Birding the Carden Alvar  - Passport to Nature 2017 Outing

Wilson's Snipe on Wylie Road on The Couchiching Conservancy's Passport to Nature outing. 10 June 2017.

On Saturday 10 June 2017, The Couchiching Conservancy's Passport to Nature program featured a morning outing on Wylie Road. Our group of 25 birders tallied 53 species as we walked this famous road. We saw and heard many of the specialty birds of the Carden Alvar, including good views of Wilson's Snipe posing on a fence post, three Loggerhead Shrikes, Grasshopper Sparrow, Alder Flycatcher, Upland Sandpiper, Eastern Bluebird and Sedge Wren. We also found American Bittern, Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, Brown Thrasher, six species of sparrows and more. Prairie Smoke, the Carden Alvar's spectacular wildflower, covered the alvar meadows. Many thanks to all the participants for their focused enthusiasm and camaraderie, and to Arni and Dianne Stinnissen, Ann and Neil Gray, Ken MacDonald, and everyone who helped spot the birds.

 

A pair of Eastern Bluebirds re-nesting at Bluebird Box 1, possibly they lost their first eggs or young either to predation or the cold inclement weather.

 

An Alder Flycatcher sang beautifully at the Sedge Wren Marsh.

 

Link to our eBird lists

Wylie Road: http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist/S37518094

 

Lake Dalrymple: http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist/S37518298 

 

 Link to Ron Pittaway's Carden Alvar Birding Guide:

http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/articles.cardenalvar