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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 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.  Tufted Apple Bud Moth (Platynota idaeusalis) - Innisfil, Simcoe County
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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 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.  Luna Moth (Actias luna) - Balsam Lake, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario 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!  Autumn colour near North Bay Hi everyone, and welcome to the ONshore Birding Blog! I have been blogging since 2011, detailing my explorations in search of wildlife across Ontario and beyond. Writing has become a passion of mine as not only can I share my photos and stories for others, but it also provides a place for these stories to remain, as my memories from these events fade over time. Prior to starting this website all of my blogging was done at my personal blog, titled Explorations of an Ecologist (click for the link). For now, I am planning on keeping that blog active but I will use it primarily to document my travels outside of Canada. I am hoping to use this blog page for relevant content in Ontario. Cheers and good birding! -Josh  Northern Wheatear - South Porcupine, Cochrane District |
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