Point Pelee National Park & The Festival of Birds

After our visit to Rondeau (which you can read about here), we headed over to Point Pelee to spend a couple of days for their annual Festival of Birds.

Point Pelee, located in Leamington, Ontario, is the smallest national park in Canada.  It is the southernmost point of Canada.  Point Pelee is a sandspit formation that extends into Lake Erie.  The tip is also constantly changing.  There was much less of it this year when we visited due to the high water levels of Lake Erie.  Point Pelee is a flyway over Lake Erie making it a birding hot spot during the spring and fall migration.  It is also a great spot for butterfly migration.  Point Pelee is a beautiful park that offers great hiking and biking trails and it happens to be one of my favourite parks in Ontario to visit.  We have visited a few times and have never been disappointed.

Every year to celebrate the birds flying through during the spring migration, Point Pelee hosts the Festival of Birds during the first three weeks in May. This year it was held on May 1st - 22nd.  During this time, specialty birding programs such as birding hikes and presentations about birds and birding, are offered.  Special pins are also awarded to those who see or hear 100 or, for this year only, 150 different bird species within the park.  The 150 pin is a special pin awarded this year only in celebration of Canada's 150th birthday.

During our two day visit, we hiked a few trails, some we did multiple times.  Below is a description with pictures of the trails that we did during our visit to Point Pelee.

Marsh Trail
One of my favourite trails to do, I can spend the entire day doing this trail.  It is a 1 km loop trail.  There is plenty of parking at this trailhead as well as the store where you can rent canoes.  With it's picnic table availability, it's also a great spot to enjoy a picnic while looking out over the marsh. The marsh consists of a multi level observation tower that you can go up and enjoy the view of the marsh from the top.  While we were there, many barn swallows were flying about constructing their nests.  The trail itself is a floating boardwalk that takes you right into the marsh.  Here you will see many different birds, turtles, dragonflies and even some fish.  There isn't much shade, so please be sure to wear a hat and sunscreen.

Marsh and Boardwalk

View From Observation Tower

Marsh and Boardwalk

View From Observation Tower

Brown-Headed Cowbird

(female)

Turtles Basking In The Sun

Canada Goose Gosling

Canada Goose Gosling

Tug Of War

Canada Goose Family

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat

Red-Winged Blackbird

Red-Winged Blackbird

Brown-Headed Cowbird (female)

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Barn Swallow

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Marsh Boardwalk

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Marsh Boardwalk

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Barn Swallow

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Centennial Bike & Hike Trail
The longest trail at Point Pelee. It is a shaded trail through forest with beach access points.  We only did a portion of this trail.

DeLaurier Homestead and Trail

This trail is a loop trail that is just over 1 km in length.  The trail itself winds through open fields and a swamp forest.  There is also a historic house and barn with exhibits.  Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit and we were not able to go inside.  There is plenty of parking at this trail location as well.  There were a few boardwalks along the swamp part of the trail and another observation tower, albeit not as high as the one at the Marsh Trail.

Boardwalk

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Garter Snake

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Boardwalk

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

DeLaurier Homestead

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Sanctuary Lookout
This is a lookout over the marsh.  There are benches where one can sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of marsh life.  We saw turtles basking in the sun, a water snake out swimming in the water, fish jumping and swimming close to the surface of the water.  There is limited parking at this lookout though. 

Woodland Nature Trail
Another one of my favourite trails, it is a loop trail that is located at the Visitor Centre and is just under 3 km in length.  This trail takes you through swamp and there are any boardwalks to cross over.  Many different birds can be seen and heard along this trail.  It is also the location that you may see the endangered Prothonotary Warbler.

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Orchard Oriole

(Female)

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Yellow Warbler

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Shuster Trail
This is an approximately half kilometer trail that is accessed from the Tilden Woods Trailhead at the Visitor Centre's parking lot and will take you straight to the beach.  We saw some American Goldfinches, Yellow Warblers and a Downy Woodpecker while walking this trail.  Not much was happening at the beach.

Tip Trail
There are a couple of ways you can get to the tip trail.  You can walk or bike along the park road,
or you can take the shuttle. We chose to take the shuttle to and from the tip trailhead.  You can board the free shuttle at the Visitor Centre and it will drop you off at the tip outdoor exhibit.  It will then pick you up at the same location and return to the Visitor Centre.  The trail itself to the Tip isn't that long, only about 1 km if you take the direct route.  My husband and I decided to walk along the beach as well as the various pathways that are in the area.  Many different birds were flying about!  Here you can walk right to the end and stand at the southernmost point of Canada!  However, due to the high water levels this year, the tip didn't extend quite as far as in the previous years we visited the park.  It was like the tip disappeared!

Barn Swallow

Photographed at the Tip Exhibit

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Common Grackle

Tip

Photographed by Andrew Almeida

Most of the tip is submerged under water due to the high water levels.  In previous years that we have visited, the tip extended well beyond the rocks.

Further Reading:

http://friendsofpointpelee.com

Rondeau Provincial Park & The Festival of Flight

Boardwalk along Tulip Tree Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

For many different reasons, Spring happens to be one of my favourite seasons.  One of those reasons is the influx of birds that are migrating north during this time of year.  Every year birds in brilliant breeding plumage will migrate north to their breeding grounds.  It's pretty incredible the distances that these small creatures will travel.

Yellow Warbler

Rondeau Provincial Park happens to be in a flight path used by birds during their migration, making it a hotspot for bird watching.  The height of songbird migration tends to be the first three weeks of May.  Rondeau Provincial Park celebrates this with their annual Festival of Flight which was held this year from May 1st to May 21st.  During this time, there are special bird related activities and events scheduled such as hikes, birders' breakfasts and lunches.  My husband Andrew and I decided to visit Rondeau for the first time and take in the sights and sounds of the park during this peak migration time.  We were not disappointed!  The moment we stepped out of the car we were greeted with a mingling of songs from different bird species.

Chipping Sparrow

When we first arrived at the park we headed straight for the visitor centre.  To get there is a drive through the park along it's main road.  Once there, we parked the car and went inside to look around.  They had a board up of all bird sightings and their locations.  This was a good way to check out what had been seen within the last couple of days and where.  What makes parks like Rondeau in bird migration flyways special is that they tend to be pit stops for birds that have travelled over many distances and over open water (in this case Lake Erie) and need a place to stop to rest and feed before continuing their journey north to their breeding grounds.  Many of these songbirds only stay a little while and then continue on their way.  Some species do breed in the park but many do not.  The visitor centre has many displays of the different species of animals found within the park.  There are also feeders and a garden set up in the back for bird watching.

Boardwalk along Tulip Tree Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Our first trail was the Tulip Tree Trail, a 1.2 km loop trail through forest which is right off the visitor centre's parking lot.  It is a great little trail with many boardwalks and offers the best opportunity for viewing the endangered Prothonotary warbler which nests in this location.  If patient enough, you may just see it fluttering about just off one of the boardwalks.  We did manage to get a few glimpses of one but unfortunately were not able to get a good photo.  Many birds were seen and heard along this trail.

Blue Jay

From the Tulip Tree Trail, we crossed the road and walked the boardwalk to the beach area.  It was pretty but quiet.  Besides some swallows flying around, not much more activity happening.  We walked back to the car at the visitor's centre and decided to head out to the Marsh trail.

Boardwalk to the Beach

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Buried picnic tables on the beach

Photo by Andrew Almeida

On our way we stopped at the Spice Bush Trail as there was one parking spot available.  This is a 1.5 km loop trail through forest and marsh.  It has several boardwalks and is another great trail for bird watching.  Like the Tulip Tree Trail, there were many birds seen and heard.  There were also trilliums and a few other wildflowers.  It's a nice, easy trail to do. 

Boardwalk along Spice Bush Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Black-Throated Green Warbler (Female)

After completing this trail, we crossed the road to walk along Bennett Avenue.  This road is closed off to vehicular traffic.  It is forested on either side and has benches along the middle where one can sit and watch the birds fly from tree to tree.  It was a nice little walk and offered some great opportunities to see more birds.

Nesting American Robin

We then decided to head on over to the Marsh Trail.  This is a 7 km trail one way along a gravel path. 

Marsh Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

There is a boardwalk and tower part way but the top section is currently closed with no mention of when it will reopen. 

Marsh Boardwalk

Photo by Andrew Almeida

We saw different species of birds along this trail as well as other animals such as a snake, snapping turtle and a few frogs.  We also saw a few large fish jump out of the water. 

Snapping Turtle

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Marsh

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Many barn swallows were present busily building their nests at the tower. 

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallows

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Rondeau Provincial Park does have several more hiking and biking trails that we just did not have the time to do during this visit but hope to return some day to explore more of the park.  It is a great place to visit, especially during the spring and fall migrations where it offers great opportunities for viewing songbirds and waterbirds.  Just one word of caution, please take precautions to protect yourself from ticks.  There are signs in the park warning that ticks carrying Lyme disease have been found at the park and I found a tick on me. 

We visited Rondeau only for a day as we had planned to spend a bit more time on our next stop, Point Pelee National Park and the Festival of Birds.  Stay tuned for my upcoming post and photos from this amazing park!



Further Reading:
https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/rondeau/activities