Sunday, September 21, 2014

Georgian Bay Getaway Part Three

Tuesday afternoon while hiking the trails at Grundy Lake, I came across quite a few dragonflies. There were lots of darners, but without a net, they were difficult to ID.  The odd one landed for a photo, but most just kept cruising!  There were probably Canada Darners for the most part, but many remained unidentified.
Some photos:


This one stood out as a browner one, but I never got a good look at it to ID.





Then there were lots of ruby and white-faced meadowhawks.



Wednesday morning was quite calm.  It had been rather windy for the trip until then.  While packing things up at the campsite, a couple of birds flew over, sounding very much like Evening Grosbeaks!
I decided to walk Swan Lake Trail again, where I found lots of passerines.


There were several Blue-headed Vireos, where I had not seen many previously on the trip.

I came across a couple of Ruffed Grouse.  Surprisingly, I had only heard one so far on the trip.


After that, I headed south on highway 69.  North of Parry Sound is Pointe au Baril.  I stopped briefly to look in the marina as this is where the Lyman boat I restored several years ago is kept.  Unfortunately it was not present--most likely still over at the island.

Continuing south, I thought of checking out Parry Island, but did not.  The railway that used to go through Algonquin Park, built by J. R. Booth, had its terminus at Depot Harbour on the island.  The bridge is now used for car traffic to the island.  I have passed under this bridge several times in a canoe!  The railway through Algonquin and its terminus at Depot Harbour is a very interesting piece of history.

I just kept driving as nothing south of here interested me, so I ended up at Pinery Provincial Park later in the day.
I found lots of birds along Cedar Trail late in the afternoon.



At sunset, I checked out the beach.  Several Sanderlings were working the surfline.  One individual had only a single leg!



Lake levels are much higher this year and the Pinery beach is very narrow. There is even some erosion as well, as the waves have been cutting into the dunes.



There are no Barred Owls at Pinery, so the night was rather quiet.

Evening along the Ausable River


Next morning, the wind was blowing out of the north, so I first checked the lake.  There was some activity, and I managed to pick out a Sabine's Gull (!).  A few Horned Grebes were on the lake as well a loon or two.

I found this scene a good photographic opportunity.

Sanderling with an itch


I walked a couple of trails, including Riverside.  This is one of the better birding trails in Pinery for a variety species.  There were hardly any warblers, but I did see a Mourning (it was morning!).
A family of Pileated Woodpeckers (4 in total) was making some noise.



I also noticed an Olive-sided Flycatcher sitting atop a snag.  This trail is quite reliable for seeing Olive-sided in migration, though especially in May.

I walked Cedar Trail again, which turned out to be rather productive.

Northern Parula

Pinery probably has the highest population of Tufted Titmice in Ontario.  They are found all over the park!


I was happy with this short getaway.  One can never spend enough time up that way!


Sunset at Pinery


1 comment:

  1. I haven't been up to Georgian Bay since I was a teenager. I told my boyfriend about your trip and he said we'll definitely be heading that way for a trip.
    Great pics of beautiful scenery!

    ReplyDelete