October 26 2025 (Sunday) Hawk Cliff
Leader: Pete Read.
It was a lovely albeit chilly (1C) morning as I headed towards Hawk Cliff, just outside of St. Thomas. The frost was heavy on the ground, but the sun was peaking on the horizon. With light winds from the northeast, conditions seemed favourable for watching hawks and late fall migrants next to the cliff. These kinds of winds move the birds closer to the cliff for better viewing. The drive down the hill started with a lovely surprise, a group of Cedar Waxwings in the bush. We gathered with 30 OFO members on the platform, and several other groups of people and learned about the past week sightings from hawk watchers at the station, especially Dave Brown. He also indicated the strategic areas that the watchers would call out such as the ?slope?, a spot where the forest trees drop in height dramatically. For example, calls such as ?TVs in the slope? got us looking in the right place. There were other directional spots like ?Maple Tree?, ?Flicker tree?, ?dead elm? and ?the gap?, all used to give us the general direction of where certain birds were soaring above. You also had to know which species they were referring to like ?TV, shin, Coop,? and other endearing terms. We were treated to close flyovers of Golden Eagle fairly soon, with 4 being seen by the group. We were also spoiled by multiple mixed flocks with Turkey vultures flying over, with Sharp Shinned and Red Tailed Hawks finding thermals to ride over our heads. There was an early appearance of American Goshawk which flew low over the parking lot. Several Rough Legged and Red Shouldered Hawks as well as a few Cooper's Hawks thrown in for good measure were seen by all. A couple of late moving Broadwings surprised the Hawk Counters and the crowds. While many great soaring sightings made us open our mouths with awe, we quickly shut our mouths as the air warmed to 12 C, which uplifted thousands of midges to swarm around us! Many passerines, especially blackbird species and crows streamed past us. Pete Read was our fearless leader and he took us for a walk through the Hawk Cliff Woods after lunch when things calmed down a bit, as did the wind. We saw many Golden and Ruby Crowned Kinglets, many Yellow Rumped Warblers, and as well as Downy, Hairy and Red Bellied Woodpeckers and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. One group located a Fox Sparrow, and many White-throated Sparrows were noted. Pete gave us expert descriptions of the plant life, especially the glorious trees! We saw a snoozing racoon. No falcons were spotted today. After we returned, Pete was chatting with a local visitor who had spotted a Northern Saw Whet Owl in the woods. Pete made sure of the sighting and potential threat to the bird of having a surge of visitors and then spread the word and encouraged people to go carefully up in trail in small groups to take a quick peek and long distance photo of this sweet bird. It didn't seem disturbed at all. All in all it was a great sunny cool fall birding day, with almost 50 species seen and our two main targets, Golden Eagle, and American Goshawk were both achieved. And it is always good to see familiar as well as new faces! Thank you to Dave Brown, Tom Bolohan and the other official Hawk Counters for being such gracious hosts as there were at least 3 groups and many drop ins there! Pete and these experts used their experience to quickly identify approaching hawks and let us know where to look for them, as well as give us clues as to the features of the more challenging IDs.
Eva D'Amico, Pete Read
October 25 2025 (Saturday) Nephton Ridge
Leader: Dave Milsom, Leo Weiskittel, Cathy Douglas, Brian Wales.
A record 24 participants joined us for a productive outing to Nephton Ridge on Saturday, October 25th. Our morning kicked off with a southbound Evening Grosbeak flying over the meeting site, where we also observed a small group of Wood Ducks, a Pileated Woodpecker, and an American Pipit. We were then guided into the mine site in a school bus provided by Covia Corporation. Though an almost imperceptible northwest breeze did not feel ideal for hawkwatching, we were placated by a flock of Rusty Blackbirds and beautiful views of an adult Northern Shrike hunting near the tailing ponds. At the first vantage point, a rocky outcrop overlooking the Peterborough Crown Game Preserve, we set up to watch the skies. Our efforts were eventually rewarded with one Sharp-shinned Hawk, one Cooper?s Hawk, six Red-tailed Hawks, two adult Red-shouldered Hawks, nine Bald Eagles, and an incredible six Golden Eagles of varying ages, several of which provided fairly close views. Also of note was a flyover duck flock which photos revealed to contain six Mallards, five American Black Ducks, one Mallard x American Black Duck hybrid, two female Northern Pintails, and a female Northern Shoveler! Two Ruffed Grouse, high numbers of American Crows and Common Ravens, and a good assortment of expected passerines were also observed. The second vantage point was slightly less fruitful, yielding five Common Loons, our only Turkey Vulture, and another Red-tailed Hawk. Thank you to Covia Corporation for continued access to the mine site. Our eBird checklist can be viewed here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S281350899
October 25 2025 (Saturday) Niagara Hotspots
Leader: Marcie Jacklin, Bob Highcock, Jean Hampson.
On Saturday October 25, Marcie Jacklin, Bob Highcock and Jean Hampson lead the Niagara Hotspots outing for the Ontario Field Ornithologists. We had a great day with 20 participants and 52 species of birds observed at five of Niagara?s most productive hotspots. The day started at Grimsby Wetlands, a former sewage lagoon that has been transformed into a beautiful area to locate marsh birds. Highlights here included some birds that were lifers for some of our members such as Northern Pintail and Rusty Blackbird. Other waterfowl included numerous Wood Ducks, American Coots, Green Winged Teal, Gadwalls and American Wigeon. Surprisingly, two Purple Martins were still present near their nesting boxes.
The next hotspot we visited was the 40 Mile Creek Side Trail. This municipality of Grimsby run park just had a new bridge installed over the creek which makes the easy trail very convenient to access. Since we had a large group, we split into two with Marcie leading from the Lake end of the trail and Bob and Jean from the Olive street end. Here we had Brown Creepers, both Red and White- breasted Nuthatches, Carolina and Winter Wren and Ruby and Golden-Crowned Kinglets. We had a quick flyby of White-winged Scoters on the lake and our lone Black Duck of the day was there among the Mallards. We drove to the Outlet Collection ponds in Niagara-on-the-Lake to search for Wilson?s Snipe that were being reported there. We were able to see three individuals well through scopes. Common Gallinules had nested here this summer and one juvenile remained for us to photograph. After a quick lunch break, we drove the short distance to the Niagara College Ponds. The biggest attraction here was a family of Trumpeter Swans, two adults with five juveniles. We also had an Eastern Phoebe here. We ended the day in St. Catharines at Malcolmson Eco Park. Two Fox Sparrows foraging along the trail were a highlight. We had great looks at some Hermit Thrush and Cedar Waxwings. It was a full day that was enjoyed by all.
October 18 2025 (Saturday) Lake Huron
Leader: Dana Latour, Tony Latour.
It was a very rainy day but mild 16C, with strong SW winds 26 km per hour and gusts of 38 km/h. Dana Latour was our fearless leader with Tony coleading. Dana sent out emails Saturday to gauge interest considering the weather forecast. 13 brave souls made it out. First thing, me and another birder noticed a large gray bird being mobbed by crows in a tall tree in the Sobey's parking lot in Grand Bend. It flew out and initially I thought Northern Harrier, but upon further research it was a Great Horned Owl. We ventured down to Grand Bend Beach for a Lakewatch. We then went to Kettle Point at the shoals where there were a few shorbs. The better viewing was across from Elders Lodge where we saw many shorebirds, including a White Rumped Sandpiper! There were also many sparrows in the brush. The next plan was to go to Timmies in Forest and then on to the Forest Sewage Lagoons. Unbeknown to us Tims was closed and we continued on to the library to use the facilities. The rest of the group went back to the Pinery VC. We were the only ones to visit the lagoons! Driving in on Brush Line there were hundreds of gulls on the road and both fields. We were pleased to see 4 Lesser Black Backed Gulls amongst the Herring and Ring billed. There were hundreds of ducks in the lagoons, but identifying them was challenging. We reported the ones we recognized. We drove back to the Pinery where we met up with the rest of the group and proceeded to Beach 9 to do a lakewatch. It was cold and we were all soaked to the skin. But was a good day all in all !
Eva D'Amico
October 4 2025 (Saturday) Rondeau
Leader: Peter Sproule.
OFO trip to Rondeau, Erieau, Keith Mclean Conservation Lands and Blenheim Sewage Lagoons
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 was a gorgeous sunny hot day with winds out of the SE to be out at Rondeau. With our fearless leader Peter Sproule and 13 enthusiastic birders we met at Rondeau PP Visitor Centre for a full day event. Birds were slow at the Visitor centre so we made our way to the beach where our first bird of the day that everyone got on was a Peregrine Falcon! We were also treated to 2 more raptors on the beach, a Cooper?s Hawk and a Merlin. The lake was calm and quiet, with many Ring-billed and American Herring gulls. Highlight for me was a juvenile Red Headed Woodpecker perched high up on a dead tree.
We moved on to a trail that I had never been on before, but it is known to be one of the best trails in the park, and it didn?t disappoint, the South Point Trail East! There were many passerines in the bushes and we all were excited to see Blue Headed Vireo, Ruby and Golden-Crowned Kinglets as well as many White-Throated Sparrows! Warblers were quiet with just Tennessee and Magnolia making an appearance. We learned about this trail and how you can take Harrison Trail right up to Warbler Woods. We also got a good look at an Eastern Comma Butterfly! Peter and some other more experienced birders knew where the birds where that day and we proceeded up the trail.
There was interest in going to the Keith McLean Conservation lands as there had been reports of good shorebirds there. We were treated to many Green Winged Teal, as well as a single Hooded Merganser. The shorebirds were indeed there with Black-Bellied and American Golden-Plover present! The highlight was a good view of 2 Long Billed Dowitcher, lifers for some! We got a mini lesson in shorebird I.D., and one of our members brought along her Shorebird book by our own Jean Iron! (note from Peter to Jean ? your Shorebird ID book is very popular, and consideration should be given to a reprint! At least 4 on my outing would have gotten a copy). Stilt, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers were also present. One of the highlights was a lovely Green Heron that allowed us some good looks and, for this skulky bird, let us all get some good photos!
We proceeded into Erieau to the Marsh Trail. Warblers were abundant there and we were treated to looks at Yellow Rumped, Palm, Blackpoll, Magnolia, Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats and a lone Northern Parula. We ran into some fellow birders on the way and Arthur Q. let us know about the hundreds of American Coot that were on the water (220), many Ruddy Ducks, and a sprinkling of American Wigeon and Gadwall. It was a lovely walk and we got some good looks at interesting insects.
We proceeded on to our last stop, the Blenheim Sewage lagoons, where Peter had a permit and we were able to get in very effortlessly! It was extremely hot (28C with humidex) and fortunately it was an easy walk. There were many Ruddy Ducks here as well as 4 Northern Shovelers, Lesser and Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks and 1 Redhead. The only shorebird of note was a Greater Yellowlegs, with many Killdeer of course! A nice surprise was 2 Eastern Meadowlarks in the grassland area as the trip concluded.
It was wonderful, as usual, to bird with such avid naturalists, with many varying skill levels. Birders came from near and far for this trip, Huron, Essex, Chatham and Lambton County, Toronto, Hamilton and Waterloo. We covered a lot of ground and were happy to say we got about 70 species!
eBird checklists:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S277213987
https://ebird.org/checklist/S277213765
https://ebird.org/checklist/S277313356
https://ebird.org/checklist/S277251206
https://ebird.org/checklist/S277269483
Eva D?Amico and Peter Sproule
September 21 2025 (Sunday) Kettle Point
Leader: Dave Milsom, Brian Wales.
OFO CONVENTION 2025 KETTLE POINT FIELDTRIP : Sunday, Sept. 21st Leaders : Dave Milsom, Brian Wales. Our Sunday fieldtrip attracted 13 excellent OFO Convention birders to this rich birding location. We recorded 69 species during the session from 9 am to 3 pm. During the day, we were visited occasionally by some other renowned birders like Henrique Pacheco and Jean Iron. Our trip participants Dale and Aaron spotted the Buff-breasted Sandpiper which had been missed the previous day. Everyone was able to see this and 15 other species of shorebirds including Golden Plover, Stilt Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Baird's and White-rumped sandpipers. Other highlights included Merlins, Peregrine Falcon, Bald Eagles, Sandhill Cranes, Orange-crowned Warbler, Little and Lesser Black-backed gulls, and over 300 Common Terns. Many thanks to Marisa Sampson, who diligently recorded species for the checklist throughout the session. Special thankyou to Eloise Jantzi for her beautiful photographs. See these on our OFO Facebook page and Instagram. The Ebird checklist is available at : EBIRD CANADACHECKLIST S274808562 Dave Milsom
September 14 2025 (Sunday) Limestone Islands
Leader: Mark Calhoun, Colleen Reilly.
Limestone Islands Provincial Park : September 14, 2025
The Limestone Islands have most definitely become a popular event for Into the Wild. Together as a joint outing with OFO - Ontario Field Ornithologists , The Pipits and members of Into the Wild we made a fall visit back to the Islands.
The Limestone Islands are made up of a North Island and a South Island. This 450 hectares nature reserve is located approximately 7km due west of the Mink Island Chain within Georgian Bays 30 000 Islands. It is the very furthest west in the world's largest freshwater Archipelago.
The Island is off limits to visitors May 1st through August 1st due to the large breeding colonies of birds.
During our visit we were able to step foot on both the North and South Islands as the breeding season was long completed.
South Island has a small breeding population of Black Crowned Night Heron. As well as Caspian Tern, American Herring Gull and Ring Billed Gulls. During our fall visit we were finding songbird migration well under way. American Pipit, Palm Warbler and White Throated Sparrows were quite common. As well there was a few Merlin, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel and Peregrine Falcon present on the Island too.
The North Island during spring is home to over a 1000 Common Tern nests. During our visit the Terns have all ready departed. In fact, it was difficult to even seen any trace what so ever that they even nested here. The star of the North Island had to be the pair of adult Bald Eagles and their one remaining juvenile Eaglet. They Bald Eagles nest on the Island and remained somewhat close to their giant nest.
Again, songbirds were using the Island as a resting spot on their southern migration. The Palm Warbler and American Pipit the most abundant species.
We took a lunch break and short hike on Big McCoy Island. The McCoy Islands are probably my favorite location in the Georgian Bay Archipelago.
Thanks to all who attended and I hope you enjoyed this great day. Thanks to Georgian Bay Tours who we chartered for the day. As always Georgian Bay Tours did an amazing job of taking us around and also adding their expertise on the geology and history of the Islands.
Mark Calhoun
September 13 2025 (Saturday) Killbear
Leader: Mark Calhoun.
On September 13 a group of 8 OFO members explored Killbear Provincial Park. The weather was perfect and signs of fall colours were everywhere. The week leading up to this outing had a strong songbird migration. Unfortunately, on this day the birds were very scarce.
In total we only managed a total of 24 species. A far cry from what I thought might be total closer to 60 species.
We did get some great views of a juvenile Scarlet Tanager. And later in the day a Northern Harrier flew bye overhead.
Even with the scarcity of bird action the group was able to enjoy the natural beauty of Killbear. One of Ontario's most popular Parks.
Mark Calhoun
