Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Saturday Morning Around Ipperwash

 I decided to head up to Ipperwash on Saturday morning for a change.  Things have been quiet lately, and it was somewhat quiet there too!  There have been some good rare birds in the province lately, but nothing to speak of in my area.  I have little subject matter for this blog lately it seems.

Ipperwash is always an interesting place, as you have the lake to look at, and the dunes and swales just inland.  There is quite a bit of Crown land one can explore, but lots of it is inaccessible.  As well, there is the old Ipperwash Provincial Park, which of course is not accessible to the public.  In my early years of birding it was still open, and I recall finding my "lifer" Bohemian Waxwings there.  It is a good area for winter finches needless to say.

I started Saturday with a lakewatch at Beach 1, at the "MNR Parking Lot".  It was not an active day on the lake, however one can only try.

After watching the lake for a while, I checked the parking lot area and trails.  At one point I heard a Pine Grosbeak, but was unable to see it.  A few Common Redpolls were flying over, but no crossbills on this day.  And, no waxwings or Evening Grosbeaks!

I then went down to Beach 4 and looked around.  It was quiet, and only bird of interest was a Dunlin flying towards Kettle Point.

It was then on to Beach 2, where I met up with Scott Connop and James Holdsworth and had a nice 'visit'.  Scott is the veteran birder of Lambton County, and much information to share.  Some raptors were moving including Bald Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks.  A lonely Double-crested Cormorant flew over at one point.

While there, Pine Grosbeaks were reported at the MNR parking lot by Marta Poludnik.

I then opted to head up to Ausable River Cut CA for a quick look, passing by beach 1.  I did have a couple of Evening Grosbeaks fly over, but otherwise it was rather quiet.

The most amusing thing was a swimming squirrel!


Not sure what this creature had in mind!

I decided to give the MNR parking lot one more try, and it was somewhat successful, as I found the reported Pine Grosbeaks (2) right away!  Lighting was horrible though, and these appeared to be females.




It was a nice treat, as I had never photographed this species before believe it or not.  Other times in the distant past, I have only observed them and did not have a camera on hand.



One of the berries they like to eat is Winterberry Holly, Ilex verticillatea.  There is an ample supply of this deciduous shrub in the swales around Ipperwash.


These shrubs area either female or male.

Pine Grosbeaks are found all across the boreal region of Canada, and subspecies are known.  The one we find here is Pinicola enucleator leucurus.

They are certainly hit and miss.  For example, today, a number were reported at Ipperwash for some lucky birders.

I found not a single waxwing on my visit to Ipperwash on Saturday!  Most Bohemians seemed to have moved through in search of food, but some of these nomadic birds can still be found if one is in the right spot.

These birds are moving south in big numbers related to food availability--they know something we do not!  There is not much food in our area, so these birds will keep moving.  It will likely be a quiet winter, and certainly Christmas Bird Counts will be somewhat quiet in our area.

It is interesting that I noticed a lack of birds at Algonquin Park during my visit in September (compared to previous visits).  I thought is was an indication that many birds had already moved out, and that birds would be motoring south in big numbers.

Redpolls have been reported in big numbers this fall, and it seems I find some each day with the little birding I get in locally!  I have yet to see a Hoary this year though, but perhaps this coming weekend I will make an effort.  Hopefully the weather will co-operate, as it certainly did not on Sunday.  We will have to see, as it was indeed worse than what was forecast. Sunday was not productive at all.


2 comments:

  1. I love Pine Grosbeaks! It's been very quiet here up north too, since all our Evening Grosbeaks, White-winged Crossbills and Pine Siskins have moved south! (By the way, I've never seen a swimming squirrel!)

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  2. Birds from the north were certainly on a mission this fall as they headed south!

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