Gray Jay
On Sunday Deb and I drove to Algonquin Provincial Park to enjoy some late winter/early spring birding. It has been a good winter for Boreal finches, with small numbers of Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Red Crossbills and White-winged Crossbills reported in the park regularly and large numbers of Evening Grosbeaks (particularly at the Visitor Center feeders) and Pine Siskins seen daily. Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpeckers and Boreal Chickadees have also been seen regularly throughout the winter, and the mammal reports intrigued us – moose sightings have been sporadic along Highway 60; a lone wolf was seen crossing the highway in January; a red fox was eating black sunflower seed at the Visitor Centre on January 25th; and Pine Martens have been found regularly at Opeongo Road, the Spruce Bog Boardwalk, and the Mew Lake Campground. With so many species around this winter, we were sure to see something interesting!
Yesterday Deb and I spent the day at Algonquin Park. Although it was supposed to be cold (the high was supposed to be only 8°C), it was also supposed to be sunny. Dawn was breaking over thick, dark, cloudy skies in Ottawa, but by the time we reached Eganville we could see plenty of blue sky ahead. We saw a couple of Great Blue Herons, a flock of Wild Turkeys, four Turkey Vultures, large flocks of blackbirds, a Belted Kingfisher, and a couple of unidentified hawks on our drive; then, by the time we were about half an hour away from the park, several large, misty clouds had swallowed up the sky. In Whitney a light, misty rain began to fall; by the time we reached the park gate we saw – to our horror – snow mixed in with the rain! 
The next day the unsettled weather continued. Dark clouds moved through, bringing small pockets of rain, while the sun peeked out from behind the clouds from time to time. While my Dad, Sharon and Ashley were having their showers and breakfasts, Doran and I drove over to the Mizzy Lake Trail. We drove up Arowhon Road to the old rail bed and entered the trail via the Wolf Howl Pond. On the way in I saw a group of Yellow-rumped Warblers, an American Redstart and a couple of White-throated Sparrows. Across the pond I heard the whistle of a Broad-winged Hawk somewhere up in the trees. A few meadowhawks, Four-spotted Skimmers and Chalk-fronted Corporals accompanied us along the path.
