Point Pelee Festival of Birds May 12 - 15, 2024

Point Pelee Spring Bird Migration Spectacle

The Toronto Nature Lovers are thrilled to be offering 4 days of Bird Guiding in Point Pelee National Park during the Festival of Birds from Wednesday May 12 - May 15, 2024.

There is no better place to be in the first two weeks of May than Point Pelee. It's Canada's ultimate birding destination during spring migration when more than 230 species of birds pass through the park during the month of May.

Point Pelee is located in south-western Ontario, approximately 4 hours from Toronto.

The month of 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 cross Lake Erie on their journey north from the tropics.

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.

As a result, any given morning at Pelee, this small bit of land plays host to birds of dozens of different species, sporting their finest crisp breeding colours. The birds are tired from making their flight over the lake, so their first stop after flying over Lake Erie is Point Pelee. Every morning brings new birds to the park.

All these factors combine to create an unparalleled birding experience that brings bird watchers from all over the world every year, coinciding with the annual Point Pelee Festival of Birds, which runs the first 3 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.

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 bird species can be overwhelming, but we will lead you the through the park identifying all the birds we see. If you like to photograph birds, this will be a amazing opportunity to get some crisp and up close photos of a variety of species.
So please join us for the opportunity to observe this amazing phenomenon of the spring bird migration.

On our previous tours to Point Pelee beginning in 2014 we've seen over 35 warbler species and some mega rarities such as Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Mississippi Kite! Our group saw some of Pelee’s “most wanted” birds – Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Kirtland's Warbler, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Prairie Warbler, several Hooded Warblers, Summer Tanager, American Avocet, Yellow-breasted Chat as well as large numbers of the common migrants and breeding residents, such as Eastern Screech-Owl, White-eyed Vireo, and Carolina Wren. Pelee can be a difficult area to bird, as the birds are not always evenly distributed throughout the park, but we know where to find them. We are also well-connected to the birders present in the park, so as soon as there is news of a rare bird, we will know about it immediately.

Days are usually long and there is a lot of stop and start walking involved. Be prepared to wake up early and be out in the field for most of the day. Photography opportunities are excellent at Point Pelee as many of the birds will be feeding at eye level or lower! 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 Ojibway Park or Rondeau Provincial Park, based on what the birds are doing.

We will be eating at local restaurants. There are many excellent restaurants in the area and they certainly need our support these days. Many of the restaurants offer delicious 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 and join us!

The cost for my guiding services is 800 dollars per person plus tax for a total of 904 dollars per person.

Important: You will be responsible for getting yourself to Point Pelee.
Please contact me about that if you do not have vehicle, I may be able to help.

Important: Please contact me about accommodations.

It will also be important to help other members get to Point Pelee as many members do not have a car. So a car-pooling situation could be worked out.

You can use Paypal to book your spot or contact me and use bank e-transfer.
If you have any questions, please message or directly email me at
torontonaturelovers@hotmail.com

Small group size with a Maximum of 4 Guests per day