We accepted the invitation of our friends Colin and Hilda, to go the OFO Gull Weekend with them at the end of November. We would stay at their place in Kitchener on Thursday and Sunday and at Niagara Falls Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28.
Thursday
We decided to drive to Kitchener by Highway 7 and 7a in order to avoid the rush hour through Toronto. Barrelling along Highway 7 past Perth, Bill spotted 3 large white birds on the far corner of the lake. We turned around, went back, and found a dirt road that went behind the lake, giving us good views of Trumpeter Swans. This is not a common sight for Ottawa birders, so we were excited. There were some distant divers that appeared to be scaups.
We stopped for lunch in Marmora, then pushed on to Port Perry on Lake Scugog. We could see some more swans cross the highway as we descended the hill. So we pulled into the shopping centre and scanned the lake. There were lots of Trumpeter Swans including some juveniles. There were many other species of waterfowl on the lake - Common Goldeneye, American Wigeon, Bufflehead, Mallard, Red-breasted Merganser, American Black Duck and a lone female Northern Shoveller.
We carried on using our GPS to get us to Colin and Hilda's just in time for supper. Colin had prepared a fine beef casserole and baked cabbage with cheese. They showed us around their lovely condo and escorted us to a second floor bedroom. Everything looked brand new.
Friday
We awoke Friday to a drizzly dull day. Colin made us a nice breakfast of omelette and back bacon while we watched the feeder birds in their back yard - America Goldfinches, Downy Woodpeckers, House Finches and Evening Grosbeaks.
In no rush, we took off for Niagara Falls, planning to make several stops for birding. Our first stop was at LaSalle Park in Burlington to look for an Eastern Screech Owl that Colin and Hilda had seen before. We saw his hole in the tree, but not the owner. The weather was dreadful, so we could not blame him. But talk about Trumpeter Swans - there were at least 100. We also saw a couple of American Coots, a Double-crested Cormorant, and a large raft of Lesser Scaup.
Returning to our car, we met another birder who told us about screech owls in the nearby Woodland Cemetery. He offered to lead us there, so we followed him. He showed us two trees, but neither owl was in evidence. We concluded that the poor weather was keeping them indoors, and we resolved to return on Sunday to have another look. We did see one of the few raptor of the trip, a Red-tailed Hawk drifting over Burlington Bay.
Our next stop was Van Wagner's Beach where we sat in the car and ate delicious sandwiches which Hilda had made. There were some gulls at the beach, but nothing unusual - they all seemed to be Ringed-bills.
We decided to head to Niagara-on-the Lake at the mouth of the river. We then went to nearby Navy Hall to watch for the Bonaparte's Gull fly past. Both these sites yielded only a few results. We drove down to the Queenston boat launch and enjoyed watching the jet boats and many fishers, who reported good luck with Rainbow Trout. Our next stop was the Adam Beck overlook where we saw lots of gulls, including some Bonapartes.
It was time to check in to our hotel, the Hampton Inn. The desk clerk recommended the Sandstone Grillhouse for dinner, which we finally found after a few tries. The ladies shared a bruschetta, while Colin and Bill had large burgers. We returned to our hotel where we ran into Bob Cermak from Ottawa who was down for an OFO board meeting, as well as the gull watch.
Saturday
Saturday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, where we noted several OFO luminaries present. After breakfast we went straight to Adam Beck where there was a good crowd of gulls, but mostly Herring Gulls. Bill thought he saw a Lesser Black-backed on the far shore.
We decide to head upstream past the falls where we could park for free at Dufferin Islands. We walked across the little bridge onto the first island where there was a feeder. We were amazed to see a Tufted Titmouse, but Colin and Hilda were expecting it, having seen one last year. Some photographers had set up a tripod with a horizontal branch attached and a cup of birdseed underneath. Titmice, Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches were all coming to their treats. Nearby we got brief looks at a couple of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.
We walked down towards the falls where we saw lots of Hooded Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes along with many gulls, including quite a few adult Bonapartes. We got soaked by the spray/rain, so went inside to Tim Hortons for a hot chocolate and snack. We made our way back to the car, stopping in the park again to photograph the Titmouse. A Golden-crowned Kinglet and a Red-bellied Woodpecker also made a brief appearance.
We returned to the hotel to freshen up, then headed to the public library for the gull identification workshop, which was preceded by an interesting talk about James Bay shorebirds by Mike Burrell. The gull workshop was in the form of a detailed bird ID quiz presented by Mark Peck and Jean Iron. It was lots of fun and we actually learned a bit. Non-birder Barbara won a consolation prize - two birds made from natural materials. Barbara gave one to Hilda and we agreed to put them under our Christmas trees. The homemade cookies were delicious!
We asked Jean for a recommendation for dinner and, without hesitation, she said Swiss Chalet. We enjoyed our chicken dinners, as none of us had been to this restaurant chain for a long time. Afterwards, we drove down Clifton Hill, just to see the carnival-type atmosphere. Then we joined a long line of cars slowly driving by the marvellous lighted animals and scenes along the parkway and especially around Dufferin Islands. Returning to our hotel, Bill stopped and, on Colin's suggestion, Barbara jumped out and took some photos of the falls lit up at night.
Check out the fesival of lights video.
