Northern Trip summary and photos (part 2 of 2)

Barb sent me a few of her photos so I thought I would post them. While we were snowshoeing in Pukaskwa we were surprised to see several Pine Grosbeaks hopping on the ground. Closer inspection revealed that they were foraging on a herbaceous plant which Mike IDed as Bush Honeysuckle - Diervilla lonicera. The snow was high enough that the birds could reach the seed pods. We wondered why they would waste their time on this food source when feeders with ample seed were just down the road. Perhaps they were obtaining different nutrients from this plant? Barb managed to get some shots of the birds' tracks in the snow while they foraged.

Pine Grosbeak tracks - Pukaskwa National Park

A photo of yours truly photographing grosbeaks in White River

The following morning was very windy, nixing any chances we had at the Three-toed Woodpeckers. After contemplating our options we left Marathon and headed north once again. We had received word from several people that a second Gray-crowned Rosy-finch was in the area. This one had shown up at a feeder in Rossport, and since it was on the way to the rosy-finch in Macdiarmid, we were hoping to get two rosy finches in one day. Had it ever been done before in Ontario? Our bad luck, which had started when we struck out on Three-toed Woodpeckers the day before, followed us throughout the day. Long story short, we missed both rosy-finches! Rossport was a really nice town to visit and it has that rarity-attracting vibe to it. I'll definitely visit again in the fall when I spend a few weeks along the north shore of Lake Superior. Despite reassurance from the Michon's in MacDiarmid that the rosy-finch was due to show up at the feeders any minute, the bird didn't cooperate. I did photograph this interesting redpoll that looked bigger and paler than the rest. I'm not very good with redpolls so if anyone has any thoughts as to the species/subspecies I would appreciate it. I was originally thinking it was one of the Hoaries but the red on the breast seems extensive and there is a bit of streaking on the undertail coverts. The bird was huge and the streaking on the sides is very fine...

Harold Michon convinced us to come back the next morning - "Coffee will be on at 8:30!" - so we made the long drive to Geraldton to look for a hotel for the night. We contemplated whether we would cut our losses and continue on, or if we would backtrack and try once again for the finch. The decision was made easy when I discovered that I had forgotten my phone back at the Michon's house!

We backtracked the following morning and showed up right on time in MacDiarmid. Almost immediately I saw the rosy-finch as it came to the feeder! Our luck had turned! After a bit of waiting it hopped up onto a branch next to the feeder and I was able to get a number of shots with my 300 mm. The below shot has not been cropped - goes to show how close the bird was!

Gray-crowned Rosy-finch - Macdiarmid, ON

On top of that, somebody stopping by to visit the Michons found my phone, undamaged, on the driveway! What a great start to the day.

We arrived in Longlac later that morning and were worried that we wouldn't see the Spotted Towhee since it had been more easily seen early in the morning. As we arrived, Fred Jennings informed us that he had seen it 15 minutes prior to our arrival. His wife, Penny, put on a pot of coffee and Barb and I stationed ourselves at various locations inside with clear views of the towhee's favorite haunts. Eventually Fred came bursting through the doors and said that Barb was watching the towhee at the feeder! I arrived, saw the bird, and even managed to get a few shots through the window. This was probably the high point of the trip.

Spotted Towhee - Longlac, ON

The Jennings made us a great lunch and another pot of coffee, then we were on our way. We didn't see much the rest of the day although we found our first Ruffed Grouse of the year. We spent some time searching for owls near Kapuskasing and Cochrane but came up empty again. Nevertheless it was a fantastic day as we were now 3 for 3 on rarities.

Day 5 was cold but calm as we spent the morning birding some of the side roads outside of Cochrane. I predicted we would get 4 or 5 species, but amazingly we came up with 8 (I could probably see more species in my small suburban yard in Guelph - goes to show how slow the boreal forest is in winter). Pine Grosbeaks were conspicuous once again.

Pine Grosbeak

We did come across a family of 4 Gray Jays which are always nice to see. Before that, our only sightings this trip was a heard-only bird in Pukaskwa and a single bird flying over the highway.

Gray Jay - near Cochrane, ON

The weather had started to turn so we drove south towards Ottawa. Somewhere along the way I got the "bright" idea that if we traveled through Algonquin, we would have 2 hours of light to try for Spruce Grouse and Boreal Chickadee. We arrived around 3:30 PM at the Spruce Bog boardwalk where snowy but relatively calm weather conditions awaited us. After a brief run-in with several members of the University of Guelph wildlife club we began our search. 2 hours later, the closest we had gotten to our grouse was some fresh tracks. I did see and hear a Boreal Chickadee and we watched a Pine Marten stealing suet from the feeder. I bet the woodpeckers were pissed.

Pine Marten - Spruce Bog Boardwalk (photo by Barb Charlton)

From here we made the long drive to Ottawa where we were staying with the Toews. They were very hospitable and it was great to have a place for the night.

The following morning Brendan and Kim Toews waited at the feeders with us for several hours but the Varied Thrush didn't show. Quite a few Blue Jays kept us entertained with their antics however. It is too bad that Blue Jays are so common as we tend to overlook this beautiful species.

Blue Jay - Limoges, ON

The Toews's took us on a tour of the concessions around Casselman and I added Lapland Longspur to the year list. We decided to not chase a hawk-owl which was farther east and instead try for the one near Perth that was along our route home. Bad move - we didn't see it. The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful bird wise and I rolled into Guelph around 11:30 PM. What a whirlwind trip!

Northern Trip summary and photos (part 1)

Late last night I finally arrived back in Guelph after the whirlwind trip to the north. There were many ups and downs on this trip....but we stayed (mostly) positive and saw a lot of good birds!

Like I said in the previous post, Barb and I arrived in Sault Ste. Marie on January 24 around noon, giving us all afternoon to bird the city. Our first stop was in the north-east section of town along Fish Hatchery Road to search for the Black-backed Woodpecker. This bird was almost too easy as we found a very visible female only about 10 meters off of the road.

The bird was pretty good at keeping most of its body hidden behind branches at all time, making photography a challenge.

Black-backed Woodpecker - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Extensive scaling was visible on most of the spruce trees in the area. Various Soo birders had seen a male bird at this location meaning that at least two birds are wintering here.

woodpecker scaling - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

While here we saw our first Pine Grosbeaks of the trip! They would prove to be one of the more common birds, being seen and heard at almost every stop we made on this trip.

Dave Bell guided us (via texting) throughout the afternoon. This day in the Soo was an early highlight of the trip as we saw just about everything that was around. A stroll around the Locks produced quite a few good birds (and mammals), including this Red Fox which apparently has become quite tame.

Red Fox - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

While we were checking out the fox we heard the distinctive calls of a White-throated Sparrow near a feeder. According to Dave this bird has been wintering in the area.

White-throated Sparrow - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

This bird feeder consisted of an open jar of peanut butter fastened to a tree - obviously the chickadees liked it!

Black-capped Chickadee - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

The highlight for me at the Locks was the flock of Bohemian Waxwings that flew over us several times. I counted all the specks in the frame (about half of the flock) and came up with 120-ish birds. So the flock was probably close to 250.

Bohemian Waxwings - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Barb and I found this very obliging owl. I'm sure its a new species for Ontario, if only we could identify it...

We also found a flock of redpolls containing at least 1 Hoary as well as a decent variety of waterfowl. That night we stayed at the Bell's place and feasted on a fantastic steak dinner they put on. Living the dream!

After the Soo, we had several of our targets already in the bag and so we left early to get to Marathon in decent time. Along the way we stopped in several towns to check the feeders. White River was particularly good and numbers of both Grosbeaks were around town. Evening was a year bird for both of us.

male Evening Grosbeak - White River, ON

female Evening Grosbeak - White River, ON

We spent a bit of time photographing the Pine Grosbeaks here - us southerners never got sick of them the whole trip (ok maybe a bit near the end).

female Pine Grosbeak - White River, ON

male Pine Grosbeak - White River, ON

We arrived in Marathon around 1:00 PM and immediately went to the feeder where the Harris's Sparrow was over-wintering. Michael Butler had checked in on it previously for us and reported that it was still present. As soon as we arrived, Barb went inside to chat with the homeowners, only to come back outside to see me taking photos of the bird. Nice bird and our first rarity of the trip in the bag! A few Cedar Waxwings were present which was also a year bird.

Harris's Sparrow - Marathon, ON

Later, Michael told us that we were really lucky to see the Harris's Sparrow - apparently it can be extremely difficult to locate during the middle of the day.

That afternoon after checking his feeders (tons of the usual finches including both redpolls), Michael gave us a bit of a tour for Three-toed Woodpeckers in Pukawska National Park. He has seemingly got it down to a science, but despite our best efforts we couldn't turn one up! The wind was a little strong and the birds are usually more easily found in the morning. However this snow-shoe clad hike was one of my trip highlights. It's not everyday that one can explore pristine spruce forest in the north, and it was fantastic to not hear other people or cars as we walked. The only year bird here was Gray Jay, though I was happy to spot a Northern Shrike at the top of one of the trees. This may explain why we did not find any Boreal Chickadees at this location.

Mike and I at Pukawska National Park

Mike and his wife Martha cooked us an amazing chili dinner that evening and good conversation, stories, and maybe a little gossip flowed over wine. Throughout our stay at their place they were gracious hosts and very welcoming. Barb and I felt at home here!

That evening we went out for another snow-shoe trek to search for owls. While we were unsuccessful in that regard, it was great to explore the winter wonderland with the stars in the night sky appearing a lot brighter than they do back home.

The following morning after enjoying a hearty breakfast consisting of fresh fruit, sausages, bacon, eggs and coffee, I took the time to take some photos of Mike's feeder birds. I couldn't catch the Hornemann's that were present the previous afternoon, but I did get a chance to photograph "Mr. Creamy", a leucistic redpoll. Any thoughts on the species?

leucistic redpoll - Marathon, ON

This bird we were debating whether it was a southern Hoary Redpoll or a Hornemann's. It did appear larger than the nearby redpolls and could very well be a female Hornemann's.

possible Hornemann's Hoary Redpoll - Marathon, ON

Update after 3 days in the north

Barb and I are currently in a motel in the quaint town of Geraldton, located northeast of Thunder Bay along highway 11. We have had a whirlwind 3 days and have another 3 crazy days ahead of us! I will post a full report when I get back, so this brief report will do for now.

On Tuesday we made good time, getting into the Soo around noon. Dave Bell was our virtual tour guide - telling us where to go via text messaging. He did a great job and helped guide us to a location where Black-backed Woodpeckers were seen. We got a nice female as well as tons of finches as a bonus!
Dave directed us to Bellevue Park and the Locks among other places. Among the highlights were a huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings (250+) and our first Hoary Redpoll. I didn't notice it until looking at photos later.

Black-backed Woodpecker - Sault Ste. Marie, ON

That night we stayed at his parents place, enjoying their hospitality, gourmet steak dinner, and wine. Off to Marathon in the morning!

We got to Marathon and immediately saw the Harris's Sparrow that was coming to a feeder. After meeting up with Michael Butler we got settled then headed out to search for Three-toed Woodpeckers - unsuccessfully I might add. On our evening snowshoe trek we unfortunately couldn't turn up any owls despite our best efforts. The wind picked up and by the morning it was too strong to find the woodpeckers so we decided that we would leave Marathon and head north. While we missed the woodpeckers, we did get a Gray Jay and great looks at a Northern Shrike. Best of all was enjoying Michael and Martha's hospitality and amazing cooking! I spent quite a bit of time studying Michael's redpoll flocks as all four subspecies were present.

redpolls - Marathon, ON

Day 3 was one to forget. Long story short, the entire day was devoted to chasing rosy-finches unsuccessfully. We did find our own "probable" Hornemann's Hoary Redpoll which was rewarding.

Tomorrow we are back-tracking an hour to the last rosy-finch. I forgot my phone at the house of the couple who has the rosy-finch coming to their feeder - perhaps it is a sign. Afterwards we are trying for the Spotted Towhee in Longlac. A Varied Thrush was seen yesterday nearby...could be interesting...

Pine Grosbeak - Marathon, ON