Huron Fringe Birding Festival 2024

May 25 - Birds of the Bruce with Kiah Jasper

Kiah holds the record for an Ontario Big Year (359 birds), which he did in 2022.

After our early morning breakfast at the hotel, we met Kiah Jasper at the campers’ beach parking lot, as directed at 6:30 am. Rain was threatening, but the on-and-off drizzle did not bother us much. Our first stop was the pond behind the Independent Grocers in town. Here, behind a chain link fence, we saw a pair of Northern Shovelers and a couple of Blue-winged Teals. A Great Blue Heron flew over.




We moved on to Miramichi Bay and Horseshoe Bay in Southampton. The highlight for us was a distant Black-bellied Plover in breeding plumage, a deer on the shore, and 6 Bonaparte Gulls. Goslings were everywhere.




Next, we stopped at a bridge on Rankin Bridge Road where we saw an Osprey and a Black-throated Green Warbler.




We checked several back roads, including North Diagonal Road and Northacres Road for grassland birds. We were rewarded with many Bobolinks, Tree Swallows and Eastern Meadowlarks. We got a Brown Thrasher, an American Kestrel and a couple of Brewer’s Blackbirds. Finally, we saw 11 Sandhill Cranes.




We made a quick stop at Wiarton Bluewater Park, then moved on to the Isaac Lake boat launch. Here we saw an Osprey on a nest and flyover by an American Bittern. We also saw an Eastern Phoebe and a Yellow Warbler.





We drove by Spry Lake, then stopped at Oliphant Docks where we observed a pair of Mute Swans with 5 cygnets.




At North Oliphant Beach, we counted 18 Caspian Terns. At our last stop at Sky Lake, we were treated to many Black Terns as well as interesting antics by Cormorants.




It was time to return to Port Elgin and the Birders’ Banquet at St. Joseph’s Jubilee Hall. The food was excellent and the keynote speaker was Paul Riss, who gave an “interesting” presentation about a Punk Rock Big Year.




It had been a long but good day, and we were ready to hit the sack as soon as we returned to the hotel.