CANADA:                    FULLY BOOKED
8th - 18th May 2010
Point Pelee & Algonquin

This is a ten-day tour to witness one of the most spectacular wildlife events in North America, the annual Spring Migration of songbirds along the northern shore of Lake Eire. However our journey begins at one of the world's most famous landmarks, Niagara Falls. From there we'll head to Point Pelee, the most popular reserve along the lakes northern shore. Here we may encounter up to 30 species of colourful new world warblers, along with up to 20 species of waders, 6 Vireos, 8 Woodpeckers, 6 Thrushes and 12 Sparrows. The visible signs of migration can be spectacular, and in favourable conditions can involve several tens of thousands of birds, which change on a daily basis. Birds often give incredibly good views, allowing time to get familiarised with many birds that occur only as vagrants in the UK. To finish our tour we head north to Algonquin, a huge park home to a selection of birds impossible to find further south. It is also home to many of the regions mammals including Moose, Black Bear and Wolf.

Day 1
Meet at Manchester airport for our flight to Toronto, (flights can also be arranged from London) once there it's a 90-minute drive to our first hotel in Niagara, home to the worlds most famous waterfall.

Day 2
Next morning we'll have a walk down to the mighty Niagara River, to view the Horseshoe Falls. While doing so we'll start seeing a few of the commoner species of the area, which should include Double-crested Cormorant, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Blue Jay, Tree Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, Nashville, Yellow & Magnolia Warblers and Song Sparrow.

After a typical American breakfast we'll make a start on the journey to Leamington, a small town just minutes from Point Pelee and our base for the next five nights. En route both Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey Vultures should be seen by the roadside. We should arrive around mid afternoon, giving us plenty of time for some birding close to the hotel. With birds such as Great Blue & Green Heron, Killdeer, Purple Martin, Cliff Swallow, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Brown-headed Cowbird and Red-winged Blackbird all possible.

Days 3
A full day birding around Point Pelee National Park. The Park itself is a 10-kilometre sand spit with its southern point equal in latitude to that of Rome, and is one of Canada's smallest but most unusual national parks. The 20 square kilometre landscape boasts a unique blend of habitats with its beachfront, marshes and Carolinian forest supporting a complexity of wildlife. However it is the annual Spring Migration of Songbirds that draws people here from all over the world, with the many brightly coloured wood warblers high on everyone's wish list. These include Northern Parula, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Chestnut-sided, Cape May, Blackburnian, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Black & White, Wilson's and both Black-throated Blue & Black-throated Green. We'll also keep a keen eye out for scarcer species such as Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Cerulean, Prairie, Yellow-throated, Kentucky, Mourning, Canada and Hooded.

But there's a lot more than just warblers to look for, Flycatchers include Olive-sided, Least and Alder. Vireo's include Red-eyed, White-eyed, Warbling, Philadelphia, Yellow-throated and Blue-headed. Thrush's include Veery, Swainson's, Grey-cheeked, Hermit and Wood, while Sparrows may include Field, Clay-coloured, Savannah, Lincoln's and Swamp. Add to that Sharp-shinned & Coopers Hawk, Black & Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Common Grackle and Orchard Oriole and you can see what makes this site so special. With luck we may even encounter a roosting Eastern Screech Owl or Whip-poor Will.

Day 4
After a morning at the point, we'll visit the nearby reserve of lake St Clair, where both American and Least Bittern occur, along with other wetland species such as American Black Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Canvasback, Redhead, Blue-winged Teal, Sora Rail, American Coot, Belted Kingfisher and Yellow-headed Blackbird. Great Horned Owl also often breed in the area.

Day 5
Full day birding around Pelee, visiting some of the nearby wetland habitats around Hillmans Marsh where waders, or “shorebirds” as there know locally should be plentiful and include Semipalmated Plover, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary, Spotted, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Hudsonian Whimbrel and Short-billed Dowitcher. With scarcer birds such as American Avocet, Willet, Stilt Sandpiper and Wilson's Phalarope also possible. While other birds here may include Pied-billed Grebe, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Bald Eagle, Virginia Rail, Sandhill Crane and Marsh Wren.

One night we'll end the day with a late evening visit for displaying American Woodcock, with Common Nighthawk also likely here.

Day 6
Today we'll drive to Rondua Park, about an hour east of Pelee where we'll spend the day at this charming reserve. This is without doubt the best site locally for the beautiful Pothonatery Warbler, with several pairs breeding annually. A feeding station here attracts a variety of species, including Downy, Hairy and Red-headed Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Chipping, White-crowned & White-throated Sparrow, Northern Oriole, House Finch and American Goldfinch. Other birds here may include Wood Duck, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Carolina & House Wrens and Brown Thrasher.

Day 7
Full day birding around Pelee

Day 8
After our final early morning visit to the point, we'll make a start on our journey north to Algonquin Provincial Park, situated on a transition zone between the deciduous forests of the south and coniferous forests more typical of the north, where 7630 square kilometres of forests, lakes, and rivers await us. First however we'll make a stop en-route for lunch before passing through some remnant areas of grassland, giving us another opportunity for American Kestrel, Upland Sandpiper, Bobolink, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Meadowlark and maybe even Loggerhead Shrike. We should arrive at our destination in time to check in and spend a few hours birding in the evening.

Day 9
Full day birding in Algonquin, though the intensity of birds here is much less than further south, it's the northern feel that makes this park such an important destinatio, the birdlife certainly reflects this with northern specialities such as Spruce & Ruffed Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, Evening Grosbeak, Purple Finch and Pine Siskin all present. While other birds difficult to locate elsewhere include Hooded Merganser, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Phoebe, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Raven and Dark-eyed Junco.

However its not just birds that bring us here, the park is famous for its mammals to with Moose, Beaver, Woodchuck, American Red Squirrel and Eastern Chipmunk frequently observed, while Otter, American Marten, and even Black Bear and Wolf are present, though in this vast wilderness it would take a great deal of luck to see one!

Day 10
The morning will be spent in Algonquin Park, before returning to Toronto for our return flight home.

Day 11
Arrive back in the UK early morning.

To comply with Civil Aviation Authority
guidelines all flights are ATOL protected,
for more details see our terms &
conditions section 10.