Pt Pelee,Canada accomodation info needed (1 Viewer)

[Birdspotter]

Hi All,

Hopefully me and a couple of mates are off to Pelee this spring.

Does anyone have gen on self catering apt/villas on offer in that area?

Many thanks in advance

Calum.

 

[apbarr]

I was there in May '07 and stayed in a B&B in Leamington. There are a few houses for rent along the shore road towards Pelee, try searching for accommodation in Leamington.
I'd recommend visiting Rondeau Park as well, we spent a few hours there but should have given it more time. The feeders were great with loads of woodpeckers.
Long Point is also well worth a visit as I picked up quite a few additional species up there. If you search the trip reports mine's in there, we did Hamilton to Pelee then back up Lake Erie to Long Point via Rondeau. Long Point is fairly close to Niagara if you want to do the tourist bit. I'd go back to Pelee in a minute, superb birding and the guided tours are worth booking as the leaders are pretty hot on bird calls which was my weak spot.

 

[Birdspotter]

cheers for that

 

[wolfbirder]

Accommodation is a nightmare around migration time and the cost of the local travelodge was horrendous. Everything is expensive infact, we found a lodge about ten miles from Pelee. So I would book as soon as you can as it gets worse as time goes by.

Would also recommend you go on evening tours at Pelee for nighthawks, i regret not doing that now. Get in early at Pelee, by ten we found the main large car park full and we were directed to a car park a mile from the base. Also, there are great opportunities for good photography of passerines, I do not take photos but I retrospectively thought that there were so many good opportunities for getting good warbler photos. Obviously some are more elusive than others.

See my report for Pt Pelee/Rondeau/Long Point under vacational trip reports for a good Bobolink spot and also good accommodation near Long Point. Rondeau was superb, as was Pelee of course, but any of the three can turn up good birds, guess its pot luck.

 

[robinm]

If you make it to Long Point around the 5/6 May look out for me. I'll be there with my wife and her sister.

 

[Birdspotter]

If you make it to Long Point around the 5/6 May look out for me. I'll be there with my wife and her sister.

I would if only I know what you looked like.

As for the accomodation, the reason I put up this request is exactly what Wolfbirder say's, getting accomodation at that time of year seems to be a nightmare!

Nothing booked just yet, so it might be either Point Reyes, California or back to the Med as alternatives next spring, either that or Barns Ness, Lothian yet again.

 

[borealowl47]

Accomadation

Try Tom Hince's b&b ,well known birder who was regularly on Discovery
Channel discussing birds in Canada.Close to Point Pelee.

http://www.netcore.ca/~peleetom/

 

[Birdspotter]

Try Tom Hince's b&b ,well known birder who was regularly on Discovery
Channel discussing birds in Canada.Close to Point Pelee.

http://www.netcore.ca/~peleetom/

Hi borealowl47

Thanks for that, on first read it looks ideal although it states packages only in May, so perhaps not for us as we prefer to go it alone rather than use guides ect.
Do you know of any self catering flats/villa's on offer in the Pelee area, that might be more up our street?

Many thanks

Calum.

 

[borealowl47]

Hi borealowl47

Thanks for that, on first read it looks ideal although it states packages only in May, so perhaps not for us as we prefer to go it alone rather than use guides ect.
Do you know of any self catering flats/villa's on offer in the Pelee area, that might be more up our street?

Many thanks

Calum.

Hi Calum,

I tried to negotiate all that business about going to Point Pelee in spring for
warblers.Decided not to why,because most of the warblers that show up at
Point Pelee can be seen in Manitoba.Assinioboine Park in Winnipeg which is
easily assessable can hold 24 species of warblers at the right time in May
And within an hours drive from Winnipeg you can hit Boreal species like
Boreal Chickadee,Black-backed Woodpecker,etc,Oak hammock Marsh-
Le Contes, Nelsons Sparrows,Bobolink,Around Brandon Ferringous Hawk,
Burrowing Owl.and Field/Baird's Sparrow.It is expensive to go to Ontario
in May and I rely on public transportation wherever I go so pelee was almost out of the question.

Check out the delights seen on this forum in May!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Manitobabirds/

 

[jthoppes]

Nothing booked just yet, so it might be either Point Reyes, California or back to the Med as alternatives next spring

Perhaps worth noting that Point Reyes is much better in fall than in spring; if you're going to travel all the way from Edinburgh, I suggest late September.

 

[wolfbirder]

A few additional bits of info.

An excellent B & B near Port Rowan (Long Point) is Brookvale at Booth's Harbour. This English-run small establishment is birder friendly, with feeders and even some banding carried out at times. Rooms are lovely, plenty of bird books to read, lovely communal kitchen that you can utilise at your leisure. Cost is about 100 cdn dollars per night for a room for two, an extra 20 cdn for a 3rd person. Its about 5 miles from Long Point. Cannot find a direct website but you can book on www.BBCANADA.com, and see photos.

On the way to Long Point check out Aylmer Wildlife Area (which is next to a police driving training base). Good for waders.

You may also want o check out Port Stanley Lagoons not too far fromRondeau, as the trees on the way from the town to the lagoons are good for Eastern Bluebirds. The lagoons are also good for waders. You will need to work out how to find these lagoons though.

Finally on the way to Pelee, we found a great spot for Bobolinks (about 15 of them!). Coming off the main Highway 401 at j90, soon turn right onto the long straight 'Horton Line Road'. About 300 yards before the junction with Charing Cross Rd we saw these birds flitting around the long grassfields. We did not see any more during the entire trip. I cannot vouch that they can be seen at this spot every spring, but its worth checking out if you are driving from Toronto to Pelee.

 

[Birdspotter]

Thanks all for your input:t:

 

[puffinbill]

Calum,

Murray and myself birded pelee and surrounding areas back in 2005, brill, if you and your mates do decide to go, give us a shout, we have quite a bit of info and books that you could borrow.

But don't wait until spring to catch yankie warblers, hit Jamaica for the new year and enjoy some winter sunshine at the same time, same time travel as Canada, have a wee read of my report and see if it will encourage you also, to follow the Bob Marley trail.

http://www.birdingpal.org/jamaicareport.htm

Cheers
Willie

 

[Marianne Reid]

Just saw these posts. Are you still thinking of coming to Pelee this spring? If so I can help set you up on places to stay, and give you some leads on local hotspots for certain speices as well. Let me know.