We'd never been to Algonquin in the winter and took the opportunity to visit this past weekend, staying in a cabin near Huntsville.
At the Visitor Centre feeders there were dozens of evening grosbeaks plus blue jays, black capped chickadees, a hairy woodpecker, and a few goldfinches. Others saw American tree sparrows and purple finches, but we missed those. Ravens patrolled the parking lots, presumably for leftovers from people eating outside.
The highlight of a Spruce Bog walk was a female black backed woodpecker, staying in plain sight for many minutes. A male was apparently around, but we never saw him. This was the first one we had seen in about 20 years (the last one was in Edmonton). We were also mobbed by black capped chickadees and a few Canada jays, looking for handouts. We also saw several white winged crossbills and a downy. Various people spotted a spruce grouse, but to us it was an indiscernible silhouette in a faraway tree.
On Opeongo Lake Rd. we saw more jays, chickadees, and what were likely common redpolls. An American marten prowled around, jumping up into the undercarriage of recently parked cars, presumably for warmth. It was our first.
