RV Journal: Winter Warriors "Farewell Brunch"

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Winter Warriors "Farewell Brunch"

Thanks to Tom and Kerry for once again hosting the end of season Winter Warrior "farewell brunch". To the best of our knowledge the term Winter Warriors was initiated by Frank and Lucy Spence who were winter hosts at MacGregor Point Provincial Park for a number of years.

Upon arriving at the Park yesterday afternoon we were given a list of available On-site Winter Program campsites for 2013 - 2014. Sixteen sites are being added in Ash Woods campground in addition to the twenty-three sites already available in Birch Boulevard campground. It's exciting to see this great program expanding.

This year's program ends April 15 so most of the campers have already removed their winter tarps, mud rooms, etc. Today's weather forecast wasn't that great when we arrived so shortly after our arrival I tackled the disassembly process. In less than three hours the task was complete and some campers thought I had set a speed record. Next weekend we'll remove our bird feeders, outdoor lights and electrical cables and take the RV back to Waterloo.

Today has been a particularly good day for wildlife observation. This afternoon while returning from a short trip to Port Elgin we saw a porcupine foraging in a field adjacent to Bruce Rd. 33. Since they are not known for being very speedy, I was able to approach it and get a couple of photos. Unfortunately though, we believe that we missed a great photo opportunity with a Pileated Woodpecker. While preparing to barbecue supper we noticed large wood chips around a cedar tree on our campsite. The chips weren't there yesterday and judging from the size of them (up to 2" long) they appear to have been the work of a Pileated Woodpecker. Shortly thereafter we got the photo of a snowshoe hare and then the deer, both on our campsite.