Blackburnian Warbler

When I was just starting out as a birder, I bought a small book to help me learn about the warblers that were migrating through my home state of New Jersey.  The booklet was called “The Warblers of Point Pelee.”  Filled with great pictures and useful identification tips, it became my constant companion that spring.  However, I had no idea where Point Pelee was or what made it so special.  Only later did I discover that Point Pelee is probably one of the best and possibly the most famous spring migration birding location in North America.

Point Pelee is a triangular peninsula that juts about ten miles south into Lake Erie.  Birds migrating north have to cross miles of open water, and when they catch that first sight of land offering safety, rest, and food, they descend in waves.  To make things even better for birders, “Point” Pelee really is a point, measuring about one hundred feet across at the tip.  Hundreds of songbirds drop down at the narrow point and then work their way north through the woods.  The park has a little bit of everything to offer them: sandy beaches, tall trees, scrubby undergrowth, open woods, woodland streams, marshes, fields, second growth, and even farmland.

Last May, my dad and I went on a pilgrimage to this remarkable place.  We arrived in the early evening and used the remaining daylight to scout and plan our strategy.  We decided that we wanted to be at the point at first light to see the dawn arrivals, after which we would move north with the birds, soaking it all in.  The next morning we waited in the dark for the park to open.  When the gate rose, we drove as far south as we could and then walked the last mile to the end.  It is hard to imagine a more eventful or varied birding day.  There were warblers and vireos, flycatchers and orioles, sparrows and gulls, and even a couple of Sandhill Cranes soaring overhead.  Scurrying through the undergrowth at the edge of the beach, we found a lifer LeConte’s Sparrow.  Warblers streamed by, and we totaled 16 species, including an elusive Mourning Warbler.   Brilliant Baltimore Orioles and Scarlet Tanagers glowed in the trees, both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos crept through the brush, and Swainson’s and Gray-cheeked Thrushes hopped through the undergrowth. A pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers flew through following an Olive-sided Flycatcher, while  Warbling, Philadelphia, and Blue-headed Vireos mingled with the Blackburnian and Cape May Warblers.

Our day at Point Pelee flew by.  There were birds everywhere, and they were still flying in when we drove away in the late afternoon.  Unfortunately, I had to get back to school.  However, our sadness at leaving was made a little easier because we knew we would be back.  Point Pelee is the type of place you can’t visit just once.  I’m already planning the next one trip!

* For more about birding in North America see Places to Bird: Part 1, Places to Bird: Part 2, Places to Bird: Part 3, Places to Bird:  Part 4, and Places to Bird:  Part 5.