Saturday Feb 14 ~ PA to Amherst Island and “Owl Woods”
Minutes after making the ferry crossing onto Amherst crossing we encountered a beautiful intermediate morph female Rough-legged Hawk perch on a telegraph pole. She soon flew giving us stunning looks at her striking underwing pattern. Next, a group of 3 Horned Larks circled the van before winging their way out across the field. Working our way around the eastern end of the island we came across a rarity for this winter, open water! A large raft of Common Goldeneye was sighted along with several pairs of Bufflehead and 2 Oldsquaw, oops I mean Long-tailed Duck, an appropriate name but just not of the same caliber as Oldsquaw.
A short distance further down the road, we came across a group of Snow Buntings flying from the frozen lake to a feeder besides the road. Getting out the van we got tremendous looks at about 30 birds on the driveway, on the feeder helping themselves to millet, something none of us had observed before, and others below the feeder picking up the spilt seed. We came across a caravan of 7 vehicles who were frantically searching for a Snowy Owl, without luck and heard from some of them that the trek into “Owl Woods” was too much of an adventure an from of them that did make it, that they were not seeing anything! Always optimistic, we continued on.
Glenn picked out a distance Snowy Owl which was very enthusiastically received by everyone, and even more so when we could actually find it! This was because it was an all white male, who blend in perfectly with the snow. It required lowering scopes and kneeling on the ground to get a dark background of trees to highlight the white body, yellow eyes and black beak. Simply gorgeous! This was the start that we all hoped for!
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 © J & A Binns |
 © J & A Binns |
It was now onto Owl Woods. Very recent snows followed by drifting snow across the fields meant there had been no vehicular access for a week and the only way in was by foot through the snow for some ¾’s of a mile. We did not drive 8 hours not to at least give it a crack, in spite of the note in the snow pile that read ”Birding hell this way”. Butch and Glenn trail blazed; the women followed; and with the exception of a couple of tumbles and well deserved breaks we all made it to the woods after a 40 minute trudge through 12-18” of snow!
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Black-capped Chickadees soon greeted us, and as soon as we distributed the black oil seed and peanuts, a whole flock 30 strong, came out of nowhere and where soon feeding out of everyone’s hands. Hairy and Downy Woodpecker’s along with White-breasted Nuthatches came of observe the goings on. Checking every cedar and spruce tree and completing a circular circuit through the woods we could not locate a single owl! The walk back was disappointing and felt even longer – I’m sure it was, as everyone was absolutely knackered by the time they got to the van. Barb, who took the easy way out, upon hearing that others had not had any luck earlier in the day, caught some much needed sleep in between monitoring other birders using the side of the van as a bathroom!
A brief stop at the Dupont Hot Ponds in Kingston to “beef up” the waterfowl list, produced numerous Mallards and Black Duck along with single Shoveler, Pintail and Coot. Heading north towards Algonquin, several stops to check out residential feeders along the way were disappointing with the exception of 11 Snow Buntings seen flying to a distance tree and lighting up the top of the tree.Entering Algonquin Provincial Park from the eastern entrance, our first stop was at the end of Opeongo Road, where we were greeted by a band of 3 adorable Gray Jays, which were happy to guard the seed we had left on the ground until we moved a little further away before coming to the ground to feed. |
 Gray Jay |
A Red-breasted Nuthatch and several Black-capped Chickadees’ were also delighted to see us. As we neared the Visitor’s Center a car was stopped in the road, and a young couple were watching a pair of Pine Grosbeaks perched in a birch tree. With great excitement, we watched them and then heard Common Redpolls which landed across the street, giving us 2 new birds for the trip in quick succession. More redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks along with a couple of Red Squirrels were at the entrance to the visitor’s center, and as many as 5 dozen redpolls and 10 Pine Grosbeaks were at the feeders below the deck at the back of the center. Blue Jays were joined by several Gray Jays and Hairy Woodpeckers and a Downy were at the suet giving us a great deal of activity to observe.
Our target here was to locate a Hoary Redpoll amongst the dozens of Common’s. Easier said than done, though we did have a larger and lighter bird, it was certainly not a classic looking Hoary. Was it a hybrid? After lunch it was onto the Spruce Bog Trail, and a short walk through the Black Spruce woods, with a very confiding Black-capped Chickadee joining us for the whole way eagerly awaiting free hand-outs, as we searched each and every tree for a Spruce Grouse. Finally, thanks to Glenn’s persistence and gallant efforts trudging through the snow, he located a female feeding on the buds near the top of a tree. We all got to see that this was a darker and shorter tailed than a Ruffed Grouse, which we all had good looks at for comparison only a short while later on Arowhon Road.
At the end of the road, a gentleman told us he had just had a dozen Boreal Chickadees, and it was not long before we settled for killer looks on a single bird that showed very well, perching at the top of a spruce tree on both sides of the road. While unsuccessfully trying to locate a Black-backed Woodpecker at a reliable spot, we meet a couple who told us about a Boreal Owl being heard after dark a short distance away. Despite an attempt along the highway in the described area, we did not hear a thing on this bitterly cold day. Heading to our hotel, the west end of the park is known as a good area to sight Gray Wolves, either first thing in the morning or at dusk. This was the perfect time and it was a bitter-sweat reward, as one was spotted in the snow besides the road. Once everyone had been able to see it, we noticed she was have great difficulty walking as her front left leg appeared to be broken at the joint. Unable to do anything we left her as she slowly made her way into the woods.
Winding our way through snow covered side roads south of Bracebridge, we searched a neighbourhood’s feeders for Evening Grosbeak’s. After seeing a pair flying away we visited a yard that had been reporting them for most of the winter. Exiting the van grosbeaks were calling from a stand of spruce trees and redpolls were flying back and forth between the feeders and the tops of various trees. Soon the grosbeaks descended and we got to see their bright colours as they lit up the bare branches. It was now back to the park, to work our way from west to east. The first stop was at km 8, for an appointment with a Black-backed Woodpecker. Luckily we were not late, because he put on an amazing show as he drummed and chipped away at two holes on a telegraph pole, one of which was only 12 feet off the ground, while we formed a semi-circle around him. Chips were flying and his yellow forehead shone brightly every time he stopped to look at us watching him admire his handy work. After 20 minutes he got bored and flew across the street and we all left very satisfied. A final stop at the visitors’ center which was closed meant that we had to negotiate the snow drifts and boulders to get to view the feeders.
About 50 redpolls, half a dozen Pine Grosbeaks, a Blue Jay, 2 Gray Jays and 1 red nut were regular visitors, but the bird we were looking for, the Hoary Redpoll failed to show. Despite our disappointment, Algonquin is still one of the most beautiful places to bird during winter in the northern hemisphere. Before leaving Canada, we picked up a distant perched Northern Shrike, and several people got to see a Porcupine. At the border crossing we had a good natured guard, whose questions I misunderstood and incorrect answers gave everyone something to giggle about. Dennis then panicked when the guard asked us to open the side door, and forgot how to open the door, so the guard showed him how it was done! Just another story that we will be able to recount on a future trip.
- American Black Duck .... 20 plus at the Dupont Hot Ponds
- Mallard .... Common at the hot ponds
- Northern Shoveler .... 1 female at the hot ponds
- Northern Pintail .... 1 female at the hot ponds
- Lesser Scaup .... At least 1 seen in a pond besides Rte 81 in New York
- Long-tailed Duck .... 2 on the south shore of Amherst Island
- Bufflehead .... 4 on the south shore of Amherst Island
- Common Goldeneye .... About 100 on the south shore of Amherst Island
- Common Merganser .... Half a dozen seen while crossing the bridge between Canada & US
- Red-tailed Hawk .... 6 in New York, several in the Kingston area as well as on Amherst
- Rough-legged Hawk .... 2 on Amherst, both intermediate morph females and 1 north of Rte 401
- Ruffed Grouse .... 1 male on Arowhon Road, 8 going to roost along Rte 60 and 1 besides the road, all in Algonquin
- Spruce Grouse .... 1 female eating on spruce needles in the Spruce Bog Trail
- Wild Turkey .... 5 along Rte 81 in New York
- American Coot .... 1 at the Dupont Hot Ponds
- Ring-billed Gull .... About half a dozen in various places in New York and near Kingston
- Herring Gull .... 1 on the south shore of Amherst Island
- Great Black-backed Gull .... 1 on the south shore of Amherst Island
- Rock Pigeon .... Seen daily in small flocks
- Mourning Dove .... Small numbers seen daily
- Snowy Owl .... 1 male on Amherst Island
- Downy Woodpecker .... Up to 2 daily
- Hairy Woodpecker .... Up to 4 a day
- Black-backed Woodpecker .... A male working a hole on a telegraph pole in Algonquin
- Northern Shrike 1 just north of Ivanhoe on Rte 62
- Gray Jay .... Several groups of very inquisitive birds in Algonquin
- Blue Jay .... Small numbers seen daily
- American Crow .... Seen daily in small numbers
- Common Raven .... Up to 10 each day in Algonquin
- Horned Lark .... 3 near the firehouse on Amherst Island
- Black-capped Chickadee .... 30 plus very tame birds, feeding out of our hands on Amherst Island and very common in Algonquin
- Boreal Chickadee .... 2 at the end of Arowhon Road, including one very cooperative bird
- Red-breasted Nuthatch .... Small numbers in Algonquin
- White-breasted Nuthatch .... 2 on Amherst Island and 1 in Algonquin
- European Starling .... Seen daily in small numbers in towns
- American Tree Sparrow .... 2 on Amherst Island
- Dark-eyed Junco .... 1 on Amherst Island
- Snow Bunting .... Several flocks seen daily including 60 plus south of Bracebridge
- Pine Grosbeak .... Very common this year in Algonquin, including at least 9 at one time
- White-winged Crossbill .... A group of about 6 on the Spruce Bog Trail in Algonquin
- Common Redpoll .... This is the year for them! All over the feeders in Algonquin
- House Sparrow .... Heard in Kingston!
BIRDS :
- Red Squirrel .... Up to 6 in Algonquin
- White-tailed Deer .... 1 on Amherst Island
- Red Fox .... 2 on Amherst Island
- Gray Wolf .... 1 in Algonquin, sadly with a broken foot
- Snowshoe Hare .... 1 on the Spruce Bog Trail in Algonquin (G. Seeholzer)
- Porcupine .... 1 east of Kingston (C. Goldman & B. Lishman)