Point Pelee Spring Songbird Migration May 12-15, 2017

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Point Pelee Spring Bird Migration May 12-15, 2017

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The Stunning Scarlet Tanager

May brings to Ontario one of the finest spectacles of bird migration in the entire world. Hundreds of multi-colored Wood-Warblers, Tanagers, Grosbeaks and other songbirds must cross Lake Erie on their journey north from the tropics.

We'll be spending 4 days and 3 nights for an optimal birding experience. We leave on Friday morning and return Monday evening.

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Always a favourite, the Chestnut-sided Warbler

Point Pelee National Park is a peninsula that juts south out over Lake Erie, and because of this unique geography, it is the first land that these birds see on their way north while flying over the lake.

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Happiness is birding at Point Pelee!

As a result, any given morning at Pelee, this small bit of land plays host to thousands of birds of dozens of different species, sporting their finest crisp breeding colours. You will see dozens of Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and several warbler species, and on some days there will be hundreds of birds at eye-level. Pelee is one of the best places to photograph these birds as well as they forage very low. While many of these birds on their breeding grounds are hard to see, here the leaves are still not yet on the trees due to the micro-climate, and the birds are tired from making their flight over the lake. This makes them easy to observe and study. Here, it literally rains birds almost every morning.

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Rose-breasted Grosbeak

All these factors combine to create an unparalleled birding experience that brings thousands of birders from all over the world every year, coinciding with the annual Point Pelee Festival of Birds, which runs the first 2 weeks of May - the peak of this spectacular migration. You will certainly meet some like-minded people and make some new friends, which is all part of this experience.

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The much sought after Prothonotary Warbler

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Black-throated Blue Warbler

Especially if you're new to birding or have never visited Point Pelee, it can be quite frustrating to go on your own! The sheer amount of birds can be overwhelming, and because depending on the weather conditions, birds show up or "fall out" in different places every morning, you might miss the best action!

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The Striking Hooded Warbler

We have a unique way of offering you an opportunity to observe this amazing phenomenon – staying at a beautiful lakefront cottage at nearby Kingsville, only about twenty minutes away from the Park and nearby locales such as Hillman Marsh, and transport to get you to where the birds are quickly and efficiently.

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Our cottage accommodations along the shoreline of Lake Erie.

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The Brilliant Blackburnian Warbler

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Black and White Warbler

On our previous tours to Point Pelee since 2014 we've seen over 35 warbler species and some mega rarities such as Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! Our group saw some of Pelee’s “most wanted” birds – Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Kirtland's Warbler, Henslow’s Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Prairie Warbler, several Hooded Warblers, Summer Tanager, American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Yellow-breasted Chat and many others, as well as large numbers of the common migrants and breeding residents, such as Eastern Screech-Owl, White-eyed Vireo, Black Tern and Carolina Wren. Pelee can be a difficult area to bird, as the birds are not always evenly distributed throughout the park. Based upon wind direction, overnight condition and time of day, some places in the park may be devoid of birds while others may be hopping. Our knowledge about where birds will be during the present conditions, and we are well-connected to the birders present in the Park so as to discover news of rarities as soon as they are discovered.

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An annual rarity, the Summer Tanager

This year we are at Pelee for two weekends which will allow us to observe some of the earlier migrants such as Pine Warbler, Hermit Thrush and several waterfowl species, the second weekend enables us to see the peak incursion in the middle of the month, and an opportunity to pick up some of the later goodies such as Black- and Yellow-billed Cuckoos and Blackpoll and Connecticut Warblers. We are once again expecting our trip total to exceed well over a 100 species per weekend.

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Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Days are usually long and there is a lot of hiking involved. Be prepared to wake up early and be out in the field for most of the day. Photography opportunities are excellent, especially during times when there has been inclement weather, but we will not linger at exhausted birds. We will be concentrating primarily on Point Pelee National Park and the surrounding area, but if the birding is slow we may head further to Holiday Beach, Ojibway Park or Rondeau Provincial Park, based on what the birds are doing. Birding here is heavily weather-dependent, so we will constantly be keeping an eye on the weather to determine our day’s birding.

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Yellow-headed Blackbird

Included in the price is your stay at our lakeside cottage, transportation from Toronto to Point Pelee and daily to and from birding locations, an assortment of breakfast foods (bacon, eggs, muffins etc…) for making your breakfast in the morning, and park fees. But please feel free to bring your own breakfast meals if you would like. Lunch and Dinner are not included and you have the option of either bringing your own food in, buying food at the local grocery store or supporting any of the local restaurants, which often have excellent perch and pickerel (walleye) direct from the Lake Erie fishery – the largest freshwater fishery in the world.
You will surely see one of the greatest spectacles of North American birdwatching, lots of amazing birds, and be alongside great company while you’re at it! What are you waiting for? Come be a Boreal migrant with us at Point Pelee!

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Maita at the southern most point in Canada.

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Black-throated Green Warbler

So please join us for one of the Grestest Spectacles on Earth!

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Magnolia Warbler

Dates & Prices

May 12-15, 2017

4 days, 3 nights accommodation.

599 dollars per person tax included (single room)

500 dollars per person tax included based on double occupancy (sharing a room)