Sunday I pointed my car in the direction of Penetanguishene. Awenda Provincial Park, established in 1975, is always one of my favourite stops.
The weather was pleasant on Sunday, so walking the trails was enjoyable. However, I found there were fewer birds compared to previous visits.
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| Hermit Thrush |
There was a stiff wind coming off the lake, so there was not much in the way of birds along the shoreline.
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| Giant's Tomb Island, Awenda P.P. |
Around supper time, a Barred Owl starting calling. It was earlier than usual, but I always see/hear them at this park.
At dusk, several birds were moving through the woods, such as thrushes and sparrows.
Monday was another pleasant day as I headed north towards Parry Sound. After a short rest stop in Bobby Orr's hometown, I headed north to Killbear Provincial Park. It is sort of "out-of-the-way", but I have been here several times before.
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| View from Lookout Trail |
Although it was a nice clear day, the wind was till blowing stiffly from the west. Birding was rather slow again, but the scenery is always nice.
My campsite was near the shoreline, so I could not hear anything during the night due to the wind. Just at sunset, the predicted clouds moved in for rain overnight and the next day.
There was a brief reprieve in the rain/drizzle the next morning that allowed me to walk Two Peaks Trail before I headed north on highway 400/69.
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| Scene along Two Peaks Trail (Monday) |
It was drizzle all the way to the historic French River where I wanted to walk the trail to Recollet Falls. I walked the trail anyway as most of the drizzle held off. There were lots of birds along the trail to observe, at least.
My next stop was Grundy Lake Provincial Park, just a bit south of the French River. The weather was drizzly all day, but stopped enough to allow me to walk the trails and look for birds.
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| Gut Lake |
By late afternoon it was raining and it poured all night for one of the most miserable nights I have ever spent in a tent! I did have a tarp, but it was so damp with condensation, everything was wet by morning. I could not hear a thing due to the rain pounding on the tent.
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| Rock Scene showing glacial action, along Gut Lake Trail |
By dawn Wednesday, the wind had switched, rain stopped and it was cooler much to my relief. I was going to stay here two nights and spend part of a day up at Killarney, but due to the weather I got of out
I decided to head back towards home, but spend the next night at Pinery Provincial Park. It was actually quite enjoyable (especially after the previous night). The weather was again nice and lots of birds were around.
Upon arrival, I went to the lake for a watch. The wind was pretty good, and there was some activity over the lake. Things were distant, but I did spot a couple of jaegers.
After an hour, I walked a trail or two and found lots of warblers.
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| Bay-breasted Warbler |
It was very windy overnight....again! I could not hear a thing with the roar of the waves on the shoreline and the wind through the trees.
It was quite cool the next morning, but the wind was shifting. I did watch the lake for an hour before hitting the trails.
The night was clear and it was obvious many birds had left overnight since I did not see that many.
On the way home, I stopped by Forest Lagoons, which had a good number of shorebirds. Highlight was a Willet, which I did not see at first, until it took a brief flight.
During the trip I saw other things such as wildflowers and insects. This time of year the asters are out and there are many kinds which I can only guess at identifying.
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| Large-leaved Aster at Awenda |
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| Swamp Aster at Killbear |
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| Tri-colored (?) Bumble Bee at Killbear |
Despite the Tuesday weather (which was bad all over--Wallaceburg came close to a tornado!), it was a decent trip for getting away.
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