I will tell what I have in my notes, and what I can remember, which isn't much as this trip was three months ago now (10/05/2006). I've included driving distances and year birds in the text, along with the trip list at the bottom. Click on the white fonted birds to go to a photo of that species.July 8, 2006 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON, to Grand Rapids, MN - 820 kmFor anyone who hasn't driven from Sault Ste. Marie to Minnesota, it's a long, boring drive. In the summer, all there is to see are some conifer trees, some deciduous trees, and some lakes. Every now and then there's a break from the monotony, with a view over Lake Superior, or a drive through a small town or city. There were some nice birds, but not so nice views through a car window at 100 km/h, without binocs. Some highlights of the day were a Black-billed Cuckoo flying over the road, a Vesper Sparrow flying out from the ditch, and a Killdeer protecting it's nest. The total for today was 40 species, with one year bird - Eastern Kingbird.July 9, 2006 - Grand Rapids, MN, to the Farm, MB - 670 km
I'm guessing that most of you don't know where "the Farm" is, so I'll tell you. It's a 32 km drive from Boissevain, Manitoba. Don't know where that is either? Well, lets just say its in the southwestern corner of Manitoba. Anyway, today was a lot better than yesterday, with beautiful views out over the prairies, and some of the more western species of birds. Roadside sloughs were a great place to see ducks, grebes, blackbirds, and terns close enough to the road to ID without binocs - at close to 130 km/h. That's another thing that's great about the prairies; you can see for what seems like forever, the land is flat, and therefore the roads can be straight and wide. You get where you're going a lot faster out there than you do here in Northern Ontario. A few of the "western birds" that I saw today were: American Avocet, American White Pelican, Horned Grebe, Western Grebe, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Franklin's Gull. Today's total was 55 species, with 14 new birds for the year.
July 10, 2006 - The Farm and Whitewater Lake, MB - ~60km
Woke up to bright sunlight, and the sound of cows mooing. A nice sunny day on the Farm. Sure, sun means heat, but it was still nice. Temperatures above 30ºC are more bearable when it's less humid. That's another nice thing about the praries - less humidity. Here in Northern Ontario, when the temperature is in the thirties, it feels more like the forties. Out there, it feels like what it is. Anyway, on to Whitewater Lake. Whitewater Lake (in my opinion) is the best place to bird in southwest Manitoba. I have only been there a few times, but every time brings a ton of birds, and something new. Today was no exception. We had to stop the car before we even made it to the parking space. Well over a thousand shorebirds wandered around the mudflats and shallow water, with many, many ducks, grebes, and coots out deeper. In the reeds were a lot of both Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds, along with Swamp Sparrows, Marsh Wrens, and Sedge Wrens. Forster's, Black, and Common Terns flew above the water, occasionally diving for fish. As we finally got to the parking spot, close to three hundred American White Pelicans flew directly overhead. They landed along the shore, providing great views. Black-crowned Night-Herons and White-faced Ibises were also patrolling the shore, watching for something to eat. Back to the mudflats, with their multitude of shorebirds. Thirteen species made up the hundreds of birds, including many Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalaropes, Stilt Sandpipers, and both species of Dowitcher. Smaller numbers of Baird's and White-rumped Sandpipers were also present, along with singles of Marbled Godwit, Willet, Wilson's Snipe, and Pectoral Sandpiper. 60 species for the day is for sure an undercounting, as I didn't record every species I came across. 10 more birds for the year, 9 of which were lifers, was very nice. 7 of these were shorebirds, with the other 2 being White-faced Ibis and Sprague's Pipit.July 11, 2006 - The Farm, MB - ~5 km
As I spent almost all of today with my cousins and grandparents, I didn't have any time to bird. Anything that I did see was without binocs, but I still managed a few. New birds for the trip, including two lifers, were Swainson's Hawk, Baird's Sparrow, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Eastern Pewee. Baird's Sparrow and the longspur were the lifers, and the Pewee came as a surprise, considering there isn't much woodland out there. These were all noted while out in the pasture, with only the longspur and the hawk being seen. Those are the only five species I have written down for today, but I saw more. 3 year birds, two lifers.July 12, 13, 2006 - The Farm, MB
These two days aren't written down for me, so I didn't see anything worth writing down. I'm assuming this was because the days were not spent birding, but doing target practice and board games with the cousins. Mostly the usual stuff around the farm, like Barn Swallow, House Wren, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, and various other feeder and barn birds.
July 14, 2006 - The Farm and Boissevain, MB - ~70 km
Ah yes, a day that I wrote down. Even if it was only to say that the first (and only) Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the trip managed to fly into a window of the house. I did get to see it a fraction of a second before it hit, so it counts. Of course, I immediately ran outside to see what hit the window (I hadn't seen it well enough to ID), and found an immature male lying dead just below the window, it's neck broken. Another window fatality, although my grandparents do have those stickers to prevent birds from flying into windows. Other than this, the day wasn't that great bird-wise. We drove into town with the cousins to go swimming, and played games for most of the rest of the day. The swimming was mostly to cool off, as temperatures had been above 40ºC with the humidex for most of the week.
July 15, 2006 - The Farm and Whitewater Lake, MB, to Dryden, ON - 60 + 710 km
Got an early trip in to Whitewater Lake before leaving for Dryden. It was mostly the same birds as on the 10th, but shorebird numbers had definitely increased, from around a thousand to well over 1500. The godwit and snipe disappeared, leaving 11 species for today. All the other birds seemed about the same as last time, but the huge flock of pelicans had moved on to another part of the lake. New additions for the Lake Count were a lone Great Egret, along with 3 Snowy Egrets, feeding with the herons and ibises. On the drive back from the lake, there were huge flocks of blackbirds in the cut fields, feeding on grain and insects. More than 500 birds were out there, with Brewer's and Rusty Blackbirds making up a large percentage of the flocks. A single Brown Thrasher was also new for the trip. Then it was a long drive to Dryden, to drop my dad off so he could meet with his crews. 2 year birds today, the two egrets.
July 16, 2006 - Dryden, ON, to White River, ON - 80 + 750 km
We went out to one of my dad's research sites today, to see what his crews look at. It was a clear-cut, that they were looking at to see how various management practices affect forest growth. Not great for birds, but there were some Golden-crowned Kinglets in the trees around the site, and a single Winter Wren singing deep in the forest. On the drive in, a Three-toed Woodpecker flew across the road. The drive to White River from Dryden is a lot like the drive through Michigan, except its all boreal-coniferous forest, and a lot more hilly. This is my story for today, as the birds were few. We had just stopped for supper in White River, when we heard a call come in on the volunteer firefighter's radios. We didn't hear what it said, but we assumed someone had hit a moose on the highway. About 10 minutes later, the trucks finally drive out, and away down the highway. We finished our supper, and drove out of town. Less than 10 minutes out of White River, we have to stop, as there is a long line of cars backed up. We ask what is going on, and instead of a moose, there was a head-on collision between two cars. They say it'll only be a half-hour wait and we can continue on our way. Well, it wasn't a half-hour wait, as they found out there had been fatalities, and had to wait for the coroner to come. So we drove back to White River to spend the night. The only good thing about the wait was a Common Nighthawk flying over the trees, the first for the trip. 2 year birds - the nighthawk and the woodpecker, with the woodpecker being a lifer.
July 17, 2006 - White River, ON, to Sault Ste. Marie, ON - 310 km
The half-hour wait turned out to be a highway closure lasting eight hours: 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. So at 6:30 a.m., we're on our way. The weather has turned brutal overnight, with a huge thunderstorm. High winds were combined with torrential rain, lightning, and hail, to make for horrible driving. A guy flagged us down, to ask if we had a phone and could call for help. A tree had fallen on his car, while he was in it, but didn't do any damage to him. He was afraid to go back, as there was another tree that looked like it might fall soon. He had to be in Winnepeg today, to start a job, but was held up by the accident, and obviously the tree. We didn't have a phone, but we stopped at the next place we saw to ask if they had a phone to call the police. Turns out the guy enjoying his morning coffee after a hard night was a police officer, so he said he could go get the guy. The person running the place also told us that they had gotten golf ball-sized hailstones that morning! Anyway, I didn't get to see anything new for the trip today, so the trip ended at 125 species, with 32 year birds and 12 lifers. Pretty good for only 2 mornings of real birding eh? See below for a complete trip list. Year birds are in bold, and lifers are marked with a *.
Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White-faced Ibis*
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Marbled Godwit*
White-rumped Sandpiper*
Baird's Sandpiper*
Pectoral Sandpiper*
Stilt Sandpiper*
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher*
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope*
Franklin's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpecker*
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Sprague's Pipit*
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Pine Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Baird’s Sparrow*
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Chestnut-collared Longspur*
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow