Plan to join us again this spring for this gala event when once again we celebrate the spring migration in Prince Edward County
What better place to see spring birds than at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory – more birds migrate through Prince Edward County than anywhere else on the north shore of Lake Ontario. For many visitors, the highlight of the season is seeing wood warblers, the brilliantly-coloured birds often described as the butterflies of the bird world. The Observatory has them in abundance.The Spring Birding Festival makes it easy to see the many migrants of Prince Edward County. Knowledgeable volunteers will lead bird hikes through Traverse Woods (Prince Edward Point) daily from the 11th to the 20th, starting at 8:00 a.m. On Saturday May 11th and Saturday May 18th, there will also be birding hikes from the Bird Observatory to the Lighthouse at 4:00 p.m. The fee for each hike is $5 and pre-registration is not required. The Spring Birding Festival is a wonderful way for families to participate in the world’s fastest-growing pastime. Children are always fascinated by the banding demonstrations (daily at the banding lab, 10:00 a.m. – noon). There will be children’s activities, bird-friendly coffee, soup and light refreshments at the hospitality tent daily from 9:30 – 12:30 a.m., as well as a selection of merchandise to purchase. Bird photographers can enter their work in the photography competition. The deadline for entries is May 25th and work will be displayed at AV Frame and Photo on Main Street in Picton.
NEW THIS YEAR!
Boot Camp for Birders
May 03 - May 04
This year, PEPtBO is introducing a new program specifically for novice birders. Called Boot Camp for Birders, it takes beginners from familiar birds like robins and blue jays through to the first steps of identifying birds by their songs. Combining classroom presentations and outdoor field sessions, the Boot Camp will help new birders develop skills and gain confidence in the field.
The Boot Camp will be led by Pamela Stagg, who has been watching birds for over 50 years. She will be teach participants how to identify birds by sight and by ear, as well as how to use binoculars and a spotting scope. Terry Sprague, who needs no introduction in the County, will be leading a birding hike for Boot Camp participants. The new Bander in Charge of PEPtBO, Stéphane Menu, will give a bird banding demonstration. And Kathy Felkar, who imports bird-friendly coffee, will discuss the importance of conservation with participants over treats and a cup of coffee – bird-friendly, naturally.
“I wish there had been a program like the Boot Camp when I started bird-watching,” Pamela said. “My uncle lent me his old binoculars and a copy of Roger Tory Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds. Then I set off into the woods, trying to identify the birds I saw from illustrations the size of postage stamps, mostly black and white. ”
Colour reproduction and optics have come a long way since then. “Today, even modestly-priced binoculars are better than my uncle’s old field glasses. And the quality of today’s field guides still blows me away. It’s so much easier to see and identify birds today. No wonder bird-watching is the world’s fastest-growing pastime.”
Cheryl Anderson, president of PEPtBO, says Boot Camp meets a need for new birders. “We have novices coming down to the Spring Birding Festival, hoping we’ll be able to teach them how to identify birds. Because the Festival is held at the height of the migration, our banding staff don’t always have as much time as they’d like to talk to novices about birds. The Boot Camp allows beginners to learn about birds ahead of time, then come back and really enjoy the wide variety of birds that can be seen during the Festival.”
To register, contact Cheryl Anderson at 613-471-1096 or
The fee for the two-day program is $160.
* Guided Bird Walks and Tours *
May 11 – 20: Daily guided bird walks (approx. 2 hours) begin at 8:00 am in the Point Traverse Woods. The walks focus on songbird migrants including up to 30 species of warblers. Learn to identify by sight and sound. There is a charge of $5/person.
May 11 & 18: Saturday afternoon hikes to the Lighthouse: 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. $5/person
May 11: Official Opening at 10:00 a.m.
May 19, Sunday: Birding the County Tour with Prince Edward County Field Naturalists Cheryl Anderson and Myrna Wood. Meet at the Mariners’ Park Museum, 2065 County Road 13 at 8:00 am. The tour will highlight some of the County’s best birding spots, and will last until noon. ($5/person)
* Workshops *
The workshops are designed to be of interest to birders and naturalists at all levels of experience. To register, complete the registration form below and mail to: PEPtBO, PO Box 6043, Picton, ON, K0K 2T0, along with your payment, or contact Cheryl Anderson @ 613-471-1096, or
(Adults: $25.00, Students: $10.00, and Children under 12: Free)
Saturday, May 11, 11 am – 1 pm
Jackson's Falls Schoolhouse Bed & Breakfast
Terry Sprague: Warblers I Have Known and Loved
The workshop will look at the 30+ species of warblers that have been known to appear at Prince Edward Point, and the secrets of ideitifying these "butterflies of the bird world". We will look at how to make the process of identification easier by process of elimination, when in April or May to start looking for specific species of warblers, and how knowing the time of their arrival can make the process of elimination much easier. We will also delve into the world of identifying by ear, that it's not as difficult a process as what you may have thought.
Terry Sprague: Terry grew up on the family farm at Big Island, near Demorestville, in Prince Edward County on the Bay of Quinte and helped operate the 350-acre farm until 1976. He has been employed as a resource technician at Glenora Fisheries Research, and as an interpretive naturalist at Sandbanks Provincial Park, and Shoreline Management Coordinator with the Prince Edward Region Conservation Authority. Between 1996 and 2011, he worked with Quinte Conservation delivering a series of outdoor interpretive programs, and now free-lances from home as a professional naturalist and consultant. Terry operates a private business, NatureStuff Tours, offering guided hikes, speaking engagements, seminars, and bus tours. He owns and maintains his own website “NatureStuff - Tours and Things” at www.naturestuff.net . He is a free-lance writer on the subject of natural history, and has written a regular column for the Picton Gazette since 1965, and also has columns in the Napanee Beaver and The Tweed News. He has also authored "Birds of Prince Edward County" (1984) and a new 200-page book published in Sept 2011, "Up Before Five - The Family Farm" Terry has been interested in all aspects of natural history since childhood, specializing in ornithology, and holds a diploma in wildlife management and ecology. He has been a member of numerous natural history organizations and past chairman of The Friends of Sandbanks, and was the recipient of the 2002 Pioneer Conservationist Award from Conservation Ontario, and the 2004 Richards Education Award from the Federation of Ontario Naturalists.
Saturday, May 18, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Jackson's Falls Schoolhouse Bed & Breakfast
Pamela Stagg: Look Way Up - Raptor Identification
Birds of prey, namely our hawks, are simple enough as a rule to identify when they are on the ground or perched in trees. However, identifying hawks in flight, or circling around way above your head can be a challenge. Local birder, Pamela Stagg, provides some tips on identifying hawks in flight. Join her as she reveals a few secrets of the trade.
The raptor workshop will cover eagles, hawks and vultures. General impressions of size and shape, flight patterns and typical altitude will be used to help participants identify different raptors. For instance, a large, long-winged bird that “teeters” on the wind is almost certainly a turkey vulture. Field marks will also be considered – the field marks that can be seen from a distance as the bird flies or soars overhead, as migrating raptors typically do.
Birding and Computers - Techno-Birding
May 15, 7:30 p.m., Bloomfield Town Hall
The program takes a look at new technology – such as radio and satellite tracking, advanced radar and even feather analysis – and how it’s radically expanding our knowledge of migratory birds. As Pamela says, “GPS tracking is blowing the doors off everything we thought we knew about birds and bird migration. Some tracking devices are so sophisticated, they download data each time the bird flies near a cell phone tower. Information can then be delivered to the researcher’s cell phone, with the bird’s route plotted on Google Earth.” There have been lots of surprises from the new technology. Thanks to tracking devices, we now know that Northern Wheatears migrate more than 30,000 km between their breeding territory in Alaska and their wintering grounds in Africa, the longest known migratory route of all the songbirds. “It’s easy to think of migrants like wood warblers as ‘our birds’,” Pamela explains. “But they may only be in our area for a few weeks each year. If we’re to save some of our most critically endangered species, we need to look at all the areas where the birds, live, not just local habitat. New technology will pinpoint all the places with birds call home.”
There will be shade-grown (bird-friendly) coffee and other refreshments available in Bloomfield Town Hall.
* May 11 – 20, At the Point *
Throughout the Festival there will be daily banding demonstrations and tours of the banding station. A hospitality tent, provided by the Stewardship Council, will be open for visitors to chat with other birders, post their sightings, and meet our dedicated PEPtBO volunteers. Light snacks and our own PEPtBO bird-friendly coffee will be available, as well as PEPtBO merchandise. Public washrooms are located on site.
OTHER EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRINCE EDWARD POINT BIRD OBSERVATORY HAPPENING THIS YEAR
Baillie Birdathon A Canada-wide fundraiser held during the month of May. The main objective is to raise funds for PEPtBO, and have fun looking for birds in the process. If you are interested in participating or have any questions, contact Mike Burge at
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PEPtBO Annual General Meeting & Baillie Birdathon Wrap-up Dinner
Saturday May 25, 2013, Picton Legion, 5:30 p.m.
Spring Bird Banding Operations April 15 through to May 31 (2013) – The Observatory is open daily from sunrise to around noon, unless it is raining. Visitors are welcome.
Fall Bird Banding Operations Banding will commence in mid-August and continue throught to October 31. Operations start daily at sunrise and finish about 6 hours later in the early afternoon, weather permitting. Northern Saw-whet Owl banding will begin on the evening of October 1 and run nightly until the end of the month. First net run will be around 8:00 pm. Visitors are welcome at all times.
12th Annual Fall Dinner and Silent Auction Saturday, October 26, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. at the Waring House Banquet Hall Guest Speaker: Mark Peck
PEPtBO is situated at an ideal location for migration monitoring. It is the first land that birds see as they migrate north and the last land they find as they head south before crossing Lake Ontario. As a member of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN), it conducts standardized banding operations and surveys that result in daily estimated totals for each species passing through the area. Birds are caught in mist nets, operated for six hours from sunrise. They are carefully removed and brought to the banding lab. Each is fitted with a unique band, its age and sex is recorded along with its wing length, weight and fat.The collected data is copied to CWS and Bird Studies Canada where it is analyzed both separately and with that from other CMMN stations. These results can be seen on the Bird Studies Canada website (www.bsc.org). To date over 100,000 birds have been banded at PEPtBO. PEPtBO is non-profit and volunteer-based; it raises money through donations, fundraising and memberships to continue its research. Please visit our website to find out more.
DIRECTIONS TO PRINCE EDWARD POINT
On Main Street, Picton, at the far east end of town, turn down the big hill (Bridge Street) and turn immediately right at the bottom of the hill onto Union Street (across from Tip of the Bay). Follow Union Street out of Picton (becomes County Road 8) for 2.5 km, and at the junction in the highway, follow County Road 17. Take County Road 17 for 6.5 km and look for the Black River Cheese sign, and turn left onto County Road 16 and follow for 1 km to the Stop sign at County Road 13. Follow County Road 13 past Black River Cheese for 23.6 km to the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. Total Driving Distance: 33.6 km.
Be sure to join us again in 2014 !
May 12 - May 21, 2014
For information on the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, click HERE
Longtime PEPtBO volunteer Laura Pierce has been making Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory Bookmarks to assist in raising funds for the Observatory. In the last 5 years Laura has sold between $1,600.00 and $1,700.00 dollars worth of these attractive and useful items. There are 14 different bird combinations to choose from. On one side of the bookmark Laura features a bird banded at the Observatory while on the other side a different species found in habitat or in her backyard. Laura's PEPtBO Bookmarks are available now at: County Sunshine, Picton, Books and Company Ltd. 289 Main Street, Picton, The Tourist Information Office in downtown Picton, Picton Farm Supply, Talbot Street Picton, Green Gables, 286 Main Street Bloomfield, The Bird house in Wooler on Wooler Road and The Wellington Library. As well bookmarks maybe purchased right at the Observatory. The cost of each bookmark is $2.00 and all funds go to assist in the operation of PEPtBO.
This year, PEPtBO is introducing a new program specifically for novice birders. Called Boot Camp for Birders, it takes beginners from familiar birds like robins and blue jays through to the first steps of identifying birds by their songs. Combining classroom presentations and outdoor field sessions, the Boot Camp will help new birders develop skills and gain confidence in the field.
PEPtBO Annual General Meeting & Baillie Birdathon Wrap-up Dinner
