December 8 2024 (Sunday) Niagara Gull Weekend
Leader: Sarah Lamond, Bill Lamond.
OFO staged another successful Gull Weekend On Decemeber 7th and 8th in the Niagara area.
On Saturday Bob Highcock and Jean Hampson led a group along the Welland Canal. in the afternoon Justin Peter gave an informative talk on Gulls. Many birders then attended the late afternoon gull flyby at Niagara On The Lake.
On Sunday Dec. 8, two fieldtrips were organized : Sarah and Bill Lamond's group had a successful outing: Sarah's report attached : https://ebird.org/tripreport/299468 A second group led by Gis Segler and William Konze birded from Dufferin Islands The 30 people on session 2 of the Niagara Gull Weekend trip on Sunday December 8 were greeted with a balmy +7C with only a light breeze. We spotted all 8 expected gulls on the river including 1 Little Gull (seen at the flyby in Niagara on the Lake) as well as 1 Glaucous Gull. The most interesting gull of the day was likely Lesser Black-backed x herring gull hybrid seen at the control gates. In total we manged 57 species including the long staying Black-throated Gray Warbler which was still flitting about in the tree tops in Port Weller.The warbler and Little Gull were lifers for several birders. https://ebird.org/tripreport/300012
November 10 2024 (Sunday) Ccolonel Sam Smith Park Toronto
Leader: Peter Sproule, David Creelman, Monika Croydon.
November 10 2024 (Sunday) ? Colonel Samuel Smith Park (CSSP), Toronto
Leader: Peter Sproule
Co-leaders: David Creeelman, Monika Croydon
Twenty-four participants joined the leaders on this early November tour of Colonel Sam Smith Park in south Etobicoke, observing a total of 29 species of birds with mild temperatures and the threat of rain.
The walk commenced after brief introductions at the meeting spot ? two celebrity birds had been reported in the vicinity during the preceding two days, and a new celebrity was reported the morning of the walk. The leaders opted to take the group to Whimbrel Point to observe the ?new? celebrity ? a Purple Sandpiper that was a ?lifer? bird for approximately half of the participants, with much rejoicing. Three Snow Buntings made a brief appearance on the breakwater rocks as well, prompting some participants to jokingly mention they could leave the walk satisfied.
The walk continued to West Point, where Red-breasted Mergansers, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Mallard, Bufflehead, American Wigeon, Canada Geese, and 1 Mute Swan were observed.
Returning from the walk to West Point, 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers and several Blue Jays greeted the group on the walk towards North Creek Wetland, as well as 2 American Coot. More Bufflehead and 6 Common Goldeneye were observed off-shore at this area, and 1 Great Blue Heron and 5 Green-winged Teal gave nice views in the wetland area.
Thank you to the participants that joined myself and the co-leaders for the tour of this area.
Peter Sproule
Full summary of species observed at https://ebird.org/checklist/S202037869
November 3 2024 (Sunday) Cobourg to Presqu'ile
Leader: Dave Milsom, Brian Wales, Leo Weiskittel.
16 participants joined us for a rewarding day of birding along the shoreline of Northumberland County between Cobourg and Gosport. Our morning began at Cobourg Harbour, where we observed thousands of diving ducks (mostly westbound Red-breasted Mergansers) migrating on Lake Ontario, boding well for our next stop, a lakewatch at the Chub Point lookout. There we picked up considerable numbers of Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Ducks, and Red-breasted Mergansers, as well as smaller flocks of Redheads, Surf and White-winged Scoters, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, and Common Mergansers. Other waterbirds included Bonaparte?s Gulls, Horned Grebes, and a very distant Red-throated Loon. Wicklow Beach was largely unproductive, though we were surprised to see an escaped Chukar along the roadside! The flagship section of our outing was Presqu?ile Provincial Park. A large portion of the group elected to wade to Gull Island, which yielded many shorebirds including 16 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 21 Sanderlings, and 113 Dunlin. Also present on the island were 7 Horned Larks of the alpestris subspecies, 53 Snow Buntings, and 1 Lapland Longspur. The participants who did not cross to Gull Island managed to observe thousands of Greater Scaup and several Red-necked Grebes at the Presqu?ile Point lighthouse. The trip totalled 67 species.?
Leo Weiskittel
October 26 2024 (Saturday) Nephton Ridge
Leader: Dave Milsom, Brian Wales, Leo Weiskittel.
3 participants joined us for a fairly productive day of birding at Nephton Ridge on Saturday, October 26th. With mild temperatures, clear skies, and strong northwest winds, the conditions were ideal for observing the active migration of raptors, waterbirds, and passerines. The morning started off strong with a group of 10 White-winged Crossbills flying overhead at the meeting spot, as well as several species of dabbling ducks and a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds in the wetland just up the road. We were then escorted by Cale and Cynthia of Covia Canada Ltd. to 2 overlooks on the Nephton Mine property. Though the road and tailing ponds proved largely unproductive, the first hawkwatch site did not disappoint. Despite a somewhat slow raptor movement, the group was able to observe 2 Golden Eagles, an adult and a first-year bird. Finches certainly appeared to be on the move with 4 Red Crossbills and dozens of Pine Siskins migrating along the ridge. Brian Wales spotted a flock of 8 Snow Buntings on the road to the second overlook, which was later seen by the whole group. The second site provided another Golden Eagle as well as a flyover Evening Grosbeak. A very distant flock of stocky waterfowl with rapid wingbeats was also observed (likely Brants). Impressive numbers of migrating corvids made up for low raptor counts, with triple digits of Blue Jays and American Crows. Upon our return to the meeting spot, a few participants elected to spend a few minutes scanning the sky and were rewarded with 32 Sandhill Cranes migrating overhead. The group totaled 41 species.
Leo Weiskittel
October 26 2024 (Saturday) Niagara Hotspots
Leader: Bob Highcock, Jean Hampson.
On Saturday October 26, four OFO members joined Bob and I as we introduced them to some of the Niagara Region?s top birding hotspots. We met at 8 am at the Grimsby Wetlands and immediately began finding interesting birds such as a colourful Fox Sparrow hopping on the path. An American Bittern had been reported here the previous day so we searched for a glimpse of this elusive bird from the Watchers Pond observation platform. We did see a pair of Rusty Blackbirds which happened to be life birds for some of our participants. Other birds observed were Song and Swamp Sparrows, Wood Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, American Coot, Lesser Yellowlegs, and a Marsh Wren. Then I spotted the American Bittern and everyone had great looks at it through their binoculars, camera and our scope. Next we travelled to 40 Mile Creek, also in Grimsby, and had some incredibly close views of Golden-crowned and a single Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We were all entertained by a singing Carolina Wren and three feisty Winter Wrens. After a lunch break we headed to Niagara-on -the -Lake?s Outlet Collection ponds to look for the Wilson?s Snipes that had been reported throughout the week. We were not disappointed and found three of the reported birds. The ponds behind Niagara College were also productive with Gadwalls, American Wigeons and a single Pied-billed Grebe. We finished the day at Malcolmson Eco Park in St.Catharines, introducing the group to one of the best birding spots in the region during migration. We had a calling Raven flyover and our only Brown Creeper for the day. We totalled 44 species of birds on our checklists. As we parted from our happy guests one of them told us that we were great ambassadors for birding in Niagara!
Jean Hampson
