Warblers!
Took a week of vacation with warblers in mind, the same Pelee trip I'd planned for the Sketchathon last May but never got to. Had to stick around until Tuesday, as Homme and the boys were doing a show in Hamilton on Saturday (couldn't miss that!), and then some car trouble that wasn't resolved until Monday afternoon. Wednesday was cold, rainy and rather bad birding, but the other two days I spent at Pelee were spectacular. Masses of orioles, Yellow Warblers as thick as mosquitoes, and more variety than I've ever encountered, anywhere. Twenty warbler species for the trip, including a very brief encounter with a lifer Chat (missed the @&*%$# KIRTLAND'S, though!). My favourite sighting was definitely the flycatching Red-headed Woodpecker at the Tip -- gorgeous bird, best looking of the woodpeckers by far, and I'll have to find a composition to fit him into. With so much to look at there's little time for sketching, but I filled a few pages.
On Friday morning I headed for the Bruce to spend the long weekend at the family cottage. I was intent on doing much more birding while I was there, but rain and high winds kept me mostly indoors. Today was supposed to be pleasant, but after waking up to snow this morning I decided enough was enough and drove up to Hope Bay to see what I could rustle up. Few warblers, but a pair of nest building Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were obliging enough to let me follow them around for awhile.
