I waited for so long to visit the Rainy River region that it had attained an almost mythical status. Every year, in June, the Ontario Field Ornithologists run a birding tour of the area. This year, a few thing$ came together and I was able to sign up at the last minute. The tour was led by Dave Milsom, supported as always by his wife Liz, and Colleen Reilly. It took place on June 3 and 4 but we arrived a day early and added another day of birding at the conclusion.
I flew to Winnipeg, Manitoba and shared a car with friends Dave Archbell and Doug Ward. The drive was about five hours in duration without birding, eating or shopping stops. We stayed at the Walla Walla Inn and our host, Kim, was very attentive to our needs.
I won’t go into every detail of our itinerary with this post. Rather, I’ll concentrate on photos of birds, at least the ones I was able to obtain with my Canon Powershot 60. Photography is not my priority but I’m always pleased to manage a decent visual record of a special bird. Also, I’ve added a few images reflecting the group activities and some local colour.
Overall, I saw and heard two new life birds. One was Connecticut Warbler, a longtime nemesis! I wasn’t able to get a photo. My other lifer was Sharp-tailed Grouse. I’d searched for this species unsuccessfully on Manitoulin Island a few times in the past. This time, they were lekking at a few locations early in the morning and I saw dozens of them. However, they were always at a distance from the roadside except for this one individual.
These global lifers were, of course, new birds for my Ontario life list. The two other new Ontario additions were Black-billed Magpie and American Three-toed Woodpecker. The woodpecker was likely the ‘best’ bird of the tour. Now, I don’t have to visit Cochrane in the far north in the middle of winter to snowshoe through a burn in pursuit of this species.
Rainy River also offered a great selection of birds that are uncommon or rare in southern Ontario. I didn’t photograph a Yellow Rail (did anyone achieve this miracle?) but clearly heard two of them. Perhaps, the least common on my home turf are Eared Grebe, Western Meadowlark, Brewer’s Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Sedge Wren and Le Conte’s Sparrow.
The Eared Grebes were at the Rainy River Sewage Lagoons. Other highlights of the lagoons were Wilson’s Phalarope (as many as 5 including a possible nesting pair) and a single Red-necked Phalarope (alas, no photo).
Who doesn’t love a pelican? American White Pelicans were present throughout our tour. Mostly, they were stately flyovers but on Sunday we found a group relaxing at Nestor Falls.
I’ll wrap up this brief account with a few more birds and a few scenic images. This sculpture of a beaver welcomes visitors to the Rainy River train station. The tracks run parallel to the main road and the trains run 24 hours. It’s all level crossings so they blast their warnings at all times of the day and night. It’s just part of the atmosphere at ‘Trainy River’.
Although not rare, by any means, we enjoyed these Cedar Waxwings in the blossoms. And yes, fellow birders, we did look for a Bohemian amidst them.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I now present you with the OFO Rainy River Class of ’22.
The Experienced Intermediate Birder 