Pinery January 8th:

During the winter months, car access to the 14 km road loop through the Pinery is closed. The quieter conditions can result in good finds, but birds were scarce along the road last Thursday. Although we saw few birds, we heard a Common Raven, Pileated Woodpecker, both Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, and some chickadees. We hoped for some of the winter finches, but they did not want to be seen or heard.

Birch Polypore on a Birch Tree. They look like large saucers.

White-tailed Deer Tracks

Raccoon Tracks

Many trees were covered in lichens, adding some colour to the landscape.

Fishing Bobbers and fishing line are tangled on tree branches along the Riverside trail. Fishing line is a hazard to wildlife if they become tangled in, or digest it. Six Bobbers could be seen near the lookout dock along the Riverside trail.

There was a little more activity at Beach #9, including some Red Squirrels who were busy scurrying among the trees.

A Tufted Titmouse found seed on the ground.

Red-breasted Nuthatch: This species doesn’t often hand feed.

We walked to Lake Huron from the parking lot but ducks were so far out they were difficult to see. A juvenile Bald Eagle made a pass along the shore line. 

Lake Huron tossed thousands of ice balls up onto the ice! 

The former road at Beach #9 which is now a foot path, was underwater.

Our last stop was at the Visitor Centre. The Black-capped Chickadees were happy to see us. My head served as a waiting zone until space was available for seed retrieval from my hand. Chickadees have their own hierarchy for eating and there was a lot of squabbling whenever a bird tried to eat out of turn!

We traveled back roads on the tour home, and found one of our target birds, a Northern Shrike. His hooked beak is used to feed on rodents and small birds. It breeds in the far north and is only seen in southern Canada during the winter. They perch high on trees and wires to watch for prey.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-shrike

A well camouflaged Northern Harrier sat in a field snacking on prey. Northern Harriers are the most "owl-like" of hawks. (but aren't related to owls.) The disk-shaped face looks and functions much like an owl's with stiff facial feathers helping to direct sound to the ears.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/overview