Arrived at the north end of the Mizzy Lake Trail along the old rail line at
sunrise this morning. There was a light misty rain and a bit of fog with no
wind. The first good bird sighting and the best of the day was an AMERICAN
THREE-TOED WOODPECKER by Wolf Howl Pond. This was the only woodpecker seen in
the park. Also observed along the trail were 3 BOREAL CHICKADEES, 3 GRAY JAYS
and 1 NORTHERN SHRIKE. Throughout the park were numerous small flocks of
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and a few small flocks of PINE SISKINS. While driving
out along the rail line a large truck spooked an almost pure white snowshoe
hare off Arowhon Road which was speeding on a head-on crash course with my van.
Once it realized that we were going to collide, the hare slammed on the breaks
and ran as fast as it could in the opposite direction in the middle of the
road. Rather comical.
Spent a lot of time and effort at Spruce Bog Boardwalk to find SPRUCE
GROUSE and eventually found a male and female together on the ground on the
south side of highway 60. Another GRAY JAY was also seen here. By now the
rain was coming down pretty hard so I decided to head home to Kingston. On the
way back another GRAY JAY was seen flying across the highway just north of
Maynooth and another just south of Bancroft.
With lots of daylight left I decided to go to Amherst Island. In the Owl
Woods there were over 20 LONG-EARED OWLS all sitting together. Seeing all of
these owls silhouetted in the pines was almost a little eerie. An unexpected
find was a WILSON'S SNIPE which was flushed along the south edge of the Owl
Woods. The SNOWY OWL was still on the KFN property and on the way back to the
ferry 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS were spotted. 3 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, 4 NORTHERN
HARRIERS, 2 AMERICAN KESTRELS and a NORTHERN FLICKER were also on the island.
Good Birding
Bruce Ripley
613-384-6392
Algonquin Park is located on Hwy. 60, east of Huntsville. Hunstville can be
reached from Toronto by taking Highways 400 and 11, north.
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.
Km. 42.5 Spruce Bog Boardwalk
Kingston Area Ferry Schedules
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/ferry/index.html#Amherst
Directions To Amherst Island - Ontario Road Atlas, MapArt Publishing [Pg. 36,
E54 & E55]
Located 18 km. west of Kingston. Exit off Hwy. 401 at exit 593 (County Rd. 4,
Camden East) and drive south to the very end (Millhaven). Turn right on Hwy.
33 and drive 100 metres until you see the sign for the Amherst Island ferry.
The ferry (20 minute trip) leaves the mainland on the half hour and leaves the
island on the hour. Cost is $6.00 Canadian round trip. There are no gas
stations on the island. There are restrooms on the ferry, and at the island
ferry dock. The East End K.F.N. property is at the easternmost part of the
island on the east side of the Lower Forty Foot Road. To reach the Owl Woods,
turn left (east) at the four-way stop sign by the general store and drive 3.4
km along Front Rd. to the (seasonal) Marshall Forty-Foot Rd. Marshall
Forty-Foot Rd. is across the road from house #2320. Drive along Marshall Rd.
to the mid-way point, where there is an "S" in the road (1.2 km, look for the
K.F.N. kiosk which had owl observing ethics). Park in the gravel lane or off
the road edge.
