2025 Birdathon–George Pond’s Report

Photo, above: Great Crested Flycatcher

Contributed by George Pond

Three of us, my son and daughter-in-law David and Heather started “Birdathon 2025” just before 7 a.m. on May 16, an hour or so later than planned because of an early morning storm.

Birds in the St Williams forest were mostly back on territory and were actively singing. We had soon identified a number of warblers including Chestnut-sided, yellow, common yellow-throat, hooded, ovenbird, blue-winged, magnolia, yellow-rumped and pine.

Rose-breasted grosbeaks, scarlet tanagers, Indigo buntings, eastern towhees, chipping sparrows, a red-breasted nuthatch, wood thrush, catbird, chickadees, red-eyed vireos, great-crested and least flycatchers and a surprise black-billed cuckoo were all found.

A field in the Backus woods complex netted field, song, and grasshopper sparrows but no vesper sparrow sang. We walked into the pond in the Backus woods and flushed a pair of wood ducks. Here we heard a prothonotary warbler, peewee, flicker, pileated woodpecker and yellow-bellied sapsucker but no winter wren or northern waterthrush.

American Redstart

Time was fleeting so we hurried to Long Point and the Old Cut banding station. By this time it was getting quite warm but the woods was still quite active with birds including Tennessee, Parula, Cape May, black-throated green, bay-breasted and redstart warblers as well as blue-headed, Philadelphia  and warbling vireos, a veery, Ruby-crowned kinglet, white-throated sparrows as well as the bald eagle that was nesting in the area.

During the day we had been adding the expected species such as robins, turkey vultures, starlings, red-wing blackbirds, crows, swallows, grackles, Canada Geese, Mute swans etc., etc. and had started to build a respectable list.

We left Long Point sometime after 2 p.m. I was burned out and too tired to bird any longer so suggested that we call it a day. On the way back to Simcoe we checked the Port Rowan wetlands, the Port Rowan harbor, the Turkey Point marsh overlook and the Long Point Eco Adventures (which is quickly becoming a must-do stop for naturalists), adding a few birds including an Osprey, Moorhen, rough-winged swallows and a Sandhill crane bringing our total to 84 species.

Not good but O.K. I still can’t believe how we used to start birding at 10 a.m., bird until 10 p.m., sleep until 4 a.m. and bird again until 10 a.m. thus covering a 24-hour period and identifying 120 to 150 species of birds.

I still have a few usual sponsors to hear from and, because of your support we, you, I and the rest of our sponsors should exceed $8,000 for the great work of Birds Canada. All I can say is THANK YOU. YOU HAVE BEEN GREAT. Many of you have sponsored me for 5, 10, 20, and some over 40 years. Thank you sincerely. George Pond.

Those who wish to donate in support of George Pond’s Birdathon efforts, or to the 2025 Birds Canada Birdathon generally, will find more information, including donation links, at https://www.birdscanada.org/event/the-2025-birds-canada-birdathon.