Thanks guys!
Ya, lots of fun but so different than our first trip there in 2011.
2011 we had over 100 species with so many lifers. I think 21 Warbler species we got to view. And the leaves weren't grown in so viewing was far easier. Plus, it was our first time to the "birding capital" of Ontario and we were stoked. So to ever re-capture that kind of glow is not possible.
So, with this year, the leaves grown in, many species already gone through, it was a very different experience. But it's all about the birds, and ALL of the birds... be it a Red-winged Blackbird or a Cerulean Warbler. They all were the stars of the show so to speak. It was birding from sun up to sun down. We thought of nothing else for most of the trip.
It was funny as I found other birders a lot less friendly this year than last. I say "hello" to everyone. But this year, people were just down right cranky. Not everyone but a lot of them. The buzz was a lot of people were upset with the lack of sightings due to the above mention of the leaves or the birds already gone. You cannot predict nature. Just get out there and experience what is there, enjoy it. It makes the less common sightings all the more special. We heard reports of the Blue Grosbeaks, a female Yellow-headed Blackbird and a Summer Tanager. Sure we kept our eyes and ears open but it wasn't our mission to see these birds. We were going to live to see another day if they weren't anywhere to be seen.
It's kinda like this. Last summer I won $1,000 on a $5 scratch ticket. I was happier than a kid at Christmas. Others squawked about what is there to get excited over a thousand bucks. Hell, it made my day. So seeing an Indigo Bunting at Pelee is like a $1,000 winner and I was happy. I didn't get the million dollar winner being a Blue Grosbeak. But like with the lottery, and birding, I keep going.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
A birth certificate shows we were born. A death certificate shows we died. Pictures show we live.
