Canada Migration Special Tour Report 2016

7th May - 17th May 2016


TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Either for rarity value, excellent views or simply a group favourite.

  • American Bittern
  • American Black Duck
  • Greater White-fronted Goose
  • Canvasback
  • Redhead
  • Bufflehead
  • Bald Eagle
  • Virginia Rail
  • Sandhill Crane
  • American Woodcock
  • Ruff
  • Short-billed Dowitcher
  • Wilson’s Phalarope
  • American Black Tern
  • Black-billed Cuckoo
  • Yellow-billed Cuckoo
  • Eastern Screech Owl
  • Whip-poor-will
  • Cedar Waxwing
  • Grey-cheeked Thrush
  • Philadelphia Vireo
  • Blue-winged Warbler
  • Chestnut-sided Warbler
  • Golden-winged Warbler
  • Black-throated Blue Warbler
  • Cape Way Warbler
  • Blackburnian Warbler
  • Wilson’s Warbler
  • Kirtland’s Warbler
  • Prairie Warbler
  • Cerulean Warbler
  • Black-and-white Warbler
  • Prothonotary Warbler
  • Worm-eating Warbler
  • Ovenbird
  • Mourning Warbler
  • Hooded Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Yellow-breasted Chat
  • Eastern Towhee
  • Summer Tanager
  • Bobolink

 

SUMMARY:

This very relaxed tour began at the wonderful Niagara Falls, before we headed for an overnight stay near the superb watchpoint of Long Point, the first of a series of headlands we visited that protrude into Lake Erie and that act as a magnet to migrant birds. We then spent the next 8 nights at Point Pelee where the sheer numbers of birds arriving each day was simply unbelievable. We were fortunate to connect with the ‘big one’, a huge fallout of arriving passerines that local birders said was one of the best they’d seen in the past 15 years. We spent all day at the tip of Point Pelee where thousand upon thousand of birds were present, with many too close to focus our binoculars on. Species such as Cape May, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Pine, Prairie and Palm Warblers were showing so well and time passed all too quickly. We also visited Rondeau Provincial Park where we enjoyed our first of many Prothonotary Warblers, and I think everyone was fascinated with the day roosting Whip-poor-will here. All in all this was a great birding tour with the excitement of just not knowing what you’d find every day – but I think we did pretty well with 33 species of warbler seen.

 

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