From: Tim Mccarthy via Ontbirds Hello fellow Whimbrel fanciers, followers of the mystique and adventure of Nature's seasonal migrations, and even folks who have recently retired but don't quite know what to do.
All the excitement of this newsletter, and as you will soon see, there is going to be quite a bit, palls into insignificance compared with this bald faced appeal to the recently retired. The Whimbrels, in order to be properly recorded, need 2 shifts each day out there on Whimbrel Point of their short little window lasting from May 19 or so to May 31st. That means you, oh recently retired one. The golf course can wait. Golf courses proliferate while Whimbrels decline! The early morning Watch, formerly touted by the Elite as the only time to be there has been systematically refuted over the past 2 years by those who arrive on Whimbrel Point late, stay on , and keep records. Lots of records. It is now obvious to all of us Whimbreleers that we cannot do without you second shift folks. So please, volunteer to be a whimbreleer; come out and stake your claim. The Whimbrels have an extremely short window to pass by us fortunate folks and I believe there is a lot to be learned by citizen scie ntists like ourselves before the birds pass on. I and the few other morning Whimbrel watchers will attempt to stay on as long into the afternoon as we can from now until the end of May,which is when the Whimbrels, as well as the Whimbrel Watch is all over. We wish you afternoon volunteer folk to come out so that we may pass the watch to you. There is no disputing the fact that Whimbrels come through all day long and up to recently, we have only been recording half of their passage. You are sorely and soonly needed. Today was unbelievable compared to the same date in the past. Wayne, my co-Whimbreleer has more staying power than I have and today after I left he found 2 Fish Crows and a lot of great late season Warblers in the "Dogwoods" and the "Bowl" which are also parts of Sam Smith Park and easy to reach when you are done looking for Shorebirds. 10 species or so of woodsy-type birds is a pretty good thing to see in such a small and accessible place as Sam Smith Park. If you think we are trying to turn this place into a birder mega-attraction you would be right but the place , I believe, does merit such an exalted title. Now for the Whimbrel Point part. Wayne and I barely had a chance to unpack this morning out on the Point at oh-dark-hundred when the first flock of 50 Whimbrels came through. 6:20 it was, and everything should have been just a standard good early sighting (and this note would have been a lot shorter) except for the fact that they came in from the West. Then between 7 and 8 we had east to west flocks of 21 and 80. Other critters of note were 1 Semipalmated plover on the beach just south of Whimbrel Point, 17 Dunlin, 2 Kildeer,21 Black-bellied Plover, 5 Common Loons, Wayne's 2 Fish Crows, and a Red-Throated Loon found by Adam Campanelli (please forgive the spelling). I'd trade that kid my ears for his eyes but I know he'd never go for it. I'm off Saturday so look for Wayne. Good Luck Tim Mccarthy _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
