Hello Ontbirders, Today a group of 43 of us went to the Barron River Canyon for some mid-winter exploration. Algonquin was not very birdy (as expected given the paucity of food) but the entire group had superb views of a pair of Red Crossbills on the road just before the park gate (Sand Lake Gate on the Barron Canyon Road). These are the first that I am aware of in Algonquin this year and follow a couple in Peterborough area a week or two ago. Some may be drifting back into the area, despite the lack of pine seeds. Our Algonquin day list was 4 species (6 Black-capped Chickadees - all singletons, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 4 Common Ravens and the 2 crossbills - woodland birding is tough this winter!).
Outside of the park, our bird highlights were the Hawk Owl and a Snowy Owl on our way back to Ottawa. Both were at the site described by Chris Michener: on the Snake River Line which runs parallel with Hwy 17 and west of Hwy 17. The Hawk Owl was quite far back from the road at house number 1261 Snake River Line. The Snowy Owl was visible from the same place (just to the west and on the north side of the road). From Hwy 17 in Cobden, go west through downtown and at the outskirts of town turn right on the Snake River Line going north. Good birding, Jeff Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada K.W. Neatby Building, C.E.F., 960 Carling Ave. Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada Work: 613-759-1647. Home: 613-832-1970 e-mail: [email protected] alternative e-mail: [email protected] __________________________________________________________________ Make your browsing faster, safer, and easier with the new Internet Explorer® 8. Optimized for Yahoo! Get it Now for Free! at http://downloads.yahoo.com/ca/internetexplorer/ _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
