24 May on a clear evening we left Toronto and headed west. Chris Escott was driving. Chester Gryski, Bob Falconer and I were the passengers. All four are members of the OFO Board of Directors.
Our first of several anxious moments came when we were detoured around Caledonia because of a blockade but we were blessed with a very interesting and eye-opening drive though the vast Six Nations Reserve. None of us had ever been there before–we were most impressed by its size as well as the pride taken in their community by the residents.
Reaching Long Point at 10 pm, we headed to the sand road running along the northern edge of St. Williams Forestry Station. Bets were placed on our \“first bird\”–Great Horned Owl (2 choices) could not be heard, nor was Barred Owl responding to the tape. The other choice, Whip-poor-will, was the first bird encountered just as we reached a sandy clearing.
Off to Big Creek Marsh along the Causeway, where we added several good finds as we staggered along in the dark on the uneven trail. Least Bittern called repeatedly. American Coot, Common Moorhen, Canada Goose, Marsh Wren and an unexpected Sedge Wren all sang or called.
The marsh off Concession A was next. An Eastern Screech-Owl was heard, as was a male Ring-necked Pheasant, Virginia Rail and Sora Rail. Even a Swamp Sparrow sang in the dark. Nearby, we heard Gray Catbird and American Robin vocalizing.
Further owl attempts near Backus Woods and the Wilson Tract proved fruitless. Dawn mercifully arrived as we stood in the Rowanwood Sanctuary and listened to a cacophony of dawn chorus as the sun rose. I was pleased to be with three such expert birders who were all adept at recognizing each individual song in the midst of so many. I usually need to concentrate very hard to hear just one tune when maybe eight are playing at the same time!
We were doing well until this unknown tune had us all baffled. Not only that, but the darn singer would not allow itself to be recognized. After “wasting” over five minutes at the best time of the day, we finally caught a glimpse of a Blue-winged Warbler. To infuriate us further, he now began singing his regular song!
Totally without sleep, I occasionally heard a familiar song, such as that of an American Goldfinch, and my mind was blank for a few seconds. But once the dawn chorus had subsided, we were able to concentrate on individuals much better and our list continued to grow. The Wilson Tract provided us an opportunity to check out the size and ferocity of the 2006 mosquito crop. Well-prepared, we were not unduly hampered in our search through here for rare warblers but the Hooded eluded us. Suddenly Chris whispered, “hear that!” We stopped and the distinctive sound of a Worm-eating Warbler came though the undergrowth. Using his I-pod, Chris brought it within a few feet of us, but typical of this species it did not want to show. We were sure of its identity so continued on.
Time was going fast by now (almost 7:30am) and we wanted to visit the park and the Old Cut Banding Station early, so we left Walsingham and headed into Long Point Provincial Park. One of my favourite stands of pine and several adjacent clearings deep into the park were visited first. As usual on a good migration day, this area was very productive: several warblers, vireos and flycatchers were seen well. Across the road, two Sandhill Cranes flew over the marsh. An American Bittern called. A quick check of the west beach produced no shorebirds of note, so we sped off to Old Cut. Here Stuart Mackenzie and the team were most helpful. Did we need a Philadelphia Vireo? Yes. And we were quickly directed to the bird. The same for Bay-breasted Warbler and Red-breasted Nuthatch.
We headed back up the Causeway and stopped to view Big Creek in the daylight. A totally different experience, as we added several new birds not heard at night – Mute Swan (not surprising!), Black Tern, Pied-billed Grebe etc. We dropped Bob at a restaurant to get some breakfast while the three of us ate our snacks and scoped the Bird Studies Canada pond. Good mudflats here resulted in Short-billed Dowitcher, sandpipers, plovers and Dunlin being seen. Returning to pick up Bob, we learned he had been waiting outside five minutes watching a Downy Woodpecker. No big deal, I thought, we’ll get one later. We never did!
Another fine wet spot was at the bridge on Concession 1, where Lesser Yellowlegs and a few ducks were added. Then to Backus Woods for another mosquito encounter. They weren’t too bad, but the trail was disappointing. No Yellow-bellied Sapsucker or Pileated Woodpecker as I’d had a few days earlier with my British group. We heard Cerulean Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, saw a Blackburnian Warbler well, but no Yellow-throated Vireo. On return to the van, Chris drove in on the other side of the big pond. We were quickly rewarded when a male Prothonotary Warbler sang in full view. We heard an Acadian Flycatcher sing once nearby, but were so intent on calling in the Vireo that we forgot about it until the end of the count. Several attempts at Yellow-throated Vireo only brought in more Red-eyed Vireos, so we finally departed for ¼ Line East.
The single male Prairie Warbler sang from the exact same tree as I’d seen it three days earlier. We then drove behind the trout pond at the St. Williams Forestry Station. We searched here for boreal species, but could not find Winter Wren or Brown Creeper. However, a Blue-headed Vireo was a good find. Even better was a male Hooded Warbler, then a surprising second Worm-eating Warbler singing in the undergrowth.
We were doing quite satisfactorily but I was frequently nodding off for two-minute naps as Chris drove from one location to another.
We now decided to search for species not yet found but definitely attainable if we went to the right place. For example, we needed Cliff Swallow so we drove to the bridge in Port Royal and immediately found one. The Yellow-breasted Chat I’d found while relieving myself a few days earlier could not be relocated but we always found something new when we visited such good sites.
The afternoon was coming to an end when we decided to journey through Turkey Point to Normandale and Fishers Glen. Frequent stops at the fish hatchery, feeders, beach and marina were generally unproductive and time was becoming an enemy!
On such a birding big-day, you have to be prepared to alter your plan when you examine the time remaining vis-à-vis the species still missing. It was about 6:30 pm when I suggested we go straight to Townsend Lagoons and then drive to Hamilton for the last 30 minutes or so of daylight.
This plan proved very worthwhile. At Townsend, we immediately scoped across the first lagoon a Red-necked Phalarope. Sanding next to it was a Curlew Sandpiper! We knew this bird had been at Townsend but consensus was that it had departed several days earlier. We added a couple of ducks and even a late Tundra Swan here too.
At 7:30 pm we drove off for Hamilton. It was risky but we decided to go via Caledonia along Highway 6. Fortunately, we were not held up and arrived on Eastport with over 40 minutes of daylight left. Double-crested Cormorant, Caspian Tern, Black-crowned Night-Heron and Gadwall were quickly added. The Peregrine Falcon was at the lift bridge, Lesser Scaup swam in Windermere. At 9 pm we stood on the Lake Ontario shoreline at Van Wagners Beach. Only Mallards and Cormorants were flying by. It seemed to be over. I asked a passer-by to take a photo of our weary but contented band. He obliged. We were examining the picture when Chris suddenly called out, “Black-bellied Plover flying towards the beach.” We stopped in amazement as a single plover dropped onto the beach directly in front of us. I started laughing at our good fortune so hard that the bird flew off again almost immediately. But it was a great way to end what had been a memorable day!
Our total of 156 species was not a record, although it tied the second highest total for OFO in the past decade, but it exceeded by six our hoped-for number.
We worked very well as a team and never argued despite our lack of sleep Chris was a stalwart. He drove throughout and his expertise was invaluable. Chester and Bob were both brilliant too. Their skills and sharp eyes contributed greatly to our final total.
Many, many thanks to all those who so kindly sponsored me on this 2006 Baillie Birdathon. I hope you will all agree from this report that it was worth it.It certainly was much fun to participate in such a worthwhile cause.
