A keen group (about 15 in total) got up early on Saturday to head for Kirkfield and a special day of birding at Carden Alvar. We were greeted at 7am sharp at the intersection of Wylie and McNamee Roads by two Upland Sandpipers displaying in the road of all places (thanks Bill). Everyone got great looks as one bird flew across the field and landed in front of us, we also had Brown Thrasher (first of MANY for the day) and Eastern Meadowlark in the vicinity. A little further up Wylie Road we had excellent views of a Wilson’s Snipe sitting on a fence post by the road and we also got to see Eastern Bluebirds, Bobolinks, and Eastern Kingbirds as we proceeded north. We also heard many Savannah Sparrows and Warbling Vireos along the way. At Box #10 we were unable to find any Loggerhead Shrikes but we did notice at least three pairs of Eastern Kingbirds patrolling their traditional breeding territory location, we hoped that they were not a factor in the apparent absence of shrikes in the area at this time. More positive thinking is that they were busy nest building or perhaps even incubating! We also heard a Grasshopper Sparrow here while searching for the shrikes.
We did not hear many warblers as it was overcast and cool as we birded our way to the Sedge Wren Marsh. With patience we were able to hear several singing Sedge Wrens but only got brief glimpses of them as they did not perch in the open for very long while we were there. We also heard Virginia Rail and Alder Flycatcher while here and just before we left we heard a singing Type A song Golden-winged Warbler (why Type A? more on this later). A Sharp-shinned Hawk zipped through the shrubbery along the edge of the marsh just as we started to head for the other side, no Yellow Rails were heard while we were in this area. Further up the road we heard a strange two part buzzy song that went slightly down the scale ending with a more abrupt note, we were unable to locate the singing bird but it was speculated to be a possible hybrid warbler song or a variation of a more familiar sparrow song.
We continued up the road where we heard another Type A song Golden-winged Warbler singing (not seen) and then further on we saw a very large accipiter soaring which then plunged down fairly quickly into a wooded area. We decided it was likely a Northern Goshawk. Upon arriving at the traditional Clay-colored sparrow area, we heard the same strange “descending buzz” two part song that we had heard earlier in the morning. I finally was able to locate the songster high in a spruce tree at a fair distance and it perched obligingly there for several minutes allowing a quick scope view by just about everyone. Surprisingly enough it was an “apparent” phenotypically pure Golden-winged Warbler singing but we speculated from its song that it may not be genotypically pure. All plumage details were impossible to resolve at such a great distance through the scope so it may very well have shown some evidence of being a hybrid in terms of appearance, we could not be absolutely certain.
After lunch at Dalrymple Lake Resort (where the people were friendly) we stopped to admire a few Osprey nests on Canal Lake and then headed for Prospect Road to check out the marshy areas. We had only been there a few minutes when three of the local residents came down the road and “scared” off a birder who was there on her own. They then worked their way to our group and started to “work” the last car in our group. I could easily hear both the tone and content of the mostly one-sided conversation from the lead car and I decided to intervene at that point and attempt to resolve the dispute. I won’t go into any more detail other than to say that after they finally left we were able to hear and see both American Bittern and Sora Rail before we decided to move on from the area so as not to further antagonize the already hostile locals. It seems unlikely that the harassing and confrontational behavior by this group (one family?) will end anytime soon as they firmly believe that birders have no right to look out from the road into the (“their”) marsh.
We proceeded to Argyle where we spent close to $100.00 in the country store to help illustrate the positive impact of birders in the local community but I have a feeling this matter will need to be resolved at a town or regional council level. Thanks to Norm for the original posting/warning and good luck to Ron Reid and the Couchiching Conservancy in their efforts to bring “peace” to the region. We ended a mostly enjoyable day of birding with about 13 species of warblers and a final stop at the Port Perry sewage lagoons. Here we had good views of Black Terns and a few waterfowl species but not much else of interest. One other surprise at the end of the day was the fact that we neither heard or saw either cuckoo species along the route, at least of the avian variety anyway. We added several new species to the year list and got to enjoy the characteristic flowering plants (e.g. prairie smoke, paintbrush, etc.) of the area as well as several butterfly species once the sun came out later in the morning. Next weekend we’ll try and make the trip more local in terms of distance but if more rare birds keep showing up through the week this just may complicate our plans. Brete
