Point Pelee National Park: Shadowing Songbirds During Spring Migration

Point Pelee National Park 1118 Point Pelee Drive Leamington ON N8H 3V4, Canada

Waterlilies bloom in late spring at Point Pelee

Point Pelee National Park is a birdwatcher's paradise in the spring. Situated at Canada's southernmost tip, it becomes a crucial stopover for migrating birds that cross Lake Erie. Experience the spectacle as flocks of songbirds, waterfowl, and raptors speckle the trees during spring migration.


Trip Report:

Our focus for the trip was going birding! I had heard this park be recommended by local birding groups as the place to be during spring migration so I booked a spot the second online registration opened on the Parks Canada website and managed to grab a couple nights. Registering an oTentik during spring migration is very competitive so set an alarm and don’t miss out!

Type     Roofed
Toronto Drive     4 hours
Duration     2 nights
Campground     Camp Henry
Site     9
Season        Spring (May 2022)

Day 1: To Lake Erie

Site #9: no complaints! Spacious site with decent privacy, the interior tempts you to stay indoors all day. I appreciated the window dot decals to prevent bird collisions (we have these on our own home in Toronto). It wasn’t too cold so we didn’t need to heat the oTentik up much. For washing, they have an extremely handy *washing station building that is close by where you can do dishes. Well managed and clean!

*Cellular service is spotty throughout the park so remember to download offline maps.

oTentik Reservations: (here)

oTentik #9 at Camp Henry with pink muskoka chairs

oTentik interior - table and chairs

oTentik interior - fireplace

Camp Henry washing station

Park Maps: birding hotspots, general biking & hiking trails

Woodland Nature Trail Towards the tip

We headed for a long walk to the tip of Point Pelee for an unobstructed view of the a great lake. The tip actually changes shape over time due to Lake Erie's waves and currents that erode the land along with sediments carried in that are deposited along the shoreline.

The tip of Point Pelee Park that is part by Lake Erie

Painting + A Steamy Meal

We settled our first night with a painting and a deluxe (by camping standards) hot pot meal.

Painting en plain air at the campsite

Camping meal: hot pot

 
 

Day 2: Birding Trails

I headed to the beach closest to Camp Henry to catch the morning waves for a quiet solo painting session. Nearby, barn swallows were everywhere - you can spot their distinct cup-shaped nests in all sorts of structures. Did you know these nests are formed from a mixture of mud and their own saliva making them especially durable. This means they often return to the same nesting sites year after year.

Lakeshore overlooking Lake Erie

Watercolour painting the rocky shore

Barn swallow nests at Point Pelee Park

Birding at tIlden Woods

Although very new to birding, we headed to Tilden Woods which is known for hosting a significant variety of *warblers during the spring migration. It was overwhelming! Yellow, Black-and-white, Magnolia, Blackburnian, the list goes on that we couldn’t identify them all. Often you hear birds before you see them so keep your ears open. And, follow the seasoned birders, they’ll clue you in on where to look.

Point Pelee has various birding trails

Marks left by a wood-boring insect in one of the forested trails

Tilden Woods Boardwalk Trail

More Trails!

You can see the map I posted above for more details, but we were able to hike all the nearby trails comfortably this day. We did the DeLaurier Homestead, dropped by the Cactus Field (there were actually cacti!) and the Chinquapin Oak trail back to the west beach. W cooked some dehydrated curry to fuel us back up and I painted the shoreline.

Using a backpacking stove, we had food on the trail and prepared a dehydrated curry meal

Plein air painting the lake, trees, and clouds

A piece of a robin’s egg left on the picnic table


Day 3: Marsh Boardwalk

Wether you like it or not, spring migration comes with an early morning alarm through the chorus of bird calls. Awoken, we packed up and headed out.

The interior sleeping quarters of our oTentik

Drop-In at Marsh Boardwalk

Turtles, snakes, sandpipers, Pine warblers, and Black Terns were just some of the wildlife we saw. The area is a quick comfortable walk that you can finish in about 20 minutes, though take your time and soak in the surroundings. You can actually paddle here! Something we’ll do next trip.

Marsh Boardwalk lookout tower

Possibly a Northern Watersnake

Tree and Barn swallows flood this area - if you see birds zipping by the sky like bats, these are your culprits. They congregate at the tower where you can marvel at them in large numbers.

A sea of various wetland grasses, Red-winged Blackbird are the most common bird you’ll see here


Final Thoughts

We haven’t visited too many far south parks but I was glad to experience Point Pelee during such a natural phenomena. Without binoculars or knowing where or what to look for, visitors may find the park unexpectedly quiet so if birding isn’t your main activity, you may not experience Point Pelee to the fullest. However I think the oTentiks alone are worth visiting as its an unusual accommodation. For birders like us, we loved it here! And would come back for spring migration as a yearly tradition if we can.


For our camping gear list, click here.


Read another roofed trip at a yurt at Pinery, a cabin at Arrowhead or more.


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