Snow Geese and Bluebirds

 April 24, 2022

A fresh report of Snow Geese in Winchester by Brian Morin caught our attention, as we have been mostly missing them on outings this spring.  So we headed out via 416 and Co Rd 43.  As we passed Hallville, Barbara suggested we take a short detour to check out the feeders at the Mountain Provincial Wildlife Reserve.  The feeders were up, but only Grackles and Redwings were present.  So we hiked a short way down the muddy road hearing lots of Song Sparrows and seeing a mink that had been run over.

So back we went to 43 and on to Co Rd 3 just north of Winchester.  Here we could observe a few thousand Snow Geese from the road.

We went to a second location just east of the high school where we could look down to the edge of a pond from the road.  There were also a couple of Common Mergansers swimming in the pond.

We drove down to Cass Bridge for our lunch and observed a Northern Harrier and some farm birds.

We decided to return to town via Rd 31 and stop at High Road for bluebirds.

We found a Savannah Sparrow and a nesting pair of Eastern Bluebirds, as well as several Tree Swallows.  A good day!