It's Thanksgiving 2019! Kayaking, Peregrines, Shorebirding, Lake Watches and Marcy's Woods!

This weekend I was down in Niagara (Stevensville) for another wonderful Thanksgiving.  While I was there, I took the time to do a little bird watching and hiking. 

On Saturday, there were really strong west/southwest winds on Lake Erie, which in theory could have resulted in some rare birds.  It didn't really pan out, but I still had fun seeing what I could turn up over a few hours.  I did have a few Surf Scoters, Bald Eagles, lots of Bonaparte's Gulls to keep things interesting.

The behemoth: Great Black-backed Gull.

Bald Eagle

We also got out again to Marcy's Woods for another great hike!  This is a really awesome spot, and we are grateful that access was granted to walk the beautiful forests and sand dunes of this area.  This spot certainly has one of the nicest beaches that I have seen!

On Sunday morning I also got out to do a little more bird watching before church.  I walked one of my favourite trails in the area: Centralia Park near Crystal Beach.  I didn't have anything really interesting but I did see a young Peregrine Falcon dive bombing on a bunch of soaring Turkey Vultures, pretty entertaining:

The weekend before Thanksgiving I was able to get out to do some kayak birdwatching on Belwood Lake to look for shorebirds.  I didn't find anything crazy, but had a good time!

One nice thing about kayaking is that the shorebirds let you get much closer when in the kayak than when walking.  These are the best shots of Greater Yellowlegs that I have ever got!

Some early Bufflehead