Beachburg / Westmeath Trip for Cranes

 November 5, 2020

We were hoping to repeat last year's phenomenal success with Sandhill Cranes; alas it was not to be.

We drove to Cobden, then to Beachburg and down La Passe Rd; nothing.  We turned and drove Hawthorne to Gore Line and into Westmeath; no cranes.  We checked out the boat launch and saw a lone Red-breasted Merganser.

We asked some locals  who suggested we go down Rapids Rd to Spotswood.  Interesting, but not productive.  So we headed over to La Passe, and on the way found a field full of Snow Buntings.

A hunter stopped looking for his lost hound, and he told us that there were thousands of cranes on Gore Line and Beachburg.  So we tried Gore Line with no luck.

We decided to try Lookout Rd, where we saw 3 Rough-legged Hawks.  We had our lunch in the car at the lookout.

The we tried Beachburg Rd, but there were no cranes there either. So we made one more pass on Hawthorne Rd.  and saw a couple of flocks of Common Redpolls.

The only road we did not try was Pleasant Valley Rd; perhaps we should have!

Bird List

Common Raven    1

American Crow    13

European Starling    9

Canada Goose        100s

Rock Pigeon        15

Blue Jay            4

Ring-billed Gull    1000s

Common Redpoll    10

Evening Grosbeak    7

Snow Bunting    200+

Rough-legged Hawk    3

Dark-eyed Junco    8

Wild Turkey        13

Great Blue Heron    1