Long Point Visit, Norfolk County (From July 2018)

*Editors Note: I posted this later than I wanted to it was written in Mid July 2018. 

During this past weekend (July 14-16), my family did a little three day trip to Rondeau, Port Stanley, St Thomas, then brief visits to Turkey Point, Long Point which are beautiful sand spits that jut out into Lake Erie. 

While birding was not an official activity of this trip, we did take a boat-ride out to the tip of Long Point which is something I've wanted to do for years. You may already know that Long Point is 42 km long! And most of it is off-bounds to most people because it is such a delicate ecosystem. 

We also tried to partake in some mountain biking trails which are quite nice around Turkey Point. Since my two boys and wife are not avid cyclists, we only did two trails. One trail was dominated by Pine trees and at one point, I couldn't help but notice the trill-like call of a Pine Warbler!  Red-eyed Vireos, Eastern Wood Pewees, Downy Woodpecker and Chipping Sparrows were noted. 

We drove through Backus Woods and the St William's Forest areas. We even stopped by the Backus (Backhouse) Conservation area which featured a nice Nature Center, Water-powered Grist Mill, and a old Homestead that you can tour. 

There is so much to say but I guess I could summarize my thoughts by saying that Norfolk County is a beautiful location with surprising amounts of intact forest and nature. It has much in common with the rest of the shoreline along Lake Erie.  Beauty in abundance, generous amounts of farmland (corn, soyabeans, tobacco) fresh fruit stands.... Hopefully, Norfolk will conserve its natural resources for future generations. 

Turkey Point Mountain Biking Club:  https://tpmbc.com/

Western & Rednecked Grebes and a Little Larus

After reading Kory's Blog this week, I somehow convinced my wife (and myself) to wake up early one day this weekend and visit Col. Sam Smith Park in Etobicoke. Kory had seen Western Grebes, Red necked Grebes, as well as a Harlequin Duck all three of which would be lifers for me. Another great birder, Ken Burrell had Little Gulls at Turkey Point, which was kinda on the way... A possible four life birds. Two extra birds I was hoping to see were Ruffed Grouse and Bohemian Waxwing (which was ontbirded in Etobicoke around the time I was leaving Etobicoke). I dipped on both of these later birds as well as the Harlequin Duck. I did see the Western & Red necked Grebes which were both lifers, as well a a few other goodies, in particular, Long-tailed Ducks (I've only seen Long-tailed ducks once along the Detroit River at great distance).

Two lifers in the same photo? Awesome.

Birds seen at Col. Sam Smith Park:

Western Grebe
Red necked Grebe
Long-tailed Ducks
White winged Scoter
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallows
Ring-necked Ducks
Lesser Scaup
Redhead
Goldeneye
Wigeon
Gadwall
Red-breasted Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Bufflehead

Long-tailed Ducks.... Only my second time seeing them ...Rare in SW Ontario.

On the way back from the park, I drove through Hamilton, then Haldimand and Norfolk Counties. What a beautiful drive. It was nice to see that Norfolk County has some forested area preserved.  This site here discusses why they decided to preserve some forest (http://swcr.ca/history) . The sandy soil was blowing away without tree cover, which was still apparent as I drive through the agricultural areas in Norfolk Co. I would have liked to have seen Ruffed Grouse in St. Williams Conservation Reserve, but I didn't really have time to so much as get out of my car.  Turkey Point was surprisingly beautiful and natural. The beach (at least where I found the gulls) was like a flooded lagoon, very natural and beautiful. Eastern Phoebe, Song Sparrows, Belted Kingfisher, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Bonapartes, and of course, Little Gulls were all present. Little Gulls are a lifer... I was really excited to see them. The warm air from the latest southern air flow, and the beauty of Turkey Point made this a very nice moment to enjoy.

The smallest gull in the world has black on the bottom of its wings, and the biggest has black on top... Interesting eh?

Birding Backlog...

I birded Point Pelee last weekend but did not see much outside of the expected. A personal highlight was an Eastern Meadowlark. Meadowlarks are very rare and local in Essex. This is my first Eastern Meadowlark I've self found in migration.  Going WAY back (March 20th, 2013), I had two Eurasian Wigeons (Thanks for the help Jeremy Bensette) on "Road E" just outside of the Point Pelee Park Gates.

Eurasian Wigeon & American Wigeon

Good birding!
Dwaynejava


Eurasian Wigeon - Point Pelee#325
Red necked Grebe #326
Western Grebe #327
Little Gull  #328