www.thefilemyrs.com > Birding > Ontario 2004 > Trip List

Trip Report

Monday January 26, 2004
Frank Windfelder arrived at my house at 6:30 am. Karl Lukens was already there having arrived the night before. The forecast of up to six inches of snow did not materialize. There was about 2 inches on the ground when we packed up and moved out. We stopped at Wawa for coffee and then drove to Bill Murphy’s house. Colin Campbell arrived at the same time we did. By 7:00 am we were all packed up and on the road. After an uneventful trip north we were at the Millhaven ferry dock by 1:50 pm. We checked out some local feeders and then caught the 2:30 ferry to Amherst Island.

Amherst Island was snow covered and the wind was fairly strong. Driving around the island we spotted the first of three Snowy Owls. Several Rough-legged Hawks were out hunting. Owl Woods was accessible by car and we parked at the entrance. We bundled up against the single digit temperature and headed into Owl Woods. The tame Black-capped Chickadees greeted us and we gave them seed handouts. Exploring the pines we were lucky to find a sitting Long-eared Owl. Checking many, many small trees near the pines we found a wonderful Saw-whet Owl perched right above eye level. It should be noted that we had a wonderful GPS and small radios safely stored in the vans right when we could have really, really used them.
After Owl woods we drove the island roads unsuccessfully looking for Short-eared Owls. All we could figure is that the wind was keeping them down. We caught the 6 pm ferry off the island.

Night at the Peachtree Inn and dinner at Kelsey’s (Kingston).

Tuesday January 27, 2004
By 7:20 am we had breakfast and had the van loaded. The temperature was 4 degrees F. The local forecast called for heavy snow in the Toronto area but it had not started in Kingston. We drove to the Dupont hot ponds and scanned for ducks as the temperature dropped to 0 degrees F. This was to be the lowest temperature of the trip. There was nothing special at these ponds and we drove along the Lake Ontario shoreline. By now the promised snow storm had started. Heading inland we picked up Route 62 and started for Algonquin Park. Two feeder stops yielded our first Common Redpolls of the trip. By the time we got to Whitney the snow was heavy and the roads were snow covered. Along the way we spotted a Ruffed Grouse in a tree eating buds. The feeders in Whitney were quiet. We stopped at the Algonquin Park Office and purchased our use permit for two days.

At the Visitors Center we had a couple of flyover Purple Finches as we got out of the car. The feeder at the front of the center was quite active with Pine Grosbeaks and redpolls. Pulling at the door we were shocked to discover the center was closed weekdays. We had always been there on weekends and had never given it a thought. It appeared that we would not be able to view the feeder station in the back. Leaving the center we drove up Opeongo Road to the end of winter access. Numerous Black-capped Chickadees and a Red-breasted Nuthatch were there but none of our target species could be found. We then drove to the Spruce Bog trail and gave it a shot for Spruce Grouse. Not only did we not have Spruce Grouse the expected Gray Jays were not around. At this point we were not a group of happy birders. The Visitors Center was locked and many of the expected species were not around.

We drove back to the Visitors Center to work the front feeder and see what we could do about getting around the building in the deep snow to see the back feeders. As luck would have it we saw a person at a service entrance and we talked with him. It turned out he was a park naturalist and he provided us with access to the back feeders. Things were looking up! Calling upon our birding skills and vivid imaginations we scanned the dozens of Common Redpolls looking for the reported Hoary Redpoll. After about 20 minutes we found and identified the Hoary Redpoll.

After another quick check of Opeongo Road and it was time to work our way through the park. The snow continued to fall but the park roads were well plowed. At the East Entrance there was considerable construction going on. The feeder has been moved and things were pretty quiet. It was getting dark and it was time to move on to Huntsville where we arrived at 6:00 pm

Night at the Comfort Inn and dinner at Three Guys and a Stove (Huntsville)

Wednesday January 28, 2004
By 7:15 we were fed, packed up, and out the door. The snow was continuing to come down but it was a light snow and it would be no problem for the entire day. Our first stop was at the East Entrance. Construction continued and several trucks were idling. It was not a good birding location. Moving down the road a little bit, we were able to pick out a calling Pileated Woodpecker. Loading up we headed for the reliable Black-backed Woodpecker spot. After a couple of minutes a male came in and we were treated to long, leisurely study looks at this spectacular bird. The next stop was down the road to listen for crossbills. We had not seen any overhead and we realized that there was no cone crop in the top of the trees. This was the first of many unsuccessful attempts to locate crossbills. A side trip up the Arowhon Road was our next adventure. This road is being used by logging tucks and we drove very cautiously. At the parking area we walked back on a trail to listen for Boreal Chickadees. While walking, a Ruffed Grouse jumped out of the snow right near us. It left a mark in the snow showing the wing pattern.

A stop at the Mew Lake Campground gave us our first gray jays of the trip. There were three of them among the Blue Jays and they fed out of our hands. We enjoyed them for a considerable period of time before we left for the East Entrance area. On the way we got a brief look at a flock of White–winged Crossbills. This was to be our only encounter with them for the entire trip. The front feeders were active and we were lucky enough to gain access to the back feeders again. We cannot over emphasize how nice and accommodating the park staff were. While at the back feeders, Colin picked out a sitting Northern Shrike. As soon as he called it, the bird took off but several of us got a brief look at it. A scan of the woods off the deck yielded another Black-backed Woodpecker. We had to move on and we went to check the Spruce Bog area. This time the jays were there but the again no Spruce Grouse. The naturalist the day before had said that none had been reported this year.

A quick lunch in Whitney and we headed back west through the park. We made a couple of stops but we did not add any species to our list. We drove back through Huntsville and headed south. We stopped at the Bracebridge Country Club and saw where a Hawk-owl had been seen earlier in the season.

East of Gravenhurst we visited the house of a very accommodating local birder. He has Evening Grosbeaks visiting his feeders in the morning but it was now the late afternoon. We chatted with him and enjoyed his hard full of redpolls, chickadees and other feeder birds.

The drive to Midland was through significant accumulating snow and we were glad to get there at 6:00 pm

Night at the Best Western and dinner at Kelsey’s (Midland).

Thursday January 29, 2004
A classic day.

Our first stop was the Wye Marsh Nature Center for study views of Trumpeter Swans. But, overnight the forecast one inch of snow ended up being about 14 inches of snow. Since the center did not open until 9 am we had a leisurely breakfast and spent some time digging the car out. At 9 am we were at the entrance of the center and were thrilled to find the driveway and parking area fully plowed. In the entrance building we put on snow shoes and headed out into the marsh. This was the first time any of us had been on snow shoes and some of us did better than others. The swans were there and we were able to study them at length. They present a real identification challenge out in the field.

We were out of Midland by 10 am and expected to quickly head out of this lake effect snow that had socked in Midland. It took us about two hours to reach dry clear roadways. Our destination was the Brantford Airport area and Gray Partridges. We checked in the airport office and were told that they were being seen in the area so we knew that we had a real chance at tracking them down. There were none at the main airport area so we headed to a reported location around to the back of the airport. We did not see any in our first look. Checking with a local home owner who was out shoveling his driveway we found out that a bunch of them had walked across his yard the day before. We knew they were in the area and this group of crack birders would be no match for the camouflage abilities of the partridges. Careful scanning of the snow covered fields soon was rewarded the sight of six partridges. We had a chance at long, lingering looks from our van at close range. Great views of great birds.

Since we only spent 45 minutes locating these birds we pulled out some information we had and sped off to the location of a recently discovered Tufted Duck on the Welland Canal. The directions were right on and we soon located the drake Tufted Duck and were provided with the bonus of a drake Redhead. While some birders might have called it a day we pressed on. Moving to the mouth of the Niagara River we found an overlook that provided us a view of waterfowl and gulls in wonderful late day light. Within 10 minutes we spotted several Iceland Gulls, a Glaucous Gull and as an end of the day bonus – an adult Thayer’s Gull! Wow!

A quick stop at the Sir Adam Beck Overlook confirmed that the best time for gull watching there is early December, not late January. As dark descended we piled into the van and headed home. Around 1 am we were back in Flourtown. Five tired but very happy birders!