Rock Point Provincial Park

03 August 2016

     Rock Point Provincial Park is situated near Dunnville (Haldimand County), Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie. We had not previously visited this park and, having bought an annual pass to our provincial parks this year, we decided to visit it to see what it was like.

     We had asked our friends John and Geraldine Sanderson if they would like to accompany us and they too looked forward to visiting a park previously unknown to them. We picked them up at 08:00 and set off together for the day's adventure.

     Once inside the park we found an area by the lake that seemed to hold the promise of good birding - and we were not disappointed. Perhaps most impressive was the sheer number of American Yellow Warblers Setophaga aestiva already migrating south, a stark reminder that summer is waning and fall will soon be here.

American Yellow Warbler - male

     We were attracted to the clamour of a fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater begging incessantly for its surrogate Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia parent to feed it. It seemed that no matter how many insects the dedicated "parent" stuffed into the cowbird's gape it was never enough.  

Song Sparrow feeding Brown-headed Cowbird

       Many butterflies were found in this area, the most ubiquitous being Cabbage White Pieris rapae.

Cabbage White

     We have not seen many Monarchs Danaus plexippus this year but a few have started to show up here and there, and small numbers of this archetypal species were present in the park.

Monarch

     Not to be outdone the diminutive Spring Azure Celestrina lucia was often observed flitting from plant to plant, alighting only briefly and often concealed by foliage.

Spring Azure

     Actually the whole azure complex has recently undergone taxonomic revision and I believe that the Spring Azure may have been merged with another azure species. Butterflies not being my field of expertise, I am not sure whether the name has been retained or not.

     Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilo glaucus, large and majestic, drifted everywhere, always an impressive sight.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

     The final butterfly species I was able to photograph was Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax, a distinctive member of the Nymphalidae.

Red-spotted Purple

Red-spotted Purple

     There are various species of Katydid and I am not proficient enough to know which species this one is, but it was certainly an interesting looking creature.

Katydid sp.

     Periodically along the beach small groups of gulls were sighted, both American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus and Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis.

American Herring Gull

Ring-billed Gull

     When we had lunch we were entertained by a family of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica. The adults were providing a constant stream of food to young birds that looked just about ready to fledge.

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

     After lunch we returned to the car and drove around the park to explore its different features.

     There were several dead fish on the beach, mostly quite large, and of unknown species. As you can see from the following picture nothing had gone to waste.

     The shoreline at this point was predominantly a limestone shelf with sporadic stands of vegetation.

     This sub adult American Herring Gull had located a dead fish in the water and was enjoying easy pickings.

     This park has a sandy beach for families who come to enjoy the water, but the limestone formations prevail for most of the area, especially in the southeast corner of the park.

     Miriam was able to snap this Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius, darting in and out of cover to feed. 

     This park is renowned for its fossil formations dating back to the Devonian period, some 300 million years ago, and it was not hard to find them embedded in the limestone and bedrock.

     We all had a splendid day and we will look forward to visiting this interesting park again, perhaps in different seasons, and getting to know some of its secrets.

All bird species observed en route: Canada Goose, Mallard, Wild Turkey, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, American Crow, Barn Swallow, Common Starling, American Robin, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Common Grackle, Indigo Bunting.

All bird species observed at Rock Point Provincial Park: Canada Goose, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Ring-billed Gull, American Herring Gull, Caspian Tern, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Grey Catbird, American Robin, American Goldfinch, American Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Brown-headed Cowbird, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.

Total species: 35