20 participants braved mid-July temperatures on Sunday, Sept. 16th for the OFO hike at Point Pelee National Park, the onion fields, and Wheatley Harbour. It was a hot day w/ light east winds and clear skies, which made finding birds a challenge. We ended the day w/ 52 species.
Highlights from the morning at Point Pelee included 4 Sanderlings at the Tip area, a good Sharp-shinned Hawk flight w/ the odd Merlin, American Kestrel, and Broad-winged Hawk mixed in, and a couple pockets of migrants at the Tip and on Red Bud Trail including Red-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Purple Finch. We only ended up w/ 6 species of warbler: Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler. We only saw a few Monarchs at the Tip. The Onion Fields north of Point Pelee unfortunately didn't have many shorebirds and the heat haze made for difficult viewing but 3 Wilson's Snipe within the Pelee marsh at the east end of Mersea Rd E was a highlight. We finished the afternoon at Wheatley Harbour. There we had our best bird of the day, a very early female Long-tailed Duck in the inner harbour. The harbour also provided a good chance for close study of terns and gulls. A big thank you to Deb and the Friends of Point Pelee for providing refreshments in the morning and to Ellen Smout for helping w/ the group throughout the morning. Jeremy Hatt _______________________________________________ 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
