The Peak Of Spring Migration at Point Pelee

May is the most wonderful time of year here in the Great Lakes region, if you are a birder, that is. The first three weeks of May are when the largest quantities of Neotropical migrant birds appear in Ontario, eager to reach their breeding grounds to create the next  generation of their species, after spending the previous half-year at their winter homes in the Caribbean, Central America, the Andes and the Amazon basin. As I write this it is May 20. We are a touch past the peak of spring migration, but many millions of birds are still winging their way north each night, and will continue to do so for several more weeks. Spring migration can continue to June 10 or even later, with the stragglers including things like cuckoos, flycatchers, and several warbler species like Blackburnian, Magnolia, Blackpoll and Wilson's to name a few. 

Magnolia Warbler - Point Pelee National Park

As I try to do each spring, I spent several weeks in southwestern Ontario during the peak of migration. I had a number of private birding tours lined up, while I also made sure to have enough free days for birding on my own or with a few close friends. I drove down from Hamilton on May 1st and returned on May 14th. While I would have loved to spend even more time at Point Pelee, Long Point, Rondeau and Pelee Island, contract field work and my family was enough of a pull to beckon me back home to Hamilton. The two weeks I was fortunate to spend in the southwest were good for the soul, even if the birding seemed a little slower than in previous years.  

Much of this time was spent on Pelee Island, and I will write about my time there in my next blog post. This one will focus on my sightings at Point Pelee and elsewhere along the north shore of Lake Erie. 

Blue-winged Warbler - Point Pelee National Park

Visiting Point Pelee National Park in the spring is almost more of a social event than it is about birds, especially on the slow birding days. I have been coming down regularly every year since 2009, the exception being the pandemic year in 2020, and I have forged friendships with many of the regulars. There has also been an explosion of new birders recently in North America - I wouldn't be surprised if the number of people who look at birds has tripled in four years - and so there are opportunities to meet many new birders each year as well. 

Western Willet - Point Pelee National Park

But in between all of the socializing at Point Pelee, I managed to squeeze in some actual birding as well! It isn't too difficult to find a quiet trail devoid of other birders, since many visitors tend to visit the same trails. And while I never had any truly incredible days at Point Pelee, there were enough birds to keep things interesting. 

Black-throated Blue Warbler - Point Pelee National Park

I added two new species for my Point Pelee bird list which now sits at 316 species. On May 2nd, Aaron Rusak found a Loggerhead Shrike at the Tip. This Endangered species is always a treat when one is found during migration. Since I had missed the 2013 bird, this was one I was very happy to add to my Point Pelee list! Luckily, the shrike hung around the tip for an hour or so and while my photos were a little distant, it was a great bird to share with several others that morning. This particular individual was unbanded.

Loggerhead Shrike - Point Pelee National Park

The other new species for my Point Pelee list was a White-faced Ibis found on May 14, my last morning in the area. Del Doucette, a friend of mine, bought the winning lottery ticket when he pulled up to the shorebird cell at Hillman Marsh that morning. Luckily, the ibis struck around for the rest of the day; a new Pelee bird for many who were present. 

White-faced Ibis - Hillman Marsh Conservation Area

The biggest highlight for many birders this spring was a Ferruginous Hawk that spent several days in neighbouring Chatham-Kent. Brandon Holden found it in Port Alma as he was on his way home from a day of watching the migration from the end of Zion Road. I immediately raced out there with Dan Riley and we enjoyed this rarity with many other birders. It was a little distant when we were there, but the scope views were pretty good.

Ferruginous Hawk - Port Alma, Chatham-Kent

Ferruginous Hawk stakeout - Port Alma, Chatham-Kent

There are around nine previous records of Ferruginous Hawk in Ontario, including one that spent some time in Chatham-Kent last spring (a different bird, though). This Ferruginous Hawk was a new Ontario bird for nearly everyone who saw it. I returned the next morning and spent several more hours with it, hoping for a close fly-by, but I had to be content to watch it far out in the fields. 

Ferruginous Hawk - Port Alma, Chatham-Kent

Speaking of rare raptors, Ontario added a new one to its all-time list when Rowan Keunen and Mike Hallett found a White-tailed Kite at Long Point Provincial Park on May 6. This is a species that we have had on our radar for some time (neighbouring states have records), but it was still a mind-blowing rarity when it appeared. I can only imagine the excitement that Rowan and Mike felt! Since I was free the next day, I drove down on the evening of May 6. That evening, I fell asleep on a backroad in Norfolk County to the sounds of Eastern Whip-poor-wills and Eastern Screech-Owls. 

Eastern Pine Elfin - Norfolk County

Unfortunately, the kite must have been a one-day wonder since we were unable to turn it up on May 7 at Long Point. That being said it was still an enjoyable trip, as I found a few interesting birds (Red Crossbill, American Bittern, etc) and spent some time enjoying the diversity in the forest tracts north of Long Point. 

Grapevine Epimenis - Norfolk County

Gray Hairstreak - Norfolk County

On a couple of occasions, I spent some time watching the active migration from the end of Zion Road. Anywhere along the north shore of Lake Erie can be good for this, but some advantages of Zion Road include its proximity to Point Pelee (where I was based) and the excellent sight-lines due to a lack of vegetation. Don't get me wrong - I love watching the migration from the Tip of Point Pelee National Park, but sometimes it is nice to get away from the crowds and really focus on the birds. At most, Zion had just a few other birders on my visits, compared to hundreds at the Tip. 

Zion Road migration watch

An afternoon watch on May 6 (I was joined by Max Segler) was more productive than what I expected given the time of day. Shorebirds were plentiful and it was nice to watch hundreds of Black-bellied Plovers. A Long-billed Dowitcher flew by heading west, a nice surprise. Some of the other highlights included Lesser Black-backed Gull, American Golden-Plover and Red-throated Loon. 

Long-billed Dowitcher - Zion Road, Chatham-Kent

Black-bellied Plovers - Zion Road, Chatham-Kent

I also visited Zion Road on May 14 for a few hours in the mid-late morning. Despite missing the first few hours in the morning (which are usually the most productive hours), I came away with a couple of nice sightings including two rarities. I was joined by Jeremy and Tim Logan and Jerry and Ellen Horak, as well as some others later on. The big story was the sheer number of shorebirds including well over 1000 Black-bellied Plovers as well as quite a few Ruddy Turnstones, Dunlins, Least Sandpipers and even some early Whimbrels. 

Black-bellied Plovers - Zion Road, Chatham-Kent

Black-bellied Plovers and more - Zion Road, Chatham-Kent

Whimbrel - Zion Road, Chatham-Kent

Speaking of the rarities, first was a Yellow-breasted Chat singing from the hedgerow to the east, the first I've encountered in Ontario in several years. Later on, I photographed what I believe to be a female or young male Blue Grosbeak heading west along the shoreline. The Blue Grosbeak was already past us when I noticed it, and I fired away a few photos. I made a mental note to review the photos since the bird looked promising, but then I promptly forgot about it! It wasn't until yesterday when I was editing some of my photos that I came across these ones. The bird was a warmer brown than a female Indigo Bunting with rusty wing bars and a darker face. This was my fourth Blue Grosbeak that I have found in Ontario, with the other three all being over the tip of Point Pelee (I am 4/4 with photographing them too!). Blue Grosbeak is a rare but regular spring overshoot with a couple of provincial records each year. Sometimes, one will stick around into June with the hopes of breeding, but there are no confirmed breeding records for the province (yet!). 

Blue Grosbeak - Zion Road, Chatham-Kent