Old Post: Rainy River Trip

For lack of material this week, here is a post from about a year ago.  Something to read on this frigid day!

One of the best birding trips in Ontario from my distant past, was an epic adventure to Rainy River in western Ontario in July of 1996.  The plan was hatched between myself and one of my best birding friends, Steve Charbonneau.  It was a trip where everything went right; there was good weather, good birds and some unexpected pleasant surprises.  I did not have a decent camera at the time so photos are less than ideal (these scanned from slides).

July 1:  We left Wallaceburg in the wee hours of July 1 sometime after 3 a.m.  The plan was to drive straight through to Rainy River via Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and crossing into Ontario at Baudette, Minnesota.  All told, it was about an 18 hour drive plus lunch, gas and washroom breaks.  A minor glitch was encountered just after we entered Michigan at Port Huron when we inadvertently got on I-94 heading to Utica (lol!).  After finally realizing the direction was not right, we were soon on track to Flint, Michigan and I-75 north.

Crossing the Mackinac Bridge

 Weather was good on the trip north, except for a brief rain shower just after getting into Minnesota.  At Superior, I took note of the idle laker John Sherwin and before that, the museum ship Meteor.

Before arriving in Rainy River, Steve made contact with Roger Simms, a good birding friend who used to live in Sarnia.  He was currently a bank manager in Fort Frances, Ontario.  We planned to meet him the next day to do some serious birding.

Our accommodations for the trip were at the well-known Oak Grove Camp along Rainy River—a popular spot for birders to stay at the time.  There was still much daylight when we arrived at our cabin.  Soon, there was a knock at the door and John Lamey made his presence known.  We did not know he was there!  After some discussion, we agreed to keep in touch through the next few days.

July 2:  We hit the roads in search of birds early the first morning.

For those not familiar with the Rainy River district, there are some key spots to visit, while the rest of the birding consists of driving the various roads looking for whatever may be around.  It is a unique area where west meets east and north meets south, so you can get quite a variety of birds.  There are specialties including Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, Marbled Godwit, Sharp-tailed Grouse etc.

I took detailed notes during the trip, with my notepad always on hand.  In our travels, we encountered many Le Conte’s Sparrows, Clay-colored Sparrows, Black-billed Magpies, Western Meadowlarks, etc.

Sharp-tailed Grouse were around including the ones we found at the end of Atwood Road #2 that day.

One of the key spots to look was Windy Point on Lake of the Woods. We noted several hundred American White Pelicans, and Franklin’s Gulls.  I was impressed by the number of Franklin’s Gulls which can vary at that time of year.  We saw hundreds!

Flurry of Franklin's

We stopped by the cabin sometime around mid-day and found a note from John Lamey on our door.  In big letters it said BAIRD’S SPARROW and the location.  Huh? Really? 

We figured we might as well check it out, but it took us some time before we got there.

Meantime, early afternoon, we met up with Roger Simms at the Rainy River waterfront.

  Early on we found a Western Kingbird on Jensson Road, perched on a fence wire.

We eventually arrived at the Baird’s Sparrow location and….. by golly…… there it was singing away in the pasture!!

Over the next few days, we always stopped by this location to see the bird.  The song is permanently etched in my mind if I ever come across one again!  During these days, we met up with many intrepid birders from southern Ontario including Jerry Guild and Don Perks who looked quite beat from the long drive!  All made the trip to list this first and only record for Ontario.

Anyway, other birds that day included Olive-sided on Road #600, Yellow-headed Blackbird near Windy Point and some others.

A good spot at sunset was along Wilson Creek Road where it is quite open.  Here we listened to Yellow Rails ticking the marsh roadside, Long-eared Owls carrying food to young, as well as Great-Horned Owls hooting in the distance.

July 3:  We got good views of the Baird’s Sparrow at roadside.  Marbled Godwits were on territory on Worthington Road near Byrnes Road.

We ventured farther east and north of Pinewood on Road #619 we encountered Lincoln’s Sparrows, Sharp-tailed Grouse, various warblers, several White-winged Crossbills and even a Great Gray Owl atop a spruce.

Great Gray silhouette

In the afternoon we rented a boat from the lodge near Windy Point. John Lamey came along to share expenses, and we checked out the Piping Plover at Windy Point.  Around this time, it was the only place in Ontario that this plover nested.

In the evening we noted 6 Gray Jays and some Boreal Chickadees along Government Road.  While looking at these, a Black Bear made its presence known.

White Pelicans

We again went to Wilson Creek Road and listened to Yellow Rails.  A Northern Goshawk flying with food also went by.  On the way back to camp, we heard a couple of Eastern Whip-poor-wills.

Sunset 

July 4:  We again went farther east checking Road 619 north of Pinewood.  We found some White-winged Crossbills dead on the road, as well as a Hermit Thrush and Long-eared Owl. 

Crossbills on the Road

Even farther east, we stopped by Emo Sewage Lagoons where there was a previously-found nesting Eared Grebe.  It was the first known nesting record for Ontario!  This was a nice addition to our trip.

Another of the daily stops was Rainy River Sewage Lagoons where one can find various ducks.

There were several passes at the Baird’s Sparrow spot.  This day we met Al MacTavish and John Keenleyside among others.

July 5:  This was our day of departure so we left early.  Of course, one last look at the Baird’s Sparrow was in order.

It was a long day as our destination was somewhere north of Sault Ste. Marie.  We stopped a various locations along the way and several spots revealed White-winged Crossbills.







Lunch was at Thunder Bay, and we briefly stopped at the Terry Fox lookout.

One longer stop was at Obatanga Provincial Park, a nice park to walk a trail and look for birds.

By late evening we were in Lake Superior Provincial Park.  At one point, Steve hit the brakes hard as he noticed something in the distance.  After I picked up the pieces so-to-speak, we were looking at a lynx in the distance!

By 22:30h it was time to find a motel.  We found a fleabag motel north of the Soo and hit the sack after a quick beer.

July 6:  Early this morning we checked the Soo Locks area.  We eventually made it to Manitoulin Island and checked out some trails there, including Cup and Saucer Trail.  We stayed in South Baymouth overnight in order to get the Chi-Cheemaun early the next morning.

July 7:  After crossing to Tobermory, I mentioned to Steve that we should check out a favourite spot of mine at Dorcas Bay and Singing Sands.  Here we walked a trail, and early on, right beside us was a Great Gray Owl!  This was July 7 in southern Ontario, so who would have thought?  As luck would have it, we left cameras in the car, so we ran back to get them.  By the time we got back to the sighting location, the owl had moved back in.

We continued on, and took another trail (which no longer exists) into a more rocky and open area.  Here we encountered a Massasauga Rattlesnake!  We were alerted to its presence by the characteristic rattle.

Our trip was coming to an end here, and what a way to end it.

This trip will always be well-remembered for the special things encountered.  It was earlier in my birding days, and I recorded ten lifers on this trip.

Two years later, we made another trip to Rainy River along with Peter Chapman, which was interesting in itself.

Lure of the Owl

The Great Gray Owl near Kingsville has certainly drawn a huge crowd.  How many have gone to see it?  Probably over 2000!  Hard to say, but big crowds seem to appear every day.
While listening to CKLW news at noon today, another segment about it was on the air.  The MNR and OPP were concerned as there have been complaints of people not being mindful of safety and also not giving the owl space.  You should stay up to 40m from it!
I thought that it was funny as this fearless owl practically land at your feet!  While most people would not deliberately approach the owl, this creature will approach humans.
It is true that some people are all over the road and are not mindful of traffic, so safety is a concern.  I have seen this before and some people just do not use common sense.  Human nature for some I guess.
Maybe it is time for this owl to move on.......and some people should move on once they get a good look.  Get your look and go.
I am afraid it would not be me reporting an owl like this on the listserv.  It creates too much of a circus--many rarities do anymore. (my opinion).

Owls are very intriguing to people.  There is just something about them.  Local owl prowls attract dozens of people of all types.  It is incredible really, as I heard one local prowl attracted over a 100 people!

I think owls were the first bird I ever remember as a youngster.  When I was very young, I recall my parents pointing out owls sitting on the fence posts in the backyard.  Obviously they were Screech Owls.  I was probably only four years old, but the sight is etched in my mind!
We have always had Screech Owls within Wallaceburg, and even now you may get a glimpse of one.  Just this evening, I heard one in the yard giving its tremolo sound!  Strangely, this is the first one I have heard in the neighbourhood since last winter.  They are getting scarcer as the larger and older trees are disappearing and more lights are up.  I think there are too many lights as practically every pole has a street light.  Also, some neighbours seem to be afraid of the dark as they have to have their outdoor lights on all night.  Seems to serve no purpose except contribute to light pollution and waste energy!

parent owl keeping watch

Years in the past, a family group would show up in the yard in April.  Been a while since I have seen that happen.  They are amusing to watch.  One time I watched the parents catch earthworms and feed them to the youngsters at dusk.

 The Youngsters

It is a good owl year for at least Snowy Owls as you know.  Actually it is huge invasion year as many areas have reported multiple individuals.  It is certainly the best winter I have had for them.
Addendum:  Spotted a Snowy Owl today January 11 just west of Wallaceburg on my way home from work.

Maybe this weekend I should go out and look for some owls.....

Day of the Owls

Well, Christmas came a day early.  There may be very few passerines around, but owls have arrived en masse.
With the announcement late yesterday of a Great Gray Owl near Kingsville in Essex County, a birder could not pass this one up.
I headed down this morning arriving about 08:45 (just could not get up too early!).  Actually I was about to turn onto McCain Rd. to look in the last reported location of the owl, but I saw a number of vehicles ahead on Rd. 2.  Undoubtedly this was where the subject owl was perched.

Upon arrival I saw several familiar faces, and the face of a Great Gray Owl.  It was some distance into the meadow, but patience paid off and it came right to the road.  As is often the case with these denizens of the north, they are somewhat fearless of humans.














Barb Charlton was there because she actually need this one for her big year list!  I forgot to ask her what she was at but I think it is around 321.

After looking at this for a while, I headed down McCain Rd. where a Snowy Owl was seen, then to the Pelee Onion Fields.  Two Snowy Owls so far!

Near Hillman Marsh was the first of four Bald Eagles I saw today.

On the way to Erieau, I sighted a Northern Mockingbird on a wire near Port Alma.

Northern Mockingbird

At Erieau, I found three Snowy Owls on the rocks.  I think there were five on Sunday.  All heavily-barred individuals.  A Double-crested Cormorant was still hanging around on the rocks.
Snowy Owl blobs:

I walked the R/R track trail and not surprisingly, no small birds.  On the way out I sighted a Great Horned Owl along the shoreline in a willow.  Another "great" owl.

Thinking there had to be some Snowy Owls near Grande Pointe, I swung around by that way and spotted two north of the village in a usual spot near Marsh Line.  Much too far for photos.

Still not done, I took back roads to Wallaceburg SW of town and sighted yet another Snowy Owl.  Very distant, but this one will hopefully be found on Tuesday for our CBC.  Way too far away for a photo!
So, an eight Snowy day--most I have seen in one single day!
I heard there was another Snowy Owl just outside town, so I went for that too!  Chalk up nine.

On more thing.  I headed over to Stewart Line and was delighted to find two Sandhill Cranes. None had been sighted since Josh Bouman's report of 30 last Sunday.  Another species required for Tuesday.

Maybe I should look for Short-eared Owls in a couple of hours......