May 11th was another beautiful day….in fact it was so nice we actually broke out the shorts!
There are number of trails in Sir Winston Churchill Park, and that morning we set out, prepared to walk some of them…we were just about to set out when I spotted….
a Boreal Chickadee…..this is a species I’ve only seen very rarely and had yet to get a picture of….
there was a puddle of water here and he was intent upon a bath….actually there were several birds using this bathing spot….
We had just set off down the trail when Shantz spotted a couple of critters ahead….
Some more of those Snow Shoe Hare…..we saw so many of these guys that day we gave up keeping track!
here is another section of the well defined trail…
In a clear area we came across this White – throated sparrow….this picture clearly shows the ‘white throat’…
Red Squirrels here as well…
and ahead on the trail….Swainson’s Thrush…now on the coast where I come from, we often hear Swainson’s Thrush, but seeing them is another matter…..so I found this very exciting…however as the trip progress’s you’ll find, as we did, that seeing Swainson’s Thrush in these parts is a very common occurrence!
at one point, an Osprey with a fish flew over head…
On the far side of the park, we came across a large flock of mixed Warblers….this is a Palm Warbler…
and this a Yellow rump….Myrtle variety….we also saw Blackpoll and Orange crowned but were unable to get pictures…or at least any that turned out…
This is a view of Lac la Biche from the north side of the park…way out there, that white on the water is a rock that, when we were here before, was covered in Pelicans, Cormorant and nesting Gulls….this time, there was still ice at the far end of it….
this is from the same spot, looking eastward…there is a viewing platform just visible in the trees …
and from the same spot, looking west. It is possible to walk out right to the tip of the land…..we didn’t make it that far this trip….it was getting hot and we were getting hungry….
In the afternoon I wandered back to the beach area that I had visited the day before….this view is looking directly across to where the town of Lac la Biche is situated…
This pair of Common Merganser were always hanging around in this particular spot….the male on the left and the female on the right ~ unfortunately the sun was definitely in the wrong position….
I found Common Merganser to be quite spooky so it isn’t too often you can get close pictures of them.
A Spotted Sandpiper showed up as well….the first we’d seen on this trip. Since this is a species that you see absolutely anywhere that there is water….I assume they were just arriving….
Looking east along the beach towards the campground….we figure that it must be the action of the ice that builds up the sand in the way shown here….
looking back the other way….the big black clouds never really amounted to anything….
This Song Sparrow posed nicely for a picture….
There were actually a lot of different Butterflies fluttering around that day….this one is a Mourning Cloak…
saw more of those Franklin Ground Squirrels too…..
and of course those Snow shoe Hare….
this poor guy is really infested with ticks…. What we didn’t get a picture of was the trio of Moose that went crashing right through the campsite while Ernie was sitting outside reading in the sunshine!
During the course of the day, a number of large flocks of geese had flown over, heading north….this was another one that flew over during the evening.
Thus another day drew to a close….now out of water….we’d be moving on tomorrow.
Bird List: Swainson’s Thrush – 5; Yellow rump Warbler – 25; Palm Warbler – 2; Blackpoll Warbler – 1; Orange crowned Warbler – 6; Spotted Sandpiper – 1; Common Merganser – 10; Red Breasted Merganser – 6; Common Goldeneye – 12; Canada Geese – 100; Northern Flicker – 2; Hairy Woodpecker – 2; Magpie – 1; Song Sparrow – 5; Red Breasted Nuthatch – 3; White throated Sparrow – 20; Boreal Chickadee – 5; Tree Swallow – 1; Black Cap Chickadee – 3; Green Wing Teal – 2; Mallard – 6; Downy Woodpecker – 1; Osprey – 2; Common Loon – 1; Ring bill Gulls – 12.
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