Final Season Update from Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory
Submitted by John Dickson
The following is an excerpt from the Owen Sound Field Naturalists (OSFN)November 2025 column. To learn more about OSFN please visit www.osfn.ca
Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory Update
Posted by Station Scientist Stéphane Menu
October 31, 2025 (Excerpt) – “The last week of monitoring offered us many treats, as well as reasonably good weather. On the last four days, Pine Grosbeaks were detected every day, with a few small flocks (6 or 7 birds) on the 29th and 30th. One Pine Grosbeak was captured and banded on the 28th and a second one on the very last day, the 31st! Both were adult females. It is only the sixth fall season with banding for this species. This species is a rare visitor from the Boreal Forest and an even more rare privilege to have in-the-hand (they are very soft and fluffy!).
Evening Grosbeaks were also detected almost every day during the final week, with an astonishing group of 55 birds on the morning of the 28th! I have never seen such a big flock. [Of warblers] the treat was a Nashville Warbler captured on the 29th! It is the latest record (both for banding and detection) for this species, with one bird seen on the 28th in 2004. And then, it was the last day, as all things eventually come to an end. The final treat was on the final net check, when we extracted a Redpoll: what a nice little bird! This species has been banded in only six previous fall seasons (one to six birds per season), the last one in 2021.
It has been another wonderful bird migration monitoring season at Cabot Head for yours truly. I am so grateful to spend my spring and fall seasons here. But nothing would be possible without the help of the wonderful volunteers who give their time and enthusiasm so generously. Like the birds, they are more treats than tricks.”
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I always enjoy November, as it generally offers some wonderful colour transitions, in particular those of tamarack trees which really put on a show before dropping their ‘golden needles.’ In addition, I especially enjoy the lovely Paper (white) Birch trees whose trunks can gleam in the sunshine while their leaves of golden yellow are backed up by a blue sky. Much smaller are the Wild Asparagus plants I have discovered, with their delicate and feathery golden tresses, sometimes with bright red berries.
To close, a quote from Beyond the Trees, by Adam Shoalts: “I needed to do some serious thinking. Whenever I was confronted with some momentous decision, I preferred to go where my mind was clearest – to the place I knew best, where I’d grown up, the woods of my childhood… I felt sure I’d know what to do.”
