Mountain Provincial Wildlife Area

 June 8, 2021

Having visited this area in winter, we were anxious to return in late spring to see what birds we might see as we are able to drive much deeper into the area.  The road has got lots of potholes, many of them filled with water, but since there are no rocks, it can be safely driven slowly.  Every puddle had robins running in and out. The trees and shrubs have grown in very thickly, making difficult to see the birds which were singing continuously.

We drove as far as a pond where we saw a family of Wood Ducks.  The mother put on quite a distraction display while the young ones scurried to safety.

Mosquitoes were moderately irritating, but there were lots of dragon flies helping us out.

We decided to hike further into the area along the road.  There were lots of birds singing, especially Yellow Warblers.  We also saw some Gray Catbirds.

In conclusion, we felt that the effort of driving on the very bumpy narrow road was not rewarded sufficiently with good bird sightings.

We returned to the car and ate lunch, then headed home via South Mountain and Mountain, birding along the way.

We ended up on River Road where we stopped for a break at the W A Taylor Conservation Area and also at the Long Island lock station, where we saw a Hooded Merganser swimming.

It was an interesting day of exploring.