Fourteen people came out to enjoy 4 hours of birding that netted 67 Species of birds. Alfred Raab previously scouted and then led the hike that proved most rewarding for all participants.  We gratefully extend our warm gratitude for his competent efforts.

The weather was warm; there was a light rain from  time to time that had no bearing on the success of the day.    We started at the Hepworth Legion parking lot to leave a few cars to car pool.  There we saw a pair of nesting Ospreys that gave us close looks along with 7 other species of birds.  In the area behind the Sauble Beach Community Center we picked up 15 species but the bird that received the most attention was the unseen but heard Yellow-throated Vireo.   Thanks to Dave Fidler for that one. A special side trip was made to see the endangered Piping Plovers at Sauble Beach and they did not disappoint.   From the beach we headed to the highway again and turned right on the the first road just past the Sauble River. We parked after crossing a second bridge and were welcomed by a singing Wood Thrush. We saw or heard another 12 species of birds in that location.  Moving on to Boat Lake we again saw an Osprey sitting on a nest and in the adjacent waters we tried in vain to see the Least Bittern that had called out but were rewarded by good looks at a Swamp Sparrow that cooperated for all of us.  Our next stop was Isaac Lake where another 14 species were netted and the teaser bird was a Virginia Rail that sang but refused to be seen.  However off in a the distance were Sandhill Cranes that entertained us but were totally oblivious to our presence.  At our last stop at Sky Lake, Alfred’s goal was for us to see 4 species – all excellent birds – Black Tern, Pied-billed Grebe, Bald Eagle and Marsh Wren.  We collected these  birds along with 4 others to end our day.  Thank you Alfred for your efforts and for making our day an enjoyable one.