Monday January 24, 2005

The heavy snow of the day before was not a factor as Adrian and Connie arrived at Bert’s house at 5:15 am. Karl had driven up from Cape May the previous night. By 5:15, the rood carrier was loaded and we headed towards the Murphy’s house. The traditional Wawa stop provided a caffeine fix and we were at the Murphy’s at 5:45. A quick load up of our “stuff” and we were in the van and headed up the turnpike at 5:55 am.

The road north was clean and dry for most of the way to the border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge (NY). As we drove through the Poconos we had the lowest temperature of the day (-4F). The snow belt near Watertown NY generated the only sloppy roads we saw. We cleared Canadian Customs and Immigration with no problem and were eating lunch in a Tim Horton’s in Kingston at 12:30 pm. After a morning of travel the birding part of our adventure was about to begin.

The “hot ponds” at the Kingston Dupont Plant held hundreds of ducks. While most were Mallards, we pulled Common Merganser, Gadwall, Common Goldeneye, plus a single American Coot from the ponds. From here we headed to the ferry that crossed to Amherst Island. Our timing was working out as planned and we were on the 1:30 pm boat to the island. Arriving on the island, we were greeted by a snow showers that continued during much of our stay on the island. Our first area of interest was the fields of the east end. With the exception of a couple of flocks of snow buntings, we did not see much there so it was off to Owl Woods. With only a minor coating of snow the road in was a pleasure and by 2:30 pm, we were walking the trail towards the feeders.

It was great to see the flock of Black-capped Chickadees take feed from our hands but we needed to move on and find our target bird – Boreal Owl. While Long-eared Owls, Short-eared Owls, Snowy Owls and even a great Gray Owl were reported on Amherst, we were focusing on the Boreal Owl. The Owl Woods are a large area with many possible roost spots. As luck would have it, after checking only about 20 trees, we found our target bird sitting calmly on a branch of a cedar tree about 15 feet off the ground. Those among our group who are serious photographers had a field day.

A through check of the rest of Owl Woods gave us only a brief look at a short-eared Owl. As we walked back by the feeders, the chickadees were just as hungry as they were on the way in. The plan for the remaining daylight was to drive the island roads targeting Snowy and Short-eared Owls. On our first pass along the north shore Adrian spotted a Snowy Owl on a fence post. It blended in against the background and was a great spot by Adrian. Along the east side of the island, we picked up a Short-eared owl hunting over the fields. We did not have a great number of owl individuals but we certainly had quality.

We took the 6:00 ferry off the island and had checked it at the Comfort Inn by 7:00 pm. Our dinner spot was at Kelsey’s Restaurant at 7:45. A great day and a great start to this trip.

Tuesday

Packed up and on the road at 7:10 am. We headed directly to the Dupont hot ponds. It was a pretty sunrise but the lighting conditions made viewing a real challenge. After enjoying the view of silhouetted ducks, we piled back in the van and headed to Port Hope. Right after we got on highway 401 Adrian spotted Great Gray Owl along the roadside but we were unable to relocate it during a second pass along that stretch of highway.

Northern Hawk Owl was one of the trip targets and one had set up territory along a road near Port Hope. Stopping for coffee and a pit stop right by the area, the store clerk asked if we were there to see a owl. We quickly said yes and he said he sees it almost everyday on the way to work. We asked if he had seen it that morning and he said “no” – not a good sign. Leaving the store, we scoured the area with no luck. There was also a Harris’s sparrow seen nearby. We took a break from the Hawk Owl search and tried the sparrow. No luck there either. Therefore, it was back to the Hawk Owl territory to again not see the owl. While cruising the area we did see a flock of 800-900 Snow Buntings, an amazing site. By noon, we had had enough and we left the Port Hope area.

We moved up to a concentration of Great Gray Owls east of Peterborough in the Division Road area. Once we started looking for the owls we had the opportunity to meet a local resident and a member of the Ontario Provincial Police. It’s a long story for another time and includes a tire, a rearview mirror, a culvert, and various other things.

Our first view of a Great Gray Owl was a distant owl in a tree and we expected better views. Conventional wisdom was that the owls became more active after 3 pm and that held true. Right about 3 we saw an owl sitting in a tree within 30 yards of the road. Piling out of the van, we were “disappointed” to realize that it was “only” a Barred Owl. However, in the distance we spotted our second Great Gray of the area. We continued to drive the area and by 4:30 we had seen 9 Great Gray Owls. The last one put on a prolonged show of hunting in a field right beside the car. It was an amazing sight.

At 4:30 we reconnoitered and realized that we had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us to Huntsville and our lodging for the night. Leaving an area with owls along the roadside was tough but necessary. We checked in the Comfort Inn at 7:15 and dinner was at 8:00 at the Jesters Restaurant.

Wednesday

Our general plan for this day was to bird Algonquin Park. But the continued presence of a Northern Hawk Owl in the nearby town of Bracebridge caused us to head there at 6:45 am before we started into the park. As we followed the directions we realized that the Hawk Owl was hanging out at the edge of an industrial park. Pulling behind one of the buildings, we spotted the owl sitting at the top of a tree about ¼ mile away. We were able to get somewhat closer behind the Kia dealership but a scope was necessary. We had a nice chat with an employee of the dealership who pointed out the trees the owl frequented. By 8:00 we were headed back to Huntsville for a quick stop at a Tim Horton’s for coffee an to pick up lunch.

Our first stop in the park was at the West End Entrance facility. In previous years we had found a concentration of birds at the feeder there but budgets cuts eliminated seed for the feeder. So it was on to the usual Black-backed Woodpecker spot. For the first time in our trips, we could not come up with the woodpecker at that spot. About a mile down the road, we did have a nice flock of White-winged Crossbills and up a side road, we had a Ruffed Grouse walk across the trail in front of us. At Mew Lake Campground we fed the Gray Jays peanuts and at the campground hosts feeders we watched a Pine Martin. The chickadees there were very hungry and certainly glad for our handouts.

The Visitors Center is closed during winter weekdays but Adrian had made a contact and we were able to gain entrance to the deck. The feeders there had little besides Blue Jays and chickadees. We did learn that several groups had recently spent considerable time on the Spruce Bog Trail without finding any Spruce Grouse. We decided to forego checking that location and proceeded to the end of the Opeongo Trail. It took some work there but we did end up with excellent views of Boreal Chickadees.

By 2:30 pm, we had finished up in the Park and we decided to head back to Bracebridge to get better looks at the Hawk Owl and seek out a Great Gray reported nearby. As we got close to the industrial park we spotted the Hawk Owl in the top of a tree and decided to try to view from Beaumont Drive. This strategy paid off. Not only did we get views in good light but also we were treated to the owl flying over our heads and vocalizing. A major treat! Moving down the road, we found the local Great Gray right where it had been reported. After watching the owl for a period, we decided to call it a day. Just as we were leaving a local resident pulled up in a car and talked to us. She had trapped a mouse in her garage and was going to feed it to the owl. We all got in position, the mouse was released and in a flash the owl came of its perch, found the mouse and returned to it’s perch. All this within 15 feet of us. Amazing! A super end to the day. We were back at our motel by 5:55 and went to dinner at the local Kelsey’s at 6:45.

Thursday

We had lots of birding to do this day and still had to travel the 600 plus miles home. Leaving the motel at 7:00, we stopped by Bracebridge to see the Hawk Owl and the local Great Gray Owl. These were our “friends” from the evening before. On the drive from Huntsville to Bracebridge we had the coldest temperatures of the trip. The lowest temperature the exterior car thermometer showed was -31 F.

The first major stop we had for the day was a house in Big Cedar Estates east of Orillia. The homeowners had had a Varied Thrush coming to their feeders since January 9th. Extending hospitality that is common among birders but may seem unusual to others, the homeowners invited us into their house to stand watch for the thrush. After about 35 minutes wait, the bird appeared and gave us all a great show. By 10:20 am we had said our good-bys and we were back in the van. There was a concentration of Great Gray Owls on and near Muley Point Road east of Orillia. Driving through the area we quickly spotted 20 Great Gray Owls. Many were right by the road and provided tremendous photographic opportunities for our master photographers – Adrian and Naomi. While we could have spent all day there we still had other location to check on our way home. We headed southwest toward the town of Brantford and the local airport.

The Brantford airport is a reliable spot for Gray Partridges. In this case reliable means you might see the partridges on about 50 percent of your trips there. The last three reports we had pinpointed a particular field the partridges had been seen in. When we got there, Karl quickly spotted the partridges sitting in the snow. The good news was is that we could see them but the bad news was that we only could see their heads above the snow. Partial views are better than no views at all. We did cruise the local roads hoping to see a group walking about but could not find more. At 3:00, we decided to leave the area and head to our last stop, Niagara Falls.

Arriving at 4:30 we used the last hour of daylight to view the Niagara River from Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Sir Adam Beck Power Plant Overlook. Our stops rewarded us with Long-tailed Ducks, Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, Iceland Gulls and at least one Glaucous Gull. A great way to end our birding day.

We cleared the border back into the US at 5:30 and began the drive home. After an uneventful drive, we arrived at the Murphy’s at 12:55 pm and back at Bert’s at 1:15 am.

Total miles - 1773