Ontario
Winter Birding Weekend
A report by Martin Selzer
Amherst Island, Algonquin Provincial Park, Bracebridge and Brantford March
2-4, 2001
With Bert Filemyr, Jane Henderson, Lynn Jackson, and Karl Lukens
Friday March
2nd
We left the Flourtown area at 5:55AM and headed up the Northeast Extension of
the PA Turnpike. We run into snow showers around Lansdale and don't loose them
until we stopped for lunch and gas in Watertown, NY. From that point on, we
had sunny skies and the temperature was between -5 and -2 C. We crossed into
Canada around 11:35am and headed into Kingston. We decided to check out the
Dupont Hot Ponds before catching the ferry to Amherst Island. As we turned onto
the road into the ponds, Bert tells everyone to "get out of the van". A white
Gyrfalcon was flying straight at us about 75 feet up in the air. We all got
to see this magnificent creature as it streamed towards the prison and an ample
supply of pigeons to feed on. The pigeons took to the air and the Gyr stooped
on them. Even across the field as far away as we were, the stoop was impressive.
We watched the Gyr take several passes at the pigeons before we lost it. Not
bad for having just spent 6+ hours in a car! It was hard to believe anything
would be as satisfying as this first bird of the trip but our weekend had gotten
off to a great start. We also saw the Great Horned Owl on its nest, Mallards
and Gadwalls on the ponds and an American Coot. We caught the 1:30pm ferry to
Amherst Island and made our first stop the Fire Station. We found the young
female Snowy Owl there and had a few Rough-legged Hawks out hunting in the fields.
We worked our way east towards Owl Woods and found 10 (?) more Roughies (both
dark and light morph birds) along the way. At the feeders in the woods, we caught
up with Kevin Karlson and Adrian and Jane Binns. They had a Saw-whet Owl in
a nearby Cedar tree. We then found another Saw-whet in a nest box and several
more in cedars on the island. Bert then found a Boreal Owl about 9 feet up in
a cedar on the edge where the Sassafras trees hit the cedars. We checked out
the pines for Long-eared owls and found 6-10 of them. The exact number was hard
to say as they flushed easily and only would perch for brief moments. We then
continued around the island and were constantly amazed at the number of Rough-legged
Hawks. We also had two more Snowy Owls and Kevin/Adrian/Jane told us we had
missed 3 more Snowies hunting in a field. They were about ¼ of a mile behind
us. We then caught the 5PM ferry off the Island and made for the Northern Hawk
Owl on Joyceville Road. We arrived just in time to see the owl come out of the
woods, perch on the power lines, chase a Kestrel away and catch a mouse. It
did allow us time to put the scope on it and all take good long looks. We checked
into the Peachtree Inn in Kingston and had dinner at Kelsey's with Kevin, Adrian
and Jane. They told us that they had 15 Short-eared Owls hunting at dusk while
we were watching the Hawk Owl. Not a bad winter's day of birding!
Saturday March
3rd
We met for breakfast at 7AM, checked out of the motel and went back to the Hot
Ponds for a quick look. We then started on our way to Algonquin Provincial Park.
We had a wonderful Northern Shrike perched in perfect light on the entrance
ramp to 401. Our original plan was to stop at Napanee for the Hawk Owl there
but we got a call from Adrian who told us they had been there and not seen the
bird. We therefore headed straight to the east gate of Algonquin. We arrived
in Whitney at 11 and began a very successful search for Evening Grosbeaks. We
then proceeded to the East Gate of the park, purchased a day use pass and began
to bird our way west. Almost immediately, we had small flocks of White-winged
Crossbills along the road. Mixed in with the crossbills were Pine Siskins, including
a flock of about 15 siskins. Around KM 48 while looking at crossbills and siskins
in the road, I spotted a female Pine Grosbeak in the birches. A nice male would
have been better but it was good enough for Karl to get another lifer. From
here we drove done Opeonogo Road. We drove in as far as we could and then walked
around in hopes of Boreal Chickadee. Some things work out better than other
things but it still was a gorgeous sunny day in a wonderful place. We then continued
on to the visitor center were we had lunch and checked out the feeders. Besides
a beautiful view and a few Red-breasted Nuthatches, there was not much happening.
We drove a short way further west, to the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail. At the
trailhead we found two very friendly but fussy Gray Jays. The jays were eager
to feed from our hands but very picky about what they took. Bert's birdseed
from Frank's wasn't good enough for them but Lynn's Fresh Fields organic peanuts
were perfect! We walked the trail and a short way in; I spotted a male Spruce
Grouse 20 yards back off the trail. We watched it for a bit and then moved even
closer. This bird really lived up to its trustingly dumb reputation. We then
went to the Mew Lake Campground in hopes of a Three-toed Woodpecker but had
to settle for a nice walk. The campground was actually busy with hikers, skiers
and other people taking advantage of the Yurts you can rent. From here we were
going to head to Huntsville and look for Bohemian Waxwings but we got another
call from Adrian. They had been photographing the Great Grey Owl (GGOW) at the
Muskoka Beach Sewage Treatment plant, so we went straight there. Adrian had
said the bird flew into the trees when last seen. We were able to see where
they had been shooting from based on their footprints in the snow and headed
off into the trees through knee deep snow. About twenty feet in, 15 feet up
and 20-30 yards from where we entered the trees was a Great Grey Owl sitting
with a white mouse (courtesy of Adrian) in its talons. We closed in, took pictures
and then walked away from one of the most sought after birds in North America.
Actually, we walked away and headed straight to another Great Grey at the intersection
of Butter and Egg and Falkenburg Roads. Right at the intersection, delicately
balanced on a birch limb was GGOW #2. We ran into a Canadian birder here who
told us of another just down the road and that he had five here the day before.
I put the scope on the bird at the corner and zoomed up to 50 power at which
point it filled the field of view. I then put the scope of GGOW #3 down at the
far end of the field. We then drove up the road to get the Northern Hawk Owl
and headed back to town to get gas. Since we still had some daylight, we headed
to Cedar Lane, knowing that up to four Great Greys were being seen along here.
We quickly found four more GGOWs bringing our day total to 7. I saw my first
GGOW in 1989 at Whitefish Point, MI. I had since seen them in Idaho in 1990
(a bird on a nest with two nestlings), Manitoba in 1995 and Washington 1997.
In about 2 hours and 15 minutes I had more than doubled the number of individual
GGOWs I had seen. The last bird was sitting on a fence post by the side of the
road not more than 10 feet from us. A man who was building a new house on the
road was feeding it. We talked to him a while and he told us stories of the
bird walking up to him in hopes of a handout. That cost him a roll of film.
Today, he hadn't gotten much done on the house between feeding the owl and a
visit by a Jehovah's Witness. Just a snap shot of life here in Bracebridge.
He told us that the best estimate was of 15 Great Greys in the Bracebridge area.
Two had been found dead due to starvation so he felt that at least one bird
would make it thanks to his handouts. There is a second GGOW on his property
but apparently this bird it too proud to take handouts. We again had a wonderful
day, sunny with temperatures ranging from -11 to -2 C with little wind. We checked
into the Travelodge and had dinner at the Old Station Inn.
Sunday March
4th
Because we had seen just about everything we had come to see and because there
was talk of a major, major snow storm hitting the Philadelphia area this evening,
we decide to leave early and head more or less straight home. We left at 5:15am
in a light snowfall and headed straight south to Toronto on Route 11. We made
good time and stopped around 6:30 at a Tim Horton's for breakfast. We decided
to make a small side trip to Brantford to look for Gray Partridge at the airport
there. Bert and Karl figured it would take about an hour and since we were making
good time, we decided to go for it. In the farm fields outside the airport,
we found a few Horned Larks. We pulled up to Gate 3, which is one of the places
the partridges have been reported but didn't find anything. Our next stop was
at the terminal building, The partridges were also reported under the picnic
tables here. We didn't see anything from the car but I noticed a few Starlings
around the corner of the building. I suggested that Bert get out and check around
the corner, "afterall it would be pretty silly to have come this far and miss
them because we didn't get out of the van." As soon as he got near the fence,
two Gray Partridges flushed and headed back towards the hangar area. Not exactly
crippling views but we all got to see the rusty tails and at least one was a
male with a dark belly patch and rusty cheek. We tried to see back into the
hangar area but couldn't really see from the fence. With this last success under
our belts we really headed for home leaving the airport around 8:45. We made
quick stops for gas and food but drove pretty much straight through. We hit
snow in Binghamton, NY and had it with us for the rest of the ride home. The
ride on the north end of the Northeast extension was pretty ugly with lots of
snow and yucky driving conditions. The snow finally lightened up below Allentown
and became snow mixed with rain. Got home around 5. The total trip was 1462
miles. The trip started with a white Gyrfalcon and while you would think it
would be hard to maintain that level of excellence, it did. The best part is,
Amherst Island is no further than Newburyport, MA so anytime there are owls
there, it is certainly do able.