Tropical Birding : Crake Creek, Point Pelee, and Kirtland's Warbler

The Great Lakes:
Magee Marsh, Point Pelee, and Kirtland's Warbler

Forthcoming departures:

7 - 18 May 2011
12 - 23 May 2012
12 days from Detroit

2010 price: $2520,
Single supplement: $400

2011-2012 prices not yet available.

CALL TOLL FREE FROM THE US AND CANADA:
1-800-348-5941

	This tour touches down on two of the most highly regarded “migration sensation” locales in eastern North America: The Magee Marsh Wildlife Area and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ohio and Point Pelee National Park in Canada. What is the appeal of this area, you may ask? In a word, warblers. It’s alright to admit that we’ll be after them like crazy. Brilliant spring attire turns Cape May, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Blue-winged, and Mourning Warblers into stunning jewels that brighten the newly-budding trees. But parulas, waterthrushes, redstarts and other warbler-folk will not be the only focus. We'll be sifting through hordes of vireos, flycatchers, orioles, tanagers, and plenty of other northbound passerines, as well as checking the lakeshore and marshes for migrant waterbirds. The pace of the tour will depend on waves of birds; if we find ourselves in the middle of a fallout, the pace will be frantic as we comb the flocks for the more interesting species, perhaps racking up 100 species in a day in the process. Our trip closes with a visit to the Jack Pine breeding grounds of the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler. Day 1: Detroit to Port Clinton. After meeting in Detroit in the afternoon, we’ll make our way to Port Clinton for a four-night stay. Time-permitting, we’ll kick off with some late afternoon birding in the flatlands of Northwest Ohio. The plowed fields outside of Port Clinton are sprinkled with ephemeral mudflats, where we hope to encounter wandering bands of shorebirds, including Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpiper, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Numerous species of waterfowl, Horned Larks, Savannah Sparrows, American Kestrels, and other countryside birds will provide a pleasant introduction to this rural region. Packing in one last kill before sundown, a Peregrine Falcon may be out and about wreaking havoc on congregations of shorebirds and waterfowl. Day 2: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. On the southern edge of Lake Erie, Magee Marsh is a powerful magnet for migrating passerines, raptors, wading birds, and waterfowl. We’ll start our first full day at the boardwalk, where if the weather is right, we can easily score 20 or more warbler species before noon. Abundant Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and Black-throated Blue Warblers are met by hordes of White-throated Sparrows, sly Swainson’s Thrushes, spectacled Blue-headed Vireos, and brilliant Baltimore Orioles. Amidst the fast-moving waves we’ll be sure to seek out the less common Golden-winged, Cerulean, and Prothonotary Warblers. Flycatchers, kinglets, gnatcatchers, tanagers, and vireos are among the dozens upon dozens of magnificently-colored passerines that flit and forage through this easily accessed woodland. Although the day is planned in the vicinity of Magee Marsh, we will be open to chasing any rarities that turn up. Days 3-4: Magee Marsh and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. We’ll return to the boardwalk early today, but not before checking a known spot for the magnificent King Rail. While we’re waiting for the rails to stalk out of the cattails, we might be lucky to catch sight of a handsome Black Tern pumping across the marsh. After birding the boardwalk, we’ll head west to Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Ottawa’s woods, extensive wetlands, and grassland areas attract a healthy diversity of species, from Orchard Oriole to Northern Harrier, Wood Thrush to Black-billed Cuckoo, and Purple Martin to Blue-winged Teal. Between Magee Marsh and Ottawa, we’ll certainly encounter a serious number of birds today, and a special stop will be made for Upland Sandpiper and Grasshopper Sparrow. Now the timing depends on the activity on the boardwalk, but we may jump over to Metzger Marsh to get close looks at Common Moorhen, Forster's and Common Terns, and a few beach-combing shorebirds including Ruddy Turnstone. At dusk, we’ll hang around Black Swamp Bird Observatory to watch American Woodcocks displaying overhead. Day 5: Oak Openings Preserve Metropark. A mere hour’s drive from our home base in Port Clinton provides a drastic alteration to the landscape and bird diversity, with the spectacular and unique Oak Openings region. Dubbed by the Nature Conservancy as “one of America’s Last Great Places,” and “one of the most important ecosystems in the country,” the Oak Openings Region used to be part of an extensive patchwork of oak savannas that at one point covered 30 million acres and represented a unique meeting of the Western prairies and dense Eastern forests. Our target list for the day includes some very specialized, highly "wanted" species: Blue Grosbeak, Lark Sparrow, Summer Tanager, Prairie, Cerulean, and Kentucky Warblers, Henslow’s Sparrow, Alder Flycatcher, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Yellow-breasted Chat. Later in the afternoon we’ll depart for Leamington, Ontario, for a three-night stay. Days 6-7: Point Pelee. Situated on the northern shores of Lake Erie, this park can be jam-packed with both birds and birders, so we’ll keep moving around within its extensive trail system to check the optimal locations. Word of rarities travels fast, and we’ll be in hot pursuit. The entire day will consist of migrant-searching, with walks along the shrubby, sandy shores of Erie, in broadleaf woodlands, and down sun-kissed pathways. Cape May, Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, and Nashville Warblers dance overhead with Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos. Great Crested and Least Flycatchers, American Woodcock, Caspian Terns, and Bonaparte’s Gulls on the beach are just a smattering of the diversity we hope to witness on this famed peninsula. We’ll spend at least one full day at Pelee, and depending on the bird action, may decide to head east for a day to Rondeau Provincial Park, a stunningly birdy tract of old-growth Carolinian forest and beach ridge. Day 8: Nayanquing Point Wildlife Area. We’ll depart early heading northwest into Michigan, breaking up this drive by with stops at Bay City State Park and Nayanquing Point State Wildlife Refuge, the latter a splendid expanse of wetlands on the Saginaw Bay. Between these two hotspots we'll seek Sedge and Marsh Wrens, Bobolink, American and Least Bitterns, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Black-crowned Night-Heron, and perhaps several species of waterfowl including the smart-looking Ruddy Duck. After scoping out Bay City and Nayanquing we’ll head north to Mio for a three-night stay, our base for our Kirtland’s Warbler expedition. Day 9: Kirtland’s Warbler Foray. We will begin our search for Kirtland’s Warbler at 7:00am, and expect the search to take from two to four hours, hopefully scoring some good views of this renowned endangered species. After we’ve had our fill, we’ll bird the Jack Pine Wildlife Area for open pinewoods-brush-grassland species such as Clay-colored, Lincoln’s, and Vesper Sparrows, as well as Upland Sandpiper. An evening visit to Hartwick Pines State Park is certainly in order, as it is one of the top spots in the nation for enjoying brilliant Evening Grosbeaks up close. Day 10: Wildcard. Since Kirtland’s is a top target, we’ll allow another day to search for this range-restricted specialty. If yesterday's Kirtland's experience was successful, we'll spend the day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. An early start puts us on the backroads of Hiawatha National Forest, surrounded by stunning boreal forest and bogs where we'll seek out the most-wanted Connecticut Warbler, Le Conte's Sparrow, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Black-backed Woodpecker. If we're lucky, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee and Spruce Grouse, on the southern edge of their breeding range, may be resident in the areas we visit. Day 11: Mio to Detroit. Today will be spent birding our way south, looking for more “must-see” species. We spend our last night in Detroit, and if we have time, we will visit the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Day 12: Departure. The tour ends this morning with a post-breakfast transfer to the airport.