PBTC Birding on the Bruce 2017
May 17, 2017 turned out to be a warm sunny day, if just a bit windy, for the Peninsula Club’s annual birding hike. Anita and Bob Cunningham were joined by 19 other birders and want-to-be birders for a wonderful day of birding in the Dyer’s Bay area. The number of birders in attendance was a modern day record. Several had joined us just to see what birding was all about and by the end of the day we heard reports that we had some converts to this wonderful pastime. If the sun shining on that beautiful bluebird was not enough for you to want to see more, then this is not the activity for you!
While the number of species we saw (47) was a bit lower than in previous years we did have some wonderful sightings including a Bald Eagle who flew over at lunch – perhaps he was hungry, an Eastern Towhee and a Scarlet Tanager, unfortunately seen by only a small number of the group. Warblers, in particular, were few and far between, but that is simply a result of the spring migration not reaching Northern Bruce in a timely way. A cold spring probably slowed things down.
Here is the list of what we did see and/or hear.
Common Loon, Red-necked Grebe, American Bittern,
Canada Goose, Mallard, Red-breasted Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Merlin, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wild Turkey, Sandhill Crane, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, American Goldfinch