August 19 2012 (Sunday) Rock Point Provincial Park & Eastern
Lake Erie Shore
Leaders: John Black, Dan Salisbury.
25 birders spent a rewarding morning exploring the Rock Point Provincial
Park shoreline, the Mosaic Esterhazy
Lagoons and the nearby sod farms on Sunday August 19. A total of 60 bird
species were seen.
Rock Point was very disappointing. On the shore a few Killdeer, Spotted
Sandpipers, Least and Semipalmated
Sandpipers, and 2 Semipalmated Plovers were found along with a single
Lesser Yellowlegs. The fly-over of a solitary
Solitary Sandpiper completed the Rock Point total.
At Mosaic Esterhazy we added a single Greater Yellowlegs, a single
Short-billed Dowitcher and a Merlin to our list.
In most years we see Black -bellied Plovers, a few American
Golden-Plovers and one or two Buff-breasted Sandpipers
at the sod farms. This year was no exception. We arrived at Poth Road
at about noon. Our initial impression was not good.
There were many Killdeer, but no plovers, on Poth Road. A single
Black-bellied Plover was present when we first arrived at
the sod farms on the Wainfleet - Dunville Townline Road. About the time
when we were ready to give up three separate flocks
of Black-bellied Plover arrived. In with them was a single American
Golden-Plover and, while scanning the plovers, we also
found a Buff-breasted Sandpiper(a lifer for several participants)
Shorebirds observed were:
* Semipalmated Plover 2
* Killdeer 209
* Black-bellied Plover 37
* American Golden Plover 1
* Spotted Sandpiper 6
* Solitary Sandpiper 1
* Greater Yellowlegs 1
* Lesser Yellowlegs 7
* Semipalmated Sandpiper 9
* Least Sandpiper 19
* Short-billed Dowitcher 1
* Buff-breasted Sandpiper 1
Other birds of interest were:
* Merlin 1
* Great Egret 1
* Green Heron 4
Special thanks to George Madsen for access to the Mosaic Esterhazy
Lagoons. Special thanks to Luke Fazio,
Jim Heslop and Kevin McLaughlin for help in leading the trip.
Directions from Rock Point Provincial Park to the sod farms. Travel
east along Canal
Bank Road to Hutchinson Road tuning north and making a right (east) on Poth
Road. Search for plovers on Poth Road (between Hutchinson Road and the
Wainfleet-Dunnville
Townline Road) and on the Wainfleet-Dunnville Townline Road (Left of
Poth Road as far as Bell Road).
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