Good morning birders, Once again, the weather was the big story this morning. Strong westerly winds have buffeted the Park ever since the cold front passed through the Park around 2:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Wind speeds at the Park last night were steady between 60-70 km/hr. Periodic gusts must have been even stronger. Maintenance crews have been busy clearing the fallen trees and other debris from throughout the Park.
With the winds being strong overnight, it was not surprisingly that almost no new migrants made it into the Park from the south. Bird activity was patchy, with most birds hunkered down on the east side of the Park or other more sheltered locations. Of special note was the impressive congregation of swallows at the tip. Thousands could be seen either zipping past or sitting on the beach or low branches out of the wind. At the slightest disturbance, they would all take off into the sky in a dizzying frenzy. Alan Wormington estimated that there were 3100 BANK SWALLOWS, 700 BARN SWALLOWS, and 180 CLIFF SWALLOWS (including a partial albino Cliff Swallow). Also mixed in were numerous TREE SWALLOWS and a few CHIMNEY SWIFTS. In fact, several Chimney Swift were seen flying amongst the trees in the woods! Also worth mentioning were the warblers that came to feed on the insects attracted to a dead fish along the east beach near the Tip. BLACKBURNIAN, BLACK-THROATED GREEN and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS were seen busily feeding off the fish. In fact at one point, two Chestnut-sided Warblers (one male and one female) could be seen fighting over a single maggot. For a few moments, both were locked in a tug of war, but the male ended up victorious. This display was not lost on the photographers either. About a half dozen were camped out around the fish, photographing like crazy. Their long telephoto lens were rendered useless on many occasions as the birds would hop down from the bushes on to the sand in front of them. Staying still, the birds would come as close as two feet away. No gulls or shorebird were present at the tip since most of the tip has been temporarily washed away. As mentioned above, overall bird activity in the Park was patchy. Away from the east side of the tip, Tilden's Woods seemed most busy. Some of the highlights reported to us at the Visitor Centre so far includes: ***FISH CROW - (1) - Park Gate ( This bird was observed feeding on a dead fish. It was heard calling repeatedly and then seen flying east along the north dyke. A rare bird reported has been submitted). Kentucky Warbler - (1) - Tilden's Woods (likely same bird as yesterday) Mourning Warbler - (1) - Tilden's Woods Hooded Warbler - (2) - Post Woods and between tip and Shuster Trail along the East Beach Acadian Flycatcher - (1) - Post Woods White-eyed Vireo - (1) - Post Woods Canada Warbler - (2) - Post Woods & Woodland Nature Tail (W.N.T.) Cerulean Warbler - (1 male) - Post Woods Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - (1) - Post Woods Tennessee Warbler - (1) - Tip Area Blackpoll Warbler - (1) - Tip area Wilson's Warbler - (1) - Tip area Northern Parula - (1) - W.N.T. Philadelphia Vireo - (1) - Tip area Eastern Screech-Owl - (1) - W.N.T. (same tree) Outside of the Park, people in search of the FISH CROW found a HOODED MERGANSER in the ditch along the North Dyke, 1 WILLET at Wheatley Harbour, 12 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and 1 SEMIPALMATED PLOVER at the Hillman Marsh C.A. shorebird impoundment. Also reported after yesterdays (May 11) message were: Yellow-billed Cuckoo - (1) - Tilden's Woods Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - (1) - Tilden's Woods Hooded Warbler - (1) - Tip area Black-billed Cuckoo - (1) - Tip area Good Birding, John Haselmayer, Karl Konze, Dave Martin, Pete Read, Alan Wormington Staff, Friends of Point Pelee ************************************************************************ Point Pelee National Park and the Friends of Point Pelee are pleased to present the 2003 Festival of Birds from April 26 to May 26. This years events include daily hikes, County Hot Spot Tours, "Birders Breakfast" and much. For more information, please visit www.wincom.net/~fopp/ or www.parkscanada.gc.ca/pn-np/on/pelee/ne/ne4_e.asp. Birders may also be interested in the free shorebird hikes offered by Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) at the new shorebird impoundment. - To contact the Friends of Point Pelee please call 519-326-6173, fax 519-326-7925 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] - For general park information, please call 519-322-2365. - To contact ERCA, please call 519-776-5209. ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Friends of Point Pelee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
