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Holiday Beach Outing Dark and early four keen hawk watchers met Tony Roach at Ontario Tourist Information near the bridge. It was decided not to take our usual route through the U.S. of A. and go the Canadian way, although it is possibly a little longer. One of us showed up complete with pooch which was not appreciated by one of the others - you may be able to guess who was which!?! It was a perfect sunshiny autumn day and so surprising that there were so few people at the tower when we arrived. However, as the day advanced more visitors did drift up and down. For those who have not been to Holiday Beach, a tall viewing stand was donated to the park several years ago. Volunteers stand on the tower and count the passing raptors from September right into November. It can get pretty cool up there some days - believe me! Our counter was from Ohio and was very helpful in calling out and naming the hawks so everyone had a chance to see them. Since he was on his own, he got all of us into the act helping him with the count. Sharp-shins were passing over all day and during the time we watched we spotted dozens of them. We also saw Northern Harriers, Cooper's Hawks, Red-tails, a couple of Broad-wings, Bald Eagles and had two stellar looks at low-flying Ospreys. The most numerous migrants that day were the hundreds and hundreds of kettling Turkey Vultures, followed closely by the many flocks of Blue Jays zooming past our perch. One late-flying Ruby-throated Hummingbird was seen, and a few Red-headed Woodpeckers flying low enough to see their bright red heads blazing in the sunshine. A walk through the woodland trails added a few warblers (Black-throated Green, Blackpoll, Bay-breast, and, mostly, Yellow-rumped), White-throated Sparrow, American Goldfinch, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Flicker to our day's list. Out in the marsh along with all the Ring-billed Gulls there were several Great-blue Herons, dozens of Great Egrets, Coot, Yellow-legs (probably Lesser), Double-crested Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe and many ducks - Black, Mallard, American Widgeon, and Ruddy that I managed to sort out. One of the most pleasing sounds of the day was a Sora Rail calling, although we were unable to spot it; and one of the most unpleasant, the sound of gunfire. Hunting is allowed here away from the area used by other visitors. Many thanks to Tony for leading this trip for us once again and for driving, thanks to Paul for chauffeuring Hank and me, and my apologies to Diane for the dog! Reporter:
Kettle Point Alf's Outing On an overcast Saturday morning seven enthusiastic birdwatchers met Alf Rider in Kettle Point. Unfortunately the weather was a little wish washy and so was the birding. That may have been the fault of this reporter as his wish list for the trip included a gyrfalcon and purple sandpiper. This may have been a jinx as neither were seen, not much else I might add. But not one to dwell on the negative some of the positives included: good looks at a mature and an immature bald eagle, american pipits that filled the telescope viewfinder at minimum focus, a long tailed duck in the Grand Bend sewage lagoons which is an unusual place to see one, a fairly close look at a single surf scoter off Kettle Point. The final gem of the day went to the six diehards who visited Pete Chapman's in Hungry Hollow to check his bird feeders. They were rewarded with a handful of raspberries that were picked from his garden A sincere Thank You to Alf Rider who has unselfishly given his time and knowledge once again to lead an LWI outing. Lance Allin
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