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 Lake
Ontario's Best Birding
The Lake Ontario "West
End" - BirdLife International
partners The Canadian Nature Federation and
Bird Studies Canada have identified the shoreline
that stretches from Port Credit to Niagara
along western Lake Ontario as an Important
Bird Area. In the past decade, large numbers
of waterfowl have congregated in the area,
in late winter and early spring. Huge flocks
of diving ducks, numbering in the tens of
thousands, including Greater Scaup, White-winged
Scoter, Oldsquaw, Common Goldeneye, King Eider,
and Surf Scoter.
Hamilton Harbour -
Separated from Lake Ontario by a sandbar and
the Burlington Canal, the city of Hamilton's
harbour at the extreme west end of Lake Ontario
has been designated as an Important Bird Area
site for waterbird colonies. On piers and
artificial islands at the east end of the
harbour, continentally significant numbers
of Ring-billed Gulls, Caspian Terns and Common
Terns make their nests. Signficant, but declining,
numbers of Black-crowned Night Herons are
also present.
Presqu'ile Provincial
Park -The boot-shaped peninsula of
Presqu'ile, just south of Brighton, Ontario,
supports 7% of the North American population
of Ring-billed Gulls, and 3% of the population
of Caspian Terns. Also present are continentally
significant numbers of Atlantic Brant, Dunlin,
Greater Scaup and Whimbrel, with a growing
population of Double-breasted Cormorants.
Recently, Great Egrets have begun nesting
in the Park, along with the endangered King
Rail species, and the nationally vulnerable
Least Bittern.
Leslie Street Spit,
Toronto - Extending about 5 kilometres
into Lake Ontario from the Toronto Shoreline,
this man-made peninsula just east of the Toronto
Islands is home to 15% - 30% of the Canadian
breeding population of Black-Crowned Night
Herons. It also averages 55,000 pairs of Ring-billed
Gulls, and large concentrations of migrating
songbirds, including American Pipits.
Prince Edward Point,
Picton - An outstanding number and
diversity of migrating and nesting birds on
this point, extending 10 kilometres into eastern
Lake Ontario from the island of Prince Edward
County, makes this location one of southern
Ontario's most popular birding destinations.
Species total for this Important Bird Area
is 298, including 36 species of wood warbler,
20 species of sparrow and 12 species of flycatcher.
Migrants include Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee,
Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, and
White-throated Sparrow. The shoals and deep
waters off the peninsula provide an important
waterfowl staging and wintering area for significant
numbers of Greater Scaup, Oldsquaw and White-winged
Scoter. Other waterfowl species include Common
Loon, Horned Grebe, Common Goldeneye, Common
Merganser and Red-breasted Merganser. During
fall migration, up to 2000 hawks a day move
over the Point, including Sharp-Shinned, Red-shouldered
and Red-tailed hawks.
Amherst Island, Kingston
- About 4 kilometres south of Kingston, between
Wolfe Island and Prince Edward County in the
east end of Lake Ontario, this oval-shaped
island attracts significant spring concentrations
of Brant and Dunlin, as well as high concentration
of wintering hawks and owls (Great Gray, Boreal,
Snowy, Long-eared, Short-eared Owls, Rough-legged
Hawks). Double-crested Cormorants are also
present in large numbers.
Pigeon Island, Kingston
- Caspian Terns, Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested
Cormorants, Herring Gulls and Great black-backed
Gulls are all present on this limestone island
15 kilometres south of Kingston in eastern
Lake Ontario.
Wolfe Island, Kingston
- At the extreme end of eastern Lake Ontario,
where the waters of the Lake flow into the
St. Lawrence River, large numbers of waterfowl
congregate during spring migration (Greater
Scaup, Canada Geese, Ring-necked Ducks, Common
Goldeneye, Redheads, American Black Ducks,
Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, and American Golden
Plovers. The island is also known internationally
for its large winter concentration of hawks
and owls, including Snowy Owls, Red-tailed
Hawks and Rough-legged hawks, and for its
high concentration of Tree Swallows.
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