May 6, 2009 - Day 4 - Keep on birdin'

Sometimes I feel like I lead two separate lives. There is the Toronto Jeremy who spends most of his time downtown, whether it be in coffee shops, bars, theatres, or friends' places, oftentimes chatting about world issues or complaining about the conservative party. Then there is the Pelee-during-May Jeremy, snacking on trail mix and sitting in his dad's Ford 150, pulled over at the side of county road 21, waiting patiently in the rain for a Snow Goose that has been returning every evening sometime after 5:30pm.

May alters my life so drastically for the 2 precious weeks I book off, it almost feels like an alternate universe. It has become an annual ritual to drop everything in my life during this wonderful time of the year and do what I love: birdwatch. Whereas a week ago, I was worried about finances, relationships, and work, now my only concerns are what birds I might miss, when the next big rarity will show up, and the best way to check off 175 species on my May list.

I can't stress it enough. I love Point Pelee, I love birdwatching, and I love the people I get to share my passion with during the best time of the year.

My 4rth day in the park was one of socializing. I had a great walk through Tilden Woods with Sarah Rupert, which was as much a birding walk as a time to catch up. The birds came first and we got some goodies, but we also let out our inner geeks with talk of Lost, Buffy, Indiana Jones, and of course, Star Wars. Unfortunately, I seem to have a slight Tilden Woods curse right now. I can't seem to get a lot of the birds being reported there including Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Sedge Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, and just today, a Golden-winged Warbler that flew away while we tried to look for it!

I did pick up quite a few new birds for my May list throughout the day though, including Willet, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, American Black Duck, Broad-winged Hawk, a female Merlin at Sparrow Field, Red-eyed Vireo, and a few others. I currently stand at 140 species, which feels pretty good but I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Around 3pm, I actually decided to leave for home but a seasoned veteran, Jerry Ball, chastised me for giving up so early. It struck me that, yes, I only have two weeks of this and then it's back to the city so I need to take full advantage while I'm here. So, Jerry and I went to Hillman Marsh, drove all through the Onion Fields, and ended up at Wheatley Harbour. Next thing I knew, Jerry helped me put in another 11 hour day, got me to 100 species, and added Black-crowned Night-Heron to my May list. I'll have to thank him tomorrow for keeping me going.

Day List:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Malladr
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk
Merlin
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Little Gull - another single adult breeding at the Shorebird Cell
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspain Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
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
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 101