It was a blustery day with Nature Guelph’s Bird Wing trip down at Long Point. The day started with some light rain and a west wind with gusts up to 70km/h. Not an ideal birding day, but the group was surprised to find 71 species over the course of the day.
Long Point is a 40-km freshwater sandspit and is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. This bird watching hotspot sees over 300 migrating bird species each year. Long Point/Point Rowan is also home to Birds Canada Headquarters and the Long Point Bird Observatory. The Long Point Bird Observatory is a part of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network and has been collecting data since 1960. Most of the stops on the Bird Watching Trip were on the Long Point Bird Trail.
The day started out at Birds Canada HQ with a walk to the lake for viewing of waterfowl. The group was pleasantly surprised to see that the protected bay had a number of waterfowl species (Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwells and more) floating over the waves. The group also caught the glimpse of some early warbler arrivals – Yellow-rumped Warblers. The harbour had great views of American Coots and a close up view of a Horned Grebe.
The group made their way down to the Long Point Bird Observatory at Old Cut. LPBO was banding birds in the morning and the group was eager to watch the banding in action. It was too windy for the mist nets, but the ground traps were operational picking up Common Grackles and others. The trail through the forest at Old Cut made for a wonderful stop before lunch. The group was particularly surprised to see both Caspian and Forster’s Terns in the same area and a sneaky Black-crowned Night Heron in a tree.
The group made their way back inland with a quick stop at Big Creek NWA. This stopped proved to be very windy and made it difficult to see birds at a distance. The group packed up and made their way further inland, checking out Port Royal and the Port Rowan Restored Wetland. The wetland had a number of Buffleheads finding shelter from the windy weather.
Backus Woods rounded out the day with a walk into the Wild Turkey Monument and a short loop. The woods were showing the early signs of spring with ephemerals in bloom. The group also were treated to a DeKay’s Brownsnake who was sunning in the warm spring sun.
Check out the full trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/221343
