Brief report from Ron Tozer on birding at the Convention

More than 235 participants at the Ontario Field Ornithologists’ Convention at Point Pelee on September 17 and 18 enjoyed some great birding with outstanding leaders. The final species total was 175 which is very close to our highest Point Pelee tally of 176 species on October 3 and 4, 2009.

Particularly appreciated sightings included:

• Snowy Egret: one near Prairie Siding on the 17th and 18th

• Swainson's Hawk: one light morph at Holiday Beach on the 17th

• Buff‐breasted Sandpiper: at least 5 in a field on Richardson Side Road near Tilbury on the 17th

• Red‐necked Phalarope: singles at Blenheim Sewage Lagoons and Hillman beach on the 18th

• Little Gull: one at Blenheim Sewage Lagoons on the 18th

• Parasitic Jaeger: one photographed off Hillman Marsh on the 17th

• Loggerhead Shrike: one on the West Beach trail near the half way point on the 17th

• 22 warbler species for the weekend

Thanks to all the leaders and participants for reporting their birds to me. Hope everybody had a great time. Look forward to seeing you all at next year’s convention at Cobourg on September 15 and 16, 2012.

Ron Tozer
Field Trip List Compiler
Dwight, ON

Point Pelee, 17‐18 September 2011

The 2011 OFO Annual Convention will be held in Point Pelee on the weekend of 17‐18 September 2011.

The Point Pelee area is a great place to go birding in the fall, with a variety of habitats attracting a truly amazing assortment of bird species. Once again OFO will be holding its Annual Convention here and you should plan to join us because it’s going to be exciting!

Early bird arrivals on Friday evening will be able to join park staff at the Tip parking lot at 6:30 pm as they conduct the evening monarch roost count.

The banquet will be held at the Roma Club in Leamington on Saturday evening where the guest speaker will be Mark Peck.

The field trips, some lasting a few hours and others the better part of the day, have been chosen to highlight the Point Pelee area’s rich diversity of habitats and to search out any rarities that might be in the area.

Our guest speaker on Saturday evening will be Jim Duncan, Manager of Biodiversity Conservation for the Manitoba Department of Conservation, and a world expert on the Great Gray Owl. Jim and his wife and colleagues have dedicated a large part of their lives to studying the Great Gray Owl. His presentation will lead us on a journey of discovery that spans two continents and over 30 years of research. Join us as we learn about how in some areas this large owl has to migrate thousands of kilometres through boreal forest to survive while in other regions it can spend its entire life within 30 kilometres of its nest tree. This richly illustrated talk will review information on this elusive phantom of the northern hemisphere such as its habitat use, nesting ecology, vocalizations, breeding dispersal, prey use and availability, mortality and population dynamics.

This year’s Distinguished Ornithologist is Ron Tozer who will be honoured at the banquet. Ron served for many years as the Park Naturalist at Algonquin Park. Ron is familiar to regular convention attendees as our witty and charming (and we hope permanent) master of ceremonies.

Tickets are going fast, so don’t delay ‐‐ send in your registration now! Click here to go to the registration page. See you there!