Justin Peter was to have led this trip, but was unavoidably out of the country. Michael Kent was an associate of his at Quest, and proved to be a good replacement. Bruce Edmunds was coordinating the trip and Cindy and Judy were in the sweep vehicle.
Michael’s trip started at 6:45 am, our earliest start yet. This time, a Red-eyed Vireo was singing in the parking lot, and we actually saw it!
Our first stop was at Sauble Falls Provincial Park. We went first to the north side of the river and birded from the old bridge.
Then, we crossed to the south side and birded in the campground. Here we saw an Eastern Bluebird and had brief views of a singing Black-throated Blue Warbler. Coming back towards the cars, we heard a Blackburnian Warbler, and, amazingly, it sat out on a branch in view for several minutes.
Our next stop was at Oliphant docks. We scanned the water and looked at two Mute Swans, then made use of the handy washrooms.
A little further along, we stopped to view a huge Osprey nest with only a head showing.
Next came the Oliphant Fen boardwalk with its interesting plants.
We followed Spry Lake Road and stopped at Northern Trail. We hiked up and down this little-used road. We found some interesting butterflies, a few common birds, and an Alder Flycatcher, which we identified by its call.
We went next to the Spry Lake causeway for Black Terns, and we were able to see a few distant ones.
It was time for lunch, so we headed to Bluewater Park in Wiarton. We ate right beside the Wiarton Willie statue. We had a close Killdeer and some distant mergansers.
We next checked out the Wiarton Sewage Lagoons and had excellent luck. In the closest cell, there were six male Northern Shovelers. The next cell had two Mute Swans with six cygnets. Also in that cell were a Redhead, two Buffleheads, a Lesser Scaup, a Ring-necked Duck, a Mallard family and a Gadwall. Quite a haul!
Flying back and forth were three Eastern Meadowlarks.
The next stop was at Isaac Lake where, with a lot of patience, we saw two Virginia Rails and several Great Egrets.
Our last official stop was on Red Bay Road for Brewer’s Blackbird. We were fortunate to have one on a post right beside our car at eye level.
The group broke up, but we stopped at Spry Lake on the way back to look for cranes, and found two at the same place as the other day. We also saw a couple of Black Terns out over the lake.
We returned to the Visitor Centre and hiked the boardwalk, as Hilda had yet to see the lakeshore. There were no birds, so we returned to our motels.
Colin ordered a pizza which we shared in the dining area of their motel. We toasted another successful day, our last together at the festival.
Sauble Falls Provincial Park, Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 7:50 AM - 9:07 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.01 kilometer(s)
29 species
Mallard 3
Ring-billed Gull 1
Common Loon 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
House Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 5
Cedar Waxwing 40
American Goldfinch 2
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 2
Common Grackle 1
Ovenbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
American Redstart 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 2
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332243
Bruce Peninsula--Oliphant (docks), Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 9:43 AM
Protocol: Incidental
8 species
Canada Goose 4
Mute Swan 2
Mallard 5
Ring-billed Gull 9
Common Tern 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332313
Bruce Peninsula--Oliphant Fen Nature Preserve, Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 9:47 AM - 10:27 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.01 kilometer(s)
24 species
Canada Goose 10
Mallard 4
Mourning Dove 1
Killdeer 1
Wilson's Snipe 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Ring-billed Gull 10
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
Blue Jay 1
American Robin 1
Purple Finch 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Common Grackle 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
American Redstart 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332337
2-78 Northern Trail, Wiarton, Ontario, CA (44.753, -81.245), Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 10:39 AM - 11:26 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.33 kilometer(s)
17 species
Canada Goose 15
Mute Swan 2
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Alder Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
Tree Swallow 3
Gray Catbird 1
Cedar Waxwing 1
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Yellow Warbler 3
Indigo Bunting 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332386
Spry Lake causeway, Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 11:42 AM - 11:58 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.16 kilometer(s)
11 species
Wild Turkey 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Mourning Dove 1
Black Tern 2
Great Egret 1
Osprey 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Tree Swallow 1
Marsh Wren 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332438
Wiarton--Bluewater Park, Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 1:09 PM
Protocol: Incidental
2 species
Bufflehead 1 Lone male spotted during the Huron Fringe Birding Festival
Common Merganser 4
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332466
Wiarton Sewage Lagoons, Grey, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 1:24 PM - 1:54 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.36 kilometer(s)
20 species
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 8
Northern Shoveler 6
Mallard 3
Redhead 1 Observed during Huron Fringe Birding Festival
Ring-necked Duck 1
Lesser Scaup 1 Observed during Huron Fringe Birding Festival
Bufflehead 2 2 female observed during Huron Fringe Birding Festival
Killdeer 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 10
Barn Swallow 10
Cliff Swallow 5
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Common Grackle 1
Yellow Warbler 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332189
Bruce Peninsula--Isaac Lake, Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 2:26 PM - 3:02 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.49 kilometer(s)
17 species
Canada Goose 1
Blue-winged Teal 2
Mallard 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 17
Virginia Rail 1
Sora 1
Wilson's Snipe 1
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Alder Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
Common Raven 1
Tree Swallow 1
Marsh Wren X
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332566
Mar--Red Bay Rd fields, Bruce, Ontario, CA
Jun 4, 2022 3:37 PM - 3:40 PM
Protocol: Stationary
2 species
Common Raven 1
Brewer's Blackbird 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S112332592