Canada Expedition

[AOS@CA]

Gentlemen,
You may have seen that there is a trip to Canada listed on the Expeditions page for 2011. This post is intended to explain the concept so we can see if there is sufficient interest to develop a detailed plan.

I am proposing to organize an AOS trip that would be based in Kingston, Ontario (where I now live) and would hit three targets: warbler migration, the early stages of wader migration, and of course the breeding birds of Eastern North America. To achieve this we would need about 10 days in late May - for the sake of argument 16-26 May.

If the weather cooperates we should be able to tick off 20-25 warbler species, perhaps a dozen waders plus the full range of 'regulars'. The highlights of the breeding species include plenty of hen harrier and red-tailed hawks and lots of osprey (there are two active nests within 3km of my downtown home, including one on the football pitch of the RMCC). We would also get the tail end of the winter ducks and geese.

I have done some basic calculations. Accommodation would be in the dorms at Queen's University with one overnight stay to the West (to hit Long Point or even Pelee Island if we're keen). We would travel in a rented minivan. A rough cost would be about 615 pounds per person less airfare but including meals, accommodation, van rental, fuel and park entrance fess (but not beer). There is a direct flight from Heathrow to Ottawa on Air Canada.

If you are potentially interested or would like more detail please let me know using this site.

Anthony

[roger dickey]

Tony,

That gives us a lot more to go on and separates Ascension from Canada nicely. It is a furious time of year for surveyors etc so the sooner a declaration of intent is made, the better.

I could probably manage the 10 days but no longer.

A very rough breakdown of costs would also be useful.

The sooner we get names, the quicker we can start booking places on a plane with as much discount as we can manage.

Thanks for the message.

Roger

[Imber Eye]

I see this as one of my resettlement courses therefore I am a potential.

Andrew

[Wandering Tattler]

Tony,

Is it possible to produce a list of potential species?

Regards,

Tim

[AOS@CA]

Tim,
List of likely birds to be seen follows. I will put warblers on a separate post.

(UK nomenclature, ignoring common western palearctic birds)

Likely. Asterix indicates highly likely

great northern diver
pied-billed grebe
double-crested cormorant*
great blue heron*
black-crowned night heron
turkey vulture*
wood duck
american wigeon
blue-winged teal
green-winged teal
bufflehead
red-breasted merganser
virginia rail
sora rail
american coot
osprey* on the nest, at close range
bald eagle
hen harrier*
cooper's hawk
sharp-shinned hawk
red-shouldered hawk
red-tailed hawk*
merlin
peregrine falcon
wild turkey
black-bellied plover
semipalmated plover
killdeer*
greater yellowlegs
lesser yellowlegs
spotted sandpiper
pectoral sandpiper
wilson's phalarope
ring-billed gull*
american herring gull*
caspian tern*
black tern
mourning dove*
black-billed cuckoo
yellow-billed cuckoo
great horned owl
chimney swift*
ruby-throated hummingbird
belted kingfisher*
downy woodpecker*
hairy woodpecker*
northern flicker*
pileated woodpecker
eastern wood peewee
eastern phoebe*
great crested flycatcher*
eastern kingbird*
yellow-throated vireo
red-eyed vireo*
blue jay*
american crow*
purple martin*
tree swallow*
northern rough-winged swallow
bank swallow
cliff swallow*
black-capped chickadee*
white-breasted nuthatch*
house wren
sedge wren
marsh wren
golden-crowned kinglet
ruby-crowned kinglet
blue-gray gnatcatcher*
american robin*
gray catbird*
northern mockingbird
brown thrasher*
cedar waxwing*
(warblers on a separate list)
scarlet tanager
eastern towhee*
chipping sparrow*
savannah sparrow
song sparrow*
swamp sparrow*
white-throated sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
northern cardinal*
indigo bunting
bobolink
red-winged blackbird*
eastern meadowlark*
common grackle*
brown-headed cowbird*
baltimore oriole*
house finch*
american goldfinch*

Cheers

[AOS@CA]

Most warblers are transient, but if we hit the right weather there can be massive falls at Prince Edward Pt (where I expect we would spend several days). e.g. on 16 May 27 species were counted at the point, with ovenbirds three to a branch.

Warblers (asterix means common, breeding or otherwise likely)

blue-winged
golden-winged*
tennessee*
nashville*
northern parula
yellow** (certainty)
chestnut-sided*
magnolia*
cape may
black-throated blue
yellow-rumped warbler**
black-throated green*
blackburnian*
pine*
prairie
palm*
bay-breasted
blackpoll*
cerulean
black and white*
american redstart*
ovenbird*
northern waterthrush
louisiana waterthrush
mourning
common yellowthroat*
wilson's
canada

[AOS@CA]

Roger,
My estimate is about 612 pounds pp, assuming a group of six for ten nights. It breaks down as follows:

- accommodation at Queen`s University $55/night for a double room
- one night accommodation at Long Point $65 pp
- meals $400, based on breakfast at modest cafes or Tims, and a reasonable dinner. Beer costs not included
- minivan rental 10 nights = $1200 all up or $171.43 pp
- fuel 2600 km $40.00 pp
- park and wetlands permits approx $11 pp

There are military quarters in Kingston but they are in high demand so I can't guarantee them. If the group turns out to be small (4 or so) I can probably billet them at no accommodation cost.

This is calculated using the 2 June exchange rate. Hopefully the coalition can maintain the UK's credit rating...

Tony

[Wandering Tattler]

Tony,

Thank you for posting the species information so quickly!

Regards,

Tim

[wot-no-birds]

Count me in.

I had planned to return to NZ in 2011 but I've never been to Canada so the decision is made!

[roger dickey]

Tony,

While his internet is down, I was asked to pass on Bob Hayward's intention to go on the Canada trip next year. He will no doubt confirm when he comes back 'on air'.

Regards

Roger

[Bob Hayward]

Hi Tony

I've got my access back yesterday and thanks to Roger putting my name down,

I am interested in coming, either one week, 2 weeks or ten days whichever is decided on, but the main factor for us is which dates have you settled on as I was checking out flight prices in the travel agents and they said the early you have the dates the cheeper the flights would be as it gets nearer they go up.

Bob

[The Bird Finder General]

Hi All

Long time no see

I am interested depending on dates, however, is there a chance of visiting a Spruce Grouse Lek? maybe in Algonquinne NP - (not sure of the spelling) - but I could probably get the location from a Canadian expat bird leader. Any Barred Owl sites? I know an area around Long Point for Whip-poor-will.
Mark
_________________
Been There - Seen It
The BFG.

[AOS@CA]

Mark,
Algonquin Park is within reach, though it would probably require an overnight stay. If you can dig up the info on the spruce grouse lek I will check on feasibility. (Health warning - Algonquin Park is excellent black fly and mossie habitat).

I planned an overnight at Long Point so we will be able to check out the whip-poor-will site.

We should be able to go firm on dates in a week or so - I just need to confirm with local SMEs that 16-25 May is the best window. It's weather dependent: 2010 featured lots of warm weather early and the best warbler falls were on the 15th, so it might be worth creeping forward by a day or two.

Tony