J May 13

Trip Leader: Judith King

Participants: Fred Jazvac, Margaret Anderton, James Turland, Ralph and Mary Anne Knowles, Werner Sukstorf, Carole Lupton, Norma Nanni, Arlene Richards, Judith King, Liz Addison, Bruce Edmunds, Doug and BJ Martin, Jim Punnett, Joy Albrecht, John and Kay Thompson, Tony and Carol Kemp, Connie Plante, Merri-Lee Metzger, Doug Pedwell (23)

Well, it seemed that a lot of us suffered from a form of jet lag after spending some time in the Pelee area. But, we quickly woke up with the birds we saw today. The birds were excellent, first class and the Kincardine sewage lagoons were competitive with any other place on this particular day. The bird of the day was the Kirtland’s Warbler who performed tirelessly for us, and being a show off, made sure that we all got to see his performance. He was a new addition to the BBC life list. All in all, we saw 19 species of warblers with a total species list of 81 birds. The birding was so good along the trail at the sewage lagoons that we spent most of the time on it, not getting into the lower area trails at all.

An entertaining moment was when when several crows were pursuing a Red-tailed Hawk. As that group entered into a Merlin’s territory, the pursuers became pursued by a species known for its aggressiveness. The Merlin’s flying ability was better than the crows. Ouch!

Judith, our leader on the day, had just left an incredible schedule herself to lead us today. She organized the food and accommodations for 12 people on Pelee Island, entered and won a 24 birding contest with a team of 3 on Pelee Island, all this prepped by birding and camping in the Rondeu area. I hope she finally gets a good sleep and relaxed day. Thank you Judith for your leadership, your birding knowledge and for your ability to share it with the rest of us. I enjoyed your explanation of identifying a Tennessee Warbler. one of the more difficult warblers to identify visually.

Thank you, Margaret for keeping the list.

The weather was cold, 6 to 9 C, with 20 K winds and clear skies.

Areas visited:

Kincardine Lagoons

Inverhuron Provincial Park

Baie Du Dor

Scotts Point

Brucedale Conservation Area.

• Canada Goose (CANG)

• Mallard (MALL)

• Bufflehead (BUFF)

• Red-breasted Merganser (RBME)

• Ruddy Duck (RUDU)

• Wild Turkey (WITU)

• Double-crested Cormorant (DCCO)

• Great Blue Heron (GBHE)

• Great Egret (GREG)

• Turkey Vulture (TUVU)

• Bald Eagle (BAEA)

• Northern Harrier (NOHA)

• Broad-winged Hawk (BWHA)

• Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA)

• Killdeer (KILL)

• Spotted Sandpiper (SPSA)

• Solitary Sandpiper (SOSA)

• Ring-billed Gull (RBGU)

• Herring Gull (HEGU)

• Rock Pigeon (ROPI)

• Mourning Dove (MODO)

• Belted Kingfisher (BEKI)

• Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBWO)

• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (YBSA)

• Downy Woodpecker (DOWO)

• Hairy Woodpecker (HAWO)

• Northern Flicker (NOFL)

• Merlin (MERL)

• Eastern Phoebe (EAPH)

• Great Crested Flycatcher (GCFL)

• Blue-headed Vireo (BHVI)

• Warbling Vireo (WAVI)

• Red-eyed Vireo (REVI)

• Blue Jay (BLJA)

• American Crow (AMCR)

• Tree Swallow (TRES)

• Barn Swallow (BARS)

• Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH)

• Red-breasted Nuthatch (RBNU)

• White-breasted Nuthatch (WBNU)

• House Wren (HOWR)

• Winter Wren (WIWR)

• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (BGGN)

• Swainson's Thrush (SWTH)

• Wood Thrush (WOTH)

• American Robin (AMRO)

• Gray Catbird (GRCA)

• European Starling (EUST)

. Kirtland’s Warbler (KIWA) - seen in Inverhuron Provincial Park, south of the day use area, over the bridge and down the trail.

• Ovenbird (OVEN)

• Northern Waterthrush (NOWA)

• Black-and-white Warbler (BAWW)

• Tennessee Warbler (TEWA)

• Nashville Warbler (NAWA)

• Common Yellowthroat (COYE)

• American Redstart (AMRE)

• Northern Parula (NOPA)

• Magnolia Warbler (MAWA)

• Bay-breasted Warbler (BBWA)

• Blackburnian Warbler (BLBW)

• Yellow Warbler (YWAR)

• Chestnut-sided Warbler (CSWA)

• Black-throated Blue (BTBW)

• Palm Warbler (PAWA)

• Pine Warbler (PIWA)

• Yellow-rumped Warbler (YRWA)

• Black-throated Green (BTNW)

• Chipping Sparrow (CHSP)

• Savannah Sparrow (SAVS)

• Song Sparrow (SOSP)

• Swamp Sparrow (SWSP)

• White-throated Sparrow (WTSP)

• Northern Cardinal (NOCA)

• Rose-breasted Grosbeak (RBGR)

• Red-winged Blackbird (RWBL)

• Common Grackle (COGR)

• Baltimore Oriole (BAOR)

• House Finch (HOFI)

• Purple Finch (PUFI)

• Pine Siskin (PISI)

• American Goldfinch (AMGO)

• House Sparrow (HOSP)

81 species - any errors or omissions, please contact sender.