I took the day off to do a trip to see one of the most endangered species in the whole province... Piping Plover. Inland these are some of the most difficult shorebirds to find as their plumage is sandy coloured and they're insanely fast. They have been found breeding on Beach 1 in Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, that was my first stop.
I left my place pretty early, around 5 am. I wanted to miss traffic in Barrie. When I got to the park it was completely empty, 8 am on a Friday, pretty believable. I step out and immediately I can see the light coloured sand and my first ever glimpse of Lake Huron (making this the 3rd Great Lake I have ever birded on). I could hear Ring-billed Gull and Song Sparrow calling towards the beach and an American Robin bouncing around in the parking lot. I walked towards the beach and I seen a quick little scuttle towards the beach, oh my god! Piping Plover! I had only been here for 5 minutes. This was amazing.
After 1 plover showed itself, it turned into 5, then 7, then 9... the plover were everywhere and I was soaking up every second of it! After walking down the boardwalk a little further I decided to turn back towards the car, since Wasaga really isn't that far north I wasn't expecting many different birds than I got at home, and I didn't get any but the plover.
The way back was pretty much the same, plovers to the left, American Robin calling to the right. Astonishing to see so many of an endangered species in a single area. Once I got back to the end of the boardwalk I noticed how close the plovers were coming. So walking right under the walkway. So, I decided to take my camera and sit in the sand to see how the plovers would act. Surprisingly, they weren't phased at all by my actions. They kept walking around and one even got only a couple feet from my legs. This is an experience no birder could ever forget.
Once I left Wasaga I took a trip to Tiny Marsh Provincial Wildlife Area, only 30 mins away. With it being so hot and seemingly packed with passerines I decided to leave my scope in the car and just bring my camera and bins.
The park was completely empty. No one walking around which always makes birding easier, no one to scare the birds away. I walked for only a few seconds when I heard a bird that calls loudly in the migration period at home, fee-a-bee an Eastern Phoebe called and not 5 seconds later landed on a platform in front of me. After snapping a couple of pictures I headed towards the marsh walk. Another Phoebe called and Red-eyed Vireo calling from the woods above. The Phoebe is joined by a Least Flycatcher calling from a little ways away. I kept walking and hearing more birds like Song Sparrow and American Redstart. Walking towards the marsh I seen a quick flash from across the canal, Northern Waterthrush! Then to the left of me were two Brown Creeper! A rare view in the middle of summer. The birds are just buzzing here and I added Sandhill Crane and Swamp Sparrow to my ever growing list. The trip in Tiny was pretty uneventful until I got back and headed to an opening. I was looking for marsh birds like rails or gallinule which somehow I had missed on the lookout. I walked up the lane-way and seen another Sandhill Crane flyover, I looked for it but it had already landed in the cattails. Then a chatter call from the reeds to my left, Common Gallinule! I knew that call very well with the ones I have heard in Big Creek! Then on the way back a Pied-billed Grebe! Phenomenal, these small pigeon-billed grebes are not very common in my neck of the woods this time of year so after a couple pictures I headed back to my car, feeling pretty good about my decision to come here. Now, next stop, Carden Alvar.
When I got to Carden I didn't know what to expect, but I knew it wasn't what I got. It looked like a barren wasteland. It honestly reminded me of central Alberta, very open and grassy. This was a surprise for central Ontario, but a pleasant surprise at that.
Immediately after getting out of the car I heard a familiar call, probably one of the weirdest ones coming from one of the weirdest birds we have here. Upland Sandpiper. I know they're quite common around here but from my impression they were also quite far away, this one sounded close. I look to my left and there it was, 20 feet from me sitting on a fence post. Calling loudly I quickly slung my camera up and snapped some photos. These are the closest and best photos I have ever taken of an Upland and I can imagine it will remain that way for a quite a while. Moving on after hearing 2 more around I kept hearing the calls of a small buzzy sparrow that I have been hearing and seeing everywhere somehow. Grasshopper Sparrow. I have never taken photos of one since I've always just heard them calling but I was dead set on today being the day I grab some photos of this amazing little bird. After what seemed like forever searching for the little guy I found it at the top of a small pine. I snapped a couple pictures, this marked my last moment here. I could not stand the heat anymore, sweat pouring down my face and my heart pounding in my chest, it's time to go home.
All in all my day in Central Ontario was a huge success. Loved the birds I seen and the places I seen were all places I hope to visit again sometime! I do recommend going to Carden a little earlier than I did though!
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| This young male American Redstart was having a pretty bad hair day as he molts out of his old baby feathers into his big-boy feathers. - Simcoe County ON |
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| Pied-billed Grebe are small hard to find birds with short pigeon-like bills with dark stripe through the middle of it. - Simcoe County, ON |
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| Upland Sandpipers are hard to find grassland birds that breed in southern and central Ontario. They are wonky looking and quite large standing at almost a foot in length. - Kawartha Lakes, ON |
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| These dark medium-sized flycatchers are a common sight to Ontario birders and I have found them breeding anywhere from Long Point to North Bay - Simcoe County, ON |
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| After some determination I finally found this Grasshopper Sparrow whose song is often mistaken for an insect rather than a bird, just like chipmunks sounding similar to both Cardinal and Cuckoos. - Kawartha Lakes, ON |
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| This picture of an Upland Sandpiper really shows its irregularity, a plump body, small head, thin bill, and long knobby-kneed legs. - Kawartha Lakes, ON |
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| The colour Bands on these Piping Plover are unique to each bird and are never repeated. - Simcoe County ON |
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| This Piping Plover chick was just one of the 2 that showed up while I was there and they were the cutest and fastest little birds I have ever witnessed - Simcoe County, ON |
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I got so close to this Piping Plover my heart was pounding and I could almost hear the sand being kicked up from underneath its feet. - Simcoe County, ON
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