A nice variety of new species arrived at Fish Point from April 10th - 19th and migrants filtered through the area on a daily basis despite generally cool temperatures and some steady northeast winds and rain. There were eighteen Spring 'firsts' noted including Virginia Rail, Barn Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, and our first 'official' Pine Warbler, among others, along with a noticeable increase of other species such as Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Hermit Thrush.
East and northeast winds from the 11th - 15th produced some rain and cooler temperatures, although it was quite active on April 12th, when 46 species were documented during the official count period. Sightings included Common Loon, 225 Red-breasted Mergansers, both kinglet species, a couple of Brown Thrashers, and six sparrow spp., among others. It was wet and very windy on the 13th, but conditions improved the next day - 35 species were recorded, including a Pied-billed Grebe.
The wind shifted to the southwest on May 15th, but not much activity was noted until the 17th and 18th, when good numbers of swallows appeared, including 176 Tree Swallows feeding over the lake, along with moderate numbers of Americans Robins and Northern Flickers. The final day of the summary period was cool and windy from the northwest and birds were few-and-far between with the exception of some Eastern Phoebes, a handful of Yellow-rumped Warblers, a group of Song and Swamp Sparrows, and a small variety of others.
PIBO's next summary will be posted on May 1st.
Species recorded by PIBO staff on Pelee Island from April 1st - 23rd
Common LoonHorned Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Blue-winged Teal
Wood Duck
Mallard
American Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
American Coot
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Ring-necked
Wild Turkey
Virginia Rail
Sora
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
American Woodcock
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-shafted Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Eastern Meadowlark
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
91 species