Snowy Owl is extremely rare in Algonquin, and the few records were all one-day wonders. I gave some tips to Mike, who was coming from the south, for a few places to check for Snowy Owls on the way up to the park, and he was successful in seeing one near Hamilton. Great Gray Owls breed in Algonquin but they are very sparse and difficult to find. I usually only see them once or twice a year.
Nonetheless, we were eager to give it a try and cruised Highway 60 as it got dark the night before, hoping for owls or mammals but even after a couple of hours and covering close to 100 km, we saw nothing - not even a Red Fox. The next day I woke up and it was 8°C/46.4°F and steadily raining. Not ideal weather for birding.
As we made our way into the park early in the morning, in the first hour of light, I noticed a cow Moose in the woods close to the road. We pulled over and she eventually came out to browse on some twigs beside the road, giving great views. Not a bad start.
We pulled up to Smoke Lake to look at a duck that Mike had spotted and it was a late Common Merganser, a nice surprise. It was following a foraging Beaver around. The beaver noticed the car and gave a classic tail-slap before disappearing.
A Red Fox had crossed the road in front of us and we pulled over to watch it hunt the ditch adjacent to the road for a few minutes. It was not particularly concerned with our presence but was wary, always kept an eye on us and did not approach the stopped vehicle - good to know that it was indeed "wild" and not food-conditioned.
Several flocks of Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch and Purple Finch were on the road. Many tree species had a good crop this year so we can expect lots of these in the winter.
As we arrived to our first stop of the day to look for Spruce Grouse, I had barely had the time to explain that they can be a bit tricky at this time of year before we saw a nice male within 10 metres of the parking lot. In typical Spruce Grouse fashion, it was unperturbed and allowed for great views and photos.
Some White-winged Crossbills were flying around and perching, but pretty far. A couple Red Crossbills were also about but again, flying over mostly. We noticed another grouse on the trail, and it turned out to be another male Spruce Grouse! We still needed Ruffed Grouse and connected with one a bit further.
The Visitor Centre had recently put up their feeders and they were already found by several Evening Grosbeaks - our target here. Purple Finches were also in evidence.
We then drove eastwards to the far east end of the park. Walking a trail here, we did not find anything particularly exciting until we noticed an animal running around on the ground near the parking lot - an American Marten! It put on a great show, chasing some Blue Jays in the trees and grooming itself before descending to the ground again. In the dead of winter, these can be easy to find, but with this warm weather we were lucky to spot this one.
We still needed to see some Gray Jays so we went to a location where they are easy and come to the hand. We saw two pairs and they entertained us with their antics. We tried hard for Boreal Chickadee and Black-backed Woodpecker, but they did not make a showing.
Another bird appeared at the tops of one of the black spruce trees, and while it looked superficially like the Gray Jays we were watching earlier, closer inspection revealed it to be a Northern Shrike! Shrikes spend the winter every once in while, but are more regular on passage. A pleasant surprise and an unexpected lifer for Mike.
Still hurting for the chickadee and woodpecker, we went to yet another site. Waking up early and taking advantage of the entirety of the few hours of daylight available has many benefits! We saw many Black-capped Chickadees but alas, the Boreal evaded our best efforts.
My Barred Owl imitation did inspire a Black-backed Woodpecker to fly over, but it barely qualified as a good look. Thankfully, the bird returned to mob the imaginary owl and gave us our first good looks at this Algonquin specialty!
We noticed a raptor soaring in the distance and looked at it. This late in the season, it was certainly something good, and I was hoping for Rough-legged Hawk, which is an uncommon passage migrant here.
Imagine our surprise when the bird, as it came closer, revealed itself to be a Snowy Owl!!! Snowy Owl has only been recorded in 8 of the last 50 years in Algonquin. There is essentially no habitat for them here so we were lucky to see one actively migrating. A moment that will live forever in Algonquin Park history!
It was getting dark, so we had planned to drive some roads to see if we can find more mammals or owls. A Red Fox crossed in front of the car. It was that time of day!
As a most fitting end to the unbelievable day we'd already had, just before dark I noticed a large, gray, loaf-of-bread shaped object breaking up the otherwise straight silhouette of the power lines - a Great Gray Owl. It sat unperturbed as we watched it before it flew back into the woods.
What a trip, perhaps never to be repeated again - but that's the beauty of this part of the world. You really don't know what you're going to see - even on a rainy, warm November day!
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