---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 1995 21:47:29 -0400
From: Donald Davis <Donald_Davis at stubbs.woodsworth.utoronto.ca>

I am still looking for letters of support for the preservation of Presqu'ile
Provincial Park - one of the greatest birdwatching sites in Eastern Canada.
Presqu'ile is a peninsula jutting out into Lake Ontario directly opposite
Rochester, New York and about 150 km. east of Toronto. It proposed Ramsar
Site, with the third highest nesting bird species total in the province of
Ontario.

Last winter, with the arrival of zebra mussels, counts of waterfowl around the
pensinsula often exceeded 22,000 birds. Gull and High Bluff Islands respresent
one of the largest colonial waterbird nesting sites on the Great Lakes, and
one of the few places on the Great Lakes where the Great Black-Backed Gull
nests.

Spring and fall migration periods can be spectacular. For example, this
spring, 10,000 shorebirds landed on the park beaches prior to a storm. Among
the rareties in this flock were 3 purple sandpipers. Whimbrels move through
the park like clockwork during the last two weeks of May. To date, the park
has had 313 species in the park. Species pending confirmation include boreal
owl and California gull.

Look at this list of sightings from August-September 1995:

bald eagle
merlin
peregrine falcon
lesser golden plover
whimbrel
Hudsonian godwit
red knot
western sandpiper
white-rumped sandpiper
Baird's sandpiper (a flock of 31 on 23/08 may be an Ontario record)
pectoral sandpiper
stilt sandpiper
buff-breasted sandpiper
parasitic jaeger
yellow-billed cuckoo
yellow-bellied flycatcher
horned lark - various subspecies
sedge wren
American pipit
solitary vireo
northern parula
prairie warbler
dickcissel (park's 2nd ever)
sharp-tailed sparrow
Lincoln's sparrow
orchard oriole

Presqu'ile is a proposed Regional Site for the North American Shorebird
Reserve Network. Because of its unique geographical location and biodiversity,
it funnels bird and insect migrations. Hence, so many rareties have been found
here in the past - such as Canada's first sulphur-bellied plover and North
America's fourth Mongolian plover. This is the first Canadian nesting site of
the cattle egret.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is finally taking steps to draw up a
management plan for the park. We need to preserve this extremely unique and
diverse park located in the midst of civilization near one of the last large
remaining marshes on the north shore of Lake Ontario (in the spring, the parks
2nd ever little blue heron was found).

Even Dr. Roger Tory Peterson has gone on record as stating the Presqu'ile must
be protected from any deterioration.

You can help in many ways:

Send an e-mail letter of support or letter describing your knowledge of this
park to: donald_davis at stubbs.woodsworth.utoronto.ca,internet before Oct.30/95.

By snail mail: Donald A. Davis, 3815 Bathurst St., Apt. #2, Downsview,
Ontario, Canada M3H 3N1 Fax/phone (416) 638-7738

Pass this message along to other concerned naturalists, conservationists,
electronic bulletin boards, field naturalist groups, etc.

Those interested in receiving notification of public consultation sessions
concerning the park management plan should write to:

Jim Peets
Park Planner
Parks Ontario
1 Richmond Blvd.
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 3M8

Have a look at the section on Presqu'ile in Clive Goodwin's new book, "A
BIRDFINDING GUIDE FOR ONTARIO". Also have a look at the 435 page book, "THE
BIRDS OF PRESQU'ILE PROVINCIAL PARK", available from The Friends of Presqu'ile
Park, Box 1442, Brighton, Ontario K0K 1H0.

Have a look at Doug McRae's excellent article on Presqu'ile in the fall 1995
issue of "SEASONS" magazine (Federation of Ontario Naturalists).

There is so much more that could be said about the merits of this world-class
park. Black tern studies this summer located over 40 nests in the park and in
adjoining marsh. This spring brought the first nesting record of orchard
oriole.

Upcoming activities in 1996 include:

March 30-31, April 5,6,7/96- Waterfowl Viewing Festival (view up to 15,000
ducks, geese, and swans of 25 species

May 18 -19/96 - Warblers and Whimbrels Weekend

For further information about park activities, contact Don Tyerman, Senior
Heritage Education Leader at (613) 475-2204.

Recent park sightings of note include 3 juvenile Forster's terns spotted on
October 14th. During November, purple sandpipers, snowy owls, and eider ducks
arrive. Saw-whet owls are now moving through the park.

Unfortunately, there remains in the park an annual waterfowl hunt, for three
months of the year. Fortunately, after years of abuse, Presqu'ile was declared
a "NON-TOXIC SHOT ZONE" for this year's hunt. I suspect that the hunt will
end shortly as there are no funds to support it. In the past, many non-game
birds have been shot. Birder Doug McRae once saw a bald eagle shot at!

Your contribution, however small, will help to preserve one of Canada's most
biodiverse and biologically significant parks.

I look forward to your reply

Yours truly,



Donald A. Davis, U.E.

Life Member
Federation of Ontario Naturalists

Secretary
Board of Directors
The Friends of Presqu'ile Park

Member
Presqu'ile-Brighton Naturalists

Member
Toronto Entomological Association


P.S. I am also a park volunteer, specializing in the tagging of monarch
butterflies. To date, 18 Presqu'ile monarchs have been recaptured in Mexico.