Favorite Birding Spots in Timmins - South Porcupine Area

Northern Ontario is a great place to discover birds.  We have such a vast, wild, non-developed territory to explore.  These never-ending natural areas mean that the birds are spread out and therefore, not easy to find. But that's ok because we love the challenge, right? And when we do find a worthwhile bird, it makes it even more special.  Cochrane district is a great place to look for birds and not a lot of people are doing it!  Actually, the territory is so vast and the number of birders so low, I've only ever ran into birders twice while in the field; that's twice in the last 5 years!  Personally, I think that's great in a way.  But just in case someone is looking for birding spots in the area, I have decided to add a page to this blog.  You will now find a tab that will give you access to a list of my favorite birding spots around the South Porcupine and Timmins area.  I will add spots around the Moonbeam area later on.  Good birding! 

American Redstart - Porcupine Lake

A quick update from the last 8 months

I have not updated this blog for the last 8 months. I skipped summer, fall and winter.  I have been out there trying to observe and learn more about the birds that surround us, but I haven't been writing about it.  I should do a quick update before spring gets here and I get too busy trying to remember all the different variations of warbler songs.

I'm going to post one photo from each month I have skipped, from June 2015 to January 2016.

JUNE 2015

It's always a treat to see these wonderful ducks when they pass by during migration.We don't see them too often… only once in a while on Porcupine Lake.

Long-tailed Duck (Harelde kakawi)
Porcupine Lake (June 2015)

JULY 2015

Every summer, there is a family of Eastern Kingbird that nests in one of my favorite marsh.  They always choose a dead stump in the middle of the pond.  We watched the parents working hard at catching insects to feed the hungry nestlings.

Eastern Kingbird nest (Tyran tritri)
Near Porcupine, ON (July 2015)

AUGUST 2015

Although very common in the southern part of the province, Gray Catbirds are not that common in the South Porcupine area.  We observed this particular Catbird in the Porcupine Lake area, between the Dead Man's Point trail (on the south side of Porcupine Lake) and the Evans street creek area.  In June, it was very vocal; it was interesting to hear it sing non-stop near the trail.  In August, I observed it many times near Evans street creek; it was carrying food (insects) back and forth across the creek.  I didn't see a nest, but this behaviour is a sign that it was feeding young ones nearby.

Gray Catbird (Moqueur chat) - Porcupine Lake
South Porcupine - August 2015

SEPTEMBER 2015

Bear sightings in town have increased alarmingly in the last 6 years.  Black bears seem to love to hide in our huge spruce tree in the front yard.  Every fall, this is a common sight out of our living room window.  We have to be extra careful when we go out the door.  This is why we put our bird feeders away in April and we don't take them back out until November.  

Bear cubs in my tree
South Porcupine (September 2015)

OCTOBER 2015

I missed the huge flocks of hundreds of cranes this fall, but I did spot a few.

Sandhill Cranes (Grue du Canada)
Timmins, ON (October 2015)

NOVEMBER 2015 

A note on learning about birds:  I still consider myself a beginner birder and I know I still have so much to learn.  There are plenty of opportunities to learn if you take the time to look closely.  And you have to appreciate when a good challenge comes along.  My thirst for knowledge is much greater than my pride, that's why I'm not afraid to show my limitations and ask questions when it comes to birds… it's the only way to learn!  For all of you who are, like me, starting to learn about birds, don't be embarrassed to ask a question about a bird's i.d.  If you do, you are limiting yourself.  When I first started, I needed help identifying European Starlings and other common birds.  Every encounter is a learning experience, and if you find yourself in doubt, it just reflects the fact that you haven't been exposed to that particular learning experience before…so take advantage of it.  You have 2 choices: Option 1: you convince yourself you know the answer and you accept the easiest i.d. rather than look further and ask around…this is how you stop learning.  Option 2: you observe every details, take notes, ask questions and look at all the possible i.d. options... and you continue learning.   

We were driving on the highway and spotted this hawk. At first glance, because of the time of year (November), I thought this was either a Rough-legged Hawk or a Red-tailed Hawk because we had seen many of those in this particular area in the past.  But as we got closer, I realized immediately that it was much smaller than a Rough-legged and it looked a bit smaller than a Red-tailed.  The size itself was telling me it could be a Broad-winged Hawk.  I had seen them in the area before and the size seemed to fit. Of course, adult Broad-winged Hawks are easier to i.d. when in flight with the under wing and under tail pattern. But this young hawk was a bit trickier for a beginner like me!  It was a very cooperative bird and I was able to look at it for a while, from the front, the back and in flight. I wrote  observations in my notebook (it's important to write stuff like size and behaviour as you observe the bird because it's not something you can get later from a photograph and time will distort your memory).  When I got home and looked at the photos, I was hesitant between a Juvenile Red-tail Hawk and a Juvenile Broad-winged Hawk.  The size of it was indicative of a Broad-winged Hawk (approx 15 inches) as opposed to Red-tailed Hawk (approx 19 inches) but size is a very tricky thing to judge. The unmarked under tail coverts was also indicative of a Juvenile Broad-winged. There are more details to enumerate but I won't go on forever.  I have to admit this is when I wish I had someone to turn to for help!  Feel free to comment on this i.d. if you feel I missed something… I'm always open to comments and willing to learn!

Broad-winged Hawk Juvenile? (Petite Buse)
South Porcupine (November 2015)

The same Hawk seen from behind

DECEMBER 2015 

At least this one wasn't hard to identify!  This was my first ever Timmins area Snowy.  I had seen them only in Moonbeam, Kapuskasing and Cochrane last year.  

Snowy Owl (Harfang des neiges)
Timmins (December 2015)

JANUARY 2016

Believe it or not, I saw my first Bohemian Waxwings this year!  This was one species I just couldn't seem to find!  I've been looking for them every winter, but I've had no luck until now.  Ok, I have to admit that I wasn't the one who found them…my husband did.  He saw them in town, correctly identified them with his Sibley's and came to get me immediately (I guess the years of forced training I put him through paid off!).  There were 12 of them eating berries from a shrub.  It was almost dark so the photo doesn't do it justice... I honestly think these are the most attractive birds we have in our region.  They are absolutely stunning!  They are bigger than our abundant Cedar Waxwings and they're only in our area during the winter.  They breed up north during the summer.  They survive on berries and fruits during our long winter months. If you haven't observed this amazing bird yet, and you have fruit or berry trees in your neighbourhood, take your binoculars and look around once in a while… and don't give up, I had been looking for years before I saw one.

Bohemian Waxwing (Jaseur boréal)
South Porcupine (January 2016)

Spring in South Porcupine and Moonbeam

May is the greatest time to observe birds in Northern Ontario.  The weather has been ok so far.  Most of the time, it's been nice for birding but we have had some days with freezing temperature and snow (it wouldn't be Northern Ontario if we didn't go from 25˚C to -4˚C in 24 hours at least a few times!) I have been travelling to Moonbeam a lot this May.  Here are a few of my favorite spring sightings from Moonbeam and South Porcupine.

The Moonbeam Sewage Lagoon never disappoints.  I've observed the Eurasian Wigeon there a few times and I saw it again on May 24. The water was very high until the 2nd week of May, but then the south pond was emptied, which attracted many shorebirds. On the 22nd, I saw a flock of 12 Semipalmated Plovers, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, 23 Dunlins, 3 Least Sandpipers, and a Wilson's Phalarope.  It was the biggest concentration of shorebirds I ever witnessed at MSL.  

Semipalmated Plover / Pluvier semipalmé
Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons (22 May 2015)

This was my second Wilson's Phalarope sighting; the first sighting was a male and female at exactly the same spot in May 2014.  This time, there was only the female.

Wilson's Phalarope / Phalarope de Wilson
Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons (22 May 2015)

When the pond gets emptied, it leaves the mud exposed.  Lots of shorebirds were feeding that day.

Dunlins and Dowitchers feeding
Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons (22 May 2015)

Short-billed Dowitchers / Bécassins roux
Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons (22 May 2015)

I was pleasantly surprised when a friend of mine told me about a Great Horned Owl nest  in Moonbeam.  He obtained the property owner's permission to bring me to see them.  It was my first Great Horned Owl sighting.  One adult was in the nest with 2 owlets (the other owlet is hiding in this picture)

Great Horned Owl / Grand-duc d'Amérique
Moonbeam (25 May 2015)

I was far when I took the above photo, but even then I felt like I was invading their peaceful life, so I didn't stay long.  That's why I love my Canon Powershot SX60HS; I can take photos of birds without disturbing them too much.  At full zoom, it offers the equivalent of a 1365mm lens (for under 500$!). Of course, it doesn't produce professional, sharp photos, but at least it's efficient, it's cheap, and I can carry this little camera everywhere!  This is the view from where I was standing when I took the Photo.

View of the Great Horned Owl's nest

Porcupine Lake is another spot that never disappoint in May.  I didn't have a chance to spend as much time there as I wanted, but I did get to see my first Horned Grebes on May 10.

Horned Grebes / Grebe esclavon
Porcupine Lake (10 May 2015)

I haven't seen many shorebirds at Porcupine Lake, but it's a really busy place, with lots of dogs off their leash.  But I did see Dunlins and a Least Sandpiper. 

This post is getting too long, so I will end with a gorgeous warbler that we don't really see often enough around here.  I observed it at my in-laws' campsite, which is close to Kettle Lakes Provincial Park.  I first heard its very distinctive song so I looked for it until I found it.  I had seen them before at Ivanhoe Lake Provincial Park near Foleyet; it was a treat to find one near here. 

Black-throated Blue Warbler / Paruline bleue
Near South Porcupine (16 May 2015)

Eurasian Wigeon in Moonbeam

I have been watching spring arrive in Moonbeam since the 18th of April.  Although birding is not the main reason I've been spending a few weeks here, I have had the chance to go to many of my favorite spots to witness the arrivals of spring birds.  One my favorite spots is the Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons, which never fails to attract colorful spring migrants.  Last year, on May 17 2014, I got to see my first Wilson's Phalarope here.  This year, on the evening of May 2nd, I got to observe my first Eurasian Wigeon.

Eurasian Wigeon / Canard Siffleur
Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons (May 2, 2015)

We went to check the lagoon the next morning at 7am and it was still there.

On May 4th, we went for a tour of the rural roads south of Moonbeam to look for birds.  There are many lakes, fields and ponds along these rural roads where we can see spring migration unfold.  In particular, I love stopping at 2 creeks; one on St-Jean rd. and one on St-Marie rd.  We stopped at the creek on St-Jean Rd first; this gorgeous creek actually surrounds a small horse farm. In spring, the creek becomes very wide and it's a favorite stopover for many waterfowl and shorebirds.  As soon as we arrived, I couldn't believe what I was seeing; the Eurasian Wigeon was there!  

Eurasian Wigeon and Killdeer
Moonbeam - St-Jean Road (May 4, 2015)

It's certainly the same bird I saw at the Moonbeam Sewage Lagoon on the evening of May 2nd and on the morning of May 3rd.  The creek is exactly 5.6 km from the lagoon (a straight 5.6 km as the Wigeon flies!)  Also in the creek near the Eurasian Wigeon were 2 American Wigeons, some Green-winged Teals, Mallards ... and a Killdeer.

We saw the Eurasian Wigeon again at the Moonbeam Sewage Lagoon on the afternoon of May 8.  I'm not sure how long it plans to stay in the area.  I'm leaving Moonbeam today and I won't be back until May 23.  But I might just go for one last stroll at the lagoon before I leave.

Here are some other spring arrivals I observed around the Moonbeam area.

Northern Shoveler / Canard souchet
Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons (May 2015)

Lapland Longspur / Plectrophane lapon
Moonbeam Sewage Lagoons (May 2015)

Spring has been great so far… and the best part is, it's not over!

Quick Winter Update

Winter Update

We're already in the second month of 2015... time goes by fast.  Since my last post was over 4 months ago, I decided I should do a quick update. 

What happened in the last 4 months?  Winter happened.  One thing you can count on here in Northern Ontario is winter.  It's a cold one (OK, maybe not as cold as last winter, but close)

We've been seeing lots of Redpolls at our feeders as well as some Pine Grosbeaks and a couple of Evening Grosbeaks.  We have flocks of 30 to 100 redpolls every day in the neighbourhood.  For the first time since I've lived here, we have a Pileated Woodpecker visiting the suet feeder.  But then again, I've only had a suet feeder since last winter (I started putting it out last year to help our rare visitor, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, survive winter.  He successfully survived our harsh climate.  He stayed from November 22, 2013 to May 23, 2014).  Now the Pileated shows up every day so I have to make a new batch of home-made suet every week!

Pileated Woodpecker / Grand Pic
South Porcupine (February 2015)

Timmins Christmas Bird Count 2014

On December 20th, Gary and I participated in the 21st Timmins Christmas Bird Count.  It was a beautiful day.  It was sunny and -20 Celsius so it was a perfect day to be out there looking for birds.  We did some fields around Timmins.  We also did some of the beautiful trails at Hersey Lake Conservation Area, where we saw this Black-backed Woodpecker. 

Black-backed Woodpecker / Pic à dos noir
Hersey Lake Conservation Area, Timmins (Dec 2014)

Dominican Republic

We went to the Dominicans from December 27 to January 3rd  to attend my cousin's wedding. It was our first time in the Dominicans.  We were a group of 39 and I didn't have time to do any birding side trips like I had hoped... but our resort was still pretty good for birds because it had some naturals ponds and streams right on its grounds.  One pond was blocked off by trees but we still found a way to get to it almost every day.  I got to see 32 species, 19 of which were life birds for me.  I got to observe this Black-crowned Night-Heron on my birthday… they can be seen in Southern Ontario sometimes but I had to go to Punta Cana to see my first one. 

Black-crowned Night-Heron/ Bihoreau gris
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (Jan 2015)

I didn't take a lot of photos (there was sand in my camera so it wasn't working so good)  You can view a few more photos I took in the Dominicans here:  Some of my Dominican Republic Birds on Flickr

January

I finally saw my first snowy owl. For some reason, they never seem to come to the Timmins area.  We've been scanning fields for years and we never saw one here.  On January 23, we went to Kapuskasing for my sister's birthday dinner and we saw one just before arriving in town (I didn't have my camera)  It was pure white, perched on a telephone pole.  There are no words to describe how beautiful these owls are.

On the 27th of January, I had to go back to Moonbeam for a meeting and I saw another one.  It was a different bird.  I had my camera that time but I was 300 meters away from it so it's not very clear.  So far, Snowy Owls have been spotted in the Kapuskasing, Moonbeam and Cochrane area but none have been seen near Timmins yet.

Snowy Owl / Harfang des neiges
Moonbeam, Ontario (27 Jan 2015)

A Weekend with Rusty Blackbirds

I got to watch a flock of 14 Rusty Blackbirds on the Porcupine Lake trail Friday morning.  They are amazing looking birds.  I never had a chance to get such a good look at them so I took advantage of the nice day and I watched them for a long time.  OK, for a very long time… Friday and Saturday. 

Rusty Blackbird / Quiscale rouilleux
Porcupine Lake (26 September 2014)

This one found a dead minnow and I watched him as he enjoyed his feast.

Another Rusty Blackbird

I went back this afternoon and they were still there.  It was a hot day (25 Celsius).  Some of them were coping with the heat by bathing in the little stream.  

Rusty Blackbirds

This is the last one, I promise...

Rusty Blackbird - Porcupine Lake (27 Sept 2014)

Porcupine Lake - Stilt Sandpiper, Red Knot and more

Two weeks ago, on World Shorebirds Day (September 6, 2014), I was determined to explore a lake with sandy and muddy shores where we'd see shorebirds.  We had inquired around for such a lake, preparing for Shorebirds Day.  We wanted to find the perfect 'new' spot.  We drove 90 km to a lake we heard had the nicest sandy shores in the region.  We found the Lake.  We did not find the so called sandy shores.  We only saw 3 Loons.  So we drove back.  A total of 180 km; no shorebirds.  We didn't even see a potentially good shore!  When we arrived back in town, we had 15 minutes to spare so we went to Plan B; we decided to stop by the small beach at Porcupine Lake... I was NOT going back home without seeing a shorebird on World Shorebirds Day!  As soon as I got out of the truck, I spotted it: there was a shorebird waiting for us… and the height of its legs made me realize it was one I had never seen before.

Stilt Sandpiper / Bécasseau à échasses
Porcupine Lake (Sept 6, 2014)

Stilt Sandpiper / Bécasseau à échasses
Porcupine Lake (Sept 6, 2014)

And to think Porcupine Lake is 2 km from my door!  Finding this bird sure made me forget about the 180 birdless kilometres we drove that day.  It was a new bird for Gary and I and for Porcupine Lake.

On September 12, we decided to go explore Hersey Lake.  It's a small, pretty lake in a Conservation Area.  Hersey Lake's shores are all sand and mud with swampy areas.  We check it once in a while because it has enormous Shorebird potential.  Unfortunately, there was nothing.  The lake is surrounded by trails and it's so busy… it's becoming more and more like a dog park; there are always a dozen dogs and most of them aren't on leashes… which is not fun if you're a migrating shorebird in need of rest and food.  I'm eventually going to just give up on that lake.  Coming back from there, we decided to go for Plan B again; we stopped at good old Porcupine Lake and we got lucky again.  We saw 2 new birds for Porcupine Lake.

A Red Knot… at first, I wasn't too sure what it was.  And when I realized it was a Red Knot, I was so excited.  Anyone who read anything on migrating Red Knots can't help being fascinated by the bird.  It can fly up to 15,000 km during Spring and then again in Fall.  (Close to 30, 000 km every year).  If you're not impressed, just look up Moonbird (B95).  I rest my case.  I feel lucky to have had a chance to stand so close to a miracle of nature!

Red Knot / Bécasseau maubèche
Porcupine Lake (Sept 12, 2014)

We watched it for a while.  He was feeding on the edge of the grass where the trail is flooded (Porcupine Lake's water level has been high during the last 2 years)  Then a bicycle flushed it.

Red Knot about to be flushed by a cyclist.

I thought that would be my last look at the Red Knot as it was about to be scared off by a cyclist... but  the bird landed right at our feet.  About 2 meters away from us.

Red Knot - Porcupine Lake (Sept 12, 2014)

After looking at us for a bit, the Red Knot went back to its spot and started feeding again, catching a big juicy worm.

Red Knot - Porcupine Lake (Sept 12, 2014)

We were still watching the Red Knot at a fair distance when Gary spotted another bird nearby.  I put my binoculars on the bird and realized it was a Ruddy Turnstone.  Another new bird for Gary and I, and for Porcupine Lake; 2 life birds in one evening.  At this point, the only way we could have more luck is if they would both come near us and pose together…hmmmm

Ruddy Turnstone and Red Knot
Porcupine Lake (Sept 12, 2014)

On September 18, we went back to Porcupine Lake (we forget Plan A and go straight to Plan B) and we spotted this Semipalmated Plover feeding off the small beach at White Waterfront area.  It was hopping on one leg and upon closer look, I realized that the poor thing was missing its left leg.  

Semipalmated Plover / Pluvier semipalmé
Porcupine Lake (Sept 18, 2014)

As we were watching the Semipalmated Plover, a Ruddy Turnstone landed on the beach.  I can't wait to get back to Porcupine Lake… it's been full of surprises this year.

Ruddy Turnstone / Tournepierre à collier
Porcupine Lake (Sept 18, 2014)