May 9, 2009 - Day 7 - Cliff Swallow...CHECK!

That's right, I didn't see a Cliff Swallow until my 7th day in the park. Of course, like any common birds you have trouble finding for the first few days, after you see one, you see a ton. I had a couple at the Pelee marsh, then at Hillman, and lastly a single bird flying over Wheatley Park in the evening. I have a feeling I actually have seen Cliff Swallow already, I just wasn't paying close enough attention.

Another common bird that I finally got out of the way was Common Loon; a flyby at the tip. Today was just a slow day for me, though. A lot of people showed up and it was the first day they had to close the visitor center parking lot. This was nice as I was able to see a lot of birders from the Toronto Ornithological Club and others who only get to come on weekends. However, there just weren't many birds to chase/find. There were isolated pockets of passerines but between them, the trails were deadzones. I did, however, help Dave Milsom's group get on an Orange-crowned Warbler (my first for the spring).

A huge miss today was an adult California Gull that flew by the tip seen by Kevin McLuaghlin and co. This would have been a lifer and makes me wish I would have stayed longer to watch the reverse migration. You win some, you lose some.

At around 2pm, I gave up and went to visit my Grandma. A slight rain came through so I was pretty stoked with my decision to leave the park for a while. After supper and an hour nap, I headed to Hillman around 7pm and wasn't disappointed. It was probably the best night I've had so far for shorebirds. Somewhat surprising was a complete lack of Black-bellied Plover but there were Willet, Dunlin, Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers, and Lesser Yellowlegs. A Cooper's Hawk flying over was an added treat.

I expect quite a few similar days in the week to come as it starts to get harder and harder to add birds to my May list. It's coming along nicely though at 168 (I will definitely reach my target of 175). Hopefully a nice rarity will show up sometime this week and cause some real excitement.

Day List:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Species: 97