Dramatics In Droves

With a bird count of 300 species, Bruce County offers ornithologists a kaleidoscope of feathers, flight and song. As birds migrate north each spring, millions flood into Southern Ontario and funnel into the narrow belt of the Bruce Peninsula. They flit through the air, sing in the forests, and form rafts offshore. Wave after wave, they come in droves, many just passing through, but about 150 different species stay to make the Bruce their home. Come fall, the show repeats itself, this time on a southbound course.

Flocking Together

Bird watching enthusiasts gather annually for a week in late-May at the Huron Fringe Birding Festival at MacGregor Point Provincial Park. Also, the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory, a significant research station, hosts birding workshops, guest speakers, and other interesting events.

Display Windows

•    MacGregor Point Provincial Park – Site to the Huron Fringe Birding Festival in late-May, MacGregor is a birding hotspot; more than 200 species have been sighted here. Songbird watching is exceptional in spring and fall. Also, the Ducks Unlimited ponds provide some of the best wetland birding to be had on the Bruce.

•    Chantry Island – Offshore of Southampton, this Canadian Wildlife Sanctuary is host to a large number of nesting waterbirds including Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Black-crowned Night Herons. The birds can be seen easily by spotting scope, but guided tours of the island and its historic lighthouse are also available June to mid-September.

•    Isaac Lake – Birders can drive right into this large wetland north of Wiarton, notable for its nesting marsh birds such as Sandhill Crane, American Bittern, Sora Rail, Virginia Rail, Hooded Merganser, Marsh Wren and Black Tern. The experience here at sunrise and sunset is just magical. Turn west off Highway 6 onto Isaac Lake Road, 11 km north of Wiarton.

•    Ferndale Flats – Habitat that’s prairie-like, the agricultural land surrounding Ferndale is site to nesting meadow species including Brewer’s Blackbird, Upland Sandpiper, Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark. Birds sit on fence posts, the back roads are quiet, the view is panoramic and the spotting is easy. The flats run roughly from Pike Bay Road to just north of Ferndale. Watch for when the landscape changes from forest to pasture. Birding is done from Highway 6 and from the many side roads.

•    Black Creek Provincial Park/Stokes Bay – Out of sync with the rest of the peninsula, Black Creek Park encompasses a unique northern ecosystem that draws many migrants and hard to find breeders such as Magnolia Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher and Golden-crowned Kinglet. Adjacent Stokes Bay is one of the county’s best spots for spying on migrating shorebirds and ducks; bring a spotting scope.

•    Bruce Peninsula National Park – With its wide array of habitats the park features a large diversity of both migrant and breeding birds. The creek between Cyprus and Horse lakes draws many warblers during May. In June, the forests along Emmett Lake Rd are particularly good for colourful breeders including Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blackburnian Warbler and Black-throated Blue Warbler. The 20-m-high observation tower in the park’s visitor centre provides the perfect perch for watching migrating hawks launch off the peninsula in spring.

•    Cabot Head/Dyer’s Bay – Spring or fall, drive out to lighthouse to see why Cabot Head has been designated as an “Important Bird Area” in Canada. Offshore in Dyer’s Bay, large numbers of Red-necked Grebes congregate in late-April along with White-winged Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks and loons.

Spring & Summer Places to Stay Listings