2016 Waterfowl Migration Presqu’ile

March 30, 2016

The 2016 Waterfowl Migration at Presqu’ile Provincial Park

During the spring migration, tens of thousands of swans, geese and ducks stop in the sheltered areas of Presqu’ile Provincial Park to rest and feed before moving on to nesting grounds further north and west. Eight MVFN birders set out early on Saturday morning, March 19, 2016 to Presqu’ile Provincial Park to experience the annual waterfowl migration. Our leader, Cliff Bennett, set a goal of 45 species, but some of us looked rather dubiously around Lanark County with its patchy snow and frozen lakes thinking that this time he really has set the bar too high.

When we arrived in Presqui’ile Park, however, we found it bright and sunny with the ice all but melted and the snow gone. While this made for a warmer day down on Lake Ontario than on previous MVFN trips, the birding for waterfowl was more challenging as they were far out in the bay areas. The spotting scopes were very useful for good sightings.

The Park was busier this year than on previous trips too, since it was the 40^th Anniversary of Presqu’ile’s Waterfowl Weekend. This event is hosted by the Park’s staff and the Friends of Presqu’ile Provincial Park volunteers who had set up feeders for the land birds and spotting scopes at prominent viewing stations. They kindly provided information on what birds could be seen for novice birders and the children.

One memorable favourite was to see the Long-tailed Ducks. This particular duck usually bypasses the Ottawa region as it migrates to Northern Canada and the Arctic. Another exceptional sighting was thousands of ducks (mainly redheads) taking to the skies as we watched in awe. Closer to the shores were many Mute Swans gracefully swimming and preening themselves for a photo. On the island from Owen Point we were delighted to see a Snowy Owl and a Great Black-backed Gull among the many hundreds of other birds.

Mary Robinson and Anita Payne in a bird blind. Photo by Howard Robinson.

At the end of the day, our group tally for the number of species seen in the Park and en route included 46 species. So we even managed to surpass Cliff’s goal, thanks to the sharp eyes of the expert birders in our group. The list of species seen on the day follows. Afterwards, Pete Blancher reported that only one bird was flagged by eBird as seasonally rare – and that was the Double-crested Cormorant which was apparently about a week early for the area.