Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists flock to Point Pelee National Park

by Neil Carleton

They went, they saw, they heard, and they’ll never forget the unique experience of visiting the best location in inland North America to observe the northward migration of songbirds. Twenty-four members of the MVFN arrived May 4 on a chartered bus with binoculars, spotting scopes, field guides, and an enthusiasm for nature.

As we boarded the bus for home, 0ur group of 24 travelers had collectively seen / heard 125 species in the Point Pelee area. Wow! In comparison, the MVFN’s annual early bird outings in April have ranged from 38 to 54 different species. The Point Pelee trip was a grand adventure.

Avocet, American Blackbird, Red-winged Bufflehead Cardinal, Northern Catbird, Gray Chickadee, Black-capped Coot, American Cormorant, Double-crested Cowbird, Brown-headed Dove, Mourning Dowitcher, Long-billed Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Wood Dunlin Eagle, Bald Egret, Great Finch, House Flicker, Northern Flycatcher, Great Crested Gadwall Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray Goldeneye, Common Goldfinch, American Goose, Canada Grackle, Common Grosbeak, Rose-breasted Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Ring-billed Harrier, Northern Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Heron, Great Blue Heron, Green Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Jay, Blue Killdeer Kingbird, Eastern Kingfisher, Belted Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Loon, Common Loon, Pacific Mallard Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Oriole, Baltimore (northern) Oriole, Orchard Osprey Ovenbird Parula, Northern Pigeon, Rock Plover, Black-bellied Redhead Redstart, American Robin, American Sandpiper, Spotted Scaup, Lesser Shoveler, Northern Siskin, Pine Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, House Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Starling, European Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, tree Swan, Mute Tanager, Scarlet Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Tern, Common Thrasher, Brown Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush, Wood Titmouse, Tufted Towhee, Eastern Turkey, Wild Veery Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, White-eyed Vulture, Turkey Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Canada Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Palm Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Waterthrush, Northern Wigeon, American Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Wren, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Marsh Yellowlegs,  Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs,  Yellowthroat, Common

Other news and events of the MVFN are posted often at http://mvfn.ca/. On May 21st the 6th annual spring gathering will be held at the Almonte Civitan Hall. Jean Lauriault, Monarch Conservation Specialist and Canadian Museum of Nature Associate, will give a presentation on the mysteries of the monarch butterfly. Here’s the link to further details. http://mvfn.ca/events/annual-spring-gathering/ Banquet tickets are still available. Hope to see you there.