Greetings birders: The run of excellent warbler flocks continues on this annual outing. Of the day's 73 species, 16 were warblers, with most coming in a flurry of early- to mid-morning activity. A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD — seen briefly by some group members — was the most notable bird species of the day.
The heavy rain of the wee hours of the morning stopped at sunrise and skies gradually cleared throughout the day. A strong west wind made for challenging viewing, especially at the beach and on the lake. *The Lighthouse/Paxton Drive* Sheltered Paxton Drive was slow on our first pass — possibly due to the presence of single COOPER'S and SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS — before springing to life on our walk back towards the lighthouse. Warbler-wise, we all got excellent looks at BLACK-AND-WHITE, NASHVILLE, AMERICAN REDSTART, NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA, BAY-BREASTED, BLACKBURNIAN, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, YELLOW-RUMPED, and BLACK-THROATED GREEN. Most saw a single TENNESSEE well, while a handful of observers briefly observed a particularly dull CAPE MAY. The mixed flock also included several RED-EYED and one BLUE-HEADED VIREO, one RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, at least one LEAST FLYCATCHER, and one ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. *The Beach* CEDAR WAXWINGS showed well on the Beach 2 entrance road before we faced into the wind while observing a flock of 35–40 SANDERLINGS — including one adult — interspersed with two LEAST SANDPIPERS, two SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, and about 15 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS. Both adult and juvenile CASPIAN TERNS remain, though not for much longer this year. *Calf Pasture* After a brief picnic lunch beside the Park store, we headed to Calf Pasture where some observers glimpsed a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER as the rest of the group enjoyed a rarely-seen-in-Presqu'ile Northern Map Turtle at the boat launch. A small flock of a bathing warblers included a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH and WILSON'S WARBLER. Nearby, we heard the distinctive "smack" call of a MOURNING WARBLER just after some group members spotted a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD. *Brighton Constructed Wetland/Brighton Sewage Lagoon* Highlights at the wetland included two flushed LESSER YELLOWLEGS, two juvenile COMMON GALLINULES, as well as one BLUE-WINGED TEAL among skittish flocks of GREEN-WINGED TEAL. The sewage lagoon's surface is visible from the wetland due to the former's high water, so we got the scope on several NORTHERN SHOVELERS and BONAPARTE'S GULLS. Thank you to Bill Gilmour for his assistance once again and to the 29 participants who joined us. If you would like the two ebird lists for the day, please respond to this email and I will gladly share them. We hope to see you again in soon! Cheers, Ian and Sofía Shanahan p.s. Pardon the delayed posting of this report due to our camping at Presqu'ile over the weekend. _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca 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
