Trip Report Fall Birding on the Bruce Peninsula - Oct 23 & 24, 2020
On Saturday am 13 OFO members gathered in the north end of Wiarton to spend the day exploring the eastern shore of the Bruce Peninsula with its cliffs and deep waters of Georgian Bay for fall migrants. Fortunately the weather was sunny most of the day. The first stop was at the wharf at Colpoy's Bay where Common Mergansers and Mallards were observed feeding in the steam along with spawning salmonids. Common Loons rode the waters of the bay. The group proceeded north and in the Ferndale flats stopped to watch a hovering Rough-legged Hawk and several Harriers. Then on to Dyer's Bay where the open waters of Georgian Bay had Red-necked Grebes, Horned Grebes and both White-winged and Surf Scoters. Three Greater Yellowlegs and Great Blue Heron were a highlight on Dyer's Bay Road. After stopping in Tobermory for a small flock of Snow Buntings and looking across the sunlit islands the group travelled to the south with stops at Lion's Head for Red-breasted Mergansers. In a field near Ferndale a group of 56 Sandhill Cranes were observed. Later they were joined by two other small flocks. The final stop on Saturday was at Issac Lake were 2 Trumpeter Swans and 1 American Coot were added to the memories of the day. On Sunday am the group reassembled to tour the western shore of the Bruce Peninsula with its many inlets, beaches and off-shore islands. The first stop was the Stokes Bay area where 7 Trumpeter Swans, 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Black Scoter, a variety of other waterfowl, 2 American Coots and 3 Pied-billed Grebes were observed. At Black Creek Park Reserve the group had a Common Redpoll and Snow Bunting. At Sky Lake 3 Bald Eagles were seen soaring over the lake. The open waters of the lake had a flock of 33 Hooded Mergansers and an adjacent open field had a flock of Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls. The final stop was at the mouth of the Sauble River where the group had close views of a mixed flock of all three species of Scoters. The differences between the three species could be clearing observed. Kathy and Martin Parker Fall Birding on the Bruce Birding trip -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines To edit your membership settings visit the Birdnews setup page at: http://ontbirds.ca/mailman/listinfo/birdnews_ontbirds.ca. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding physical distancing and non-essential travel. To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
