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Point Pelee National Park

Golden Sunlight Over Boardwalk And Marsh, Point Pelee National Park

A couple walking along a boardwalk over a golden marsh and swampy water in Point Pelee National Park

Point Pelee National Park is a national park located in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word pelée, is French for bald. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of land, mainly of marsh and woodland habitats, that tapers to a sharp point as it extends into Lake Erie. Middle Island, also part of Point Pelee National Park, was acquired in 2000 and is located just north of the Canada–United States border in Lake Erie.

Ken Lund
Marsh Boardwalk, Point Pelee National Park, Leamington, Ontario, Canada

Visitor Stats Reveal How Canada's Parks And Historic Sites Fared In 2020

Even a global pandemic couldn’t knock Banff National Park off the top of the list of Canada’s most visited national parks. Rouge National Urban Park saw more visitors than ever before as urbanites looked for quick and close outdoor escapes. And a Quebec island that once served as a quarantine station for new immigrants, and is now a national historic site, enjoyed a summer surge in popularity.

Birding In The National Parks: Counting Birds At Point Pelee National Park

Back in 2014 I regaled Traveler readers with a report from Canada’s Point Pelee National Park during spring migration. This month, I’m back to remind you that good spring spots are often just as good or better in the fall. I felt a little guilty crossing the border for a national park trip during this centennial celebration, but I think our friends to the north deserve a tip of the hat. Parks Canada celebrated its 115th birthday in May, making it a somewhat older sibling to our National Park Service.

Birding In The National Parks: Where Should You Look For Finches This Winter?

Predicting the winter movements of semi-migratory birds can be tricky business. Sometimes birds move south because food has become scarce in the north, as was the case with Pine Siskins last winter. Other times, an abundance of food creates a hyper-successful breeding season that results in overpopulation and migration south.

Birding In The National Parks: Canada's Point Pelee National Park Is For The Birds

Canada’s Point Pelee National Park is for the birds, literally. Established in 1918, the park was created to protect some of the last remaining wild marsh and forest habitat along the north shore of Lake Erie. Bird fanciers, both those who watched them and those who hunted them, spearheaded the drive to protect the land. Duck hunting is no more at Point Pelee, but the bird watching remains, and this curious spit of land continues to enjoy the guarantee of preservation from Parks Canada.

Birding In The National Parks: A New Birding Book For Your Library

Spring migration is in full swing here in the Great Lakes, and your humble birding columnist has been run ragged. Among my recent travels was a stop at Ontario’s Point Pelee National Park. It’s a small park, but loaded with unique geographic features and plenty of fabulous birds. You’ll hear about the actual birds right here in a couple weeks, but for now I want to focus on the birders. One group in particular was out in force.

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