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by OntPhoto on Thu Sep 20, 2018 6:10 pm
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The winter 2018 to 2019 Finch forecast is published.  It is looked forward to each fall by bird photographers and birders alike.

Looks to be a good winter to see redpolls and bohemian waxwings.

http://jeaniron.ca/2018/wff18.htm
 

by chuckkl on Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:16 pm
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Great !!!

Chuck
 

by MND on Fri Sep 21, 2018 8:17 pm
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When would be a good time to visit Algonquin Provincial Park to see Pine and Evening Grosbeaks and Owls?
 

by OntPhoto on Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:39 pm
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chuckkl wrote:Great !!!

Chuck
There's always something good to look forward to each winter.  
 

by OntPhoto on Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:54 pm
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MND wrote:When would be a good time to visit Algonquin Provincial Park to see Pine and Evening Grosbeaks and Owls?
The best thing to do is call the Friends of Algonquin Park number (PM me and I'll provide it) and ask to speak to a Park Naturalist.  They are very helpful when it comes to best times to see certain birds.  That's how I know there were many black bear sightings this past summer.

Owls on the other hand is a very sensitive subject nowadays.  They won't be saying much on any owl sightings (they used to).  A number of summers ago, a pair of great gray owls raised young in a bog in Algonquin Park.  I found out about it early on but made only one return trip.  When I returned a month or more later, the bog had been tramped down and they closed it off.  So, they're kind of sensitive.

Having said that, it is well known that there is a small breeding population of great gray owls in Algonquin Park.  These owls have been known to breed along the Mizzy Lake Trail in past years.  One was actually spotted up there a number of months ago in the summer.  I meant to visit but never made it.  It's a long 3 hour drive up and then back. I have not been to Algonquin Park in a number of years now.  And never in winter (too many owls in Ottawa and elsewhere) but I need to go see the Pine Martens.  They can be found near the bird feeders in the winter months and from what I have been told, appear to be on the tame side. 

PS.  It's hard to drag myself up early in the morning on a cold winter day to make the 3 hour plus drive up to Algonquin Park when I know there are owls waiting to be discovered locally :-)  This past winter we had great gray owls (locally and in Montreal), northern hawk owl, snowy owl and this one local fella who keeps finding boreal owls (at least 2 within the past 3 winter).  Plus he's been shooting a northern hawk owl at the same location for 2 of the last 3 winters north of the Gatineau area.  And we get both bohemian waxwings and redpolls right here in Ottawa during years when these species irrupt....like this coming winter as mentioned in the Finch Forecast.  A good place to see these birds in Algonquin Park may be at the Visitor Centre where they have feeders set up.  The Spruce Bog boardwalk is good for boreal chickadee ever since they set up suet feeders.  Black bears are hibernating which is why they don't mind setting up feeders in the winter.  These same feeders attract Pine Martens.  It's no secret that some people feed the Pine Martens too. 
 

by OntPhoto on Mon Oct 22, 2018 6:25 pm
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It's already started as a number of both Common Redpoll and a couple of Hoary Redpoll have been reported in the Ottawa area.  But the strangest of all is a birder reporting a Boreal Chickadee in the heart of Ottawa's chinatown area today.
 

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