Birding Point Pelee

I spent the morning in Point Pelee park. It was a gloomy day, and yes it was supposed to be sunny, but the weather forecast was wrong yet again. They just cannot get it right!
I started at the Tip, and was surprised by the number of gulls.

Large gulls at Tip

Richard Carr was already there scanning the birds. It was actually quite active with lots of ducks moving (mostly Common Mergansers) and the gulls. The gulls were a bit distant, so it was difficult to make out some of them.

I estimated upwards of 3000 gulls. At least 800 were Bonaparte's, but probably 1000, as I tend to underestimate.

Bonaparte's Gulls off Tip (Little Gull in there!)

After a while, we headed back to the parking lot. I stayed to look around the Tip area and only found a few White-throated Sparrows and Cardinals. A Sharp-shinned and a Cooper's Hawk (both mature birds) were patrolling the area.

I went back to the Tip and scanned the gulls again. Many had settled onto the ice, but the Bonaparte's were still active. I managed to pick out at least one adult Little Gull in the mix. I also saw what appeared to be an adult Lesser-Black-backed Gull on the ice.

Strangely, there were no white-winged gulls at all. It seems like there are not many around this winter. Quite a few Greater black-backed Gulls were out there as well.
I could have stood there for hours, as things were always changing. There must have been some rarity out there!
Next stop was Shuster Trail. More White-throated Sparrows and Cardinals were here. (Actually I noticed that there were large numbers of Cardinals in the park. They were all over the place!)

Also along this trail was a Flicker and a Carolina Wren. All of these birds were farther down the trail around the Sumac trees. I did not come across the Gray Catbird.

Around the cemetery, I came across two Chickadees (the only two of the day in the park!) and some Golden-crowned Kinglets.

I walked the Ander's loop up to De Laurier and back, but did not get anything. On the lake off White Pine, I saw about six White-winged Scoters flying by.

Brown Creeper (camouflaged)

By Hillman Marsh I saw some Chickadees and a Brown Creeper among some Tree Sparrows.

At Wheatley Harbour, a number of Ring-billed Gulls were standing on the slush ice. Not a Mew Gull in the bunch! The only Mew Gull I have ever seen was here at Wheatley, coincidentally.

Great Blue Herons at Muddy Creek

At Muddy Creek I saw a total of six Great Blue Herons huddled up. Obviously these are wintering birds, too lazy to head south.

Ring-billed Gulls on Slush Ice at Wheatley

I decided to check out Wheatley Provincial Park for a change. Turned out to be an exercise in futility. Or at least it was an opportunity for some exercise. Once again I met up with Richard Carr and we walked around the park counting squirrels (!). There were virtually no birds! Some years there are lots of birds in the park.

We talked about owls and I recalled one time that I found a Northern Saw-whet Owl (dead) there. It was still clinging to a tree, but upside down. It must have died while perched and its talons held tight.

Entrance to Wheatley Harbour