Up and out very early, scrapping the frost of the car, we
headed back into the park just after first light, again heading for the Spruce
Board Walk.
Although no one was around, the bird life was as quiet as it
had been the previous day. The two Martin’s were in front searching for Spruce
Grouse. Suddenly, there one was, sat at eye level, in a tree next to the
boardwalk, no more than 3m from them. MJB quietly made his way back to collect
Rob and Phil whilst MB just stood and watched, almost to scared to move in case
he flushed it. As Phil and Rob joined the two Martins, the grouse flew down
onto the boardwalk where it stated to display for a couple of minutes before
flying back into the trees. As we approached the area were it flew into, it,
and a second, was seen briefly before they both disappeared further into the wood.
Boyed by this success, we crossed the open area and as we
were going back into the wooded area MB spotted a distant Grey Jay.
From there we crossed to the Visitor Centre for some breakfast.
Unlike the previous day, there were a number of raptors seen soaring from the
balcony. A pair of Broad-winged Hawks, several Red-tailed Hawks, a Northern
Harrier and a female Merlin that flew almost over our heads.
After our refuel we made our way to the Big Pines
trail. As we drove down to the trail MB
noticed a Ruffed Grouse by the road side. On stopping it flew up into the trees
but, fortunately, it could still be seen, before it slunk away. Further along, an
impromptu gathering of cars at the road side heralded the presence of a Moose. Pulling
in, we wandered over to see, what turned out to be a rather moth-eaten looking
Moose.
The Big Pine trail provided a very pleasant couple of hours.
The highlights being excellent views of a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
good views of Hermit Thrush and a confiding Grey Jay. From there we tried the
Opeongo trail again were a pair of American Bitterns were seen well, as well as
was a very confiding Grey Jay. It was
then time to head south towards the Carden Plains, but not before stopping to
admire a second Moose. This time it was an adult male, with its antlers just
starting to grow. Much bigger, and in much better condition, this was
altogether a more impressive beast than the female we’d seen earlier.
Arriving in the Carden Alvars area mid afternoon we drove
straight to Wylie Road were our first stop pulled in a distant Loggerhead Shrike,
and several Bobolinks whilst a couple of Wilson’s Snipes were flushed from a
boggy area. The next stop found an American Kestrel, before we stopped just up
from the marsh bridge.
We had been informed that a Golden-winged Warbler was around
the pull in area but we couldn’t locate it. Our only new bird was a Sedge Wren that sang
from the top of a clump of reeds. The highlight, however, was the Beaver that
swam under the bridge in the crystal clear water.
Rather than carry up along Wylie Road – the potholes were
deep and the clearance not that great – we turned round and headed for the
Prospect Road area. Even before we exited the car, we could hear the drumming
of Wilson’s Snipes. It took a while until we managed to locate one of the two
birds drumming overhead. A distant booming Bittern and a displaying Ruffed
Grouse (both heard only’s) were the highlight, though a sparrow that gave only
the briefest of views was thought to be most probably a Grasshopper Sparrow,
but not enough to clinch it.
It was then off to try to find accommodation for the night,
eventually finding a motel in Orillia.
No comments:
Post a Comment