Point Pelee - May 2006
Bird/Species Trip List

Guides: Jean Iron and Tony Beck of Quest Nature Tours, Peg Abbott of Naturalist Journeys

Canada Goose – seen daily, some with broods of goslings
Mute Swan – a pair off the causeway leading into Long Point, another near Pt. Pelee
Wood Duck – seen with fleeting glimpses at wetland areas of Rondeau on two days, and at Pt. Pelee
Gadwall – seen off causeway going into Long Point
American Widgeon – Long Point Bay
Mallard – quite common, seen daily
Blue-winged Teal – two gorgeous males seen and photographed near the ‘Canvasback Mound’
Northern Shoveler – Hillman Marsh
Green-winged Teal – Hillman Marsh
Canvasback – a gorgeous and photogenic pair hung around a mound close to shore on the causeway into Long Point – seen both days as we came and went
Redhead – small group near the ‘Canvasback Mound’ seen with Gadwall on day one
Lesser Scaup – seen off the tip at Pt. Pelee
White-winged Scoter – a flyby off the tip at Pt. Pelee, also first day at Pelee
Common Goldeneye – seen in the distance from the beach at Pelee
Common Merganser – seen in the bay from shore at Rondeau
Red-breasted Merganser – a fly by off the tip at Pt. Pelee
Ruddy Duck – a flotilla, mainly of bright breeding plumage males, seen at the Sewage Lagoons at Blenheim
Ring-necked Pheasant – seen in agricultural fields en route to Pt. Pelee, first an immature, then an adult male in colorful plumage.
Wild Turkey – small group seen in the farm fields while driving, early mornings
Pied-billed Grebe – St. Clair Wetlands, Hillman Marsh
American White Pelican – Tony spotted these gleaming white gems, high above the marsh flying in – one of the trip highlights
Double-crested Cormorant – small groups flying over, seen daily
Great Blue Heron – seen in flight over farm fields, mornings
Great Egret – fairly common at Hillman Marsh
Green Heron – seen in a small pond at Long Point, and then in flight over farm fields, likely leaving their roosts and going to feed, present at all three major locations
Black-crowned Night-Heron – heard at Long Point, but in dense forest, we could not see into, then a fly-over sighting at the Yellow-headed Blackbird marsh.
Turkey Vulture – common, seen daily
Osprey – one seen over Lake Erie from Long Point
Bald Eagle – majestic and very cooperative near Hillman Marsh
Northern Harrier – seen flying over the marsh from marsh overlook, Pelee
Cooper’s Hawk – a nest with a brooding adult in it (great view of its tail…) and the mate flying while hunting at Pt. Pelee, also great looks at a fly by bird seen at DeLaurier Farm.
Red-tailed Hawk – several seen as we left Toronto, scarcer than we imagined
Broad-winged Hawk – several seen on the trip, but best views were of a circling bird at Pt. Pelee
(Red-shouldered Hawk) – listed here though a bird of identification dissention. It is late for sightings in Pt. Pelee, but three of our group saw it well and are quite confident, a beauty with its pearlescent back plumage and rusty shoulders… But typically they are out of the area by late April, so the record is questionable.
American Kestrel – best looks were at the farm where we then looked for Grasshopper Sparrow – it flew low and showed off all its color. Seen on most days, perched on wires or in flight.
Sora – heard only, at the Yellow-headed Blackbird spot near St. Clair
Common Moorhen – marshes visited on the 16th, great looks and lots of calling (no musical awards here…). This was the pond with Yellow-headed Blackbirds near St. Clair
American Coot – pond at Long Point
Sandhill Crane – Peg spotted one from Marsh overlook, out about a mile; luckily a group of six flew in much closer to land at Hillman Marsh later in the week.
Black-bellied Plover – shoreline of the causeway leading into Rondeau, then an outstanding groups of breeding plumage adults -- in several agricultural field alongside various gulls, biding time awaiting their epic flights to the Arctic…
Semipalmated Plover – pond at Long Point
Killdeer – seen daily, a favorite sighting was an adult with young at the tip of Long Point, seen brooding its highly mobile young
Lesser Yellowlegs – seeing this bird in breeding plumage was a real treat – at the sewage lagoon at Blenheim.
Solitary Sandpiper – 2 individuals at the Bird Observatory Pond at Long Point
Spotted Sandpiper – seen in breeding plumage, at several wetland locations
Ruddy Turnstone – good numbers seen in the Onion Fields near Pelee
Red Knot – sadly a leader only bird, seen by Peg, in breeding plumage, Onion Fields
Sanderling – seen by Jean’s group, the final morning
Least Sandpiper – quite numerous, an excellent study in all variations of plumage
Dunlin – great scope views, again mainly in breeding plumage, at Bird Observatory Pond, Hilman Marsh, and the onion fields near Point Pelee
Short-billed Dowitcher – Long Point Bird Obs., Pt. Pelee area
American Woodcock – one of our trip highlights, a final night foray to the open fields of De Laurier Farm at Pt. Pelee. Blustery weather but a memorable evening.
Wilson’s Phalarope – Betty spotted these two gems, at our sewage pond visit early on in the trip. The female was in fine color!
Laughing Gull – the tip at Pt. Pelee, a good record this far north
Bonaparte’s Gull – Farm fields and coastal areas
Ring-billed Gull – numerous, seen most days
Herring Gull – fairly numerous
Great Black-backed Gull – tip at Pelee, a great study with the Lesser nearby…
Lesser Black-backed Gull – a good find and seen well at the tip at Pelee
Caspian Tern – tip at Pelee, second day
Common Tern – great to be able to compare these to Forster’s Terns, best views off the tip of Pt. Pelee
Forster’s Tern - our most common tern, seen at several inland wetland areas at close range, and again in coastal areas. One of Veronica’s favorite sightings was a food exchange by two of these courting, off the boardwalk at St. Clair.
Black Tern – new for several on our trip, we first found them at the St. Clair Wildlife Conservation Area.
Rock Pigeon – urban and farm areas
Mourning Dove – seen daily
Black-billed Cuckoo – the 500th life bird for Gwyneth – yeah!!! And she bought the wine too!
Eastern Screech Owl – we (and many others) found this tolerant roosting cutie in dense conifer vegetation off one of the main trails of Pt. Pelee. We were able to get the scopes on it and had some super views.
Chuck-will’s-widow – heard only, Tony’s evening excursion
Whip-poor-will – also heard on Tony’s evening excursion
Chimney Swift – seen well at Long Point Bird Observatory and off the tip at Pelee
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – all three major locations, perched and flying
Belted Kingfisher – several locations, best by St. Clair
Red-headed Woodpecker – a group favorite, seen well on a phone pole in the farmlands, also at other locations
Red-bellied Woodpecker – new for several of our group, we finally got smashing looks on the wooded, wetland walk at Pt. Pelee
Downy Woodpecker – our most common woodpecker, seen or heard daily
Hairy Woodpecker – John Fletcher spotted this big guy at the feeders at Pt. Pelee
Northern Flicker – while not common, seen or heard at most locations
Pileated Woodpecker – We had superb looks at this magnetic bird while walking the trails of Rondeau
Olive-sided Flycatcher – a great find on our final day at a small woodland birding area Tony knew of en route back to Toronto
Eastern Wood Pewee – A late arrival, we did not see this bird until our final day at Pelee, though one was heard at Rondeau
Willow Flycatcher – seen at Rondeau
Least Flycatcher – great looks at Rondeau, and very common at Pt. Pelee
Eastern Phoebe – Pt. Pelee picnic area and earlier at Rondeau
Great-crested Flycatcher – Long Point and Pt. Pelee
Eastern Kingbird – seen daily
White-eyed Vireo – a secretive rascal, seen by a few at Pt. Pelee
Yellow-throated Vireo – very good looks at Long Point, in the trillium clad woods where we sought sightings of Prothonotary Warbler, then again at Rondeau
Blue-headed Vireo – Rondeau and Pelee
Warbling Vireo – seen at all locations
Philadelphia Vireo – Rondeau and Pelee
Red-eyed Vireo – if all birds could be this obvious… seen almost every day
Blue Jay – for those from the West one of the favorites, seen often
American Crow – common esp. in agricultural areas
Horned Lark – regular in freshly plowed fields
Purple Martin – numerous and seen daily
Tree Swallow – numerous and seen daily
No. Rough-winged Swallow – less common than Tree, but regular
Bank Swallow – seen daily but more local than other swallow species
Cliff Swallow – the least common swallow but seen at each location
Barn Swallow – everywhere…
Black-capped Chickadee – seen daily
Tufted Titmouse – heard only, at Rondeau
Red-breasted Nuthatch – only seen at Rondeau
White-breasted Nuthatch – Long Point and Rondeau
Carolina Wren – we heard or saw this bird at most locations, the best was the one building a nest in the sign at the drop off point for the tram at Pt. Pelee
House Wren – seen daily
Marsh Wren – seen well near the St. Clair wetlands
Golden-crowned Kinglet – Pt. Pelee, deep woods
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – quite common
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – always a nice find, and seen on most days
Eastern Bluebird – beautiful looks at birds investigating nest boxes near Long Point
Veery – flutes in the woods! We got good looks at Rondeau
Swainson’s Thrush – seen at each location
Wood Thrush – what a boldly marked beauty. Good numbers of these at Long Point and Rondeau, heard also at Pelee
American Robin – numerous and daily
Gray Catbird – numerous and daily
No. Mockingbird – one seen early on in the trip, another by the entrance to Pelee
Brown Thrasher – Long Point only
European Starling – urban areas and villages
Cedar Waxwing – great views at our picnic site in Pelee, also seen at Rondeau
Blue-winged Warbler – what a beauty – first seen on our field walk at Long Point, the at the tip of Pt. Pelee. Actually seen each location but not numerous
Tennessee Warbler – scarce early on in the trip, we had a few looks at Rondeau and then quite a few birds moving through Pelee our last day
Nashville Warbler – heard at Long Point, seen regularly at Rondeau and Pelee
No. Parula – Long Point and Rondeau
Yellow Warbler – seen daily
Chestnut-sided Warbler – one of our most numerous warblers
Magnolia Warbler – another of our most regularly seen warblers
Cape May Warbler – first seen at the tip at Long Point (that great first day birding blast….) and then superlative looks against green conifer branches on a loop trail at Rondeau, later one at Pelee
Black-throated Blue Warbler – seen at all locations, wonderfully tame
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle race) Warbler – numerrous
Black-throated Green Warbler – also seen at all locations, singing boldly
Blackburnian Warbler – first seen well at the beach at Rondeau, then seen daily
Pine Warbler – we worked hard for this one, on a conifer lined dirt road at Long Point
Prairie Warbler – seen thanks to Jean’s diligence at a local spot known to her at Long Point
Palm Warbler – more common towards the end of the week and at Pelee
Bay-breasted Warbler – a late arriver, finally seen well our last full day at Pelee, the day the sun broke through….
Black-and-White Warbler – Rondeau and Pelee
Am. Redstart – Rondeau and Pelee
Prothonotary Warbler – seen very well at two locations at Rondeau
Worm-eating Warbler – heard only
Ovenbird – a definite trip favorite, first seen at Long Point, then great looks on the dirt road where we looked for the Pine Warbler, then each location but not commonly
No. Waterthrush – Rondeau
Louisianna Waterthrush – heard only at Long Point, in the woods near the homes with eclectic lawn ornaments
Kentucky Warbler – Pt. Pelee, we worked very hard to see this little beauty perch up and sing! Scope views along a small creek were our reward.
Common Yellowthroat – St. Clair wetlands and Rondeau
Hooded Warbler – Long Point and Rondeau, just two individuals
Wilson’s Warbler – quite common
Canada Warbler – Pt. Pelee
Yellow-breasted Chat – Pt. Pelee, secretive but calling, some got great looks and others a glimpse…
Scarlet Tanager – our best looks were at the tip of Long Point, on that magical first afternoon when birds seemed to be raining from the trees! It was feeding with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in the new leaves of oaks – wow. Don got photos, and all got good looks.
Eastern Towhee – seen well on our fields walk at Long Point, then scattered birds at several locations
Chipping Sparrow – fairly numerous
Clay-colored Sparrow – Pt. Pelee
Field Sparrow – the first sighting was a lot of work on the farm field trail at Long Point, later we got good looks in quite a diverse array of habitat
Vesper Sparrow – seen well in the scope in farm field by Long Point, near the Red-headed Woodpecker telephone pole sighting
Savannah Sparrow – seen at each location
Grasshopper Sparrow – great looks at a male flying low, then perching on a shrub in the field. Also seen most days while traveling.
Song Sparrow – all locations
Lincoln’s Sparrow – Rondeau and Pelee
Swamp Sparrow – our first sighting was a very dark, odd looking individual, then we saw more classic textbook birds at several locations
White-throated Sparrow – very common, seen daily
White-crowned Sparrow – seen often in smaller numbers with White-throated Sparrow
No. Cardinal – common but beautiful, a welcome song in the forest
Rose-breasted Grosbeak – first seen with the Scarlet Tanagers, we then found them to be quite common, their calls brighted the woods in all locations, and the magenta color of the male was rewardingly easy to find, even in dense leaves.
Indigo Bunting – great looks, seen most days
Bobolink – wonderful looks near our picnic area at Rondeau
Red-winged Blackbird – fairly numerous and vocal, a great sign of spring
Eastern Meadowlark – ag. fields near Long Point, flying
Yellow-headed Blackbird – Jean Iron knew a location for these handsome blackbirds near St. Clair, and they were poised on cattails and waiting for us – a good find.
Rusty Blackbird – it was fascinating to watch the behavior of this secretive bird – a pair feeding together in the marshy areas we walked to look for Prothonatory Warbler. So unlike the other blackbirds in demeanor….
Common Grackle – very common
Brown-headed Cowbird – all too common….
Orchard Oriole – numerous and fantastic at Pt. Pelee, seen at all locations
Baltimore Oriole – one of our most common songbirds, wow
House Finch – Long Point and near our hotel at Chatham
Pine Siskin – seen well at feeders near Long Point
Am. Goldfinch – seen daily
House Sparrow – seen daily, mainly in settled areas

Mammals
Virginia Opossum
White-tailed Deer
Woodchuck
Raccoon
Muskrat
Eastern Cottontail
Eastern Chipmunk
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Red Squirrel
Bat, sp.

Herps
No. Leopard Frog
Green Frog
Spring Peeper
Am. Toad
Gray Tree Frog
Western Chorus Frog
Five-lined Skink
Blanding’s Turtle
Midland Painted Turtle
Map Turtle
Snapping Turtle
Black Racer

Butterflies (sadly our wet weather precluded seeing a good number of species, here are a few of the highlights…)

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