By Colin Gerber
Sixteen nature-lovers joined leaders Colin Gerber and Laurena Kirkwood-Lazazzera for a day of birding in Rondeau Provincial Park.
Blessed with beautiful weather, the birders started at the Park Store to observe the nesting Purple Martins, Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows, and scoped the lake for Mute Swans, a Pied-billed Grebe and a Horned Grebe.
Walking Water Street and Warbler Way turned up Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Veery, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Wood-pewee, Wood Thrush, Orchard Oriole, and one Killdeer engaged in a broken-wing distraction display.
The birders moved on to the tennis courts and walked to the Pony Barn, finding Least and Great Crested Flycatchers, Warbling Vireos, Gray Catbird, Northern Harrier, and Black-and-white, Blackburnian, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumpled and Black-throated Green Warblers. The group was fortunate to also encounter two White-eyed Vireos.
The birders moved on to Bennet Ave, where they added Brown Creeper, Swainson’s Thrush, Swamp Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush and Northern Parula to the trip list.
After a break for lunch at the Visitor’s Centre, the group finished the day on the Tulip Tree Trail, saving the best for last: a singing male Prothonotary Warbler!
