June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes
June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District I awoke to the sounds of birdsong after a fitful night of sleep next to Hilda Lake. Many of the previous night's mosquitoes had found their way into my car, and my pre-sleep killing spree took out only 3/4 of them, leaving the rest to feast on me during the night. Oh, the things us naturalists put ourselves through. I birded some around the burn, hearing the Vesper Sparrow as well a Brown Thrasher. Over the next hour I drove along the rough logging roads back to Highway 560, stopping periodically to listen for birds and to look for butterflies. If it were not for the biting insects, the boreal forest in the early summer may be one of my favourite places. I did not find any truly rare bird species this morning, but the typical boreal birds are always worth paying attention to. And the solitude that one can find on a logging road, far away from any paved track, just cannot be beat.
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June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes
June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District The previous evening's mothing activities had kept me up late, and so I did not rise until after the sun. I wolfed down a hearty breakfast, consisting of a vegetarian omelette on toast along with a strong mug of coffee, all made with my one-burner stove. Feeling recharged, I grabbed my camera and headed out into the rock barrens. On Thursday, the latest rarity here in the Ontario birding scene became widely known. A Black-throated Gray Warbler in an urban park in the east end of Toronto! The Black-throated Gray Warbler is a wood-warbler of western oak and juniper woodlands, yet each year, a handful seem to be reported in eastern North America. I had seen two Black-throated Gray Warblers in Ontario previously, but it had been a few years and I was itching to study and photograph this one.
With my schedule free on Friday I dropped Laura off at work and then motored around the west end of Lake Ontario. My plan was to (hopefully) observe the warbler early in the morning and then fill out the rest of the day by exploring nearby Tommy Thompson Park. I have a love/hate relationship with Ottawa and its birding scene. Love, because the many excellent local birders seem to turn up more than their share of delectable rare birds. Hate, because the drive there is rather long, and most rarities seem to require an unsuccessful twitch first, followed later by a successful one.
The Ottawa Birding Area has a long and storied history. Many of Ontario's top naturalists and birders cut their teeth alongside the Ottawa River and throughout the surrounding area. As a result, a not-insignificant number of really rare bird species have been reported from eastern Ontario. Just in recent years the general area has been the location for a few provincial first records: Barnacle Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Little Egret, and recently, a bean-goose. The rare bird situation here in Ontario continues to boggle the mind. Yesterday evening, a birder named Janet Junker-Lafond posted photos of a bird that she could not identify. The location was alongside a public trail in Brooklin, Ontario and she had photographed the bird on Friday, November 13. I just about fell out of my chair when I first saw the photos, which clearly showed a Variegated Flycatcher. A Variegated Flycatcher!?!
The excitement and adrenaline rush of observing a rare bird species is hard to beat. The purest thrill is when this moment comes to pass organically. Imagine finding an extremely unusual species in your "local patch" when you least expect it, for instance. But these finds are few and far between. This is especially true with those mega-rare species: birds which have occurred only a few times (or never) in your respective country, state or province.
For many birders here in Ontario, one of their most revered bird lists is their Ontario Life List. This is the summation of every bird species that they have ever encountered within Ontario. Like many birders, my Ontario Life List is one of my most cherished lists, sitting a rung below my World Life List and my World Photographed Life List, sharing a rung with my Canada Life List but sitting a few rungs above any other bird list. June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes
June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District I had a late start to the day on June 17, not entirely unexpected given the shenanigans and mothing from the previous evening. Dave and I played one last game of bocce ball at Josh's place before we hit the road. I dropped off Dave at his apartment and hopped on to Highway 400, heading north into cottage country. It was mid-day when I arrived at my destination - a large area of open rock barrens, interspersed with bogs, fens, and stands of maple, ash and oak. This particular location is an area that I have visited often. Usually a couple of times each year, sometimes more. I unfortunately cannot say where the location is exactly because there are a number of sensitive species that reside there, including quite a few reptiles that are considered "Species at Risk". June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes
June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District The next morning I headed west towards Orillia where I met up with a good friend of mine, Dave Szmyr. We enjoyed a fine day of early summer birding along with a detour to Sawdust City Brewing Co. in Gravenhurst - always a worthy stop! I did not take any photos during the day though we did have a few nice finds. These included several "good" breeding birds for Muskoka District - Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Sedge Wren, Canada Warbler and Vesper Sparrow. A fine day, indeed. Dave and I spent the night with our friends Josh and Sarah who live along the south shore of Lake Simcoe. I set up my moth light and sheet; it was quite the hit with their six year old twin girls! Below are a few of the moths. It was a bit tricky capturing good photos amongst the pandemonium, but we had a blast. June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes
June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District Due to the ongoing global pandemic, life has been a little (or a lot) different for all of us in various ways. For me, it meant that between late March and August I was stuck in Cambridge, Ontario while I waited out the situation. Laura meanwhile had spent six weeks or so with her parents in Nova Scotia, but otherwise, she was with me in Cambridge. June is one of my favourite months for naturalizing despite the abundance of biting insects that one has to contend with. I usually spend the better part of the month completing breeding bird surveys and other inventories but this year was different, with my schedule a little more open than usual. I decided to put this free time to good use and visit a part of the province that I have not had the chance to properly explore. I mean, I had visited many areas between North Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Thunder Bay and Cochrane during the month of June before, but never with a free schedule and all the time in the world to look for whatever I wanted to. And so it was, that on June 15 I found myself driving into the Kawarthas to begin my trip. A few weeks ago I had a few days free to do a road trip. Originally, my plan had been to turn my car southwest and visit Point Pelee National Park and adjacent areas in search of birds and rare butterflies with perhaps some late-season mothing thrown in. However, in the days preceding my departure, I was also keeping an eye on a Rare Bird Situation that was happening in South Porcupine, near Timmins, Ontario. Back on September 18, local birder extraordinaire Roxane Filion discovered a Northern Wheatear in a park next to picturesque Porcupine Lake. Most Ontario records of Northern Wheatears consist of "one-day-wonders", though some individuals have stuck around for as long as a week. Regardless, I was not expecting this particular wheatear to remain in South Porcupine long enough until the time commenced for my road trip. But, I was wrong. Each day Roxane confirmed that the wheatear was still present and slowly becoming a local celebrity in South Porcupine. On Thursday morning (September 25), the day I was to leave on my road trip, Roxane messaged me that the wheatear was still present. And so my decision was made.
I motored through the GTA with hardly any traffic slowing me down. Driving north, the trees were vibrant with their reds, yellows and oranges contrasting beautifully with the blue sky. I refrained from making any birding stops along the way, since I wanted to arrive in South Porcupine with plenty of daylight left to search for the rare Arctic songbird. Once I passed North Bay the highway was largely devoid of traffic. I love northern Ontario in the autumn! |