Hi all 18 people took part on the OFO Presqu’ile hike last Sunday which garnered 73 species. We started on the beach to see what shorebirds were about and we were rewarded with 11 species. A clear highlight was watching the nesting pair of Piping Plovers as well as the discovery of an additional male. At one point we had a Semipalmated Plover almost in the same view. A flock of 30 B-b Plover was led by our lone R Turnstone. Others included Sanderling, Semi Sandpiper, a single White-rump, and Dunlin. Local breeders Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper and Wilson’s Snipe rounded out that family. On the way back to the cars we saw (and heard) Willow Flycatcher and I heard an Olive-sided sing once. At Owen Pt. we scanned a loafing flock of gulls on the tip and among the Ring-bills and Herring saw 7 Bonaparte’s with three first-summer Little Gulls mixed in. That was a big highlight. It took us three hours to pull away from the water but we went next to the Camp Office Marsh Viewing Deck with faint hopes of seeing a mid-day Least Bittern fly out. That didn’t happen but we had a great look (and listen) at several Pied-billed Grebes and Marsh Wrens. Our final stop was a two hour walk around the Lighthouse/Paxton Dr./Newcastle trail complex at the east end of Presqu’ile. The woods had quietened down by the time we got there but we managed to pull out a few interesting finds like Rb Nuthtach, B Creeper, Wood Thrush, and eight species of warblers including a singing Black-throated Blue, a Cape May and a Pine singing by the Lighthouse where they do not breed so maybe a late migrant.
Thank you to the wonderful people who joined me. It was a very enjoyable day. Doug McRae -- Ontbirds and Birdnews are moderated email Listservs provided by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) as a service to all birders in Ontario. Birdnews is reserved for announcements, location summaries, first of year reports, etc. To post a message on Birdnews, send an email to: [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Birdnews Moderators by email at [email protected]. Please review posting rules and guidelines at http://ofo.ca/site/content/listserv-guidelines During the COVID-19 pandemic, all Ontario birders should be taking extra precautions and following local, provincial, and federal regulations regarding physical distancing and non-essential travel. To find out more about OFO, please visit our website at ofo.ca or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists.
