Posting for Friends of Point Pelee while they sort out a technical issue. Submitted by Todd Pepper for Friends of Point Pelee. Friends of Point Pelee is a Not for Profit volunteer organization supporting Point Pelee National Park of Canada. Please accept appologies for strange symbols in our previous emails. Hopefully this format will correct this issue -JR What a difference a week makes. It is probably safe to say that spring has arrived at Point Pelee. Essex County has experienced several days of 21-degree weather in the past week. The snow and ice are all gone in the Park. The trails are dry. The picnic areas, such as The Dunes, Sleepy Hollow, Pioneer, Black Willow and West Beach are open again, and the train to the Tip is back running on its regular schedule with trips from the Visitor Centre and Tip every 20 minutes. There are also other signs of spring at Point Pelee. The American Goldfinch and Bonaparte’s Gull are in transition or already in breeding plumage. The Spring peepers are peeping, and a Morning Cloak Butterfly was seen on Tuesday soaking up the sun. The Essex Region Conservation Area started up the pumps at the beginning of the week to fill the shorebird impoundment at Hillman Marsh Conservation Area and it did not take long for the dabbling ducks to find this habitat. First sightings of species for the year during the past week are set out below: - Northern Shoveler and Ring-necked Duck - Hillman Marsh completing the list of 11 regular dabbling duck species for the area. All 11 species can still be seen at either the intersection of Road D and Road 19 or Hillman Marsh. - Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter and a report of two female King Eider were seen along the west side of the Park from the south end of the West Beach parking lot to the Tip. - Horned Grebe in the calm waters on the west side between the south end of the West Beach parking lot to the parking area before the train turn-around area, and Eared Grebe in the rough waters on the east side of the Tip near the 42nd Parallel sign. - Double-crested Cormorants Lake Erie waters off the Tip - Great Egret Muddy Creek at Wheatley Harbour - Merlin - Concession Road D - An unusual spring sighting of Golden Eagle watched it fly across the Lake coming from Pelee Island. It headed due north through the Park. - Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe at the intersection of Road D and 19 and Lesser Yellowlegs at Hillman Marsh. - American Coot - Marsh Boardwalk and Hillman Marsh. - Belted Kingfisher - Hillman Marsh - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Northern Flicker - Tilden Trail and Sanctuary Picnic Area - Tree Swallow - Tip, Marsh Boardwalk, Hillman Marsh - Winter Wren - Woodland Nature Trail - Brown Thrasher - West Beach Trail - Rusty Blackbird - Marsh Over 80 species were observed to be present in the Point Pelee birding area during the week. Birders visiting Point Pelee this spring and looking for Northern Mockingbird for their year list should check the local streets west of the Kinsmen Recreation Complex at Sherk Street and Ellison Avenue westerly to Cardinal Carter Secondary School. At least one, and perhaps two over-wintering pair of Mockingbirds has been observed on the following streets: Ellison, Orchard Heights, Cherrywood, Roger, Gary Crescent and Nicholas. Visitors to Point Pelee National Park should note that the bridge over the Sturgeon Creek from the Bevel Line Road to Point Pelee Drive is closed for repair until April 18, 2008. To access the Park go east on Seacliff Drive East from Erie Street South in Leamington. Continue east on Seacliff Drive past the Bevel Line turn-off to Concession Road 12. Turn Right on Concession 12 and join up with Point Pelee Drive at Paula's Restaurant. 4th annual Fundraising dinner Friday May 9, 2008 @ 5:30 PM Pelee Days Inn $60 per person ($25 tax receipt) Reservations can be made at friendsofpointpelee.com To help reduce our environmental impact...this is a ticketless event! Presentation: "Coming Home: Return of the Western Lake Erie's & Detroit River's Charismatic Megafauna" by Dr. John Hartig-Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge -- Mark Cranford ONTBIRDS Coordinator Mississauga, Ont. mark.cranford@ofo.ca 905 279 9576