Trips will operate rain or shine. Remember to bring lunch, drinks, proper clothing, footwear, sunscreen and insect repellent. OFO encourages car pooling on all field trips. Participants are reminded that it is the responsibility of every participant on an OFO field trip to comply with the OFO Birding Code of Ethics, and to minimize the risk of injury or damages that may result from unsafe or inappropriate behaviour (especially when driving, or while roadside birding where passing traffic presents a hazard).

Click here to download a message to print and display on your car dashboard.

OFO Land Acknowledgement

OFO recognizes and respects the Indigenous peoples that inhabited the province of Ontario and cared for it for so many thousands of years: all bands comprising the First Nations of Ontario, the Inuit and the Metis peoples, as well as all other diverse Indigenous groups living in this vast region of Ontario.

Ontario is a part of Turtle Island, the traditional North American home to these peoples, and we recognize the contributions they have made as caretakers of this land. We also acknowledge and appreciate the traditional territories and treaties existing in the province of Ontario. We are committed to building respectful, reciprocal relationships with local Indigenous communities and to continue on a path of reconciliation. We invite people from these communities to join us in our enjoyment of Ontario’s birds.

We wish to honour the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Covenant, an Indigenous agreement that demonstrates we all have a responsibility to protect and care for the land we live on.

We encourage our volunteers and members to acknowledge the lands they are hiking upon.

OFO Field Trips in IBAs

Of all the amazing OFO field trips, almost 40 of them will visit IBAs! IBAs are Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, and are designated for congregations of birds (more than 1% of their population) or species at risk (on the IUCN or COSEWIC lists). OFO will travel to around 20 IBAs including Point Pelee, Long Point, Rondeau, Skunk’s Misery, Cabot Head and others in SW Ontario, a few Kingston area IBAs like Wolfe Island, Amherst Island and Napanee, the Leslie Street Spit IBA in Toronto, and as far north as the Moose River Estuary IBA near Moosonee. These trips will let you explore marshes, lakes, rivers, forests, islands, and grasslands (Ontario IBAs are very diverse).

Like many Bird Studies Canada programs, the IBA Program is volunteer-driven, and contributions from on-the-ground observers are essential to help strengthen our database. You can help keep our records as current as possible by simply submitting a checklist to eBird when you are birding in an IBA. If stopping at multiple locations consider using the IBA Protocol (but speak to the Ontario IBA Coordinator for more details first). By doing this, you are not only having an excellent time birding, but are playing a part in the conservation of birds and their habitat. If you are interested in further helping IBAs, there are numerous opportunities. Just contact the Ontario IBA Coordinator at ontarioiba@birdscanada.org for more information. Happy birding!