Point Pelee to Hillman Marsh

This was a bit of a funny day as we’d pretty well cleaned up on almost all available trip ticks. It started in Tilden Woods first thing which was productive for a lot of the commoner breeding species, then at the tip which was very windy and birdless so we returned for coffee at the Visitor Centre. Then we walked the Woodland trail and had a pair of Blue-winged Teal, Yellow-throated and Philadelphia Vireos, and Blackpoll Warbler amongst others, but we were on the lookout for waterthrushes which just seemed to be eluding us.

Blue-winged Teal

Magnolia Warbler is getting commoner...

Swainson's Thrush

So we headed back to the Marsh Boardwalk and after a bit of effort we finally nailed Northern Waterthrush -thank goodness! There were lots of other goodies around and as well as the more commoner species there was a fine Bay-breasted and even more Cape Mays seen before returning to VC.

After lunch we returned to Tilden Woods and had a great time with the now long-staying Worm-eating Warbler watched feeding beside the trail. 

Worm-eating Warbler

Nearby a Mourning Warbler showed very well for this often tricky species but defied attempts at getting  photo, and this area was literally dripping with birds. There was Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, Nashville, Palm, Ovenbird, Grey-cheeked Thrush and a Winter Wren. The benefits of standing in one place and letting the birds come to us were plain to see and you really don’t have to keep on yomping around the woods….

Chestnut-sided Warbler has become ridiculously common now...

Nashville Warbler

Couldn't resist one final photo of Blackburnian Warbler

Then we left to go for an early dinner before heading to Hillman Marsh just 10 minutes away. It was getting late but shortly after we arrived a pair of Sandhill Cranes flew in – a great bonus.

Sandhill Cranes

There were also several Short-billed Dowitchers, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Dunlin, American Wigeon, Canvasback and Redhead. The lagoon behind us had a pair of Ring-necked Ducks and Wood Duck, and an immature Bald Eagle flew over. 

American Woodcock

And we saved the best for last, as at an open area on the way back to the motel we finished the day with acrippling views of several displaying American Woodcocks. Holy cow!

Point Pelee - Snow, Wind and the wings of a Prairie...

A windy day of snow flurries (yes snow….) and temperatures hovering around 0 degrees and I can tell you that birding was really tough today - and being more used to steamy rainforests and tropical climes I did suffer this morning. We probably reached the point the earliest of our entire stay to see the waves crashing over the western side of the promontory and a howling gale making finding birds impossible. Nice!

Point Pelee today - bleak or what?

Hirundines were using the leeward beach to rest and hunt for insects and we had very close views of Cliff Swallows, and this bunch of Sand Martins looking very sorry for themselves as well. 

Cliff Swallow

Sand Martins (or Bank Swallows if you like)

There was also a flyover Western Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cedar Waxwing, plus a few Bonaparte's Gulls of the point. 

Bonaparte's Gulls

Still we persevered and eventually after a wait a few of us had views of the female Prairie Warbler that had been found yesterday whilst we were at Rondeau (our 32^nd species of warbler so far). But the high winds made it very tricky to see this bird and it soon disappeared, so we went for coffee and a chance to recover from the weather. Then we returned to the point and found the sun was out and even the wind had abated, so the Prairie Warbler had relocated to a more sheltered spot and showed very well indeed, along with Canada and Blackpoll Warblers practically in the same bush. 

Prairie Warbler - a scarce bird up here

We then took the tram to the midpoint stop and walked the Woodland Trail getting news of a Connecticut Warbler further along the trail, so of course we headed straight there but as it is ‘near-mythical’ and practically invisible and impossible to see – well we didn’t see it. 

Still not bored with Prothonotary Warbler yet...

But point-blank views of Prothonotary Warbler was a little compensation and the Great Horned Owl chick was a little more showy as well.

Yep - it's a Great Horned Owl alright...

So after lunch at the VC we tried again along the Woodland Trail and staked out the Connecticut Warbler spot, seeing Scarlet Tanager, Tennessee Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher before heading over to Tilden Woods where Lee found us a Grey-cheeked Thrush. 

Plenty of Scarlet Tanagers around today

Grey-cheeked Thrush - the only one seen on our tour..

Then we drove to the Route 33 wader pools but nothing new was on offer, but still nice to have a look at Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher before getting to the motel at 5pm for a nice long rest before dinner.

Eastern Phoebe

Lincoln's Sparrow

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.

Point Pelee

After heavy thunderstorms overnight I was hopeful of some new migrants at Point Pelee. So once we reached the tip and found the wind had also swung round to the north-east we headed to the leeward side and sure enough encountered a large group of birders watching an immature male Summer Tanager. 

Summer Tanager

What a stunning bird and although much commoner further south in the USA it’s quite a rarity up here in Canada. Most of the birders were walking along the beach as the sun was hitting the eastern side of the promontory and as we stood close to the tip there were lots of blackbirds, grackles, kingbirds and jays in flocks heading south, with Cliff Swallow and Chimney Swifts mixed in. We did a few circuits of the trails before returning to the beach and this time a cracking male Cerulean Warbler was putting on a show to an admiring crowd. There were also Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Northern Parula and other regularly seen species, but also much appreciated.

We returned to the Visitor Centre for coffee and snacks and whilst sitting in the warm sunshine we got word of a Worm-eating Warbler showing well in Tilden Wood. So we raced across the car park and into the woods only to find we were literally two minutes too late. However after a bit of a wait, during which a Mourning Warbler flew across the path next to us, the biggie was refound and everyone enjoyed stunning views. Surprisingly it was feeding high up in a tree in ‘nuthatch’ fashion. We also got better looks at the Rufous-morph Eastern Screech Owl that was right out in the open at the same roost spot.  

Eastern Screech Owl - rufous morph

From here we birded the Marsh Boardwalk Trail through nice open forest and had nice looks at many regular species including this Common Yellowthroat, whilst I got the briefest of looks at a waterthrush. There was also a flyover American Black Tern, Green Heron, Eastern Wood Pewee and other warblers.

Common Yellowthroat

We went for lunch at Freddy’s restaurant just outside the park entrance and enjoyed a leisurely rest and good meal before heading to the Route 33 wader pools. This time Short-billed Dowitchers were in attendance and feeding close to our cars (what amazing birds), plus a Pectoral Sandpiper was new, as was a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, whilst the Semi-palmated Sandpiper was still there. 

Short-Billed Dowitchers

Leaving here we returned to Point Pelee and Tilden Woods where the Worm-eating Warbler was seen again but this time we well and truly nailed a Mourning Warbler that came into view on a  couple of occasions right in front of us - wow!

This Veery showed well along Tilden Trail

A confiding Chestnut-sided Warbler this afternoon

I loved the early evening light on this Swainson's Thrush

After this we retuned to the motel having had another exciting day, stopping along the way when Julie spotted something in a roadside field so we checked it out and discovered a lovely Northern Harrier on a kill surrounded by a flock of 25 Killdeers.