Hey Ontbirders. I spent a very lonely 3 days of birding Manitoulin Island.
It was quite nice being the ONLY birder there. Weather was unusually dry and
lacking in snow. Signs of an early spring were apparent.
Bird sightings were few but with several "first of the year" migrants.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE: the viewing blind at Gore Island Airport is NOT IN OPERATION
(thus one cannot gain access to view the lek there) this year and those
visiting Manitoulin Island this April will have to find their own Sharp-tailed
Grouse. This is not hard to do though! Finding another lek is however quite
difficult. I found one on Barrie Island but it was near impossible to approach
the birds without disturbing them. That being said, crawling on my hands and
knees (I kid you not) I was able to position myself behind three large rocks
and witnessed what was for me one of the more spectacular birding moments of my
life with 13 or more grouse dancing just 10-20 meters away.
Wildlife, etc. Sightings:
Three butterfly species were of note, especially the second species which would
be from a newly emerged larva already!!! (1 Compton's Tortoiseshell, 1 Pine
Elfin, 1 Comma; presumably Eastern).
Lakeside Daisy was ALMOST starting to bloom along the southern shore in Misery
Bay Nature Preserve. No other wildflowers were blooming yet.
At Misery Bay Nature Preserve there was a ton of Wolf scat along the Wolf Den
Trail as well as a set of Black Bear footprints.
Bird Sightings:
Sharp-tailed Grouse - seen daily with morning sightings usually of birds
feeding on spring buds high in trees within field habitats; also seen lekking
on Barrie Island on the morning of the 5th until almost 10 a.m. In the
afternoon grouse could be found feeding in the numerous fields (usually the
longer grass).
Eastern Bluebird - 2 on afternoon of 4th at west end of island
Eastern Phoebe - 2 (April 3rd and 4th)
Tree Swallows - afternoon of 4th BUT NOT before, and then common afterwards...
they had JUST arrived!
Chipping Sparrow - 1 in flock of Juncos along western end of main hwy on
afternoon of 4th
Turkey Vultures and American Kestrels - back in full force with kestrels being
especially common
Song Sparrow - only sparrow singing other than juncos
Hooded Merganser - 2 pairs
Green-winged Teal - 1 male at Misery Bay
Pied-billed Grebe - 1 in marsh along hwy at western end of island
Eastern Meadowlark - several singing and calling in fields
Snow Bunting - 2 flew up from hwy on drive to west end of island and 2 others
heard by flight calls over Sharp-tail lek on morning of 5th
Pileated Woodpecker - 4 or 5 at various locales
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1 ad. male on afternoon of 4th, west end of island
Other species present in larger numbers unless specified: Red-winged Blackbird,
Common Grackle, American Tree Sparrow, European Starling (large numbers of this
species most areas!), Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-capped Chickadee,
Blue Jay (only heard once!), Common Mergansers, Mallard, White-breasted
Nuthatch (1 at Misery Bay), Hairy Woodpecker (1 at Misery Bay), Northern
Flicker, Ruffed Grouse drumming, Rough-legged Hawk (4 dark-phase, 1 light
phase, 1 intermediate on evening of 3rd near Gore Bay), Northern Harrier (1 ad.
male, female and a juv. hunting a field together on afternoon of 3rd and
several others elsewhere), Bald Eagle (1 pair occupying an Osprey nest from
last year and many others of varying ages along lakeshore), Dble-crested
Cormorants, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Ring-necked Duck (especially
common in roadside marshes, ponds), Killdeer (2 only!), Wilson's Snipe (2
chasing each other in courtship on 4th a.m., one winnowing on 5th a.m. at lek
location), American Woodcock (1 at lek location on 5th a.m.), Great Blue Heron,
Sandhill Cranes (very numerous, getting very close up looks!), Golden-crowned
Kinglet, Brown Creeper, American Robin, Mourning Dove, Brown-headed Cowbird,
Canada Goose, American Widgeon, Rock Pigeon (2), American Crow, Common Raven.
Please note that I birded the area fairly extensively and that the above list
is COMPLETE, as no other species were seen that I haven't included. It's an
interesting time of year to visit but I would nevertheless wait another two
weeks in future years as it was obviously too early for most stuff. OFO
outings usually get a much greater abundance of waterfowl, shorebirds and
spring migrants around mid-April. There were almost no flooded fields at
present and VERY few waterfowl. An enjoyable holiday weekend though!
Cheers,
Andrew Keaveney
Thank you VERY MUCH to all of the help provided by Steve and Rita Hall. I hope
that you (and the Gore Bay Airport) will try to have the blind up for people in
years to come and we appreciate all your previous hard work!
Directions: This time of year Manitoulin Island can only be accessed by
heading south from Espanola, Ontario and gain access via Little Current. I
would suggest buying your supplies in Espanola but Little Current should have
most of your basic supplies and you can get gas in several areas around Gore
Bay (north-central island). According to Steve Hall there were several places
available for rent (or could be talked into renting) for someone wanting to
stay for a weekend or week or birding and there are some breathtaking views at
these sights too.
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