Hey folks, Kyle Holloway and I ventured into Timmins with hopes of locating Three-toed Woodpeckers today, and despite at times treacherous weather conditions, we were not disappointed.
We snowshoed about 300 metres into appropriate-looking habitat on the west side of HW 144 near the Cache Lake Road intersection. The snow was extremely deep in some spots, so take caution. It was snowing heavily but after some determined squeaking and compromised owl sounds, a pair of raging Black-backed Woodpeckers emerged from the woods, and with them was a male American Three-toed Woodpecker. We enjoyed prolonged views of the birds, and at one point the males of both species were display-drumming side-by-side on a dead aspen. Spectacular! The weather took a turn for the worst and we had a long drive home so we left shortly afterwards, but the habitat was great all along the Cache Lake Road and the nearby highway so there's likely more of both birds around. The only other birds were a pair of White-winged Crossbills on Hw 144 and some miserable-looking ravens. Directions: Timmins is reached via Highway 144 from Sudbury or 11 and 101 from North Bay. The habitat for the birds was especially good at the North end of 114 before it intersects with 101. Good Birding! Lev Frid _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup
