Point Pelee Migration Spectacle

Point Pelee is one of the continent’s most famous migration hotspots, and justly so. Jutting out far into Lake Erie, the point is a magnet for tired northbound birds, and on a good day it can be teeming with birds, including up to 30 species of warblers, all in beautiful breeding plumage. The mass migration of living organisms is a striking spectacle, but when it involves flocks of brilliantly colored warblers, orioles, and tanagers, the aesthetic experience is even more delightful! We’ll be in the park at dawn each morning to see what has arrived overnight, hoping all the time for that special combination of weather and fate that can herald a major fallout. We’ll also take time to visit nearby wetlands and marshes to search for a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds that pass through the area in May.

In addition to Point Pelee, we’ll visit two other lesser-known migration hotspots further east along the Lake Erie shoreline: Rondeau Provincial Park, best known as one of the few Canadian breeding areas for the stunning Prothonotary Warbler, and Long Point Provincial Park, home to a long-established bird-banding station. Finally, we will visit an area of low-intensity pastureland, the Carden Alvar, north of Toronto, to view a host of grassland/shrubland species that include Upland Sandpiper, Golden-winged Warbler, and Bobolink. The migration spectacle can be astounding at any or all three of these sites, and the chance that something truly special may turn up (Kirtland’s Warbler, Ross’s Gull, Black Swift) keeps many birders coming back year after year. Chances are, you’ll want to return too!