Pectorals and were inland and the latter two being very unshorebird like, flushing from the vegetation, landing and then ducking into the thick growth of grass and mallow. Also of note were three pipits and a Harrier. While I did not go for a closer look, a scan from Owen Point indicated about 100 shorebirds down at the Beach 3 area which has been the best shorebird viewing area for the last month. David David Bree Sr. Natural Heritage Education Leader Presqu'ile Provincial Park 328 Presqu'ile Parkway Brighton, ON. K0K 1H0 613 475-4324 ext 225 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
