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As we begin to get into the winter months, the number of rarities begins to decrease. However, this is also somewhat exciting, as often the rarities that are found are much more unique. This was very true this week, as there were a couple of very significant birds found. For our waterfowl, numbers have begun to decrease fairly substantially as inland lakes are starting to ice over and many of our wetlands are closing up rapidly. There were a few WOOD DUCK earlier in the week and a GADWALL and GREEN-WINGED TEAL stuck around the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons for much of the week. The continuing rare LONG-TAILED DUCK and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER have also been seen at Muskoka Wharf. The star of the gulls was the continuing SLATY-BACKED GULL refound on Monday by Aaron Rusak. Originally found by Regan and David Goodyear, the gull may stick around until the Christmas Bird Count and would be a great pick up there. ICELAND, GREAT BLACK-BACKED, and GLAUCOUS GULLS also made appearances across Muskoka. Checking the Gravenhurst Wharf or the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons has yielded several of those birds and continues to prove to be a good location for finding them. The absolute all-star of the week though, was the TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE found by Dale Wenger at Hutcheson Beach Road. The bird was originally found Tuesday morning and stuck around until about noon until disappearing. There were several great views of the bird before it disappeared and although it was not refound, there is definitely a chance for it to be lingering somewhere around Huntsville.

Winter is coming soon, but this past week offered potentially the last snow-free days of birding until the spring. Several lingering birds are still around and a few rarities are also popping up.  Although waterfowl numbers are decreasing, there are still quite a number of continuing birds. There are still some lingering GREEN-WINGED TEAL, GADWALL, WOOD DUCK, and LONG-TAILED DUCK. There are also a few RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS on various lakes throughout Muskoka. Many of our lingering birds have begun to move on, so opportunities for waterfowl viewing are going to become limited. A pretty exciting bird was seen in the raptor family as well. One of the few GOLDEN EAGLES reported this year was seen up near Huntsville. It was seen early in the morning and offered some good views while migrating. Beatrice Townline Road has once again produced some ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS which are becoming somewhat of a regular visitor in the spring and fall. Once the snow hits in earnest, our raptor watching is going to become quite limited, so these were a last few good sightings to round out the year. Gulls are the highlight of this week, with several different rarities being seen out on the larger lakes at dawn or dusk. Once ice begins to set in, checking the iced edges of lakes might turn up a few additional rarities. The highlight of this week was the SLATY-BACKED GULL found, a Muskoka first and a rare bird across all of Ontario. There’s also been ICELAND, GLAUCOUS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED , and LESSER BLACK-BACKED seen this week in various locations, so be sure to check all gull flocks you see for some odd looking ones. A few lingering rarities are still being seen throughout Muskoka, with the continuing RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS being seen well in Georgian Bay. Two CAROLINA WRENS have also continued into this week, with the Bowyer’s Beach bird being fairly regular in the area. As for our warblers and sparrows, there aren’t too many of them around anymore. There was a single YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER in downtown Bracebridge near some feeders this week, the latest date for that species in Muskoka. Another late bird, a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET , was seen in Georgian Bay as well, the second latest date for that species. The warmer fall we’ve been having seems to have kept around a few birds that may normally be much further south at this point. As for finches, well it’s continuing to be a banner year for them. You can’t seem to throw a rock without hitting a PINE GROSBEAK and EVENING GROSBEAKS are frequently feeders across Muskoka. Spruces are a great place to find either of your CROSSBILL species and REDPOLLS are being seen in all manner of locations in Muskoka. Be sure to be scanning REDPOLL flocks for that elusive HOARY REDPOLL. They can be difficult to differentiate from the Commons, but clean undertail coverts and a frosty appearance help make that ID a bit easier. What to Look out from this Week As mentioned above and last week, gulls are a pretty big highlight of this time of year. Lakes and open fields are great places to check for them. Make sure you’re taking your time and really looking closely at every gull you can. There are several similar looking species and sometimes the extra time looking is all you need to find that one rarity. As it appears there will be plenty of snow this week, boreal birds may begin to expand their range southward. Look for BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS in spruce swamps or conifer islands in forests. CANADA JAYS and maybe even a SPRUCE GROUSE are possibilities up in Huntsville and northern sections of the county. Be sure to dress warm and prepare for seeing way less species than you’re used to! Got a rare sighting of your own? Feel free to send it to aaron@shrikebirding.com and it may be used in our next weekly report. We’re hoping to add additional information in our future weekly reports, so unusual sightings within Muskoka are hugely appreciated. Happy birding!

Rare birds were showing up all across Ontario this past week and Muskoka was no exception! Several rarities popped up, following the waterfowl theme we’ve had in the last few weeks. A few lingering migrants are still around, kept here by the warmer weather the week prior. The highlight waterfowl this week was a BLACK SCOTER originally found by Stan Fairchild on Mary Lake. The bird only stuck around for a day, but offered some very good views of quite an uncommon duck. RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were almost plentiful this week, being seen in several different lakes around Muskoka. Lingering LESSER SCAUP, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, NORTHERN SHOVELER, and WOOD DUCKS all made an appearance this week, being seen primarily at the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons, but also at several smaller lakes. A few good gulls have returned to Muskoka, giving a good start to the gulling season. An ICELAND GULL was spotted at the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons, which is a great place to check before it completely freezes over. Two different groups of four BONAPARTE’S GULLS were spotted out at Georgian Bay, appearing to be a little late in departing for further south. Additionally, a GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL also showed up on Kahshe Lake. A great week for gulling! There should be several species continuing to arrive throughout the next few weeks, so checking out the edge of open water might turn up something good. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was also seen in the usual location, Beatrice Townline Road and a few other hawks might still be passing through. Other raptors of note are a few owls being seen across Muskoka. Due to the sensitive nature of owls, we won’t be releasing any specific information about them. However, we’ll let you know when there is an increase of sightings! A couple continuing rarities are still here this week. A second RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER has been found in the Georgian Bay region and both have been regular visitors to feeders. The Bowyer’s Beach CAROLINA WREN is also continuing and showing fairly well. Additionally, a late HERMIT THRUSH popped up at some feeders but hasn’t stuck around. Finally, our finches are continuing to show well. No HOARY REDPOLLS were seen this week, but all our other finches have been seen throughout Muskoka. We’re even hearing PINE GROSBEAKS in downtown Bracebridge! What to Look out for this Week Gulls are starting to move through in larger numbers, so start checking any ice on larger bodies of water. Often gulls will hang out around there at noon and in the evening. Several gulls are showing up south of Muskoka, so it’s possible they’ll continue even further up. No photos with this post, as all my bird photography is distant and blurry. If you’ve got bird photos you want to be featured feel free to submit them. Got a rare sighting of your own? Feel free to send it to aaron@shrikebirding.com and it may be used in our next weekly report. We’re hoping to add additional information in our future weekly reports, so unusual sightings within Muskoka are hugely appreciated.  Happy birding!

This week had fairly few rarities in Muskoka, so I’m going to begin with a bit of Ontario rare birds before diving into Muskoka. My rare bird scouting in Muskoka was short a day this week because I decided to join some friends for a last minute trip to Ottawa to twitch for a TUNDRA BEAN-GOOSE. We left Muskoka at around 10 pm on Saturday night, driving through Algonquin Park and arriving in Ottawa at 3 am. A quick power nap later, a bit of coffee, and we were up and at the site where the bird had been seen the previous day. We arrived there at 7 am, climbing a steep, but small hill to look out at a group of around 4000 CANADA GEESE. Other birders had located the bird that morning, but it took a bit of time to pick it out from all the surrounding birds. One of my friends found it a lot quicker and we shared a scope to all get a look at the amazing bird. The goose hung around for about 45 minutes, often swimming around in the water and disappearing within the large flock of geese. If your eyes ever left the goose, it took a few minutes or longer to refind it, even though it never moved too far. There was just so many geese!  Though the TUNDRA BEAN-GOOSE was the highlight of the day, there were still a few other highlights. We managed to get a HOARY REDPOLL at one of the other stops we made, as well as finding a flock of over 15,000 SNOW GEESE landing in a field. Photos don’t do the scene of that many SNOW GEESE landing at once, but it was quite the sight!

The first week of November has been a good one, with several rarities showing up. As the days get colder, we’ll be seeing a larger movement of birds down south with most migrating birds leaving Muskoka.  Waterfowl have been continuing through this week, the warmer weather at the end of the week keeping them around. There’s been continuing LESSER SCAUP, NORTHERN SHOVELER, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, and RUDDY DUCK , but there have been a couple unusual additions that have joined them. A few LONG-TAILED DUCKS joined them later in the week and have been seen at a couple different locations. Additionally, a HORNED GREBE was seen in Georgian Bay, migrating through a bit later than usual. Finally, a SNOW GOOSE was spotted by Barbara Taylor early in the week along Golden Beach Road. It was relocated the next day on Beaumont Farm Road and was hanging around with a group of CANADA GEESE.

This week didn’t see many rarities show up, but it did have a number of odd lingering birds. Of the several late species were recorded, most showed up at feeders.  Rare waterfowl have continued in several places this week, with the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons being a very good place to be checking. Both BLACK and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS showed up on the larger lakes, but the rest of the rarities were seen at the lagoons. Another RUDDY DUCK appeared at the lagoons, joining the continuing GREATER SCAUP and NORTHERN SHOVELERS. A late AMERICAN BITTERN was also seen at the sewage lagoons, though will most likely move on now that some of the smaller ponds are icing over at night.

This past week has been an interesting one, with lots of rain and days with quite heavy winds, so this may be a shorter report than normal. Waterfowl are here in large numbers now, so several rare ones have also shown up. This weekend also brought the first snowfall of the year and it’s starting to feel a lot like winter.  Waterfowl abound! A summary of locations is probably the best way to break down what’s been seen this week. The Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons is a great spot for ducks of all varities, with a LONG-TAILED DUCK, GREATER SCAUP, REDHEADS, and NORTHERN SHOVELER all being seen there and sticking around for several days, with the exception of the LONG-TAILED DUCK. The gorgeous male was discovered on October 23rd by Janice House and was only seen that day. Muskoka Beach has seen both RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and Bowyer’s Beach had HORNED GREBES earlier in the week.

This week had a pretty slow start for rare birds in Muskoka. Just a few got reported, but it definitely was made up for in the second half of the week. Plenty of waterfowl starting to show themselves, despite the rainy and gloomy days.  A RUDDY DUCK seen by David and Regan Goodyear at the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons on Monday offered a really strong start to the week. However, despite the strong start, not too many additional waterfowl stopped by during the weekdays. The weekend is when we really started to see good waterfowl movement. WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, SURF SCOTER, REDHEAD , RED-NECKED GREBE, and NORTHERN SHOVELER all made their appearance. These birds all came through a few good hotspots: Beausoliel Island, the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons, Spence Lake, and Bowyer’s Beach. There should be several more waterfowl spotted off beaches in the coming weeks, so be sure to keep a scope on hand.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian readers! This roundup is a little delayed due to our staff enjoying the holidays. Birds don’t take holidays though, so there were plenty of rarities still showing up in Muskoka. Now is the time of year for larger numbers and more various species of waterfowl, with some trickling in early this week. S  ome HORNED GREBES and LONG-TAILED DUCKS showed up in outer Georgian Bay and large numbers of ducks are still showing well at the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons. BUFFLEHEADS are increasing in several different locations and are being seen at the Bracebridge Sewage Lagoons and Upjohn Nature Reserve. We are still a bit out from peak numbers and numbers will be increasing into next week.