Our Trip to Point Pelee, Ontario

About a week ago, we had the opportunity to go to Point Pelee, Ontario, to see some of the bird migration. We had never been there before, and enjoyed the trip to the Leamington area. The weather was great when we were there, and we weren't bothered by bugs. 

The birding festival was on and there were a lot of birders. I enjoy watching and taking pictures of birds, but I wouldn't classify myself as a birder. I found that my 70-300 mm lens was not long enough, which really didn't surprise me. Some of the photographers had lenses so big, that it looked like a real effort to carry them.

It was difficult to focus on the birds when they were at such a distance, so some of my photos are not as sharp as I wish. I cropped some of these so that we can see the bird easier. I am still going through my pictures, but thought I would put some of them up this week. Hopefully I identify these correctly - some are common, but I don't usually get to take a picture of them.

This first one is a female red-winged blackbird. It took us awhile to figure out what it was. Most of the time we only notice the males.

There is such a difference when you look at the male red-winged blackbird. He is much brighter coloured. They are very timid in our area and it is difficult to take photos of them. We saw a lot more of them up close than we would have at home.

The next one is a black and white warbler. It may have come as far as from Colombia or Venezuela in its migration. 

The baltimore oriole is a bird that is sometimes in our area. We have seen one or two in the time that we have lived here, so it was nice to be able to see one.

Another bird that is common in our area now is the wild turkey. Usually they run away so that you can't get their picture. This one was quite used to people walking around, and it wasn't too hard to get his picture. I do think they are ugly though, and we are getting so many that you have to watch for them when you are driving.

I believe the next is a barn swallow. We saw lots of them flying around. This one looks like it's trying to figure out which twig to take to its nest.

One of the birds that caused a lot of flurry and excitement for the birders was the red-headed woodpecker. It was still quite a distance away when I took the photo. I'd never seen one before in the wild.

Another bird I had never seen was the yellow warbler. This one flitted around the trees for quite awhile.

God has made quite an assortment of birds for us to enjoy. I'm glad we were able to go. If I've identified any of the birds incorrectly, please let me know.