On Thursday morning (April 25th), I left my house before dawn and after doing a final check of the massive amount of things I had packed the previous night, I began the long drive south towards Point Pelee. I mentioned it in a previous post, but I’ll be saying in an Otentik (yurt type structure) in the park until sometime around the 20th of May.
I didn’t really have a set plan for the day, I just planned to work my way south and maybe bird Pelee a bit before dark. On my way down the Lake Huron coast I stopped for a bit at The Bluff… I mean I couldn’t just drive by it. After about an hour of very little activity I decided to move on though, as some decent birds were being seen around the Pelee area (nothing rare, just some yearbirds), so I drove the remaining two hours without stopping along the way.
After arriving in the Pelee area I made a quick stop at Hillman Marsh to check for shorebirds and ducks…. Of which there were relatively few. I did hear a Sedge Wren singing on the way in though, my first yearbird of the day. I had been looking forward to a nice, relaxed afternoon of birding around Pelee and started by driving out to the VC and walking out towards the tip. I literally hadn’t even been there for 10 minutes when I get an alert ~ Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Presquile Provincial Park. &$#%! I said goodbye to Pelee, promising to return again soon, then began the long drive east. Along the route I carpooled with fellow big year birders Susan Nagy and William Konze ~ which really helped with gas expenses and also meant that I didn’t have to drive for the entire day. The traffic delayed us quite a bit along the way, and even after biting the bullet and taking the 407 (ouch) we didn't arrive in the park until after 7pm. Ezra was already there, having arrived an hour earlier with a fellow Hamilton birder. He gave the thumbs up as we approached, always a good sign. Sure enough the flycatcher was still there, contently feeding in a backyard beside the lakeshore. This was a lifer for me, and also a good code 3 species to get on a big year. They’re annual in Ontario, but sometimes they can be a pain to chase down as they only stay for a day or less.
After enjoying the flycatcher for a bit, we headed back towards southwestern Ontario, where after parting ways with William and Susan I made my way back to Point Pelee.
The following day I actually did bird at Pelee and spent the morning exploring on foot… a nice change of pace from constant driving. I met Eric Baldo at the tip and spent the majority of the morning birding with him. It was a bit quiet overall, but we ended up seeing some cool birds, including my first Prothonotary Warbler and White-eyed Vireo of the year.
Around noon word got out that the Kentucky Warbler that had been seen at Long Point Provincial Park for the past few days had been refound… so to Long Point I went. Kentucky is an annual overshoot in Ontario and there’s a few every season, however you could definitely miss it on a big year if you’re unlucky. Ezra had this bird on me too, so that was a bit of extra incentive : )
After a two & a half hour drive, I rolled up to the park and started searching. Kentucky Warbs are skulky birds are are often quite difficult to see, so I was expecting to spend a lot of time there staring into the brush. Apparently this Kentucky didn’t get the memo about being frustratingly hard to see though, as after a few minutes I saw it hopping right out in the open in front of me. This was a lifer too, so getting such superb views was a treat.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful and I didn’t arrive back in Pelee until 7pm. Oh yeah… I missed a Worm-eating Warbler while I was gone, so that was fun….
On Saturday I spent the day birding around Pelee, mainly with Ezra but also William and a few others. The highlight was seeing another Kentucky Warbler and a Yellow-throated Warbler (it’s been a great spring for both of them in Ontario!) as well as; 2 Little Gulls 7 White-eyed Vireos, 2 Blue-winged Warblers, 1 Blackburnian Warbler, (11 warbler species today) and.
Then in the early evening I got a call that almost made me drop my phone. Marsh Sandpiper. Found by James Holdsworth at Thedford Lagoons in Lambton County. Marsh Sandpiper is an exceedingly rare bird in North America, with only around 10 records all time coming from California and Alaska. It has never been recorded on the eastern side of North America and wasn’t at all on my (or anyone’s) radar for new species for the Ontario list. I grabbed Ezra and bolted for the car, then shot up to Lambton County. The two hour drive seemed to go by painstakingly slowly, and I was just hoping with everything I had that it wouldn’t fly away before we got there. We arrived at the lagoons shortly after 7pm and ran up to the edge of the cell, where James and a few other birders were waiting. The bird was still there. Relief doesn’t even begin to cut it, I have no words. We enjoyed watching it feed for over an hour, during which time it flew around the cell a few times (constantly being bullied by yellowlegs). Marsh Sandpiper is in the Tringa genus, which Ontario birders will be familiar with as it contains both yellowlegs as well as Solitary Sandpiper and Willet. Overall the bird gave the impression of a smaller yellowlegs that hybridized with a phalarope … the wingbeats were very fast and stiff, and it’s foraging style faster and more frantic than most of our Tringa. It was also very pale, with a lot of white surrounding the head and a white central stripe up it’s back. Just wow…. That’s all I have to say… mind blown. Definitely the rarest bird I’ve ever seen in Ontario, and what will almost definitely be the highlight bird of my big year.
Jeff Skevington called the major of the town that evening and someone managed to get access for the entire birding community the next day. Amazing job Jeff! Luckily the bird persisted and everyone managed to get it today.
Just a quick update as the Otentik I’m staying at gets no cell service… so my updates may be a bit sparse for the next few weeks. Also I'll add more photos in future posts... I'm a bit pressed for time and I'm writing this while getting takeout in Leamington. There may be some typos and stuff.. but take it or leave it ; )
Ontario Yearlist @ April 30th - 258
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