Huron Fringe Birding Festival 2023

May 27 - Birds of the Bruce with Kiah Jasper

We were up early again for our coffee and muffins at our campsite. Then it was off to meet Kiah and the rest of the group.





Our first stop was right in Port Elgin at a pond where we got Greater Scaups, Blue-winged Teals, Gadwalls, and our first of many Savannah Sparrows.





Then we moved to Southampton, where we scoped Semi-palmated Plovers, a Ruddy Turnstone, and a distant Red-breasted Merganser.

We stopped at Tim’s for a bathroom break, but it was not open! So, we went to a nearby church. Our one criticism of the trip was the too frequent bathroom stops at inconvenient places, which took a long time out of our birding.





We next went to Oliphant Beach and Fen, where we saw our first Sandhill Crane flyover. Most of the bog flowers were not out, but we did see a few Pitcher Plants.
At Spry Lake, we saw a Common Loon. At Boat Lake, there was a Bowfin (fish) and many Bull Frogs. We saw distant Great Egrets and Black Terns.
At Isaac Lake marsh, we had singing Marsh Wrens and ate our lunch. The Soras and Virginia Rails failed to show. Leaders are not allowed to use playback as per OFO guidelines.





On Red Bay Road, we saw a Brewer’s Blackbird and a distant Northern Harrier.
At Sky Lake, we had Black Terns, a Pied-billed Grebe, Sandhill Cranes, Herons, Cormorants, and a Caspian Tern.





We stopped at Petrel Point Nature Reserve and hiked the boardwalk. Song Sparrows and House Wrens were our main customers. Back at Oliphant beach, we took a group photo, and thanked Kiah for a great day. Kiah told us that he grew up near here and came often on his bike.





Then it was back to our campsite for a quick shower and change for the evening banquet. We were a bit late and had trouble finding the right door to the church hall. Martin and Kathy Parker were presented with the Norah Toth award for their outstanding service to the festival, particularly in the early years. The guest speaker, Steve Burrows, gave a very good presentation about his birder murder mysteries. Afterwards, he signed our copies of his books. Barbara bid on and won a hand-made charcuterie board at the silent auction.





Finally, it was back to Lake Huron for the sunset. Back at our campsite, we heard a Common Nighthawk follwed by an Eastern Whip-poor-will. Another full day of adventure