Tomatoes in Light

 

This past weekend was the OFO Conference at Point Pelee... While I was not keen on the conference itself, and I'm sometimes dismayed at the decline of actual "field ornithology" within the org... I cannot deny that it did facilitate an amazing birding experience. A chance to share greenhouse birding with some of Ontario's finest!

Long story short - in my recent night birding explorations, I've discovered some spots where the intense growing lights of local greenhouses shine up into the night sky. Check out this CBC news article for some context. It's pretty much a giant flashlight pointing up - and it's enough to very clearly see the birds flying overhead with your eyes / optics - at night. 

As always, I was a bit worried about crowds - or people who don't know how to park (and upsetting the locals) - trespassing - or appreciate potential disturbance to birds etc. etc.... but my concerns are always overridden with the chance to bird with (and "talk shop") with the newer generations of ON birders. It was really fun. 

(American Golden-Plover)

Thankfully it was a huge migration night, so there were birds to see. Birds were higher than some of my previous visits, so many warblers & sparrows went unidentified to species - but there were still some striking observations (Least Bitterns & Cuckoo's really stand out, for example). Ruddy Ducks were interesting too. Here's the tally (which isn't an exact tally - I didn't keep track & just guessed): 

Mallard  3
American Black Duck  1
Redhead  1
Ruddy Duck  5
duck sp.  30
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  3     
Virginia Rail  1
Sora  2
American Golden-Plover  1
American Woodcock  1
Wilson's Snipe  3
shorebird sp.  1
Bonaparte's Gull  3
Ring-billed Gull  1
Pied-billed Grebe  1
American Bittern  1
Least Bittern  2     
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
Gray-cheeked Thrush  3
Swainson's Thrush  1
Hermit Thrush  3
White-throated Sparrow  10
Savannah Sparrow  10
Song Sparrow  1
new world sparrow sp.  15
Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler  10
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3
new world warbler sp.  25     
passerine sp.  30

Ruddies!

Probably pretty low estimates on the "species" - and I'm probably forgetting some birds... 

The next night was much slower for migration, and the lights actually turned off early - leaving us in the dark! But it was once again great to catch up (and meet) some more super-talented youth. So much to do and learn with this crazy hobby!

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - strictly with the light of the greenhouse (i.e., no supplemental light)

Ontario Bird Study Group Proposal - scrapped OFO News Article

 

This is some text I wrote for the June 2026 issue of OFO News. Which is a newsletter? Correction. Apparently it's a magazine now. Who knew. 

Ultimately, the editorial team didn't care to publish it... Not that anyone told me. Whoops. I've even offered to help out as an editorial consultant - which meant my name ended up on the issue - but I was never actually involved or had a chance to look it over. At the very least, I would have caught the Wilson's Phalarope labeled as a Red-necked Phalarope on page 18. I'm not sure it matters though. 

Anyways, here's the text: 

--- 


Ontario Bird Study Group Proposal: Modernize the Ontario Bird Records Committee and Provide Added Value to OFO and OFO Members.

Starting in 2025, I began working on a system that could modernize yet also maintain the core functions of the Ontario Bird Records Committee (OBRC). The new process was tentatively named the Ontario Bird Study Group (OBSG), chosen to demonstrate a collaborative approach and designed to add value to notable bird observations and to our community, rather than strictly adjudicating and archiving material. This would reflect a deliberate shift away from a traditional records committee model toward a structure better aligned with how bird study, documentation, and collaboration now occur in Ontario.

Today, modern bird discoveries are often supported by high-quality digital media, instantaneous communication, and broad access to comparative material, with observations quickly entered into publicly accessible databases. While social media and online platforms have expanded access to information, they have also created an environment where sustained analysis, thoughtful discussion, and preservation of notable material is increasingly difficult. The OBRC process, first implemented in 1981, has had little tangible change to keep pace with the world evolving around us. 

The core goal of the OBSG proposal is to go beyond the archival process, to grow our collective knowledge about the birds of Ontario, which is an objective that aligns closely with the founding goals of OFO. The emphasis would shift more strongly toward analysis rather than simply the voting outcome. The process aims to refine and consolidate research into permanent OFO publications through Ontario Birds, the OFO website, and OFO News. The framework has also been designed to create opportunities for greater involvement in provincial eBird review decisions. 

This proposal was ultimately brought to the attention of the OFO Board of Directors and the current OBRC, and was presented to OFO members via webinar in early April. A recording is available on the OFO YouTube page here: 

Preliminary Bylaws and Guidelines Documents are available for review upon request, as links to the OFO website are anticipated to change. 

At the time of writing, an open consultation period is occurring for OFO members to provide their input regarding the proposal. While this period will have ended by the time of publication, it does not mean that feedback is no longer requested. OFO members are encouraged to reach out to Mark Peck at president@ofo.ca with any comments, questions or concerns. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out! It is difficult to fully convey how the new process will operate through a few guidance documents and a single webinar, and it is important that OFO members who are interested in the activities of the OBRC are heard. Stay tuned for more information. 

---

Fast forward to September 2026 - and I'm in the 90-95% confidence range that the proposal may not pan out - and that the OBRC may stay equally as bad (or worse) pending upcoming changes. Not all hope is lost, but hope is definitely getting low. 

The good news is - it doesn't really matter! Most people I bird with have generally lost faith in the OBRC and OFO. It's not a great situation, but it doesn't prevent us from enjoying birding at all. I'm still quite interested in getting feedback - or having a discussion - with any parties interested in this type of "BRC" reform. 

More to come on the blog about these experiences! 

Pelee Area Triple Threat: Sep 17-18, 2026

 

I figured this "night" birding business would mean I'd sleep less. I was right. 

Run-of-the-mill Warbler "flock" ... at night ...

I was "night birding" from sundown until maybe 3 am... I probably would/could have stayed awake all night, but I'm still learning how best to take advantage of these newfound opportunities... Years of testing theories, techniques, locations etc. ahead... 

Some results: 

17th (PM): https://ebird.org/checklist/S394292904

18th (AM): https://ebird.org/checklist/S394237930

I think I had more species visually identified at night - than most checklists I see from people who keep telling me my ideas about the OBRC are wrong   😅

After my sold 2-2.5 hrs of sleep, I zipped over to the north end of Point Pelee to see what the morning flight was like. Turns out, it was "pretty good"! ... Just like every other "pretty good" morning I've had here over the last 2 falls. 

https://ebird.org/checklist/S394237794

~1100 Warblers - but still no CONW - and a slow increase in the number of later-season migrants. I had forgot to charge my spare camera battery, so no images this time... 

Off to Zion road! 

---

The previous 2 days had rain/drizzle in the SW, with north winds in central Ontario. The table was set for a massive Broad-winged Hawk migration. Given the species reluctance to move near the lakeshore, I was a bit worried the wind was "too east" - but I really hoped to finally hit a really good Broad-winged Hawk migration at Zion Road... It really isn't an ideal spot for one, but maybe this time would be different! 

It wasn't .... 

Conditions were great right at Zion, but I suspect the air was a bit dead (light) further east of us, and it allowed large numbers to push FAR inland. Like, almost to Lake St. Clair inland... I had seen 1 Broad-winged Hawk by 2pm... 

All was not lost however; given the spectacular insect migration, but the flight line finally got close enough for us to "find it" around 2pm... I am not a good counter, but I suspect we had 20-25,000 Broad-winged Hawks in a ~2.5 hr window - including one massive kettle-line that may have had upwards of 10,000 birds. I had taken a photo of a portion of the line and counted later at home, just to try to get a handle on the numbers (my 600 mm + 1.4x TC setup - so a narrow field of view - still managed to get a single picture with 491 BWHA in it!). J B estimated the "flock" (which was dense, the entire way) was maybe 1.5 km long! 

They made us wait, and it wasn't the 50,000 + day I have always dreamed of, but it was still quite the spectacle. 

Don't you just love good birding! More to come! 

Point Pelee - Morning Flight - Sep 14, 2026 (BLPW are here)

 

With 2 hours of sleep under my belt, it was time to try to hand-hold the 600 mm lens & blast at flying warblers... Not terribly showy, but Northern Waterthrush is a species that I am always hoping to improve my images of, so this was a highlight: 

Overall though, my photo-efforts were once again "fine" ... I'm not terribly happy with most of what I put on ebird, but they're good enough to keep for reference. 

One highlight was my 2nd trip in a row with Eastern Whip-poor-will observations (in flight!)... I assume two different birds, but it's hard to know for sure. Perhaps it's a regular occurrence at a place like this. You just need to start your birding 60 minutes before sunrise?! A Northern House Wren flew over a good 40 mins before sunrise too... As a very-rare-in-flight species, I thought it was pretty interesting...

It was my largest flight of the season based on total number of warblers. A real spectacle! I missed a lot of birds due to my photo efforts once again, but did my best to do a rough tally of warbler numbers as they passed. Blackpoll Warblers had arrived in big numbers. 

The tally: 

Mourning Dove  30
Common Nighthawk  1
Eastern Whip-poor-will  2    
Chimney Swift  6
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  20
Sharp-shinned Hawk  8
Cooper's Hawk  1
Bald Eagle  2
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Eastern Screech-Owl  1
Belted Kingfisher  2
Red-headed Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  8
American Kestrel  12
Merlin  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  55     
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher  5
Traill's Flycatcher  1
Least Flycatcher  15     
Eastern Phoebe  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  5
Cassin's/Blue-headed Vireo  1     
Philadelphia Vireo  12     
Eastern Warbling Vireo  1     
Red-eyed Vireo  110     
Blue Jay  5
Black-capped Chickadee  1
Tree Swallow  4
Purple Martin  1
Barn Swallow  1
Red-breasted Nuthatch  40     
Northern House Wren  1
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  50
Gray Catbird  2
Gray-cheeked Thrush  2
Swainson's Thrush  45
Cedar Waxwing  250
House Sparrow  2
Purple Finch  2
American Goldfinch  40
Red-winged Blackbird  100
Common Grackle  20
Northern Waterthrush  2
Black-and-white Warbler  14
Tennessee Warbler  20
Nashville Warbler  28     
Common Yellowthroat  2
American Redstart  25
Cape May Warbler  60     
Northern Parula  24     
Magnolia Warbler  30
Bay-breasted Warbler  50     
Blackburnian Warbler  8
Northern Yellow Warbler  2     
Chestnut-sided Warbler  2
Blackpoll Warbler  600     
Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler  50     
Black-throated Blue Warbler  4
Palm Warbler  9
Pine Warbler  2     
Yellow-rumped Warbler  15
Black-throated Green Warbler  20
Wilson's Warbler  15
new world warbler sp.  750     
Scarlet Tanager  5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  8
Indigo Bunting  2

https://ebird.org/checklist/S392967947

I did a short stop at Zion Rd. in Chatham-Kent, and lucked into great looks at a Striped Saddlebags. No photos unfortunately.  18 American White Pelicans flew east with 3 Sandhill Cranes.  It will be interesting to see if the pelicans continue their march east in the coming years. 

A short hawkwatch near Eagle, ON produced maybe ~750 Broad-winged Hawks, but I couldn't stay very long with commitments at home! I've got my fingers crossed that the right combination of winds & rain over the coming days can produce a big flight of this species. Thankfully, the "boring" El Nino weather continues to produce "good enough" birding conditions on a regular basis. More to come! 

Night Watch - Point Pelee - Sep 14, 2026

 

After a small breakthrough in my nocturnal birding efforts, I was quite interested to try again. It was a bit more challenging this time. The birds were a higher and I only had ~2 hrs of sleep. But it was 110% worth it! 

Palm Warbler

The tally is every bird visually confirmed flying at night (i.e., no NFC's): 

Mourning Dove  3

Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1

Black-billed Cuckoo  1

Virginia Rail  1

Wilson's Snipe  1

Lesser Yellowlegs  1

American Bittern  1

Empidonax sp.  2

Red-eyed Vireo  23

vireo sp.  1

Veery  1

Gray-cheeked Thrush  1

Swainson's Thrush  6

Catharus sp.  3

Savannah Sparrow  12

Lincoln's Sparrow  2

new world sparrow sp.  3

Ovenbird  1

Northern Waterthrush  3

Tennessee Warbler  3

Nashville Warbler  10

American Redstart  3

Magnolia Warbler  3

Bay-breasted Warbler  3

Blackburnian Warbler  2

Chestnut-sided Warbler  1

Blackpoll Warbler  7

Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler  12     

Palm Warbler  5     

Black-throated Green Warbler  3

Wilson's Warbler  1

new world warbler sp.  18     

Scarlet Tanager  2

Rose-breasted Grosbeak  3

Indigo Bunting  1

passerine sp.  12     

bird sp.  3   

Wilson's Warbler

Perhaps it is due to my morning flight "training" - but even at night I can fairly quickly tell if I'm dealing with something standard (i.e., a Baypoll or a Red-eyed Vireo) or something unusual (a more colourful warbler species, or something weird like a Cuckoo). Yet there are still many surprises, some of which wait until home when I can look through the photos (i.e., the Lincoln's Sparrows!). 

A host of questions to be answered and many more ideas to test out! Also, some more pics on my ebird list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S392997719

I've got a host of "opinion" type material in my mind for the olde blog - but the birding has been consistently "good" enough that it has been filling my spare non-family time (and non-work time I guess). More to come! 

Virginia Rail

Point Pelee - Morning Flight - Sep 11, 2026

 

I swear I don't (usually?) bird the same location, over and over again, like this... I also wish I had something slightly different to say, but it has been remarkably & consistently "good" at this location the last two falls. I keep waiting for the "big day" to hit.

One clear cut highlight - a "leucistic" type Yellow-bellied Flycatcher! Full list below: 

"Pastel"? 

Chimney Swift  80
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  10
Black-bellied Plover  2
Solitary Sandpiper  2
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Osprey  1
Sharp-shinned Hawk  15
Northern Harrier  3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  3
Red-headed Woodpecker  5
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  10
American Kestrel  20
Merlin  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  24     
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher  4

Traill's Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher  10
Empidonax sp.  15
Great Crested Flycatcher  4
Eastern Kingbird  1
Blue-headed Vireo  1
Philadelphia Vireo  8     
Eastern Warbling Vireo  1
Red-eyed Vireo  80     
Blue Jay  5
Black-capped Chickadee  2
Purple Martin  15
Barn Swallow  5
Red-breasted Nuthatch  8
Gray Catbird  2
Veery  1
Gray-cheeked Thrush  3
Swainson's Thrush  70
American Robin  10
Cedar Waxwing  200
House Sparrow  2
American Goldfinch  30
Chipping Sparrow  1
new world sparrow sp.  1
Bobolink  75
Baltimore Oriole  1
Northern Waterthrush  2
Black-and-white Warbler  8
Tennessee Warbler  22
Nashville Warbler  14
Common Yellowthroat  4
American Redstart  75     
Cape May Warbler  45     
Northern Parula  15     
Magnolia Warbler  50
Bay-breasted Warbler  20
Blackburnian Warbler  3
Northern Yellow Warbler  1
Chestnut-sided Warbler  5
Blackpoll Warbler  50
Black-throated Blue Warbler  6
Palm Warbler  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  4
Black-throated Green Warbler  16
Canada Warbler  1
Wilson's Warbler  6
new world warbler sp.  750 
Scarlet Tanager  3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  6
Indigo Bunting  1

https://ebird.org/checklist/S391912969

Putting the "red" in REVI

Conditions were great for a "flight". Not quite ideal for low & close concentration. But overall, an exceptional birding morning. The first flavour of later-season species were present with more YRWA, a few YBSA and a BHVI among others. I'm pretty sure a CONW went by low but I didn't get a critical look. 

The flight was fast and furious early, with birds high and on variable flight lines. Things slowed down fairly quickly too, and were nearly stopped by 9am. 

For the photography, I rocked my 600mm lens here for the first time. I was a bit worried my arms might fall off, but it was manageable. The results were fairly similar, but I'm hoping they will improve with a bit more practice. Which means, I'll have to head back a few more times this year... 

A sign of things to come! Every other YRWA I've had this year has been a ratty molting adult. I have to assume this is a hatch year bird? 

A new milestone in night birding (for me)

 

I made my way to Point Pelee (again...) on Sep 10. This time for a two part birding attempt. First up was a morning flight watch: https://ebird.org/checklist/S391912505

In general, it was pretty slow. A huge highlight was an Eastern Whip-poor-will foraging on the wing (!), extremely early in the morning. The flight itself was uninspired on dead air, but there was enough moving to pass the time (~300 warblers, ~75 SWTH, etc). 

I passed the remainder of my time looking at gulls & seeing what was happening at Zion Road. The main highlight here was bugs (Red Saddlebags, Carolina Saddlebags, Horace's Duskywing etc). But the real action kicked off in the night! 

I spent 2 hours during a fairly heavy movement, doing my very best to identify nocturnally migrating songbirds. It actually worked! https://ebird.org/checklist/S392109483

Red-eyed Vireo 

Savannah Sparrow 

Bay-breasted Warbler

Mourning Warbler! 

I suspect it's not the "type" of birding that would appeal to the masses, but as someone who enjoys bird study and trying to understand bird movements, it's absolutely spectacular. 

Two things have struck me so far in particular: 

1. Is how much they are just sort of "fluttering" along. I had always guessed that these birds must have an ability to adopt a "migratory/power" flight mode when heading to South America. Go up high and just motor - you know? In reality, they seem like they're having a good time - just slowly bouncing along with their friends as they head to their winter home. 
   
   
2. Is how random their directions are. On a different night recently, I had several songbirds flying due north over my place in London. Two nights ago (again in London), the most common direction for songbirds was due east !? ... While some were going due west. Only a handful went generally south. 

Once it started to get light, I went back for another morning at PPNP. I'll save that for another post!