Before you say it, I know it was our choice to go to Canada in December so we get what we deserve. We we prepared for cold weather. The temperature was forecast to be between 5 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit. We had boots and hats and gloves and layers, layers, layers. We weren't prepared for this:
Dashboard Temperature Reading
That's a - before the 20. 20 below zero Fahrenheit. That's fucking cold. It was that cold even when the sun came up. We didn't venture far from the car. We couldn't. Even with the mittens and hats and boots and hand warmers and toe warmers, it was cold.
We spent a lot of time at the Visitor's Center too - for 2 reasons. First the cold, but also because one of our target species often hangs out under the bird feeders there. This critter is called American Marten or Pine Marten. It is a type of weasel that can climb trees.
Pine Marten
A-dor-a-ble. Right?
Pine Marten
He would eat the bird seed on the ground and then run up to the building and hang out next to the foundation. We figured out that there is a little pipe there that he must use to get a drink. Cute little critter but make no mistake, this is a predator. Look at those teeth and claws. He could rip you up.
Teeth and Claws
OK. One more photo just because. Look how cute he is with the snow on his nose!
Cutie Pa-tootie
It did warm up with temperatures above zero in the afternoon and the next day too. On our last day, we found an uncommon woodpecker on a hike. This aptly named woodpecker is Black-backed Woodpecker, a female.
Black-backed Woodpecker
Another fun thing to do in the park is photograph common and uncommon birds. Here is Todd bearing the cold to take a few photos of a Blue Jay.
Todd
Even the Blue Jays look better up here.
Blue Jay
Up north, there is another type of Jay - Gray Jay. These are the same size as Blue Jays but somehow they look cuter.
Gray Jay
They are really smart and figured out quickly that when people arrive, they get fed. Just put a little peanut butter on your finger and hold out your hand. Here is a photo of me feeding the jay that Todd took. You can see that the jay has bands on his legs. I think the park does this to keep track of them.
Linda with Friend
The Gray Jays aren't the only birds that figured out that people equals food. Here I am feeding a Chickadee.
Another friend
Birds and wildlife up here have adapted to the cold and snow. We found this flock of Pine Siskins on the road eating grit and salt after the snow plows came through.
Pine Siskins in road
Sadly, some of them are not fast enough to get off of the road. We found 4 of them dead.
Roadkill Siskins
Their little bodies were still warm when I picked them up. They are now on their way to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia for study. I didn't think about whether that was legal or not but they didn't ask me if I had any dead animals in the car when we crossed the border.
Northern Hawk Owl gets my vote for baddest bird in the land. We have seen 3 of these little monsters on our trip to Minnesota. Check it out. Look at the way it perches.
Northern Hawk Owl
Look at that "V" brow that it has. And the intense stare.
Northern Hawk Owl
Look at the way it can disappear into the surroundings. Look at the tiny stature and yet it is still menacing.
Northern Hawk Owl
Look at the way it ignores other birds like this Common Redpoll. And the way it has no fear of perching at the top of trees.
Northern Hawk Owl/Common Redpoll
Bad Ass Owl! Another really bad ass bird that we saw on the trip is this Northern Goshawk. This is an adult male. It is a giant accipiter - about the size of a Red-tailed Hawk. This dude will hunt and eat other hawks. That is bad ass. Check out the big body and relatively short (but powerful) wings on this bird. It is made to seek and destroy prey in the woods. Check out that evil red eye. Yikes! I was in the van, shooting this photo through the dirty window and was still a little scared of this bird.
Northern Goshawk
From bad ass to cuddly. This Gray Jay was one of many that we saw on our trip. These birds always look happy with a permanent smile and light fluffy attitude. There are feeders set up in the Sac-Zim bog to attract some of the specialty birds. The Gray Jays take full advantage of the peanut butter.
Gulp!
Here he is after having his fill.
Gray Jay
The trip will not be complete unless we get to see our target bird - the Great Gray Owl. . .
I must be nuts. Who in their right mind would say "yes" to an offer to leave frigid, snow covered, miserable Philadelphia on March 1st and go to someplace that is even colder and snowier? The answer is me and a few other crazy birders. The nice part of this adventure is that our birding friend Brandon has a lake house up there and was generous enough to ask a few of us to come up. He promised some good birding and a chance to see some species that you can usually only find in Boreal forests of Canada.
I drove up with Alyssa and Sam on Friday afternoon - taking work calls in the backseat of Alyssa's Honda and doing email from my phone. It worked out pretty well. We arrived at the Lake House just in time for a new experience - snowmobiling. Here is the gang getting ready to drive across the frozen lake to the restaurant. Brandon's house is in the background.
Getting ready for a ride
Saturday, we headed out to Bloomingdale Bog in search of boreal species such as Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee and Black-backed Woodpecker. We geared up for a cold hike and headed out onto a snowmobile trail through the woods. After a short hike, a Gray Jay showed up right next to us with a friendly look in his eye. He was soon joined by friends and they all followed us up the path. Aw, that's nice.
Gray Jay
Gray Jay
We soon found out why they were so interested in us - they want to be fed. Someone has a bird feeder in the middle of the woods and everyone knows that the Jays will eat bread and peanut butter if you bring some along. I guess they are used to it.
Gray Jay eating Peanut Butter
Alyssa shot this video. The birds are just wary enough but eventually take the bread (or in this case, Sam's Club Mini Cinnamon Rolls) right out of your hand. Watch the very end.
We busted on the other boreal species on Saturday so headed off to Lake Champlain to see some ducks. We were surprised that the ferry was still running with all of the ice but as you can see, the ferry keeps a path open.
Lake Champlain NY - ferry
The open water attracts all kinds of ducks including some rarities. There was one Tufted Duck mixed in here but it never came close enough for a photo. The other rarity was a Barrow's Goldeneye. This duck was close to the ferry terminal so I was able to get a few photos.
Female Barrow's Goldeneye
Here she is preening her belly which is always cute to watch.
Female Barrow's Goldeneye
We have Common Goldeneyes in the east. Barrow's are usually found out west which is what makes this a rare find. I have seen Barrow's Goldeneyes in Seattle way back in 2006. The difference between Common Goldeneye and Barrow's can be seen on the shape of the head and color of the bill. Here is a photo of both birds swimming side by side. Notice in this photo, the bird in front has a black bill with yellow tip while the bird in the back has the opposite - yellowish bill with black tip.
Common and Barrow's Goldeneyes
Here are a few more duck photos from the day. We had a good laugh at the ducks who decided to try to walk on the ice. Here is an immature male Common Goldeneye trying his luck without skates.
Common Goldeneye
These 2 Mallards chased mussels around the ice trying to get them open. It entertained us for a while.
Female Mallard with Mussels
Male Mallard with Mussels
This is a Ring-necked Duck who insisted on sitting out on the ice but couldn't quite get comfortable.
Ring-necked Duck
Each time the ferry would come in, all of the ducks would fly to get out of the way. Here are a few male Common Goldeneyes coming in for a landing.
Common Goldeneyes
The photos aren't the best due to overcast conditions but you can see how many ducks there were. More to come later - including another video which was a highlight of the trip.
