Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario May` 2017 This was a short trip designed to get my first experience of North America Warblers and whatever else might be around. Initially I had been planning to do it alone but was lucky enough to hook up with leading Indiana Birder Dave Ward during much of my week. This was fortunate as it was a slow Warbler year (at most of the places we went) and Dave was invaluable in quickly identifying everything we came across by sight and sound, and had some useful stakeouts for several of the birds that are more difficult to find. He also took me on a May-day count in Indiana which was a good start to the week. Itinerary Day 1 Indiana around Fort Wayne Day 2 - Indiana Day 3 Ohio - Magee Marsh Day 3 Ontario Point Pelee Day 4 Michigan Greyling Day 5 Michigan Tawas Point Day 6 Ontario Point Pelee Day 7 Ontario Point Pelee Logistics Car hire from Toronto (in retrospect would have gone via Michigan) No problem finding anything with Sat Nav Hotels I booked the hotel in Point Pelee in advance but everything else was just turn up and hope for the best but there was no problems. At Leamington we stayed at the Talbot Trail Inn & Suites and the Best Western (which is where most of the birders stay) At Tawas we stayed at Big Bear Lodge which is just round the corner from the point At Greyling we stayed at the Ramada, which was very well located at the end of town
Guide Dave Ward - brdendve3750@aol.com, who covers Indiana, Ohio and Michigan Cost Car was around 300, petrol around 100 accommodation about 50 a night plus food around 900 in all Highlights 1) Came across a Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Tawas which was probably the most surprising thing we saw, 2) The Warblers were amazing just a treat to see and 32 species was a good number the only one we dipped on was Connecticut, particular favourites where Kirtlands, Chestnut-sided and Wilson s
3) The Bobolink and Dickcissel on the May Day counts
4) Blue Grosbeak in Indiana 5) Amazingly confiding America Woodcock 6) Displaying Turkeys
7) And my first Trumpeter Swans and plenty of others Best spots As a first timer Magee Marsh is a mazing a broad walk with birds either side leading on to a walkway along the see, the birds are very confiding and it is very easy to see anything there, even though it was not a big fall when we were there it was impressive (if a little artificial) Point Pelee in contrast is a relatively big area and feels like proper birding with a good chance of missing things as the you travel around the point My favourite was Tawas Point a good halfway house between Pelee and Magee
Indian was also interesting made all the better by a Mayday count with over 100 species (but to get the best out of this in a day or two you need to be with someone who know where they are going) Species and where and when first seen Species Canada Goose Mute Swan Trumpeter Swan Wood Duck Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Green-winged Teal Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Northern Bobwhite Wild Turkey Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant American Bittern Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Turkey Vulture Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Virginia Rail Sora Common Gallinule American Coot Sandhill Crane Black-bellied Plover Location Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area Wakeley Lake Welker Road Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve
Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Whimbrel Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling Dunlin Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher American Woodcock Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Caspian Tern Black Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Eastern Screech-Owl Barred Owl Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker American Kestrel Merlin Eastern Wood-Pewee Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Acadian Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Welker Road Welker Road Welker Road Point Pelee National Park Wakeley Lake Wakeley Lake
Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Fork-tailed Flycatcher White-eyed Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Horned Lark Northern Rough-winged Swallow Purple Martin Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Cliff Swallow Carolina Chickadee Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch House Wren Winter Wren Marsh Wren Carolina Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Veery Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Northern Mockingbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing Ovenbird Louisiana Waterthrush Northern Waterthrush Golden-winged Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Worden Rd. Point Pelee National Park m18 & brush rd Wakeley Lake Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve Fox Island County Park and Nature Preserve Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area
Black-and-white Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Mourning Warbler Kentucky Warbler Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler American Redstart Kirtland's Warbler Cape May Warbler Cerulean Warbler Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Prairie Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Wilson's Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Henslow's Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Field Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco White-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Eastern Towhee Summer Tanager Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak Blue Grosbeak Fox Island County Park and Nature Preserve m18 & brush rd Point Pelee National Park Welker Road Oates Rd. Randell & 13th street, mio Yohne and Smith Roads
Indigo Bunting Dickcissel Bobolink Eastern Meadowlark Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Brewer's Blackbird Common Grackle Evening Grosbeak House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow Point Pelee National Park m18 & brush rd Randell & 13th street, mio