Winter in Algonquin: Mind Blown
January 19th, 2017
On January 15th, I joined Jon Ruddy and ten others for a day-long birding trip in Algonquin Provincial Park. And I took a break from my break from photography for the day.
Algonquin, particularly the Highway 60 corridor in the south part of the park, is famous among birders for its boreal specialties. Despite being less than three hours drive from Ottawa, it hosts species more characteristic of northern Ontario: Boreal Chickadees, Spruce Grouse, Gray Jays, Black-Backed Woodpeckers, and of course, a healthy population of Moose. (One other way Algonquin is reminiscent of north Ontario--its healthy population of black flies! Jon is doing an early June outing to Algonquin as well, around when they'll be at their worst. I haven't yet decided whether I have the nerve to go.)
Though all of these birds nest in the park, they are often hard to find in the warm months--as I've sadly found for myself on my two autumn vacations there. There aren't really that many of them, they are spread over such a large area, and, like many birds, they are inclined to be secretive during nesting season. Winter is the best time to see them. That's when Gray Jays and others become interested in human handouts, and Spruce Grouse hang out in plain view in spruce trees.
As our paid guide, Jon had scouted the park a few days prior, taking note of the best birding spots. We hit them all.
Breathtaking. Awe-inspiring. There are not enough superlatives in the English language. And I'm not sure if I'm describing the trip as a whole (though it was definitely a great trip), or just the Evening Grosbeaks. I had no idea how beautiful they were. People had scattered seed on the boardwalk railings, as they often do at Stony Swamp here in Ottawa, but whereas in Stony Swamp it would be chickadees and nuthatches, at Spruce Bog Boardwalk, at least on that day, it was Evening Grosbeaks.
I was in awe. I just kept saying, "oh my god" and "I never knew"--to the point that I felt embarrassed, but I couldn't shut myself up. I had seen them before, a few times--but not like this. On a snowy winter morning in Algonquin, Evening Grosbeaks fluoresce.
1680x1050 wallpaper
And as if that wasn't enough of a festival of color, next a Blue Jay flew in!
1680x1050 wallpaper
...and proceeded to act like he owned the place.
In coming posts I'll go back to the beginning and share all the highlights of the outing, roughly in chronological order.
January 19th, 2017
On January 15th, I joined Jon Ruddy and ten others for a day-long birding trip in Algonquin Provincial Park. And I took a break from my break from photography for the day.
Algonquin, particularly the Highway 60 corridor in the south part of the park, is famous among birders for its boreal specialties. Despite being less than three hours drive from Ottawa, it hosts species more characteristic of northern Ontario: Boreal Chickadees, Spruce Grouse, Gray Jays, Black-Backed Woodpeckers, and of course, a healthy population of Moose. (One other way Algonquin is reminiscent of north Ontario--its healthy population of black flies! Jon is doing an early June outing to Algonquin as well, around when they'll be at their worst. I haven't yet decided whether I have the nerve to go.)
Though all of these birds nest in the park, they are often hard to find in the warm months--as I've sadly found for myself on my two autumn vacations there. There aren't really that many of them, they are spread over such a large area, and, like many birds, they are inclined to be secretive during nesting season. Winter is the best time to see them. That's when Gray Jays and others become interested in human handouts, and Spruce Grouse hang out in plain view in spruce trees.
As our paid guide, Jon had scouted the park a few days prior, taking note of the best birding spots. We hit them all.
Breathtaking. Awe-inspiring. There are not enough superlatives in the English language. And I'm not sure if I'm describing the trip as a whole (though it was definitely a great trip), or just the Evening Grosbeaks. I had no idea how beautiful they were. People had scattered seed on the boardwalk railings, as they often do at Stony Swamp here in Ottawa, but whereas in Stony Swamp it would be chickadees and nuthatches, at Spruce Bog Boardwalk, at least on that day, it was Evening Grosbeaks.
I was in awe. I just kept saying, "oh my god" and "I never knew"--to the point that I felt embarrassed, but I couldn't shut myself up. I had seen them before, a few times--but not like this. On a snowy winter morning in Algonquin, Evening Grosbeaks fluoresce.
1680x1050 wallpaper
And as if that wasn't enough of a festival of color, next a Blue Jay flew in!
1680x1050 wallpaper
...and proceeded to act like he owned the place.
In coming posts I'll go back to the beginning and share all the highlights of the outing, roughly in chronological order.
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dagibbs
January 19th, 2017 at 4:00 pm
The colours are awesome!
Mike
January 19th, 2017 at 9:28 pm
Striking; they look strangely hooded and eyeless though!
Glad you had such a successful venture!