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1999 CHATHAM CONFERENCE REPORT

18-22 May 1999

As we arrived at the Point Pelee visitor's centre for our first day of birding at the Park, we were told there was both good news and bad news. The "bad news" was that a Ross's Gull (the first ever recorded at Point Pelee), which had been present the previous two days, had apparently departed for points north. The "good news", which was being excitedly shared among local birders, was that two Fish Crows were being seen at the Point. A few birders (apparently from the southeastern United States) were heard to quietly comment "What's the big deal? I have them in my back yard." The significance sunk in, however, when birders learned that these birds constituted only the fifth confirmed record of Fish Crow for Ontario. More importantly, it indicated that several days of strong south winds preceding the Conference, followed by rain showers the night before, may have brought a good movement of birds from further south into the Park. This proved to be the case as we were greeted at the tram stop not only by the calling Fish Crows, but also by an almost overwhelming cacophony of morning bird song. While this wasn't a "classic" Pelee fallout with "warblers as thick as mosquitos", the numbers were still pretty impressive! Passerines could be seen flitting about in nearly every bush and tree and 24 species of warblers were recorded by Conference attendees that first day alone. Hoards of Baltimore and Orchard Orioles and a wide variety of other interesting species were also present and provided a colorful compliment to the warblers. Two Mississippi Kites over the visitors' centre later that morning and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron at Rondeau later in the week were unexpected "bonus" birds, and confirmed that some species typical of more southerly climes had apparently been moved north by the strong winds earlier in the week. The birding continued to be excellent during the rest of the Conference, which also included extensive birding at Rondeau Provincial Park and a stop at St.Clair National Wildlife Area. While the numbers of birds tapered off gradually each day, a good variety of species remained in the area and a very respectable bird list was complied daily.

The combined tally for the Conference (including heard only birds) was 169 species. Highlights included American and Least Bitterns; Peregrine Falcon; Virginia and Sora Rails; Lesser Black-backed Gull; Black Tern; Black and Yellow-billed Cuckoos; 12 species of flycatchers including Olive-sided, Yellow-bellied, Acadian, Alder, Willow, and Least; five species of thrushes including Veery and Gray-cheeked; six vireo species including Yellow-throated and Philadelphia; Summer Tanager; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Bobolink; and Yellow-headed Blackbird. Warblers are always a premier attraction and a total of 29 species were seen collectively during the Conference. The list included some real gems — Blue and Golden-winged, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Cerulean, Prothonotary, Kentucky, Connecticut, Mourning, Hooded, and Canada were among the many seen during our four days of field trips.

The Conference was enhanced by an array of interesting and entertaining programs. Tom Hince kicked things off with a fascinating retrospective on the history of birding at Point Pelee, followed by a very helpful run-down on the "dos and don'ts" of birding there. By coincidence, Tom's excellent new book "A Birder's Guide to Point Pelee" arrived from the printers just six days before the Conference and we were pleased that Tom agreed to stay and sign some of his books after his program. Paul Pratt and Glenn Gervais entertained us the second evening with a light-hearted look at how the Kowa Canadian Team prepares for and conducts their 24 hour birding marathon at the World Series of Birding in New Jersey. Thursday afternoon was highlighted by two very educational programs. Bob Curry presented an enlightening program on the identification of brown thrushes. We all came away from Bob's program with much improved thrush identification skills — and also a renewed appreciation for the difficulty involved in attempting to separate the various races and species in the field. Bob was followed by Ron Ridout who presented a very informative program describing the satellite tracking of Tundra Swans, one of many fascinating projects being conducted at the Long Point Bird Observatory by Bird Studies Canada. Kay McKeever, President of the Owl Foundation, topped off the evening with an entertaining program on her owl captive breeding program. Kay's delightful personality and good humor captured everyone's interest and made her program one of the highlights of the Conference. On our final evening together, Bruce Mactavish presented an intriguing program on the subject of Icelandic vagrants in Newfoundland. Bruce's slides of some of the species that have appeared over the years (and a few that can almost certainly be expected in the future) had everyone envious and undoubtedly will tempt at least a few to try their hand at Newfoundland birding one of these springs.

Special thanks to Jim McAllister, who coordinated the field trips, and Bob Curry, Randy Horvath, Paul Pratt, Alfred Rider, Ron Ridout, Ron Scovell, and Allen Woodliffe who did a great job of leading them. Kudos also to Mike Street who helped with the preliminary planning, Kayo Roy who made helpful suggestions for speakers and provided Kay McKeever's transportation, and Lea Martell and the "Friends of Point Pelee" who helped with the planning and organization of the field trips. Most importantly, thanks to the attendees whose participation is what theseConferences are all about! I hope to see you soon at another ABA Conference or Convention.

– Ken Hollinga