10 participants joined the OFO hike at Point Pelee National Park and surrounding area today. We finished w/ a total of 48 species but most of our time was spent searching for shorebirds and waterbirds so we ended w/ low numbers of passerines.
The temperature was warm throughout the day and mostly cloudy w/ light south winds and a few light rain showers in the late morning and early afternoon. At the Tip, highlights included a hybrid Great Black-backed x Herring Gull, a few Merlins giving close looks including one harassing a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a couple of somewhat late Eastern Kingbirds flying south off the Tip. In the late morning, Paul Gosselin reported that the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck had returned to Sturgeon Creek Marina so we carpooled to see this rarity that has been lingering in the area for quite some time. Everyone enjoyed incredible looks at the duck, which was a lifer or new Ontario bird for most of the group. Thanks to Paul Gosselin for the report. Our next stop was at southeast Hillman Marsh (East Beach road access) to try for the Neotropic Cormorant found Friday. We didn't find the cormorant but we did see an assortment of shorebirds including Semipalmated Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Spotted Sandpiper. Surprisingly there were no shorebirds at the Mersea 21 flooded field north of Hillman Marsh. Our final stop was Wheatley Harbour where the highlight was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull on the break wall. Many thanks to all the participants who attended and special thanks to Sarah Rupert for her early morning help prior to the outing. Jeremy Hatt _______________________________________________ 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
