Kapuskasing Area Birds

[anatum]

Last week I managed to get a week off work and headed north for 10 hours. I wanted to see bear, moose, lynx, wolves, owls, Boreal Chickadee, 3-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers and at the very least, the Northern Lights. I saw none of these! From what I can tell, the Boreal forest is empty lol. Sure everyone in town is amazed that I didn't see anything off my list but short of the moose shot dead in the back of a pick-up, I got skunked. It is hunting season and I don't know if that makes wildlife hide or become less active but short of tracks in the mud, it isn't easy finding stuff, even when you go off into the bush in an Argo (amphibious vehicle).
I did however see a few birds we have here
Juncos
American Tree, Chipping, White-Crowned, and Song Sparrows
Black-capped Chickadee
Grackles
Hairy Woodpecker
Crows
Starlings
and a lone Red fox on the golf course
I also got some nice birds we don't normally get here in S Ontario, Gray Jays, Common Snipe, Northern Shrikes and Ravens.
Here are a few nicer shots of what I did see

Bald Eagle


Plover?


Ruffed Grouse


Common Raven - Fantastic bird to watch

[dizzy]

Love your bald eagle shot.

[anatum]

Love your bald eagle shot.

Thanks, it was taken at the dump! lol

[gary yankech]

nice grouse pic!

[Rotarran]

You wanted to see all those in 10 hours?  Did you mean 10 days?  If so, yeah I can see how it can be disappointing.  But there always unforeseen factors that can mess with our plans...so I guess look at it as a valuable lesson learned (as in avoiding the hunting season or at least hunting areas) and hopefully your next trip will be more productive.

[anatum]

You know how it is. You look at your bird book and you see birds that, on a map anyway, should be in the area so your expectations are high. 10 hours is how long it takes to drive from Toronto to Kapuskasing. I guess part of the reason I was disappointed was the horribly long and boring drive at 90km/h, the fact that everyone in town (allegedly) sees this stuff on a regular basis and I figure the population is low enough to allow for something special but honestly, I have much better luck going half as far at Algonquin. I was there for 8 days.
As an aside, I did find some things odd. While I am not seeing very many Grackles and Killdeer here anymore, there were a lot there along with the Robins, Doves and Starlings. Anyone know why they would be up north but not here?

Thanks Gary on the pic.