Hello Birders: Mark Wiercinski, John Haselmayer and I survived our annual Bruce Peninsula birdathon yesterday (May 20), reaching a total of 163 species. We were on track for one of our best-ever days until a dramatic thunderstorm ended our day abruptly before we could get to the remaining target species.
We started in Wiarton at 2am with a Whip-poor-will calling from the motel parking lot. Calm conditions and warm temperatures overnight were ideal and we easily heard all of the expected nocturnal birds. At dawn, we arrived at MacGregor Point Provincial Park and found good numbers of migrants in addition to the expected breeders. Highlights here were Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Cape May, Mourning, Northern Parula, Golden-winged and Blue-winged warblers, Lincoln's Sparrow, Red-headed Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Least Bittern and many Black-billed Cuckoos. For our first time on the birdathon, we ventured farther south to check out the Kincardine sewage ponds, which produced Redhead duck and Trumpeter Swan. For the rest of the day, we worked our way north up the Bruce Peninsula picking up target species and local specialities such as Brewer's Blackbird and Upland Sandpiper (both near Ferndale). The last productive stop of the day was at Dyers Bay, where we added Horned and Red-necked Grebes, White-winged Scoter and Peregrine Falcon. Overall, we found the peninsula to be abuzz with decent numbers of migrants, including a mix of early and later species. Breeding birds were well-established on territories and active. We tallied good numbers of warblers (24 species), ducks (16 species) and raptors (11 species). For the detail oriented, we birded from 2:00am - 7:30pm and drove 550km. In a unprecedented display of self-restraint, we consumed far less junk food than usual, although our big day diet would still quality as remarkably unhealthy. Happy birding! Ethan Meleg Midland, ON i...@ethanmeleg.com _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
