Hello Birders: Mark Wiercinski, John Haselmayer and I survived our annual Bruce Peninsula big day yesterday (May 21), finding a total of 159 species in the region, birding from roughly Port Elgin to Tobermory and everywhere in between.
After 2 hours of sleep, we started out in the calm and cold (1° C) conditions. Dawn chorus was subdued by the chilly temperature and activity picked up quickly as the day warmed. We were on pace for a very good day, but a series of painful misses (including House Sparrow), contributed to a lower total and we fell short of our 13 year average of 162 species (record = 174). Some advance scouting in future years would certainly help! A remarkable assortment of junk food provided essential fuel to sustain our marathon pace, but almost certainly has reduced our life expectancy. Highlights: -Snowy Owls (4) - first time recording this species on our big day; scattered around the "Ferndale flats" area -White-eyed Vireo (1) - stakeout bird near Pike Bay -Northern Mockingbird (1) - 1km east of MacGregor Point Provincial Park Duck's Unlimited Wetland -Great Egret (32) - in one big flock flying over the Ducks Unlimited Pond at MacGregor Point Prov Park at sunrise -Piping Plovers (Sauble Beach) -25 warbler species: including spectacular eye level looks of mixed groups at dusk (Tobermory Sewage Ponds) Important stats for fellow birdathon geeks: Date: Monday, May 21 Start: 2:30 am (Lion's Head) Finish: 9:30 pm (Lion's Head) Total Species: 159 Total Hours: 19 Km driven: 444 Km walked: 16 If anyone is super keen and wants our excel spreadsheet with the full listing year by year, send me an email. For those who have never birded the Bruce Peninsula before, plan your trip.... it's amazing for both migrants and nesting birds. Happy birding! Ethan Meleg Lion's Head, ON [email protected] _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - 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 Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
