Hi Everyone! I know - I promised more frequent updates, but I've been caught up in the Monarch migration frenzy in the last week and haven't had time to post, let alone look at many birds.
There are birds around...I'm happy to report. We are still seeing a nice diversity of warblers in the park - still good numbers of Blackpolls, as well as Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Black-throated blue, Black-throated green, Black & White, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Tennessee, Nashville, Palm, Yellow-rumped and more reported in the last week. We've been seeing vireos as well - lots of Red-eyed and Philadelphia, and there have been reports of Blue-headed as well. As you've seen in other parts of the province, hawk migration has really picked up in the last week and we've noted this here as well. Monday was the first morning where we were seeing lots of Sharpies at the Tip. DeLaurier is another great hawk watching place - this morning, both Cooper's and Sharp-shinned were actively hunting around the parking lot and Merlin was noted as well. I've been enjoying a great display of thrushes outside my office window - the most common species this week has been grey-cheeked, though I've also noted Swainson's, Veery and Hermit Thrushes in the mix. Wood Thrushes have been reported in the park this week as well. I was out to Hillman Marsh and area last night with Jim Pawlicki (Offical Hawk Counter for Holiday Beach) and was pleasantly surprised to find a nice assortment of shorebirds. The shorebird cell is currently planted with a cover crop, so it's not at all productive. However, the water in the pond just east of the main entrance to the park is very low and was great. Highlights included Stilt Sandpiper (9), Baird's Sandpiper, lots of Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, lots of Great egrets (including the wing-tagged individual that has been previously reported) and a Great Blue Heron beating up a Double-crested Cormorant! We also checked out the southwest side of the marsh (we drove down the now no exit road and stood on the dike) and there is more shorebird habitat there. We saw additional Stilt Sandpipers and Black-bellied Plovers. Ideal habitat for godwits, though we didn't find any. There was no sign of the Ibis reported earlier in the week. We also stopped by the soccer fields on Mersea Rd 12, just north of the Park. The soccer fields were empty, but the ploughed field on the east side of the road was productive. We saw 2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, 25+ Am Golden Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers and Semipalmated Plovers. For those interested in monarchs - we've had a great week, up until Wednesday, when most butterflies departed on lovely north breezes. We've had a report of a nice cluster of butterflies at the park gate, so there are definitely more to come. You can follow the progress of fall migration on Twitter.com/PointPeleeNP or on our website www.parkscanada.gc.ca/pelee Good birding everyone - an update to follow early next week! Sarah Sarah Rupert Sr. Park Interpreter, Interpretation Coordinator Interprète de parc principale, Coordinatrice d'interprétation Point Pelee National Park/Parc national de la Pointe-Pelée Parks Canada/Parcs Canada 519.322.5700 ext/poste 223 519.322.1678 (fax/téléc) sarah.rup...@pc.gc.ca www.pc.gc.ca _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
