Day 2, May 11, '08 - Lifer! Lark Bunting

My second day in was quite an interesting one. Whoever set the date for Mother's Day wasn't a birder. The holiday falls right smack dab in the middle of birding season and my family gets together annually on the day. So, my day at the park was split up. Bird the morning for 4 hours, go to brunch at the Car Barn in Wheatley for Mother's Day Brunch, then back to the park in the afternoon (after a call from Marianne informing me of a Lark Bunting on the main road north of the train loop!).

I had actually just got home from brunch and was visiting with family when she called and I immediately informed my family what was happening. Seeing as it's May and they have come to understand over the years that I might drop everything and leave for Pelee any minute, they were understanding. Anyway, I got the bird so that's the main thing! And so did a lot of others.

When I arrived, there were already a lot of people on the main road searching/waiting for the bird to feed along the side of the road as it was reported doing earlier in the afternoon. After an hour or two, there finally came a yell from within Loop Woods on the east side of the main road, "I'VE GOT THE BIRD!!." After a mini stampede of birders rushed into the tiny seasonal trails of Loop Woods, the bird was eventually found by most who were willing to wait and provided great looks (and a few photos). Then, the icing on the cake was a call-out of the Black Vulture hanging out on east beach (about a 2 minute walk away). Missing the last train, a group of us walked over to see the Vulture then started our 2.5km walk back to the Visitor Center. Another highlight of my birding week by far as this species was on my most-wanted list for the spring.

Here's my list for the day (shorter because of the break in the afternoon and I didn't go to the Shorebird Cell):
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey - astonishingly, this was the only Wild Turkey I saw in the park for my entire week home! They must make themselves scarce when so many people are around.
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Vulture - this was my second bird for Pelee, but congratulations to Blake for finally seeing his nemesis bird!!
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk - this was a lucky find; a single bird flying over my Grandma's residence in Wheatley. Many struggled to find or simply missed this bird for their May lists.
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper - 4 birds on the east beach
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow - most days, good numbers of swallows were feeding off the tip and east/west beaches. On mornings where there was not much activity, I'd admire their aerial maneuvering as they dipped, dived, and turned for insects.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch - a single bird hanged around the east side of Tilden Trail for most of the week I was home
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Redstart
Kentucky Warbler - only heard, not seen on Tilden Trail
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Bunting - !!!!!
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 77