On April 28, Rick Szabo and Mike Burrell led a group of 20 OFO members and guests for the annual late April OFO trip to the Prince Edward County South Shore IBA.
We started the day at Picton and then headed straight for Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (PEPtBO) (Kaiser Crossroad, where we normally stop en route, was dry this year). We had a quick banding demonstration from the PEPtBO staff and then walked Traverse Lane to the lighthouse and back. We encountered good numbers of late April migrants like White-throated Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets with smaller numbers of Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler & House Wren. When we arrived back at the banding lab we enjoyed a snack and a few more banded birds including Nashville Warbler and Brown Thrasher. The group then headed to Traverse Woods where we had good looks at an adult male Orchard Oriole and lesser views of a Palm Warbler along with more typical late April migrants. A chance to view the lake here yielded hundreds of White-winged Scoters with some (eventually) excellent views of Surf Scoters. On the way back to Picton via Babylon Rd we managed to add a number of grassland birds including a winnowing Wilson's Snipe, several Eastern Meadowlarks and a couple members of the group heard the call of the recently returned Upland Sandpiper. After finishing up the trip in Picton a small group continued on to Wesley Acres Rd where a flooded field was hosting waterfowl and shorebirds. We added many ducks to our list for the day and an early Least Sandpiper. On the way home, one car found a Long-billed Dowitcher in Morganston, north of Brighton. The final tally for the day between all participants was 103 species - an excellent day of birding in late April! Thanks to everyone who came and especially to the Volunteers & Staff at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory and to Rick Szabo as co-leader! For a full list of birds, see our trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/227924 Good birding, Mike Burrell and Rick Szabo -- 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 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.
