Beachcombing For Shorebirds

For any birder, spring migration is the greatest time of year. The sight of so many birds moving through one area on route to their breeding grounds is truly remarkable. I consider myself a shorebird fanatic and particularly enjoy searching area beaches for the wide variety of these birds that make their way across Southwestern Ontario each spring.  

Last week, I devoted an entire day to finding and photographing as many shorebirds as I could with hopes of locating one of my favourites, the Whimbrel. Whimbrel typically move through our area around the Victoria Day Long Weekend give or take a few days and are regularly found on beaches, piers, and breakwaters along the north shore of Lake Erie. 

I planned my day in advance and decided to begin at Hillman Marsh Conservation Area east of Leamington, Ontario. After completing a hike around the conservation area, my idea was to drive east along the Lake Erie shoreline to Port Stanley, Ontario making several stops along the way at various ports, harbours, and other points of access to the lake. The light south breeze off the lake forecast for this day would not only provide comfortable birding conditions, it should also help propel shorebirds down the lake making for an excellent day.   

Arriving at Hillman Marsh shortly after 8 a.m. I was greeted by the sounds of a Grey Catbird, several Yellow Warblers, and a Red-eyed Vireo. After grabbing my camera, binoculars, and applying insect repellant I made my way to the shorebird cell located within the conservation area. Scanning the shallow pond with my binoccualrs, I could see an assortment of shorebirds probing their bills into the mud as they foraged away. Shorebirds noted here were: 

• Dunlin
• Black-bellied Plover
• Least Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Plover
• Killdeer
• Spotted Sandpiper 

Several species of waterfowl were also observed in the shorebird cell and included:

• Canada Goose
• Mallard 
• Northern Shoveller 
• Blue Winged Teal
• Gadwall 
• Trumpeter Swan

Satisfied with my observations, I decided to walk the roughly 5 km trail encompassing the conservation area to see what else I could find. In the back section of the property, I observed a juvenile Bald Eagle as it landed in a mature tree located on the water’s edge. From a tall viewing tower a Great Egret was seen wading in front of the emergent vegetation on the far side of the pond.

Songbirds present in good numbers at Hillman Marsh were Eastern Kingbirds and Common Yellowthroats. Of course, no visit to any wetland in May would be complete without observing dozens of Red-winged Blackbirds. As I made my way back to my car, a pair of Sandhill Cranes passed by overhead.

Having completed the trail at Hillman Marsh, I drove east along Lakeshore Dive to Wheatley Harbour. Parking on the east side of the harbour I slowly made my way out to the beach. Mixed in with a large flock of Ring-billed Gulls I could see three buff, long-legged, shorebirds, with long down-curved bills, key characteristics of Whimbrel. Not wanting to spook the birds, I stayed low and did not approach too closely.

By this time it was late morning and the sun was positioned high in the southern sky which meant I would be shooting directly into it. It’s always best to have the sun at your back when taking photos, but with roughly 60 miles of lake in front of me, my options were limited. In order to properly expose the Whimbrel and avoid silhouettes, I increased my exposure compensation to +1. Lake Erie was a beautiful shade of turquoise blue on this day providing an excellent background. 

After capturing several images of the Whimbrel a fish tug entered the harbour from out on the lake. As the boat reversed hard at dockside, the diesel engine roared scaring the flock of gulls and three Whimbrel from the beach, At first it looked like the Whimbrel were going to land on the rock breakwater just offshore but instead continued in a westerly direction out of sight. With the beach now void of birds, it was time to head back to the car for a sandwich and wait and see if more shorebirds would show up.

Following a quick lunch break, I ventured back out on the beach hoping for more shorebirds to arrive. To my delight, a small flock of mixed shorebirds containing Dunlin, Black-bellied Plover, and Ruddy Turnstones made their way past. Shortly after that, a flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers flew by. Unfortunately, none of these birds landed but I managed a few images as they flew past.

As I was getting ready to leave and continue on to my next location, several Sanderling landed within a few feet of where I was sitting on the beach. I watched as these birds foraged and bathed where the water met the sand. Seconds later a Ruddy Turnstone landed joining the group of Sanderling. With my camera still set to +1 exposure compensation, I enjoyed fantastic views and captured several images of these beautiful shorebirds.

As it was now afternoon, I decided it was time to carry on as I still had several locations I wanted to check on my indirect way back to London. While walking across the beach to my car a small flock of 14 Whimbrel passed by. Shortly thereafter, a much larger flock which I estimate to be well over 100 birds made their way toward the beach. These Whimbrel were looking to land amongst the large flock of Ring-billed Gulls, which were now positioned further east down the beach after being dispersed by the fish tug. It was evident that these birds were wary of my presence and reluctant to land. Some touched down briefly while others kept circling without landing. Knowing how far these birds travel during their migration and that they were likely hungry and exhausted, I could not watch them circle any longer, so I vacated the beach hoping they would land. Before I could make it to my car the birds disappeared out of sight to the east. 

Leaving Wheatley, I continued east following the Lake Erie shoreline making several stops along the way. At the various beaches, more shorebirds were observed. As I made my way down Lakeview Line just west of John E. Pearce Provincial Park, I noticed a large flock of birds out in a field. Recognizing that these birds were too small to be Canada Geese and knowing that geese are typically paired off raising young at this time of year and not found in large flocks, I pulled over for a closer look. With the aid of binoculars, I could see this was a large flock of Whimbrel, perhaps the same flock I had seen earlier in Wheatley. 

Next stop was Port Stanley, Ontario. As I searched the main beach and pier area, I was treated to great views of Dunlin. Having had an excellent day birding and the fact it was approaching the dinner hour, I packed up my gear and headed back to London.  

Even though the big flocks of shorebirds have already moved through our area, great views can still be achieved at area beaches. The north shore of Lake Erie is obviously one of my favourites, but similar success can be achieved along any of the Great Lakes throughout the first few weeks of June. If you can, plan your visit on a weekday before school ends, which will result in beaches that are less crowded resulting in more shorebirds.

In Southwestern Ontario, we are fortunate to be surrounded by the Great Lakes and their beautiful beaches. Birding on these beaches can be quite rewarding and now is the perfect time to get out there and take advantage of these opportunities.

Good birding,
Paul