Winged winter wonders (continued)
The situation would, of course, be different if I were considerably
smaller and furrier. As night falls, rodents in the vicinity
tunnel beneath the drifts in hopes of outwitting the serial killer.
A passerby may then see the telltale sweep of owl feathers on
snow, marking a stealthy and likely successful bid for a fresh meal.
WINTER BIRDING
Getting there
From downtown
Kingston, take Bath Road and
the Loyalist Parkway west for 20
kilometres, then catch the ferry
for a 20-minute ride to the village
of Stella, on Amherst Island.
Staying there Several of
Amherst Island’s B&Bs operate
year-round. For details on
accommodations, go to
www.amherstisland.on.ca.
Playing there Walk softly
through the owl woods or any
sensitive habitat. Amherst
Island’s several hundred human
inhabitants also request consideration
from birders. Naturalist
Tony Beck leads winter day and weekend
outings to Amherst Island
and other eastern Ontario spots.
For tourist information, go to
www.amherstisland.on.ca.
Algonquin Provincial Park is
another popular winter birding
destination. Its spruce bogs
harbour populations of chickadees,
finches, grouse, grey jays
and black-backed woodpeckers.
The Ontario Field Ornithologists
organize field trips into the park
on Dec. 27 and 28. Contact
fieldtrips@ofo.ca.
Nearby accommodations can
be found at www.algonquin-bedand-
breakfast.com. They include
the Entwood Forest Bed and
Breakfast (705-386-7585), which arranges
winter packages with local naturalist
guides, who advise that good
birding begins about half an hour
before sunrise and quickly diminishes
two to three hours later.
To find birds throughout Ontario,
visit Ontario Field
Ornithologists,
whose field trips include a Niagara
River gull watch on Dec. 2 and a
Toronto lakeshore outing on Dec. 9
to see ducks, gulls, finches and raptors.
Details on winter birdwatching
getaways in Manitoulin Island,
Georgian Bay and southern Ontario
can be found at ontariooutdoor
.com/en/getaways.
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On a lucky day, I might also spot an even smaller saw-whet owl
or two in the same woods. And snowy owls too, perched on fence
posts enclosing the island’s pasture lands. Sharp eyes, binoculars
and warm clothing are really all that’s needed to venture out and
get to where I always hope is the right place at the right time.
Winter birding isn’t just about owls, although they are spectacular
and coveted. Across Ontario, from Manitoulin Island to
Lake Erie, you can walk the pathways of provincial conservation
areas with a palmful of sunflower seeds and await the arrival of
chickadees and nuthatches, which will boldly perch on your fingers
and peck out a preferred seed, then whirr off to crack it open
for a quick snack on a nearby branch.
Travel to Algonquin Provincial Park in winter and experience
northern species like the grey jay, or “whisky-jack,” the
spruce grouse, known for its docile nature, or the boreal chickadee,
more shy and less common than its black-capped cousin.
Anywhere there is a good, steady winter food supply, from
deep-in-the-forest evergreen buds and open water to well-stocked
backyard feeders, you will find birds: jays, cardinals, grosbeaks,
waxwings, redpolls, ducks, crossbills, finches and buntings.
Movement despite deep-freeze; splashy, defiant colour against
austere monochrome; survival against the odds. With the aid of
long underwear, going birding through Ontario’s coldest months
brings the welcome assurance that if a feathered creature small
enough to perch on your hand has what it takes to make it
through another winter, so do you.
Moira Farr, an Ottawa-based writer and editor, hopes to get to the owl
woods on Amherst Island again this winter.
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