Rondeau Provincial Park

Made the bold decision to go straight to Rondeau Provincial Park, just over an hours drive in the heavy rain. My decision didn’t seem that good as the first trails we tried were very quiet as the weather was damp, overcast and pretty cold but we persevered and at the South Point Trail  we found an Ovenbird skulking at the edge of a muddy pool inside a dense cover of bushes. It wasn’t easy viewing and a couple of people failed to connect with it but I had reasonably high hopes we’d find another. With things still slow we drove to the Visitor Centre to see what news had come in and to grab a nice hot coffee. Then we walked the Tulip Tree Trail from the car park which took us through great woodland and we connected with a number of regular warblers, but also a fine Philadelphia Vireo, female Bay-breasted Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher, several Prothonotary Warblers,  and others.

More Prothonotary Warbler sightings today

A hot bowl of soup at the VC and news reached us of a roosting Whip-Poor-Will back at the South Point Trail so we headed down there, stopping along the way to photograph a few Spotted Sandpipers on a garden lawn. 

Spotted Sandpiper 

We eventually found the roosting site after a bit of a search and what a cracking bird. It was roosting 8 metres up at the top of some bushes close to the trail and was oblivious to us. 

Whip-Poor-Will

Walking further along the trail we found lots of Blackburnian Warblers, as well as Blackpoll and Tennessee Warblers that were also much appreciated. 

Tennessee Warbler

Then we drove back to the VC and walked the Tulip tree Trail again getting good looks at Veery and Wood Thrush before bumping into another Ovenbird – this one in more open woodland and allowing great views for around twenty minutes. 

Ovenbird

Wood Thrush

Back at the VC and we had our best views yet of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird that had been visiting the feeders. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

So overall not a bad haul of birds and some cool sightings making my decision to ditch a rainy Pelee the correct one. I'd have been gutted to have missed a big fall like some other groups from the UK did last week - ouch!!

Driving back to Leamington at 6pm and we had a flyover Broad-winged Hawk.

Eastern Towhee

Another Cape May Warbler today

Other species seen today included Snowy Egret, Great Black-backed Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Red-headed and Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Eastern Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Towhee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Parula, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue Warblers, etc etc.