Northward

I had been tossing around the idea for a while of taking a brief jaunt north and finally made it happen for a couple days.  The plan was to end up at Algonquin park to hopefully catch up with some winter specialties and make some stops on route as well.

Bark Lake Conference Centre in Haliburton county wasn't much out of the way and it was great to be able to add the long-staying Varied Thrush to my life list.  Certainly appreciated the friendliness of the staff here in welcoming birders.

Onward to Algonquin where most of the usual winter suspects showed themselves.  The winter finch numbers in the area are not as good as some years, but almost all expected species were around in small numbers.  I didn't end up taking a lot of photos here.

WW Crossbills were frequently heard singing.

One of the more targeted Algonquin species, the Grey Canada Jays.

Of course the birds here are accustomed to receiving handouts.

It made sense on the way home to stop in York county for a peek at the long staying Northern Hawk Owl.  I should point out that I am aware of the potential issues of viewing a sensitive species like this, and these photos were taken from some distance away and zoomed in considerably.

It was a short trip, but a nice break from routine.