Published Mar 03, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0hour ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
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Canada jays are well prepared for the seasonal change from the abundance of summer to the drought we call winter. Photo by Phil Burke \/Postmedia filesArticle content<\/p>\n
Every\u00a0year, I\u00a0usually\u00a0take\u00a0an\u00a0excursion to one of the best places in our region to\u00a0locate\u00a0northern boreal species: the southern corridor along\u00a0Highway 60 in Algonquin Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Travelling from the east gate of the park\u00a0just past the\u00a0town of Whitney, several boreal locations such as spruce bog and\u00a0boreal\u00a0forests support a variety of local and northern bird species. These\u00a0include Boreal Chickadees, Spruce Grouse, Canada Jay, Black-backed Woodpeckers, Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks\u00a0and, if\u00a0lucky, Red and White Crossbills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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In addition to the\u00a0special\u00a0habitats in the park, there is always a chance to\u00a0observe\u00a0birds along the highway corridor itself.\u00a0Here\u00a0one might find Bald Eagles, Ravens, Crows, Wild Turkeys\u00a0and Owls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In early February,\u00a0Vince Agnesi, Rob\u00a0Cunningham, and\u00a0I ventured into Algonquin Park on a cold and\u00a0snowy\u00a0day,\u00a0spurred on by the many photos of birds taken in the park by the photographers on the Pembroke Area\u00a0Field\u00a0Naturalists\u2019\u00a0Facebook\u00a0page. Unfortunately, we knew our time in the park would be limited due to a\u00a0possible major\u00a0snowstorm\u00a0forecasted for mid-afternoon that day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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About a mile outside the east gate around the town of Whitney,\u00a0we were\u00a0pleased to\u00a0observe\u00a0a large flock of Evening Grosbeaks. This was\u00a0fortunate as\u00a0these were the only Evening Grosbeaks we\u00a0observed\u00a0that day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our first stop occurred on\u00a0the\u00a0Opeongo Road.\u00a0We had hoped\u00a0to find Black-backed Woodpecker,\u00a0Spruce Grouse\u00a0and Canada Jays. Unfortunately, the only birds we\u00a0encountered\u00a0were\u00a0a large number of\u00a0Black-capped Chickadees and a White\u00a0breasted Nuthatch. The Chickadees were quite\u00a0friendly\u00a0and we enjoyed feeding them seeds from our hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From Opeongo Road we went to the Park Visitor Centre\u00a0to warm\u00a0up\u00a0and\u00a0to\u00a0visit the bird feeders that are situated just below the observation deck at\u00a0the\u00a0back of the\u00a0Centre.\u00a0At the feeders, we were pleased to find a flock of Pine Grosbeaks and several Blue Jays.\u00a0The Blue Jay population in the park varies year to year,\u00a0and this\u00a0year\u00a0appeared to be\u00a0good for them.\u00a0There\u00a0were\u00a0also several Black-capped Chickadees and a Hairy Woodpecker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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After our late lunch, we visited the Spruce\u00a0Bog Trail\u00a0not far from\u00a0the\u00a0Visitor\u00a0Centre. On this trail we\u00a0encountered\u00a0two Common Ravens that appeared quite tame,\u00a0and to our delight,\u00a0three Canada Jays. I was pleased to\u00a0see them\u00a0as I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0find\u00a0them last year\u00a0at all. These birds were also quite tame and ate sunflower seeds from our hands. At this location we also\u00a0encountered\u00a0Black-capped Chickadees and a Red-breasted Nuthatch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After spending some time on the Spruce\u00a0Bog\u00a0Trail, we returned to the\u00a0Visitor\u00a0Centre\u00a0and\u00a0observed\u00a0a solitary American Tree Sparrow\u00a0under the bird feeders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From the\u00a0Centre, we went to the Loggers\u2019\u00a0Museum to look for\u00a0birds,\u00a0but\u00a0only\u00a0encountered\u00a0more Black-capped Chickadees and Red breasted Nuthatches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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For all our efforts,\u00a0we were\u00a0only\u00a0able to\u00a0locate\u00a010\u00a0bird species.\u00a0The highlights of the excursion included the sighting of\u00a0Canada Jays and both Evening and Pine Grosbeaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Similar to\u00a0our area, what was noticeably absent were\u00a0the\u00a0northern migrants such as Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, and both Red\u00a0and White-winged Crossbills.\u00a0Several of the\u00a0boreal species were also missing including Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadee and Black-backed Woodpecker. I was also surprised not to\u00a0locate\u00a0a single hawk or Owl species.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In terms of bird sightings, it was a good excursion but not one of our best!\u00a0However, it is always a joy to be out in nature.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The local scene\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the local scene, the weather has\u00a0turned\u00a0relatively mild\u00a0since the cold in January and early February.\u00a0However, we\u00a0are still getting periods of snow,\u00a0which will delay many of the early spring migrants.\u00a0\u00a0We are still\u00a0anticipating\u00a0the arrival of the\u00a0Horned Larks.\u00a0These birds can be found on the sides\u00a0of dirt roads,\u00a0eating gravel and quickly flying into the fields when a car approaches. Look for the distinctive pointed wings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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As I write this column. I have had no reports\u00a0of spring\u00a0birds,\u00a0although we should expect the arrival of Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds Common Grackle and Canada Geese soon. However, I\u00a0have\u00a0had\u00a0numerous\u00a0reports of Barred Owls in yards and along the roads in our area.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Local sightings\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back on Feb.\u00a014, during a drive around our area, Patricia Swan\u00a0located\u00a0a Barred Owl, Bald\u00a0Eagle\u00a0and a small flock of Snow Buntings. Nice finds,\u00a0Patricia!\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Feb.\u00a016, Paul Burgess\u00a0located\u00a0a lone male Ring-necked Pheasant on\u00a0Kolsmith\u00a0Road\u00a0in the\u00a0Whitewater region. This is obviously an escapee from somewhere, as they are not natural to our area nor\u00a0do they migrate. It is a nice bird to\u00a0observe!\u00a0<\/p>\n
On this same date, Dee Campbell reported a Cooper\u2019s Hawk devouring an unfortunate Blue Jay in her yard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Feb.\u00a019, Leo Boland spotted a Barred Owl in\u00a0Pembroke. Several others also spotted this\u00a0owl. It\u00a0has been\u00a0a great month for Barred Owl sightings!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, on this same date, Dave Colton photographed a Brown-headed Cowbird in his area. Could this be our first spring bird?\u00a0<\/p>\n