'Burg Birder: Bruce Peninsula Weekend

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Bruce Peninsula Weekend

middle bluff, Cabot Head

This past weekend was a planned trip to Bruce County. The highlight was to visit the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory (BPBO) at Cabot Head. They had an Open House on Saturday. The weather was fabulous for Saturday (but Friday and Sunday the weather was terrible!). So much for looking at butterflies on those two days!

Anyway, I had previously spent a "working weekend" at Cabot Head in August 2002 getting things ready for the bird banding crew. Hard to believe that was six years ago already. One of the projects was to build a wood shelter which I oversaw the construction. We used cedar posts and driftwood. The only thing new was the roof! Good thing I knew how to lay shingles.

August 2002 (above), September 2008 (below)

This place has beautiful scenery and is located on the Cabot Head peninsula on Georgian Bay in an Ontario Parks Nature Reserve. Wingfield Basin is right out the front door and is a natural deep water, sheltered harbour that is rather well known.

The BPBO can boast that they have a shipwreck. It is of the wooden tug Gargantua originally built in 1919 in Marine City, Michigan. On December 6, 1952 while under tow, she took shelter from a storm in Wingfield Basin, but eventually sank.

Gargantua shipwreck

The BPBP has two stone cottages there. One being the Grebe Lodge which they rent out. On my first visit, it was in a state of disrepair. It is now restored.

We toured around the grounds during this open house. Ted Cheskey, President of BPBO gave an informative talk about the place. (Ted is shown under the wood shelter, back row, second from left in 2002).

After I left Cabot Head, I headed up to Dorcas Bay and Singing Sands beach. This has always been one of my favourite spots and I have been there many times to look at birds and butterflies. I remember back in July 1996, Steve Charbonneau and I saw a Great Gray Owl here. Massasauga Rattlesnakes are here, and I have seen them a couple of times.

Dorcas Bay

It is a good place for butterflies at times, and I have seen Dorcas Copper here (appropriately!). This time I found a few Atlantis Fritillaries and a Leonardus Skipper around the fen.

I camped the two nights at MacGregor Point Provincial Park, another one of my favourite places. Since the weather was poor, I did not see many butterflies. I did see some decent flocks of warblers though. I tallied a total of 18 species, and most of these were in a single flock at one point.

I also looked at some wildflowers (what else to do on a cool, damp, windy day?).