OFO Convention - September 22-24, 2017

September 21

We drove from Ottawa down to Long Point Provincial Park on Thursday with one stop at Oshawa Second Marsh. It was very hot and birds were scarce except for this Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

We set up camp at Long Point Old Park and got ready for the next day's adventure.

September 22

Today we went on the all-day boat tour to the tip of Long Point on Lake Erie. Our boat driver and guide, Stu Mackenzie, was a bit late, so we had time to check out the feeders and the action at the Old Cut banding station. We saw a couple of Tufted Titmice and a Swainson's Thrush and Magnolia Warbler being banded.

Our other guide was Ron Ridout, author of the guide to Long Point. The ride out to Lake Eire was slow and interesting. But once we got to the big lake, the boat started crashing through the waves at high speed. It was a jarring, "hold on for dear life" kind of experience, but we did arrive safely at the tip after nearly an hour.

Once ashore, we got the news that no birder wants to hear - because of the heat, birding was really, really slow. The exception was that there were dozens of Sharp-shinned Hawks heading out to the point and turning back inland when they saw the open water.



Banding was over for the day, so Jon and Ron took us on a guided tour of the area trails and onto the beach. There were lots of gulls and cormorants at the tip and in front of them were some shorebirds - Sanderlings, Semi-palmated Plovers and a single Baird's Sandpiper.

As predicted, the rest of the loop trail was slow - we saw a few herons and Northern Harriers. Ron Pointed out a Katydid while we were having our picnic lunch.

Fortunately, the trip back was much smoother.

That evening, we went to Birds and Beers at the Port Dover Community Centre, where we met up with Colin and Hilda and other birding friends.

On the way to Port Dover, we noticed some swans. We climbed the viewing tower and saw that they were all Mute Swans but one - a Trumpeter with a wing tag.

We enjoyed our dinner with fellow birders. We had a long drive back to our tent, so we skipped out early missing Sarah Rupert's Birding Challenge quiz.

September 23

We had a half day guided tour booked at the Old Cut with Jarmo Jalava, so we were up before dawn making our coffee. Once again, while everyone was arriving, we had a chance to observe the banding, this time of a Black-throated Blue Warbler. It was a beautiful clear day.

Colin and Hilda were with us on this one. We saw some Cape May Warblers, Cedar Waxwings, Downy Woodpecker and Eastern Wood Pewee, two Killdeers and other warblers. It was much more active than the previous day.

The four of us went to the Bowman campsite for our picnic lunch. Fortunately there was some shade at the table.

We drove to the Port Dover Community Centre for our afternoon event. Our large group started at nearby Silver Lake where we observed some shorebirds including Pectoral Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs. a Great Egret and Belted Kingfisher.

Our next stop was the Townsend Sewage Lagoons. There were some American Golden Plovers in the field. Kettles of Broad-winged Hawks soared overhead. There were Ruddy Ducks and Northern Shovelers in the cells. The heat was intense, and soon the birders had had enough.



We drove back to Port Dover, changed and got ready for the banquet. It was a great meal with good friends. The Prize Draw winners were very happy. The Ron Tozer was MC and Dan Strickland received the Distinguished Ornithologist Award. Once again, we decided to leave for the long drive to our Long Point campsite, missing the keynote speaker, Steven Price, President of BSC.

September 24

This was our day to make the long drive home. First we joined Colin and Hilda with a group at Cove Road, east of Long Point. It is know as a spot where many migrants pass over. The first thing we saw was a tree dripping with Monarch Butterflies, a sight we had never seen before. Our leader, birding mostly by ear, had many warblers passing overhead, mostly unseen. There were many Northern Flickers and the sound of Sandhill Canes was ever present. Finally, we saw a flock. A large group of Cedar Waxwings landed in a nearby tree, and later, a Merlin perched briefly in the same tree!

Stu Mackenzie showed up and we decided to return to Long Point with him, as we still had to pack up our tent. We stopped at the Big Creek observation tower for awhile where we saw a Northern Harrier and a Swamp Sparrow.

Then we were off. We stopped at Thickson's Woods for a picnic, but did not see anything significant. We got home at supper time having had a very enjoyable holiday.