A different yard view for a few days.
Rob and I usually book two weeks’ vacation in May, and this year was no different. The big difference this year was that I was still recovering from a broken right foot, still in a boot-cast, and not allowed to do a lot of walking. Rob, the never ending optimist said “we’ll make the best of it”, and so we did.
We had booked a cottage for a 3 night, 4 day getaway in the Long Point/Port Rowan area at the beginning of the year. It was our first time renting a cottage or doing any real birding in the area. We were both looking forward to it, even though we both knew I had to watch how much time I spent on my feet.
We rented a two person cottage at Bayside Vacation Resort, the perfect location for birding in the area. It is just minutes from all the great birding areas, including the Long Point Bird Observatory, Backus Woods and Bird Studies Canada. What was a pleasant surprise were all the birds we could watch from our cottage deck and grounds! We are used to all our backyard regulars like Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers, Finches, Blue Jays, etc. But for our time there are “yard birds” were Common Terns, Killdeer, Barn Swallows, etc. We weren’t even there 30 minutes and we had a fly over from a Bald Eagle, and a Loon was also spotted nearby.
We had just under 90 species for our trip and enjoyed the birding in the area. You can read more about it and view other pics by clicking here to read my personal blog, but in the meantime, please enjoy a few pics of our vacation yard birds during May 8 -11, 2017. We enjoyed the entertainment they provided and have already booked for next year!
The Common Terns were a lot of fun to watch.
Thrilled to see a Loon.
Killdeer made fun neighbors.
Mute Swan surrounded by Barn and Tree Swallows.
Our cottage bunny greeted us every evening.
Sunrise.
Tree Swallows liked to swoop our heads.
White-crowned Sparrow calling.
We never knew what was going to fly by or swim up the channel!
In case you didn’t make it over my personal blog, I have to share the highlight of my trip. I have been wanting to hear the call of a Whip-poor-will for close to a decade, and on this trip if finally happened. We had at least 5 birds calling around us the evening of May 10th, thanks to help from local birders. It was amazing! Rob recorded some of it, and you can hear what we heard by clicking here.
I hope the Spring migration was good for everyone!
Looks like a great place! That’s a White-crowned Sparrow, not White-throated.