Martin Parker and Matthew Tobey led the PFN outing to Presqu'ile Provincial Park on August 24th. The primary focus was on birding and the group of 11 members were treated to 74 species of birds found over a period of 6.5 hours while covering a distance of 14 km. This will be remembered as a highly successful and enjoyable bird outing. The full list of birds has been uploaded to eBird.

The early part of the day was spent on the beach in an effort to observe shorebirds before the daily influx of beach enthusiasts. We observed 9 species of shorebirds at this location: Black-bellied Plover (1), Semipalmated Plover (16), Killdeer (10), Baird's Sandpiper (4), Least Sandpiper (27), Pectoral Sandpiper (1), Semipalmated Sandpiper (19), Greater Yellowlegs (1), Lesser Yellowlegs (3). We also heard and saw several Common Terns with some close-up views. Just a bit back from the beach in a marshy area, an American Bittern posed stoically for the group.

Volunteers from the group spent a considerable amount of time along the beach trying to catch Monarchs for tagging. Four Monarchs were later brought to the park staff for tagging. An excellent demonstration of the tagging technique was performed by Janet. All the tagged Monarchs were released in very good condition.

Martin took us out along the Owen Point Trail where we saw dozens of Northern Leopard Frogs on and along the trail. At times the ground appeared to be moving due to the high number of frogs. We had a great view of a beautiful Common Green Darner resting on a plant. Back out along the lake shore allowed for another view of Gull Island which was populated with thousands of birds including Double-crested Cormorant, Gull sp, Mute Swans and a Great Egret.

We visited a private residence along the east side of the park. This location had many flowers, plants and shrubs and there were several bird feeders which all together served well to attract numerous birds and butterflies. A couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers were the highlight at this residence. Soon after leaving the residence we stopped to view an Olive-sided Flycatcher.

Just outside the north end of the park there is a boat launch where several of us waded though the remnants of Lake Ontario high water to access the dock. We were rewarded with an elusive Common Gallinule. The next stop was at the Brighton Sewage Lagoons where we picked up more birds including several Wood Ducks. Many thanks to Martin and Tobey for a great day of birding.
(Photographed August 24, 2019 at Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Presqu'ile Parkway, Brighton, Ontario, Canada)