Killbear 2026 birds

 

Killbear, as usual, was extremely good for birding the first three weeks of June. There is always a great variety of birds, all down low busy feeding on the local insect population. As usual, for the first couple of hours early every morning I rode my bike around to my favourite birding haunts. Most mornings I’d end up with an eBird list around 40-60 species. Here are the first images of some of the birds encountered.

                                                    Yellow-throated Vireo

                                                       Chestnut-sided Warbler

                                                           Least Flycatcher

                                                    Red-headed Woodpecker

                                                    Northern Yellow Warbler

                                                       Black and White Warbler

                                                        Pileated Woodpecker

                                                            Northern Flicker

A distant image of a Black-crowned Night-Heron. The last couple of years I've observed. and reported, a BCNH in one of the ponds at Killbear Provincial Park to which I got the distinct feeling that the local eBird moderator was skeptical. However this year I was finally able to capture this image. BCNH nest way out in Georgian Bay on the Limestone Islands and the OFO yearly runs trips out to the islands to observe them and the terns that nest there. After I posted this image on my eBird report local birders were showing up early the next morning trying to locate the bird. I was unable to attend the OFO trip this year but plan on making the trip next year. Through canoe trips and sailing I have been to many of the islands, including the Mink, McCoy, Franklin, the Pancakes and Snake Islands, but never made it out to the Limestones.

Killbear 2026

Well, we have just returned home from our annual Killbear Provincial Park camping trip. It was a great time as 3 of the 4 kids, our daughter in law Theresa, and 5 grandkids all made it up. We had our usual four sites right on Georgian Bay and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

I always enjoy birding there this time of year as the park has everything from a great selection of warblers and woodpeckers, bittern, night herons, a heron rookery that had 12 nests this year and was very active, loons and of course lots of Barred Owls.

Our granddaughter Evelynn came back from biking and excitedly announced she had discovered a mother Red Fox and 5 pups. So off we took and these shots were taken as we just sat and watched the pups playfully wrestle around.

Our grandson Ben also had an incredible experience with a pair of loons. While he was out swimming, maybe 50 yards off shore, a pair of loons swam by busy fishing. They didn’t flush and as he just stood still, they continued diving and swimming all around him maybe 15 feet away for an extended period of time. Very cool indeed.

Marthaville Pasture walk

This week I had another excellent walk along one of my favourite pastures. According to my images I’ve only been walking this pasture going back 10 years. Todays walk was extra special as I had the opportunity to discuss the pasture with the local cattle rancher. It was very interesting to listen to his stories in regards to soil and water conditions as to how they relate to his cattle.

The pasture showing the cattle rancher and the students gathering stool samples from the cattle.

A little later a research group of three students from Guelph University arrived. These students were majoring in microbiology and were there to analyze the water and soil as well as the cattle. All in all, a very interesting time and I’m glad they included me in discussing their work.

No images of Upland Sandpipers on fence posts today so this is a reworked image from a decade ago.

Today, on my third pass walking along the roadway, I was able to locate three Upland Sandpipers that were all on the ground.

The pasture always has other favourite birds like Bobolink and Meadowlark.

An image I just couldn’t pass up.

Dow Wetlands Birding

 

Interestingly Clay-colored Sparrow young leave the nest before they can fly. They hop to the ground from their nest in a shrub and run an average of 40 feet to seek cover in a thicket, where their parents will continue to feed them. They won’t fly for the first time for another 6 to 8 days. Cornell All About Birds

Sedge Wrens forage low in vegetation or on the ground, where they are difficult to see. They probe for insects at the bases of plants or in the soil, using their fine bills and strong legs. Males sing on territories, sometimes from exposed perches near the tops of bushes but often from hidden perches. Cornell All About Birds