Birded today with my nephew Justin to look for what we called the "fab four" specialty birds of Algonquin. We first arrived at the Spruce Bog Boardwalk at 7:00a.m. before the crowds gathered and easily found 6 SPRUCE GROUSE. Next stop was the north end of the Mizzy Lake Trail where we had 6+ BOREAL CHICKADEES and 1 male BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER. We enjoyed long and close looks at all three of these species. The one species that eluded us was the GRAY JAY, but it certainly wasn't from a lack of trying as we checked all the best locations. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were the most abundant bird species of the day. They were everywhere in good numbers. A moose was heard in the distance and 11 butterfly species were observed.
Good Birding Bruce Ripley Amherstview 613-384-6392 Km. 42.5 Spruce Bog Boardwalk Km. 15.4 Arowhon Road Take Arowhon road north off of Hwy 60 for about 5 km. Where the road branches in three (old rail line) at the large Arowhon Resort sign, take the right branch and drive about 100m along the old rail bed until you reach the chain across the road and park there. The rail bed can then be walked. After about 15 minutes it joins up with the upper part of the Mizzy Lake trail and passes by Wolf Howl Pond and West Rose Lake. Return on same route from West Rose Lake.
