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Ontario 2009 - Trip Report
by Connie Goldman

Day 1 – January 26, 2009:

Early on Monday, January 26th Connie Goldman drove from Churchville PA to meet Karl Lukens and Bert Filemyr at Bert’s home in Meadowbrook PA. Per the usual plan, Karl had come up the night before from Cape May NJ to stay at Bert’s in preparation for the trip. The three packed gear into Bert’s van and by 5:30am departed to Flourtown. Mike Rosengarten drove up from King of Prussia and parked his truck in the driveway of a friend there. He was loaded up within minutes and the four of us were off for our annual Ontario birding adventure.

We began birding as soon as it got light, sighting common birds on Route #81 as we drove toward Canada. By noon we were crossing the border, excited about birding prospects for the afternoon. Within minutes, a Bald Eagle flew over the car. A good omen for our trip for sure! We stopped at a local Tim Horton’s for a take-out lunch.

Our first official Canada stop was the DuPont hot ponds in Kingston. We picked out various species of ducks there. Though Mallard dominated, there were also Hooded Merganser, Black Duck, and Common Merganser. We birded a trailer park neighborhood very near the ferry station and spotted our first White-winged Crossbills of the trip in pine tops there. We spotted ducks including Common Goldeneye and Pintail in the icy waters as the 1:30pm ferry took us to Amherst Island.

Amherst Island did not disappoint us very much. Soon after beginning our auto tour along the roads there, we began sighting Rough-legged Hawks, and saw numerous individuals, both light and dark morph birds, some quite close to our vehicle and giving us fantastic looks at their wonderful field marks. A Northern Shrike was spotted on a wire. We found at least four different Snowy Owls, as they sat on fence posts and snags scanning the surrounding fields for prey. We were fortunate to find the road into Owl Woods clear enough to drive. We parked and walked the trail into the woods, and were greeted by the Black-capped Chickadee ambassadors for the area. They escorted us noisily to the birdfeeding area. We gladly held out hands filled with seed and enjoyed them coming to our palms for it. Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers and a White-breasted Nuthatch also visited the feeders. Another shrike sighting was had there as a bird flew through the woods and perched in a distant tree. Next we got to work on finding our target owls for the island. We walked deeper into the woods. A large (if there is such a size!) Saw-whet was our first discovery, although we only saw her puffed up breast, as her head was deeply tucked somewhere inside her feathers and she did not interrupt her nap to peer at us. Two more wakeful Saw-whet Owls would be found before we left the woods. Each time we found a small owl we checked ID, but had to rule out Boreal each time. We encountered numerous Long-earreds in the woods, some perched singly, others in small groups, and one area holding a dozen birds or more, eight of these in one tree. Checking each area of the woods and coming up without Boreal Owl, we finally had to make the decision to leave without spotting this species. We drove the open roads up and down a bit more as daylight faded. We were targeting Short-earreds now, but had to get to the 5pm ferry before sighting one. Though we had not seen all we had hoped, our afternoon on Amherst had been quite rewarding, with a great start made in our quest for the winter specialty birds of the area.

We went on to our hotel in Kingston and enjoyed a celebratory happy hour in our hotel rooms. Dinner at Kelsey’s topped off our day.

Day 2 - Tuesday January 27th:

We had breakfast in our hotel and left the next morning by 7:00am, heading north, our plan being to bird the Ottawa area. We had numerous target species for today and would start with a feeding station Varied Thrush near Watson’s Corner. As we approached the area thought to be the location of this vagrant, we came to a dip in the road. The vehicle’s GPS showed a road ahead of us, and the snow looked packed down. We went down. We got stuck. We were not where the thrush was! We had mistakenly driven onto snowmobile trail. We could not get out. Ah, the joys of winter birding! Bert went off to find help as the other three of us shuffled around in the snow and “guarded” the van. Luckily it was a beautiful sunny calm day, and we enjoyed a Raven flyover and later a Bald Eagle. To make a 2-hour story short, we were assisted magnificently by local resident Bruce, his auto, his ATV, a couple of trips into the village to find his neighbor and a bigger truck, chains, ropes, etc. Thanks to the gracious help of these Canadians we were again on our way, now in a more correct direction.

And at the reported feeder, the Varied Thrush appeared as reported, coming down out of a short row of cedar trees next to the house and feeding on the ground. Though it was on the other side of a back porch and we could not get out of our vehicle, per the homeowner’s request, we got some good looks at it under the porch. We saw the nice yellow coloring and wing pattern of a female Varied Thrush, a rewarding sighting for us eastern birders.

Next we would look for a Black-backed Woodpecker reported to be coming to a private property. As we approached the area, we encountered a man at a bank of mailboxes, looking with bins into trees across the road. It was the landowner, Mark Garbutt, watching White-winged Crossbills in the treetops. We introduced ourselves, and Mark escorted us to the dead pines that the Black-backed had visited just the previous afternoon. We waited awhile by the tree but no woodpecker showed. Mark took us to his home further down the road. There we saw Evening Grosbeaks, Redpolls and Red-breasted Nuthatch among his feeder birds. We took advantage of his offer for a bathroom break and coffee, and saw examples of some of his wonderful nature photography. We had now experienced the hospitality of numerous Canadians, and the day was still young! We thanked Mark and drove off to seek more Ontario birds. We checked the dead pine area again on our way out, but no woodpecker was there.

On Thomas Dolan Parkway, we scanned areas reported to have Great Grey Owls. Stopping at various spots to scan, but could not locate an owl. We decided to come back at dusk when the owls may be active, and headed to the Grandview Parkway area for a possible Hawk Owl. It was there! Spotted from our vehicle in a tree behind a house, right where it had reportedly been seen before. We parked around the corner and walked a trail on a greenway behind the house to get wonderful looks at this fierce looking owl perched up high and surveying the fields below him. That’s when we met Lena, a local birder also there looking for the owl. Bert pointed it out to her and we all enjoyed watching the bird. Lena then told us of a Boreal Owl that was nearby sitting all day in a roadside tree. Our eyes widened and our ears perked up! Bert immediately asked for directions, and Lena offered to take us to the spot. More wonderful Canadian hospitality! Soon afterward, we arrived at the spot on March Road. Present were other birders and the obliging Boreal Owl, practically within arm’s reach, perched quietly next to the busy road. A partially consumed small mammal, its tail hanging limp below the owl’s talons, could be seen beneath the owl’s body. We were amazed, happy and awed at this wonderful, obstruction-free view of a species that we rarely see, and knowing that we would be unlikely to see a Boreal Owl this well in a long time to come. We photographed our host bird here and enjoyed bird conversation with the other birders and photographers there. We thanked Lena for her much-appreciated friendship and hospitality and drove off to look for Great Greys. More locations had been given us at the March Rd stop, and we would zero in on them.

We took a small side trip to the Hilda Road feeders, last year’s spot for Hoary Redpoll. Though we saw many Black-capped Chickadees here and a flock of Common Redpolls came and went, we did not get the Hoary this time. We wanted to try again for Great Greys before dark, so we left the feeders.

Back on Thomas Dolan Parkway we scanned again. Mike spotted a large bird set back in the trees. It was a Great Grey! Though distant, we got scopes on it and could appreciate the huge facial disk, the “bowtie” and other field marks of this wonderful bird. A short distance away was Vance’s Side Road. Here another reported bird showed as if on schedule for us. This was a magnificent Great Grey in a tree beside a house. This one was close! It looked in our direction as we wondered at it, photographed it and watched as it flew back to look over the field for dinner possibilities.

We drove to our hotel in the Kanata area, happily amazed at how a day that had us stranded for 2 hours in the snow could have turned around so terrifically. We had erased our Boreal “miss” on Amherst and had had numerous rewarding bird sightings. And we had met some wonderful Ontario residents who had offered us help and friendship. We enjoyed happy hour in our hotel rooms and had dinner at a local restaurant to top off our day.

Day 3 – Wednesday January 28th:

Today would be our day to bird Algonquin Provincial Park. Though Ottawa had snow coming down, with more predicted, we thought we might be driving north of the storm, with prospects for safe travel and good birding. After breakfast in our hotel, we hit the road early, knowing we had some miles ahead to reach the park. But as we got closer, the snow did not leave us. Algonquin was within the area this snowstorm would hit. We arrived in Whitney, and drove side roads for feeder birds. We saw Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins in numbers, an occasional Dark-eyed Junco and many Blue Jays.

We drove into the East gate in snowy conditions and headed first for the visitor’s center. There we met with Rick Stronks who updated us on recent park sightings. We got looks at the feeders there, dominated by dozens of Blue Jays. But Pine Grosbeaks also visited, and a few Evening Grosbeaks perched in nearby trees. We marveled at the view from the back deck as snow covered the woods in white.

Backtracking a little, we next visited Opeongo Road, a traditional spot for Grey Jay and possible Boreal Chickadee. Though Black-capped came in to greet us, no Boreals were found in the parking area or along our walk down the trail. Grey Jays came close, and one or two were coaxed into our hands for seed.

We tried Spruce Bog Trail for Boreal Chickadees, but under fairly heavy snow the woods were quiet and birds seemed hunkered down to wait it out. We drove the Mew Lake Campground, few birds there, but marveling at the ruggedness of a few winter tent campers there! We walked the Summer Headquarters area but found this trail also very quiet in the snowy weather. Admitting defeat, we headed out the west gate and into Huntsville. We checked into our hotel, rested awhile, had happy hour in our hotel rooms and had a fun dinner at Three Guys and a Stove restaurant.

Day 4 – Thursday January 29th:

Today we would begin to work our way south. After breakfast in our hotel, we headed out at 7:30am toward Bracebridge. We checked feeders there and were alert for roaming flocks of waxwings reported in the area. Our feeder search produced Common Redpoll, House Finch, American Goldfinch and Pine Siskins and more Pine Grosbeaks. We drove a loop out to Butter & Egg Road and back, scanning open areas for owls, but finding none. Near Strongville Road, we drove the area of wide flat open fields. On the highway in, Bert sighted our first Snowy of the day, perched up on a communication pole. Our next snowy was a white blob on top of a white silo, spotted by Mike. As it hopped up to the center spot on top of the silo, it was unmistakably ID’s as a Snowy Owl. Bert found a third Snowy farther down the road, this one also one communication pole. As we spoke to a naturalist planning to band owls in the area, this bird flew low over the vehicle and along the roadside, pouncing on prey and then carrying it off into a field! We congratulated ourselves on witnessing this behavior, and marveled at the skill and precision of the bird in locating and catching its prey. We drove the road back and passed a farmhouse with a flock of starling-sized birds in a treetop. Mike identified them as Bohemian Waxwings! We stopped and got out scopes, getting quick but satisfactory looks before the flock all flushed up and flew off across the field into the distance.

Next we would drive to a traditional stop, a bed and breakfast operation between Barrie and Orillia. Though the operation was closed and the owner not then at home, we had again obtained permission to view the feeders there. Things were quiet on our arrival, but we noted evidence of lots of feeder activity, seed spilled under all the feeders on top of the recent snows. Sure enough, within a half hour, hoards of Common Redpolls showed. A few siskins fed among them, and Blue Jays came and flushed them away periodically. But on the flock’s return visits, we were able to get looks at a paler individual with a small bill and a white rump. A Hoary Redpoll!

LaSalle Park and Marina was our next stop. Finding no open water there, we took a quick look at the tagged Trumpeter Swans congregating on the docks and ice there with Canada Geese and Mallards, and went on.

The Hamilton Harbor lift bridge area was interesting for us. Though windy and wet, the inlet held open water, and we found numerous species of ducks there, including Long-tailed, Redhead, Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead and Red-breasted Merganser. Out in the harbor, Connie spotted a large very pale gull, splashing up water around itself as it bathed; a juvenile Glaucous Gull. Scanning the area, Karl found another bird, an adult Glaucous. Numerous other Glaucous Gulls were then seen floating on a small ice raft at the end of the harbor dock.

As daylight faded away, we left for our hotel in Niagara Falls. We enjoyed happy hour in our hotel rooms and dinner at the local Kelsey’s to celebrate our last night in Ontario.

Day 5 – Friday January 30th:

This would be our last morning of birding. We would check traditional spots in Niagara before heading across the borders and south toward home. We had breakfast in our hotel, and, giving the birds a bit of time to become active, headed out at 7:45am. We made a stop at the Sir Adam Beck Overlook. Though no Bonaparte’s Gulls were found, it did not take us long to locate Iceland Gulls among the large flock of Ring-billeds there. Both immature and adults of this species were identified. We went next to the Whirlpool, finding only Ring-billed Gulls there. At the Dufferin Island Natural Area, we observed the large flock of resident Mallards. Among the few feeding area birds were American Tree Sparrow and Northern Cardinal. The ponds held no open water for other ducks.

We birded the Falls and Control Gates areas, finding numerous ducks but no new species. We checked the Peters Road feeding stations and enjoyed the birds there but did not add new species there.

We birded our way along the Niagara River seeing the many Common Goldeneye and Scaup. As we proceeded toward the Peace Bridge, more and more Canvasbacks appeared on the river. Hundreds and hundreds of Canvasbacks were seen on the river. We found Tundra and Mute Swans. Adult Bald Eagles were sighted in two different spots perched in trees along the river.

Finally it was time to proceed across the bridge and back into the USA. We compiled our final trip list during the drive home. We stopped for pitstops and meals but made steady progress toward home and arrived in Flourtown around 6:30pm, dropping Mike off first. We went on the Bert’s house by 7:00pm, from where Karl and Connie departed for their respective homes. We all agree that this has been quite a memorable, fun and rewarding birding trip. We will surely travel and bird together again in the future.