I love birds and although I am learning, I’m not a birder, nor am I a bird photographer. For those of you who are birders, Presqu’ile Provincial Park, and the region around the park, should be on your bucket list. A park naturalist told us that there have been more than 335 wild birds recorded at the park and about 120 of those actually breed there.
Presqu’ile gets visited by a large number of birds because of “its location, shape, and diversity of habitats.” The fact that it is along the shore of Lake Ontario and that it is a peninsula is very attractive to migrating species. The area has actually been designated as an Important Bird Area.
We were at the park in the summer, but if you really want to get the best out of the location, you should try to check it out in March, which is when you’ll see the largest number of geese, ducks, swans and other waterfowl. Early May is another fantastic time to spend some time at Presqu’ile. The trees should still be bare which will give you optimal viewing of the warblers, tanagers, flycatchers and shorebirds that will be migrating through.
The park has a map that shows the top 6 bird watching locations and what types of birds you can expect to find at each. All of these spots are found within the park. There many areas within driving distance that also offer excellent birding opportunities.
Offshore there are two islands, Gull and High Bluff Islands, which are bird colonies and are off limits from March to September. Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Caspian Terns and Common Terns all stake out territories to breed on the islands.
Here are some of the birds we saw, and photographed, while we were camping at Presqu’ile in the middle of the summer.
Weekly Bird Report by Fred Helleiner
Sources:
“Birds & Birding.” Fauna – Birds & Birding. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017. <http://www.friendsofpresquile.on.ca/fauna-birds.php>.
Shanahan, Don. “Birding Guide To Presqu’ile Provincial Park and Area.” OFO News (2000): 8-12. Web. 7 Feb. 2017. <www.ofo.ca>.
Comments(2)
Laura J Brennan says:
April 11, 2020 at 7:31 amPresquile Provincial Park in along the shore of Lake Ontario near Brighton and NOT on Lake Huron as article states. Have camped at the park many times.
Tricia McLellan-Dath says:
April 12, 2020 at 7:06 pmYou are absolutely correct!I live near Lake Huron so I often just write that out of habit. Thanks for letting me know and thanks for checking out the post!