Good morning, For some, the highlight over the past few days has been the RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS at tip with the males putting on animated and close-up courtship displays for the females. Others enjoyed the aerial display of swallows flying low over the sand and water at the east beach by the Tip. All six species of swallow are now present and easily seen. Other aerial foragers like the Chimney Swifts have yet to make an appearance however. The cool and windy weather continues to dominate today. Perhaps not surprisingly, several early spring migrants are still being reported; bird species such as Dark-eyed Junco, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Warbler numbers and diversity remain low. Less than 10 species have been reported so far. Aside from the Yellow-rumped Warblers, most are seeing only one or two of each of the others. The VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA remain very vocal at the east end of the Shuster Trail. A nearby perched BALD EAGLE also added excitement. Two WILLETS were seen at the Hillman Marsh Shorebird area yesterday afternoon and the LITTLE BLUE HERON was seen most of the day at Wheatley Provincial Park. With temperatures beginning to climb tomorrow and forecast to hit a high of 23 Celsius by Friday, new arrivals are expected to start showing up daily. Good Birding, Friends of Point Pelee John Haselmayer, Karl Konze, Ross Mackintosh, Dave Martin, Pete Read and Alan Wormington **************************** Point Pelee National Park of Canada and the Friends of Point Pelee brings you the Festival of Birds 2005, from April 30 - May 31. The Friends of Point Pelee offers daily birding hikes, including evening hikes from Wednesday to Saturday to May 21. Quest Nature Tours and Bushnell Performance Optics sponsor County Bus Tours on May 7 & 14. First Annual Fundraising Dinner, Friday, May 13 with guest speaker, Chris Earley. Visit www.pc.gc.ca/pelee or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] for more information. *********************************************
