GyrKite Birding Tours

03/21/2025

Thank you to everyone who participated in this contest! Out of a whopping 240 entries, congratulations to for winning 2 spots on one of our Point Pelee Group Tours! Please contact us at [email protected] to get booked!

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We really appreciate everyone who participated in this contest so we would also like to offer 30% off of our Point Pelee Group Tours for every follower who participated in the contest! Please contact us via email or through our website if you are interested and we can book you with the discount.

We saw a lot of familiar names from previous tours and last years contest! We plan to continue this spring tradition as well as implement smaller contests for the summer season so stay tuned and good luck next time!😁🦅

03/12/2025

**Free Tour Giveaway!**

That’s right everyone, since last year was so popular, we are doing another free tour giveaway contest for two spots on a full day of adventuring around Point Pelee!

If you’re a beginner birder, our Point Pelee tours are the perfect way to dive right into learning about many species of migratory birds. If you’re a more experienced birding veteran we’ve also got you covered! Visiting Point Pelee in May is an excellent way to get ahead of the game on your year list, find rarities, and meet more people in the birding community!

To enter, all you have to do is follow our page and tag a friend in the comments. Each comment with a tag will count as an entry, and on March 20th we will randomly select a winner from the participants!

To see our 2025 selection of Point Pelee Tours please visit our website under “tours”
https://www.gyrkitetours.com/trails

Good Luck! 🦅✨

03/04/2025

Our trip to Algonquin Provincial Park is just under two weeks away, and we’re getting excited!
The White-winged Crossbill pictured here is just one of the many nomadic finch species we could find in the boreal. These are charismatic little creatures that travel all across Canada and the Northern States in search of cone crops to feed on. Crossbills are cone specialists, and their name sake allows them to pry open cones to reach the delicious seeds inside! Did you know that each individual’s bill can either be crossed to the right or left? Just like humans can be right or left handed 💪😊 What is really fascinating is that in White-winged Crossbills, right-crossed lower mandibles (like this individual) are three times more common than left-crossed!

02/26/2025

This past weekend we led a winter birding event for the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority. Everyone was so enthusiastic to learn about birding during the winter! Throughout the day we had countless discussions about birds and bird conservation, cleared up a few urban legends, recommend birding hotspots, optics, and birdseed, and made some DIY bird feeders to distribute on our hikes! We were also lucky enough to chance upon 4 different duck species along the stream towards Inglis falls: American Black Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, and Mallard. Our day ended with a gorgeous Red-tailed Hawk that landed just on the edge of the property as we were closing the last hike!

📸 photos by Chelsea Vieira from Grey Sauble Conservation Authority

02/23/2025

There are only 3 spots left for our Algonquin tour on March 15th!

Some goals for the trip will be getting great views of boreal specialties like Spruce Grouse and Black-backed Woodpecker, as well as having a wonderful experience watching overwintering finches like Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak, and crossbills before they disperse for the spring. Algonquin is one of our favourite winter birding destinations, and we’re looking forward to returning to the park in a few weeks!

Check out our website for more details on the trip
https://www.gyrkitetours.com/service-page/algonquin-provincial-park

02/07/2025

In just over a month we’ll be heading over to Algonquin Provincial Park for a boreal birding adventure! If you’re looking to get some early birding in before the hype of spring migration in May, Algonquin is the perfect spot to visit. Some goals for the trip will be getting great views of boreal specialties like Spruce Grouse and Black-backed Woodpecker, as well as having a wonderful experience watching overwintering finches like Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak, and crossbills before they disperse for the spring. Last year on this trip we had fantastic encounters with owls, a golden eagle, and we witnessed thousands of finches in action! We can’t wait to see what this year brings!

For more information and to sign up, check our website! (Link in bio)

02/03/2025

Palm Warblers are among the first warbler species to arrive in Ontario in the spring, with birds normally showing up around southern Ontario during late April. By the time peak warbler migration hits southern Ontario in May, most Palm Warblers are already up in their boreal breeding grounds.

Palm Warblers winter in the southeastern Unitied States and across the Caribbean. They are one of the few warbler species that has part of their core wintering range so far north, along with Orange-crowned, Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers (check out the weekly range animation on the next photo!).

Palm Warblers also have a rather unique behaviour among warblers, often bobbing their tails up and done like a pipit. While other warbler species may do this from time to time, none in Ontario do it with the frequency of Palm Warblers. This species is also frequently observed foraging on the ground, along beaches and field edges, further adding to its Pipit-like behaviour.

Palm Warblers are one of the few warblers in Ontario that can’t be reliably sexed by plumage in the field, with both males and females sharing the same appearance. While males on average are brighter, this isn’t a reliable way to differentiate them.

01/28/2025

This spring, we are excited to be returning to Pelee Island for another season of guiding… with even more tours available than last year!

Pelee Island is one of the premier bird migration locations in the Great Lakes, yet it gets only a small fraction of visitors compared to spots like Point Pelee and Magee Marsh. Join us for excellent birding, at the more relaxed pace of a small island community.

More information on our website! Link below https://www.gyrkitetours.com/service-page/pelee-island-overnight-private-tour?referral=service_list_widget

01/12/2025

Join us on Pelee Island this spring to experience some of the best migration the Great Lakes region has to offer! With daily lists of 100 species or more, and new migrants arriving daily there’s always something exciting to see.

Witness the bird numbers of Point Pelee at a more relaxed pace, with no crowds and a small island vibe. Visiting Pelee Island is always one of our highlights of the year, and we look forward to sharing it with you.

Two Dates still available for private group tours: April 26-28, May 4-6

More information on our website 🪶🙂 Link here - https://www.gyrkitetours.com/service-page/pelee-island-overnight-private-tour?referral=service_list_widget

Curious what we saw last year? Check that out here! https://ebird.org/tripreport/227038

This tour will cover 2.5 days of birding with a small private group led by two expert birders at your pace, covering topics of your interest. Activities will include exploring the unique Alvar habitats of Pelee Island, which are perfect for looking for endemic or rare flora and fauna, such as Blue R...

01/11/2025

It’s never too early to think about spring migration! In fact, we’re leading special private group tours to Pelee Island in late April and early May, the best time to witness peak migration. Now is the perfect time to start thinking about spring plans and booking accommodation 🦅
If you’re wanting a three day private birding experience in one of the best birding hotspots in Ontario, check out our website for more info 😉

📸Chestnut-sided Warbler on the beach by Kiah Jasper

01/10/2025

01/02/2025

Happy New Year fellow birders! 🎊🎉🦅
May your year be filled with exciting sightings, memorable adventures, and a deeper connection with nature.

We’re kicking off 2025 with a bang! Join us on our January weekend tour in Niagara, where we’ll explore the region’s renowned waterfowl and gull hotspots.
Imagine witnessing hundreds of overwintering waterfowl and gulls up close! Our expert guides will help you spot and identify a wide variety of species.

Is your resolution to get outside more? This is the perfect opportunity for beginner birders to learn more about winter birding, as well as seasoned birders to get a head start on your year list!

Click the link in our bio to learn more and reserve your spot! 🪶

12/24/2024

Happy Holiday Season from your guides at GyrKite!😁🎄 We hope you have all been enjoying the winter so far and staying safe : )

This Barred Owl dropped by our yard today, an excellent surprise on Christmas Eve☺️

12/22/2024

We are excited to annouce that we have partnered with Kowa Sporting Optics and are now brand ambassadors! This is an exciting new chapter for our company and we’re looking forward to showing birds to our clients with the best scopes and bins around : )

Stay tuned for some reviews and updates

12/21/2024

Snow Buntings are now arriving in southern Ontario in full force and gathering in large flocks due to the frequent snowfall we’ve had recently. It’s quite a spectacle to see thousands of black and white wings striking the sky, shimmering as they careen over snowy cornfields and rocky shorelines. But this isn’t a Snow Bunting! This is a Lapland Longspur, a less conspicuous species that can often be found foraging and overwintering with large groups of buntings. Whenever you see a flock of Snow Buntings it’s a great opportunity to scan through the masses to see if you can spot more uncommon species like this Lapland Longspur!

12/16/2024

We still have spaces left on our tour of the Niagara Region!

-Explore one of Ontario’s top gull-watching spots and learn ID pointers from our pros 💪
-Learn how to search for rare and uncommon species among the hundreds of gulls and waterfowl!
-Winter in the city doesn’t need to be grey and bland, experience the thrill of winter birding while you enjoy the marvellous sites of Niagara! ❄️🌊
-An adventure to fit your schedule: you can book the whole weekend for $180 or just one day for $90-100

Ready to learn more? Click the link in our bio to visit our website!

📸 Glaucous Gull by Kiah Jasper

12/12/2024

We’ve been on a bit of an owl theme recently, so why not continue the trend? 🦉 Here are some tips on how to observe one of the most gorgeous owls in Ontario!

Meet the Short-eared Owl, a farmland specialist with a hunger for meadow voles, deer mice, and other small rodents. While a majority of Ontario’s owl species are mainly nocturnal, Short-eared Owls are one of the few crepuscular species, meaning they prefer to be active during dusk and dawn. During the day they are often hunkered down resting low to the ground along forest/scrub edges, grassy ditches or atop of fence posts near their hunting grounds and can be quite a challenge to find. The best way to get eyes on one of these beauties is to watch for them flying low over open areas suitable for hunting. They have a very characteristic flight style, almost moth-like with graceful exaggerated flapping. The best time to look for hunting Shorties is during their preferred hunting times around sunrise and sunset, however they can also hunt at any time during the day especially if they need to maximize hunting time due to prior days of bad weather (snow storms or severe rain).

During spring and fall migration, Short-eared Owls can also be infrequently seen flying during the day on lake watches or hawk watches! Shorties are one of the few owl species in Ontario that migrate during the day, and they often prefer to stick close to shorelines.

📸 Short-eared Owl hunting on the Bruce Peninsula, by Kiah Jasper

12/07/2024

Our first Snowy Owl of the season! It’s always a good day when you see a snowy, especially when it’s been over a year since your last one🙂

Saugeen Bruce Peninsula - 📸 Kiah Jasper