full birding report algonquin park

this week we had a birding group in from eagle eye tours staying at the Algonquin Inn,the tour leader was Blake Maybank,

Blake was good enough to go over his sighting for the Algonquin Park trip ,here is the listings broken down by main areas.



spruce bog extra's

verginia rail



algonquin park visitors center

eastern phoebe nesting under observation deck



53km marker area

black backed woodpecker

wiskey rapids extra's
belted kinfisher ,swainson's thrush ,black-throated blue warbler

opeongo rd

canada goose ,mallard ,ruffed grouse ,common loon ,turkey vulture ,spotted sandpipper ,yellow bellied sapsucker ,northern flicker ,pileated woodpecker ,blue-headed vireo ,gray jay ,blue jay
american crow ,common raven ,black-capped chickadee ,red-breasted nuthatch ,winter wren
golden crowned kinglet ,ruby-crowned kinglet ,hermit thrush ,american robin ,nashville warbler
yellow warbler ,chestnut sided warbler ,magnolia warbler ,yelloow-rumped warbler ,black-throated green warbler ,black and white warbler ,american redstart ,ovenbird ,northern waterthrush ,common yellowthroat ,chipping sparrow ,song sparrow ,swamp sparrow
white-throated sparrow ,dark-eyed junco ,rose-breasted grosbeak ,red-winged blackbird
purple finch ,pine siskin ,american goldfinch ,evening grosbeak

algonquin inn to the west gate of park.
canada goose,wood duck,american black duck,mallard,ruffed grouse,common loon,great blus heron,turkey vulture,bald eagle,coopers hawk,broad-winged hawk,red-tailed hawk,merlin,spotted sandpiper,wilsons snipe,ruby-throated hummingbird,yellew-bellied sapsucker,downy woodpecker,hairy woodpecker,northern flicker,pileated woodpeckerleast flycather,blue-headed vireo,philadelphia vireo,red-eyed vireo,blue jay,american crowcommon raven,barn swallow,back-capped chickadee,red breasted nuthatch,ruby-crowned kinglethermit thrush,american robin,brown thrasher,european starling,nashville warbler,northern parula,yellow warbler,chestnut-sided warbler,magnolia warbler,yellow rumped warbler,blackburnian warbler,palm warbler,bay-breasted warbler,black-and-white warbler,ovenbird,common yellowthroat,scarlet tanager,chipping sparrow,clay-clored sparrow,savannah sparrow,song sparrow,swamp sparrow,white-throated sparrow,white-crowned sparrow,rose-beasted grosbeak,indigo bunting,red-winged blackbird,common crackle,purple finch,pine siskin,american goldfinch,evening grosbeak.

..................................................................

scarlet tanager @algonquin inn

wow , this was great to see,we located it in the back yard of the restaurant of the Algonquin inn,

it has been here now for two days, i also saw one at the west gate of Algonquin park,but was not quick enough to get the picture , but this time i was ready it was in a high tree so it's well cropped.
i can only hope it stays around for a while,some members of a birding group currently staying with us were also very pleased to see this one, i have been going over their check list with the tour leader from eagle eye tours,so i should be able to post shortly a comprehensive list for sightings currently available for here and in the park.and the hot spots.

latest birding observations from a birding group

we just had a group of birders in from the U.K. avian adventures,on their last morning they birded the portage area of Long Lake which is only 4 to 5 minutes from the Algonquin Inn and just before Algonquin Park.
along with all of the birds you would expect and i have reported here they also noted,sap sucker woodpeckers, pileated woodpeckers,northern harrier,wilsons snipe,cap may warbler,yellow warbler,Nashville warbler,scarlet tanager,spotted sandpiper,eastern phoebe,swamp sparrows,brown thrasher, and when i re visited this location the same day i had a bonus to above in that there is a nesting pair of Merlin's.....putting on a display....


yellow warbler



yellow-bellied sapsucker (f)
found this on next to the highway drilling away into the bark of the tree as the wounds in the tree fill with the sweet sap it attracts insects and bugs for it to eat.

this is the result of the sapsuckers work,

loon photography tours from Algonquin Inn

The loons and chicks tour for June 9 & 10th is now full.
here are the other scheduled dates available
Scheduled Tours/Workshops

Spring Loons - May 16, 2009. (4 people max) $225 per person.

Summer Loons - July 4, 2009. (4 people max) $225.00 per person

Loons & Chicks - July 5, 2009. (4 people max) $225.00 per person.

Loons & Chicks - July 9 & 10, 2009. (4 people max) $450.00 per person. Tour Full

Loons In The Mist - Sept 10 & 11, 2009 (4 people max) $450.00 per person.

Custom Loon Tours/Workshops
If the scheduled tours do not work for you, book your own private trip, and invite as many as 4 people to spend a day or a half day on the water with Michael, shooting wild loons in their natural habitat. For price per person , see custom tour pricing page.

just give us a call at Algonquin Lakeside Inn for more details 705-635-2434 or
e-mail stay@algonquininn.com or check our web site www.algonquininn.com

restaurant window today @ algonquin inn

had a busy day at the feeders today,the majority of feeders are located outside the restaurant windows,of the Algonquin inn,so our dinners today had a great display of colour,


American goldfinch



downy woodpecker
house finch (M)

evening grosbeak (f)

evening grosbeak (m)

rose breasted grosbeak (M)


www.algonquininn.com

black - backed woodpecker

i follwed up on a recent sighting of a black-backed woodpecker and was able to locate him and obtain a picture ,but was unable to locate a female untill today....
so the next time your visiting algonquin park check-out the hydro pole #66 located between km53 and 54km as between the two birds they have worked this pole over,and are making it home.


female black-backed woodpecker


male black-backed woodpecker

black bear algonquin park

had some spare time this afternoon so took the opportunity to leave the Inn and drive into algonquin park, in fact i was following up on a sighting of 4 sand hill cranes on one of the lakes, well as they say, along the way i found a black bear eating grass along a rock cut by the highway, as i understand it, a bear will eat grass after it first emerges from hibernationn so as to gently get the stomach working again after a winter shut down,.
I had no time to compose the shot as it was a suprise to us both, was taken into the setting sun.(still looking for the cranes !!)

algonquin park birding reports

Subject: Algonquin Park: Sandhill Crane
From: "Bruce Di Labio"
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:43:42 -0400

Hi Ontbirds
Today, April 26th, spent the day birding various sites along Hwy. 60 in
Algonquin Park. The weather conditions changed considerably from yesterday with
a cool low of 2c and occasional rain today. We managed to locate a male Spruce
Grouse along Spruce Bog, 1 Boreal Chickadee at Tea Lake Dam and 1 Black-backed
Woodpecker near Km 8. The highlight was a Sandhill Crane flying over Hwy.60
calling and then landed in a marshy along the highway between Km.23 and Km.24.
Other birds of note included 1 Savannah Sparrow at the Old Airfield and 1
Blue-headed Vireo at Tea Lake Dam.


good birding, Bruce

Directions: Courtesy of Ron Tozer
Algonquin Park is three hours north of Toronto, via Highways
400, 11 and 60. Follow the signs, which start in Toronto on
Highway 400. From Ottawa, take Highway 17 to Renfrew, then
follow Highway 60 to the park. Kilometre markers along Highway
60 in the Park go from the West Gate (km 0) to the East Gate
(km 56). Get your park permit and the park tabloid (with a map
of birding locations mentioned here) at the gates.

The Visitor Centre at km 43 has recent bird sightings and
information. The centre is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
starting this weekend.




Di Labio Birding Website
Courses and Field Trips
http://www.dilabiobirding.ca

Bruce Di Labio
400 Donald B. Munro Drive
P.O. Box 538
Carp, Ontario
K0A 1L0
Office 613-839-4395 Mobile
Subject: OFO Algonquin Park Trip
From: Ron Tozer
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:24:58 -0400

About 75 people in 31 cars participated in a successful Algonquin Park
birding trip
today, the 20th year for this OFO outing. Occasional rain did not
significantly hinder
our efforts. The combined observer list totaled 67 species.

Highlights for many were the male and female Spruce Grouse north of the
register box on
Spruce Bog Boardwalk, the two Boreal Chickadees that Maris Apse spotted for
us at Spruce
Bog Boardwalk parking lot and which provided excellent views, and the male
Black-backed
Woodpecker excavating a nest cavity in the second utility pole west of Leaf
Lake Ski Trail
(km 53.8). A record was set when Gray Jay was not seen all day, for the
first time in the 20
years of these outings. Unfortunately, the decline of the Gray Jay in
Algonquin Park due to
climate warming has now reached the point where it is quite easy to miss
this species in late
April, when the birds are focused on feeding young in the nest.

Other noteworthy sightings included:

American Wigeon: pair on Lake of Two Rivers after heavy rain

Blue-winged Teal: pair on Costello Creek

Green-winged Teal: pair on Sunday Creek at Spruce Bog Boardwalk

Red-necked Grebe: one on Lake of Two Rivers after heavy rain

Merlin: pair at a nest in white pine at east end of West Gate parking lot

Eastern Towhee: singing male along Tea Lake Dam road

I would like to thank all the participants today, and especially Kevin Clute
who assisted ably
with finding the birds.


Ron Tozer
Subject: Algonquin Park Birding Update: 23 April 2009
From: Ron Tozer
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:15:45 -0400

Here are some sightings from the past week:

Spruce Grouse: Male at Spruce Bog Boardwalk north
of the register box.

Black-backed Woodpecker: Male still excavating nest
cavity in second utility pole west of Leaf Lake Ski Trail
entrance on April 17. Not seen later in week. Male at
km 8 on utility pole.

Gray Jay: Opeongo Road, and Spruce Bog Boardwalk.

Boreal Chickadee: try Opeongo Road, and Spruce Bog
Boardwalk.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak: first alternate male at Visitor
Centre feeder eating black sunflower seeds on April 20-22;
previous earliest date was May 3.

Pine Siskin: 10+ at Visitor Centre feeders.

Evening Grosbeak: 6 at Visitor Centre feeders all week.



Notes:
First sightings of spring this week included: Bufflehead,
American Bittern, Osprey, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

A female Fisher was at the Visitor Centre suet feeder
on April 23.


Whiskey Rapids Trail, and Mizzy Lake Trail remain
closed as of today.


Please report your Algonquin sightings to me (including
date, number and location) for our park records. Thanks.

Good birding.

Ron Tozer
Algonquin Park Naturalist (retired)
Dwight, Ontario

hummingbirds on there way to algonquin park

looks like they are on the final leg of there return journey for the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds ,we have started to get out and clean all the feeders just in case..
they have arrived in southern Ontario,we expect them in the first week of May.
check this link for the map on there progress http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

birds algonquin inn backyard.

spent the weekend working in the yard,mostly painting the gazzibo down by the water,
but with one eye to everything that flew into the yard,
right now we have a pair on nesting mallards in the back pond,they have been returning now for the last 4 years,it looks lik they are sharing this year with an American Bittern (still trying to get a good photo)
we now have upto 4 northern flickers in the grass back lot with American robins,European starlings,100+ red wing black birds,crackle,ravens and many blue jays.
in the front of the restaurant feeders have been very busy with pine siskins,redpolls,purple finches,evening grosbeaks,nuthatch.American goldfinch,dark-eyed junco,downy woodpecker,hairy woodpecker,common mergansers,loons,nad in the wood section the back yard a pileated woodpecker,and just around the corner a pair of wood ducks just before the west gate to Algonquin park.