It was a large group of birders that assembled at the gate at Rock Point Provincial Park this morning. After paying the entrance fee we headed straight for the southeastern corner of the park. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was spotted before we even got down to the beach. Only a few shorebirds were along the shore but an early Dunlin in fading breeding plumage was nice. Two Ruddy Turnstones were also seen. Loads of Yellow Warblers and Baltimore Orioles worked the willows on the back edge of the beach. A probable Willow Flycatcher was seen but did not vocalize (virtually no eye-ring, short primary projection). We returned to our vehicles and while waiting to use the rest rooms, an immature Bald Eagle and an Osprey came over at the same time. Neither species is regular in the park though the eagle (and Osprey?) breeds on the nearby Grand River.
We left the park and headed to King Road, the first road east of the big bend in H-N 3. It must have been the group karma because finally, on my fourth attempt, the CATTLE EGRET was there on the edge of the pond. After watching it for a little while it flew back to the cattle and began to pick insects from their heads! Next, we headed inland to Canal Bank Road in the Township of Moulton. There, in a sod farm on the north side of the road we found the early AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER we had scouted out earlier in the morning. With the plover were many Killdeer as well as several juvenile Horned Larks which bear little resemblence to the adults. While the group watched the plover, one birder noticed five shorebirds land in an adjacent dirt field. His precise directions enabled me to finally spot one of them. Putting it in my scope, I was delighted to see a WHIMBREL. Most of us saw one or two Whimbrel in the field where they were frequently out of sight behind a rise. After this, we checked beaches at Morgan's Point where we ate lunch, Harbourview Road, Windmill Point, Stonemill Road, and Kraft Road. The shorebirding at these spots was disappointing. We never saw a yellowlegs on the day! One birder that got separated from the group found a Red-headed Woodpecker but the rest of us were not so lucky. Good birding! Willie -------------- Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Niagara Falls, N.Y. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
