Ontario Midnorth birding

Birding the area northeast of Chapleau

Bird Species Seen at Kanipahow Resort

The following report is based on an intense week of birdingbird surveying, from June 26^th to July 3rd, 2004 in the area immediately northeast of Chapleau, by threeexpert experienced birders working on the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas project in the Chapleau area. Specifically, the squares 17LP30 and 17LP31 were carefully surveyed The areas covered included Adams, Westover and LeBlanc lakes and the northern part of Borden Lake, corresponding to atlas squares 17LP30 and 17LP31. Birding was done fromfollowing the passable roads byand examining selected habitats. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is required on many of the logging roads, or at least a vehicle with high clearance.

This area has an intriguing mixture of boreal species (Bonaparte's Gulls, Black-backed and Three-toed woodpeckers, Spruce Grouse, Gray Jay, White-winged Crossbill, Lincoln's Sparrow, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, etc.) and species more typical of habitats further south (White-breasted Nuthatch, Gray Catbird, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, etc.). We tallied 90 species during our six days, but limited our efforts to the two Atlas squares. Additional species could be observed by covering a wider area, particularly the town of Chapleau and the Chapleau River, with its extensive fens, and exploring recent burns and mature coniferous forest for the northern woodpeckers.

The area is also excellent for mammal sightings. Black bears are extremely common but seem to be afraid of humans in most cases. We saw five bears in six days. We also spotted a Canadian lynx, snowshoe hares and much evidence of wolves and moose.

Bird Species of Northern Ontario

Birds of Prey	Woodpeckers
Bald Eagle Broad-winged Hawk Golden Eagle Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk Turkey Vulture	Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Waterfowl & Marine Birds	Flycatchers, Sparrows, Finch & Chickadee
American Black Duck American Herring Gull American Wigeon Belted Kingfisher Bonaparte's Gull Common Goldeneye Common Loon Common Merganser Great Blue Heron Mallard Ring-necked Duck Spotted Sandpiper	Alder Flycatcher American Goldfinch Bank Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Boreal Chickadee Chipping Sparrow Eastern Wood-Pewee Least Flycatcher Lincoln's Sparrow Olive-sided Flycatcher Purple Finch Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Tree Swallow White-throated Sparrow Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Warblers	Mixed Breeds
Bay-breasted Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Cape May Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Mourning Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Tennessee Warbler Wilson's Warbler Yellow-Rumped Warbler	American Crow American Kestrel American Redstart American Robin Blue Jay Blue-headed Vireo Brown Creeper Cedar Waxwing Common Grackle Common Raven Common Yellowthroat Dark-eyed Junco Eastern Kingbird Evening Grosbeak Golden-crowned Kinglet Gray Catbird Gray Jay Hermit Thrush Indigo Bunting Merlin Northern Waterthrush Ovenbird Philadelphia Vireo Red-breasted Nuthatch Red-eyed Vireo Red-winged Blackbird Rose-breasted Grosbeak Ruby-throated Hummingbird Scarlet Tanager Swainson's Thrush Veery White-breasted Nuthatch White-winged Crossbill Wilson's Snipe Winter Wren

Game Birds
Ruffed Grouse Spruce Grouse