Hello birders: Eight participants partook in the inaugural Birds Songs and Calls Workshop at various habitats in and around Presqu'ile Provincial Park from 1:00 p.m. on Saturday to noon on Sunday. We encountered 98 species + a hybrid and lucked into mainly-sunny skies, daytime highs in the low- to mid-20s, and light to moderate winds. In addition to the impressive variety of bird sound, we enjoyed many nestlings, fledglings, and actively-feeding parents.
*Saturday, June 22nd* *Presqu'ile (lighthouse and nearby Newcastle Trail)* We got our bearings at the lighthouse area by focusing on the sound quality of the vocalizations of the attendant Yellow Warblers, Gray Catbirds (including two just-fledged young), Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, Warbling Vireos, and Baltimore Orioles. In an adjacent section of the Newcastle Trail, we narrowed our focus to hardwood forest breeders, namely Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and American Redstart. Two bonuses were observing a Red-headed Woodpecker silently feeding and watching a Brown Creeper at a cryptically-hidden nest. *Presqu'ile (Calf Pasture)* We moved from forest to field and its breeding Indigo Buntings, Field Sparrows, Orchard and Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Kingbirds, Warbling Vireos, Gray Catbirds, and soon-to-be-breeding Cedar Waxwings. *Presqu'ile (Woodpile Marsh and Sand Beach)* A Pied-billed Grebe feeding alongside a fledgling was the highlight at Woodpile Marsh. The flooded sand beach was alive with noisy colonial waterbirds, and we enjoyed close views of both Caspian and Common Terns. *Presqu'ile (Causeway Marsh)* After dinner, we spent the early evening at the north end of Presqu'ile marsh where Swamp Sparrows and Common Yellowthroats (including an exceptionally-forthcoming individual) sang as various swallows fed overhead on insects. An American Bittern and a pair of Blue-winged Teal flew past us silently. *Trent Valley Road (just northwest of Brighton)* With a magnificent view of Presqu'ile below, we watched the sun set over the surrounding field while a grassland chorus of Grasshopper, Savannah, Vesper, Field, and Song Sparrows were joined by an Eastern Meadowlark, Brown Thrasher, and, after sundown, three Eastern Whip-poor-wills. *Sunday, June 23rd* *Presqu'ile (Newcastle Trail)* Rising early for the hardwood forest's dawn chorus paid dividends as we heard the "quacking" of a Red-throated Loon and then fleetingly saw it fly southward over the lake. In the woods, Pileated and Red-bellied Woodpeckers were our sixth and seventh woodpecker species of the weekend, respectively. A male Rose-breasted Grosbeak sang repeatedly before feeding at close range. Deeper in the forest, two Winter Wrens traded renditions of their rollicking songs; singles of Magnolia Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, and Mourning Warbler sang briefly; two Wood Thrushes infrequently sand their ethereal songs. *Brighton Constructed Wetland/Brighton Sewage Lagoons * Prior to a mid-morning coffee break, we visited the BCW and heard Marsh Wrens and a Common Gallinule. Across the road from the entrance to the sewage lagoon, a pair of Gadwalls and a female Hooded Merganser offered fine scope views. Keeping us on the theme of vocalizations, a Pine Warbler sang from an adjacent pine stand. *Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area* We finished the workshop at the edge of section of mixed forest beside Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area where we added new songsters like Ovenbird, Blue-headed Vireo, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Purple Finch. An Eastern Towhee and a Veery made distant contact calls and a Green Heron uttered its guttural squawk during a rapid fly-by. Though silent, a Broad-winged Hawk was much-enjoyed. We ended on a high note by hearing and seeing a male "Lawrence's" Warbler and its mate, a female Blue-winged Warbler. Thank you to all who participated and to all who assisted in bringing this workshop to life. We're already looking forward to next year! Good (ear-led) birding! Ian and Sofía Shanahan *Directions*: Presqu’ile Provincial Park is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, just south of the town of Brighton. It can be reached from either Hwy. 401, or Cty. Rd. 2 and is well-signed. _______________________________________________ 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
