Our second paid guided tour is in Pearson Park and we really hope that this is a better guided one. The first one was a bust with a schoolchild leader and another one that was not interested in leading. However this one is you drive we lead and a bit more expensive so we hope for better guides. And we are lucky, the guides are very knowledgeable and always interested in seeing birds instead of getting engrossed in speaking with participants. We start from the meeting parking lot and even there there are a lot of interesting birds and even some squirrels.
The group is also more alert in general and that allows us to see a lot more birds including a Northern Flicker that admittedly anyone should have seen but is actually quite difficult to pick out against the dead trunk.
And then we arrive at the location of the fabled Canada Warbler and even though the guides supposedly see it a couple times it is way too active for the majority of the group to see it especially as it is across a pond. And in the end the guides give up, a disappointment for us given that it was one of our major targets.
Nearby we find another neat warbler, a Black-throated Blue Warbler but this doesn’t lessen the sting from not being able to see the Canada one.
Next is a Philadelphia Vireo and then a Swainson’s Thrush both first timers for us for Ohio. They are also easier to see and more friendly than the Canada Warbler we missed.
We go round the lake and stop at the restrooms there and while waiting for people to use the facilities look for birds and examine the statues nearby.
The group is attracted by the sound of an Lazuli Bunting and we go off trail to the spot where it seems to sing meeting a Catbird on the way. The hope is that it is an actual Lazuli Bunting and not a Catbird imitating it which wouldn’t be a surprise.
Luckily for the group it is an actual Lazuli Bunting and after everyone enjoying it we return to the lakeside for some nice views of a resting Northern Rough-winged Swallow.
Continuing our loop around the lake we find what we name afterwards the Blackburnian tree. It is a tree full of Blackburnian Warblers, at least five but probably more just flitting around.
This section of the trail goes again through a forest and we enjoy the area while continuing to look for any special warblers.
And then the guides get excited again and we start looking at what they are pointing. It seems a rare warbler but we cannot make what it is nor can we see it initially.
But then the warbler shows itself, it is a beautiful Black-throated Green Warbler, the only one we will see during the festival. And nearby we have great views of a Red-eyed Vireo, common but difficult to photograph.
At this point we start to hear thunder and due to liability issues the guides decide to cut the hike short and move towards the Window on Wildlife which would be covered in case of lightning. Just in front we have an encounter with a full chipmunk, it can barely carry anything anymore in its pouches, and a Rose breasted Grosbeak. Which again is the only one we will see during the festival.
Together with the group we enter the Window on Wildlife and it is quite exciting with lots of mammals and some common birds. Here we say goodbye to the group and return outside we have decided to have one more go at the Canada Warbler.
But first we enjoy the raccoons and woodchucks at the Window on Wildlife they are quite well fed and we always like to see them close up. Going fast we then move to the Canada Warbler location and after some prodding and checking we finally find it, phew, we have our lifer even though it was only a glimpse. Now it is the time to return to the Maumee Bay Lodge for lunch after a nice guided tour and then look at the festival exhibitors before exploring Metzger Marsh and the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
