Trip Leader: Fred
Participants: Fred, Judy and JIm, Margaret A, Liz S, Werner, Norma, Stewart, Norah, Judith B, Doug P, Liz, Bruce, Jim P, Judy W, Linda and Bob, Lionel , Kirsten and Grace, Anne C.
The goal of the outing was to follow the great tips from people who reported birds to the BBC in the last week, and check out the spots they had been to. In order to do that we gave up on Lake Huron and mixed habitat. Snowy Owl, Greater White-fornted Goose, Tundra Swan, Black Swan (escapee), Northern Pintail and American Widgeon were the birds we wanted to see. We missed on the Greater White-fronted Goose and the Black Swan, but also added to the list with some good birds of our own. The bird of the day was GoldenEagle, one on a fence post and the other flying; the latter lingered above us in exhibitionist fashion. Northern Pintail got the most beautiful bird award as they were decked out in their new feathers dressed for romance. Snowy Owl, which we thought was going to be a hard find, but in fact, we had four of them before we got to Baie du Dore. The family of the day award goes to Common Raven where we found one of this species sitting on eggs in a nest attached to a silo. The unexpected visitor award goes to Eastern Meadowlark
The weather was more than changeable today. Although temperatures were mild, between 7 and 10 C.,we had intense rain, slower rain, thunder and lightning along with at times, very high winds. Four memorable moments related to weather, show the variety of what we had to do to see birds. At Baie du Dore we couldn’t get out of our cars because of a lighting storm, near Walkerton when we got out to look for the Black Swan, the rain came down very hard, we had to a fight a facial wind and also, to keep our bodies erect. Our scopes and bins were covered with water which obviously impeded our views. and finally after 2:00 p.m., when we felt there was no relief from the weather, the sun came out, the winds quietened and we experienced nirvana, the raptors and birds were plentiful, and we were excited. At our last stop of the day, the rain and lightning returned.
Giving locations is complicated since we traveled most of the day by car. However, for a few desirable species, I can write down where they were seen.
• Canada Goose (CANG)
• Tundra Swan (TUSW)
• American Wigeon (AMWI)
• American Black Duck (ABDU)
• Mallard (MALL)
• Northern Pintail (NOPI)
• Green-winged Teal (GWTE)
• Ring-necked Duck (RNDU)
• Bufflehead (BUFF)
• Common Goldeneye (COGO)
• Common Merganser (COME)
• Wild Turkey (WITU)
• Turkey Vulture (TUVU)
• Bald Eagle (BAEA) - Baie du Dore is the easiest find
• Northern Harrier (NOHA)
• Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA)
• Rough-legged Hawk (RLHA)
• Golden Eagle (GOEA) - Concession 8 of Elderslie
• Killdeer (KILL)
• Ring-billed Gull (RBGU)
• Herring Gull (HEGU)
• Great Black-backed Gull (GBBG)
• Rock Pigeon (ROPI)
• Mourning Dove (MODO)
• Snowy Owl (SNOW)
• Blue Jay (BLJA)
• American Crow (AMCR)
• Common Raven (CORA) - Side Road 5 of Elderslie just after you turn the corner from Conc. 6 of Elder. at Lockerby. Check silo on left hand side.
• Horned Lark (HOLA)
• Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH)
• American Robin (AMRO)
• American Tree Sparrow (ATSP)
• Song Sparrow (SOSP)
• Dark-eyed Junco (DEJU)
• Red-winged Blackbird (RWBL)
• Eastern Meadowlark (EAME) - Inverhuron Sewage Lagoon
• Common Grackle (COGR)
• Brown-headed Cowbird (BHCO)
• American Goldfinch (AMGO)
• House Sparrow (HOSP)
40 Species
Any error or omissions, please contact sender