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In previous migration summaries (especially that of October 1st to 15th), we discussed how the warm temperatures experienced on Pelee Island this fall made PIBO’s field staff curious about their perceived late sightings of bird species during PIBO’s standard migration monitoring activities. Now that the fieldwork is finished for the year, we’ve had time to

  Pelee Island Bird Observatory is excited to announce the addition of our new multi-lingual educator, Fatima Serhan! Fatima is a Windsor Native that is looking forward to using her language skills and her degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Windsor to make the PIBO education program more accessible to French and Arabic

Eastern Bluebird. Photo by Sumiko Onishi PIBO’s field staff began the month of November eager to continue bird banding, but the weather had other plans. Rain on both November 1st and 2nd prevented the nets from being opened, though the daily census recorded plenty of birds. The west beach at Fish Point hosted many different

As the end of October approaches, and with it the beginning of the end of songbird migration, the number of warbler species observed at Fish Point has declined steadily. Myrtle Warblers are one of the last warblers to leave Ontario in the fall and they have been seen the most consistently out of all the

Photo by Sumiko Onishi 2018 To judge by the weather at the beginning of October, southern Ontario was reluctant to accept the onset of fall. Temperatures were around 20 to 23 degrees Celsius, and even some north winds on the night of October 2nd weren’t enough to convince birds to migrate. Diversity remained high, with

With the approach, arrival, and passing of the fall equinox, the changing of the seasons was felt more than ever on Pelee Island. The timing of the sunrise grew later each day, and in the netting area and on census there were small but noticeable shifts in the diversity and abundance of birds that signalled

Black-throated Green Warbler. Photo by Sumiko Onishi 2018     The first two weeks of September saw extremes of weather on Pelee Island, from still, humid days that left PIBO staff prostrate under the heat to cool temperatures and high winds that were a literal breath of fresh air, breathing new life into the migrant

Swainson’s Thrush. Photo by Sachi Schott The second half of August began with windy, rainy weather to the delight of the gulls, who were the only ones out flying or swimming on the morning of August 16th. Even the Double-crested Cormorants preferred to stay huddled together on the sandbar at the end of the tip

Photos by  Mike Kovaliv Photography 

PIBO’s 2018 fall migration monitoring programs began on August 1st, and already there were signs that migration was underway for the birds and insects of Pelee Island! Swallows and other aerial insectivores were some of the first species to be seen winging their way south, with many Purple Martins, Barn Swallows and Chimney Swifts, plus

A Black-crowned Night-heron flying over Fox Pond. Photo by Connor Hawey. May 31st: This was the last day of banding for the spring 2018 migration monitoring season; The census continues through June 10th. Banding has been very slow lately; on the last day of banding, only a Yellow Warbler and a Red-winged Blackbird were banded.

Female Connecticut warbler by Connor Hawey May 23rd: We banded 32 birds of 16 species today which we consider good for this late in the season. Flycatchers continue to be abundant including eastern-wood pewees and some Empidonax species as well. We were visited by 27 students from Western Secondary School who enjoyed seeing a wood