Explorations in Canada.
It had been three weeks since I crossed into Canada near Detroit. In that time, I have squeezed in many memories. Point Pelee was my first stop, but it was brief. From there, I headed to spend time with my friend Judy in Oakville. We only knew each other from emails, Facebook and a few … Read more
My friend Judy has lived in Oakville most of her adult life. During my visit, she tried to show me all of her favorite birding locations. And though she did her best, there was not enough time to see them all. But a couple of days before continuing my journey east to Nova Scotia and … Read more
After a lovely week in the Township of Tiny Ontario, I said goodbye to the region and the friends I made there. I made two stops on my drive back to Oakville. The first was at Wasaga Beach, on the southern shore of Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay. Someone I met at Tiny Marsh reported Piping … Read more
I spent Wednesday at Tiny Marsh. It was my ‘last hurrah’ in the region, and Thursday morning I began my exodus. I met several enthusiastic birders during my tour. A report of a Blackpoll Warbler drew them in. Nobody I spoke with had seen the bird, and neither did I. But my agenda is not … Read more
Friday after breakfast, I drove twenty minutes east from Tiny Township to Midland Ontario. There, on the southern edge of town, lies a wetland called Wye Marsh. A 3000 acre ecologically critical location, it was once a major battlefield to save the once endangered Trumpeter Swan from pending extinction. Even now, one third of Canadian … Read more
After arriving Wednesday at Judy’s cabin, I placed seed and suet in the feeders next to the front porch. Unsure how, when, or ‘if’ the birds would find these offerings, I planned to return to Tiny Marsh, 20 minutes south. I found a delightful cafe four kilometers north of the cabin. After breakfast at the … Read more
Thursday, after spending a few minutes with my friend Judy’s backyard birds, I drove north, towards her cottage near the shore of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. I planned a few stops along the way. The first was to dump my holding tanks at a free facility in the town of Mississauga. Because my Google … Read more
While visiting with my friend Judy in Ontario Canada, she offered to escort me to a few of her favorite birding destinations, and Saturday we spent the day on the road, driving for about 250 miles. We began the day driving west, toward the northern shore of Lake Erie. Our target was called Long Point, … Read more
2023-05-10 Wednesday This morning I said goodbye to Point Pelee. The local folks I met during my visit said I was a week early for the warbler migration. Nearly everyone attending the point was excited about the first ever Willow Ptarmigan that showed up at Point Pelee. Clearly a ‘lost bird’, ptarmigan are thought to … Read more
On February 27, I left San Diego on what turned out to be a 16,000 mile tour of western North America that lasted 7½ months. I began with a slow crawl north up the Pacific Coast, with my first stop in San Luis Obispo, and followed it to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. During the … Read more
