Our Top5 Birding Sites in Southern Ontario

Closer to the tropics than anywhere else in Canada, Southern Ontario is spoilt for exciting birds and places to look for them. However, in two weeks on a bicycle it is impossible to visit them all! So I've put together our five favourite places, in no particular order, where you can be sure to see some special birds.

Carden Alvar

Carden Alvar is possibly
the most important grassland in Ontario.

One of the last strongholds of the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike in Canada, this incredible grassland/scrubland mix is a haven for birds that would have been abundant throughout Southern Ontario prior to intensive agriculture. A viewing blind near the famous bluebird nesting boxes 9 and 10 is the perfect place to watch for the shrikes, and as we found out, is also ideal for sheltering for the night if caught out in a storm (although ensure you aren't sleeping below the nesting swallows, for obvious reasons). Brown Thrashers, Sedge Wrens, Eastern Whip-poor-wills, Sandhills Cranes and Wild Turkeys are just a few of the other birds you can expect here.

Presqu'ile Point

Sandhill Cranes - very beautiful and
elegant birds

Anywhere that pokes out into one of the Great Lakes is a migrant trap. At Presqu'ile, the combination of pine and deciduous forest, beach and marshland ensures a high diversity of birds. Orchard Orioles and Least Bitterns breed here, and shorebirds forage on the beaches near Owen Point. Most of Presqu'ile is within the provincial park, but the feeders along Bayshore road turn up all kinds of birds. Presqu'ile local Fred Helleiner showed us his patch, and even funner than seeing lots of birds was watching him ride around the park with his scope and tripod slung over his shoulder.

Opinicon Road

Chaffey's Lock

We detoured from the Waterfront Trail north to the scenic Chaffey's Locks. Here the birding begins at the lock station (where boats are lifted up or down river by lowering or raising the water level) and ends to the south at Perth Road.  Almost all of Ontario's Carolinian birds are here, and it is one of the best sites for Cerulean Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Yellow-throated Vireo. We were too late to hear the warblers singing, but the birding was still fantastic and diverse, and Jaime and I decided if we had to live somewhere in Ontario, it could easily be here.

Rock Point

Jaime at Rock Point Provincial Park

Northern Mockingbird

Rock Point, along with Long Point, Rondeau and Point Pelee are infamous migrant traps and breeding sites for lots of rare birds in Lake Erie. Had we more time, would have visited them all, but we had to be content with Rock Point and Long Point. We couldn't stay long at either, but our time at Rock Point nabbed us four new birds very quickly. At the point, shorebirds gather, and we soon had Sanderling, White-rumped Sandpiper and Semipalmated Plover amongst the flocks. Great views of a Black-billed Cuckoo calling softly in the shrubs on the edge of the beach was a highlight, and the littoral forest was filled with warblers, woodpeckers and wrens.

Niagara Falls

Jaime overlooking Niagara
Falls

Most visitors to Southern Ontario will likely head to Niagara Falls, and for good reason. The Niagara escarpment is very unique, and the falls are spectacular, especially from the Canadian side (they've had to build special platforms and towers so that tourists can view the falls from the American side). Below the falls, gulls congregate, especially during the winter months when it can be a reliable site for Little Gull. Try scanning for them amongst Bonaparte's Gulls along the river below the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Dam. We were probably too early to see Little Gull, but we had a great time back on land sifting through the birds at feeders in Chippawa for Red-bellied Woodpecker and Tufted Titmouse.

New Birds:
199. Green-winged Teal
200. Grasshopper Sparrow
201. Mute Swan
202. Least Bittern
203. Baird's Sandpiper
204. Semipalmated Sandpiper
205. House Finch
206. Orchard Oriole
207. Common Moorhen
208. Loggerhead Shrike
209. Brown Thrasher
210. Sandhill Crane
211. Sedge Wren
212. Eastern Whip-poor-will
213. Pectoral Sandpiper
214. Short-billed Dowitcher
215. Trumpeter Swan
216. Red-necked Grebe
217. Northern Mockingbird
218. American Coot
219. Carolina Wren
220. Red-bellied Woodpecker
221. Semipalmated Plover
222. Sanderling
223. Black-billed Cuckoo
224. White-rumped Sandpiper
225. Hooded Warbler
226. Willow Flycatcher
227. Pine Warbler
228. Cooper's Hawk
229. Eastern Screech-Owl
230. Vesper Sparrow


New Mammals:
19. Eastern Cottontail
20. Northern Raccoon


New Amphibians:
3. Gray Treefrog