January 10 2026 (Saturday) Detroit River

Leader: Jeremy Hatt, Kory Renaud.

16 participants joined the Detroit River outing today, a joint effort of OFO and the Essex County Field Naturalists' Club. We had a great day w/ 50 species observed across 7 eBird hotspots in Windsor and Tecumseh. Temperatures stayed around 2C for the day w/ low winds making it a comfortable outing. The sky remained cloudy throughout the day and ended w/ a mix of rain, sleet, and snow in the final hour!

During this outing, we hope for colder temperatures to freeze up Lake St. Clair and concentrate birds on the Detroit River but a week of mild temperatures melted all the ice on the river and lake. Waterfowl numbers weren't as high as usual but two major highlights made up for it: Long-eared Owl and Northern Saw-Whet Owl, which were lifers for several attendees.

We started the outing at Lakeview Park Marina. Highlights included a Trumpeter Swan near Peche Island, a decent-sized raft of Canvasback and Redhead, and a flyby Lesser Black-backed Gull. We then headed over to the Little River Pollution Control Plant and Park where we picked up a pair of American Wigeon and an American Kestrel.

After lunch we stopped at two spots along the upper Detroit River for closer views of several waterfowl species and a resident Peregrine Falcon perched next to the "A" of the Ambassador Bridge.

We finished the outing w/ a walk through Ojibway Park where we had great looks at many Tufted Titmice, Brown Creeper, two Fox Sparrows, two Eastern Towhees, and good numbers of White-throated Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos.

Thanks to everyone who attended, Jeremy Hatt & Kory Renaud

January 3 2026 (Saturday) Toronto Lakeshore Winter Trip

Leader: Mark Peck, Peter Sproule.

3 January 2026 - It was a cold and blustery day at Tommy Thompson Park/Leslie Street Spit. Peter Sproule and I were a little concerned that many of our registered OFO members would not show up but by 9:05 we had 19 intrepid birders ready to face the elements. During our introduction it was clear that the focus of todays walk was centered on the juvenile American Goshawk and the King Eider located on Peninsula B, approximately 3 kms south of the parking lot. Everyone agreed we should face the icy road, wind and cold and go for it. The Spit can be challenging in the winter. Most of the birds are closer to the tip than the parking lot and the walk back always feels twice as far as the walk out. The group was not to be deterred. It was going to be slow going. The marina was mostly ice but we picked up a few waterfowl species. Cell 2 was also frozen with not a waterfowl to be seen. Songbirds were scarce but we had a pair of ravens, a couple of robins, some chickadees and a few American Tree Sparrows on the way out. Walking out to Pen B was icy but we persevered and soon saw several other birders photographing a small flock of Horned Larks foraging in the short grass near the cormorant colony. One hundred metres from the larks, right at the tip of the peninsula was a small flock of Long-tailed Ducks with a beautiful King Eider swimming among them. We spent about 10 minutes watching the eider, and long-tailed ducks and then everyone agreed it was a good time to head back. On the way back we tried for the Horned Grebe that several other birders told us about, but it was not to be. We arrived back to the parking lot at 12:30, took a quick side trip to Unwin Bridge for an American Coot and a few hundred Redheads and we were finished for the day. We ended with only 25 species but, given the weather, not too bad! My thanks to all of the members who stuck with us and made it a most enjoyable day.

Mark Peck

January 1 2026 (Thursday) Peterborough County

Leader: Dave Milsom, Cathy Douglas.

The annual OFO New Year's Day outing was enjoyed by all 9 participants and the 2 leaders despite the -20 c starting temperature. But it was a beautiful sunny winter's day and all were suitably dressed, some to the point that they were unrecognizable ! Only 26 species seen but some good ones including 90 Bohemian waxwings, 75 Evening Grosbeaks, 7 Bald Eagles and a single Pine Siskin. We followed the mostly frozen river from Trent University up to Lakefield before driving as far north as Nephton Ridge near Petroglyphs Provincial park. After a nice late Tims lunch in Lakefield, we spent a rather unproductive rest of the afternoon near Peterborough Airport, finishing the day at 3.30 pm.

Dave Milsom