Trip Report
by Jane Henderson

Day 1: Monday, February 5, 2007: Low temperature: -3F. High temperature: 11F.

Bert picked me up at 6:00 AM. Karl, Connie and Bill were already in the van. Bert stowed my roll-aboard in the “clamshell” on the roof, I climbed into the back seat, and we were off to pick up Ann at a car park in Quakertown.

We headed north on the PA turnpike into New York on Route 81. All was fine until we ran into serious “lake effect snow” and a nearly total white-out. Bert managed to keep the van going at 20 mph for several miles, following the tail lights of the van ahead of us. They were closing the road in the other direction due to the number of accidents, and it seemed it would be only a matter of time before they would close the road north. Lots of cars and trucks were stuck in the ditch on both sides. We were very lucky to be able to keep going. There are not many alternatives to the Interstate, and most of them would likely have been worse.

Because of the delay caused by this situation, we skipped lunch (and ate the first of many snacks provided by Connie and Ann) and headed straight for the 1:30 PM ferry to Amherst Island. The lake was completely iced up, and the ferry had to cut its way through.
Before heading into Owl Woods we drove around the island a few times. We saw quite a number of Rough-legged Hawks, including one gorgeous dark morph. There aren’t many birds more beautiful than this one. Ann spotted a Northern Shrike, which turned out to be the only one for the trip.

When it was finally time to go to Owl Woods, we had to hike ¾ of a mile into the woods against a heavy wind because the road had not been plowed, and we were afraid that the van would get stuck in the snow. It was a strenuous uphill walk, and, in spite of the cold, we were all sweating by the time we got to the woods. And we had worried about having cold hands and feet! We saw a Saw-whet Owl in a cedar tree right away, and then got great looks at 5-6 Long-eared Owls. We were certain that there were more long-ears (we had been told that there were at least 20) but we were satisfied with the ones we saw and let the rest roost peacefully without being harassed.

The walk back to the van was much easier with the wind at our backs, and drove around the island some more. We had wonderful looks at a Snowy Owl, and everyone got pictures. As we drove back to the ferry, Karl spotted a Short-eared Owl hunting the fields. That made four owl species – not bad for a mediocre owl year.

We caught the 6:00 PM ferry back to Kingston. We checked into the motel and had dinner at Kelsey’s (after the traditional happy hour and checklists.)

Day 2: Tuesday, February 6, 2007: Low temperature: 5F. High temperature: 15F.

We started the day in Kingston, and saw lots of ducks at the DuPont hot ponds. The light was bad (although the sunrise was beautiful) but we were able to identify several species – many Mallards and Gadwall.

We checked the area around the Power Plant and found a number of Common Goldeneye. No Barrow’s, though.

Next stop: the Napanee Dump. There was not much active dumping while we were there, so there weren’t a great many gulls, but we did get good looks at Iceland and Glaucous Gulls among the Herring Gulls.

On the way to Whitney we birded along 62N and 60N with a stop, the first of many, at a Tim Horton’s for lunch on the way. Their soup and sandwich combos can’t be beat. We checked bird feeders in the town of Whitney, and found a nice flock of Pine Siskins.
Then we were finally on our way to Algonquin Provincial Park, We birded Opeongo Road, the Visitor’s Center (where they were very helpful, again, and where there were 30 or more Evening Grosbeaks as well as a number of Tree Sparrows at the feeders), Spruce Bog Trail and Mew Lake Campground.

We had dinner at 3 Guys and a Stove. It’s a very good restaurant. It was -3F when we left the restaurant. We spent the night in Huntsville.

Day 3: Wednesday, February 7, 2007: Low temperature: -22F. High temperature: 16F.

We were out of the motel and heading for the park at 7:00 AM. In and out of the park all day,we looked for the birds we had missed yesterday. Wins: Ruffed Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker. Losses: Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse and Three-toed Woodpecker (none of which we ever saw this time). It seems that no one else is seeing these birds this year. It was a long day with lots of walking.

There was one burst of excitement: In the mid-morning, the van refused to start on Opeongo Road. Fortunately: (1) The sun was shining, so we didn’t feel too cold while we figured out what to do, (2) When Bert called the Park Office to find out where we could go to get help, they told us of a place we could call in Whitney, and (3) A guy came right over and jump started the van. We followed him to the shop where he installed a new battery.
Many local cars and trucks have block heaters. It was 15F by the time we came back to the hotel in Huntsville.

Day 4: Thursday, February 8, 2007. Low temperature: 3F. High temperature: 25F.

We hit a lot of places on our way out of Algonquin Park: Bracebridge, Meadow Heights Drive feeders; a local bed and breakfast, Barrie feeders; Brantford Airport for partridges; LaSalle Marina, Hamilton; Lake Ontario shoreline – Entrance to Hamilton Harbor, Van Wagner’s Beach, “Ginger’s Feeder” and then, after heading south, Niagara-on-the Lake and Sir Adam Beck Power Plant.

We met at 7:00 AM, as usual, and drove on snowed up roads in Bracebridge to check out feeders. We saw primarily American Goldfinches. Our next stop was at a bed and breakfast, where we had had redpolls and siskins last year. The proprietors of the inn had allowed us access. This seems to be typical of Ontario hospitality. The bed and breakfast is decorated with many, many stuffed Siberian Huskies. Again, we saw mostly goldfinches (no siskins, no redpolls this year). A very nice Hairy Woodpecker entertained us at one of the feeders.

Next we drove to Brantford Airport to look for Gray Partridges, where, other years, we’ve either seen a few or else dipped out. This time we saw 13 in a field along the road. We cautiously got out of the van to get a better look, and to take some pictures, and, as if on cue, they all dug themselves in under the snow and disappeared. It was amazing. A good example of “Now you see ‘em, now you don’t.”

At the La Salle Marina in Hamilton we checked out the swans. It was mostly frozen over, so there wasn’t much bird activity there. We did see several Trumpeter Swans and one Mute Swan, but no tundras this time. Most of the ducks there were Mallards.

After talking with a photographer at the Marina and listening to his suggestions, we drove along the south side of Lake Ontario. At the entrance to Hamilton Harbor we endured 20F temperatures and a biting wind and saw lots of ducks including several Redheads and rafts of Long-tailed Ducks. Successive beach stops did not produce a whole lot more.

Our last stop before heading for Niagara was at the “Ginger’s Feeder” which memorializes a “late” Labrador named Ginger. There was not much there except for a few House Sparrows, but it’s a tradition to stop there.

Nearly everything was frozen over at Niagara too. That afternoon we stopped at Niagara-On-The-Lake and Sir Adam Beck. There was nothing much around so late in the day, so we headed for the Hampton Inn.

We had dinner at Kelsey’s, and were waited on by a waitress who didn’t write anything down. Very impressive, except that she got my order wrong. I had ordered braised chicken over garlic mashed potatoes, and got chicken and penne instead (which was what Karl ordered.) It seemed that they were out of garlic mashed potatoes. (This was reminiscent of our experience at Black’s Beach Café in Santa Cruz, which was out of horseradish mashed potatoes the night we were there with Kaaren and Steve. Hard to imagine how this can happen.) Anyway, I got a free dinner. All I had to pay for was a glass of wine.

Day 5: Friday, February 9, 2007: Low temperature: 16F. High temperature: 22F.

We got to “sleep in” till 8:00 AM. We went back to Sir Adam Beck and found what we originally thought was a Glaucous Gull. But when we began to compare its size with the Herring Gulls, we realized that it had to be an Iceland Gull. There was also a Bonaparte’s Gull among the herrings. At this time of year most of the gulls are gone.

Along Niagara Parkway we found a group of three Wild Turkeys feeding on crabapples in a tree. They got duly photographed. A raft of Canvasbacks in the open water near the river banks was the highlight of the morning. There must have been over 1000. It was pretty spectacular.

On the way south we stopped at the Batavia Waste Water Plant, which was mostly iced up. We also checked out areas in and around Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We did not see much there this time.

And then it was time to begin the drive home. We ran into some dicey weather around Syracuse. It was not nearly as bad as the weather going north, but the road was pretty bad. We subsisted on snacks (there were still some left!) until we got to McDonald’s at the Lehigh Interchange of the PA Turnpike.

I was safely back at home at 7:00 PM. It was a great trip.