Pinehurst Lake

     In spite of un-seasonably low temperatures, we were pleased to spend this weekend at Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area. It's just slightly more than a half hour drive from our home in Waterloo and as a teenager growing up in Waterloo Region, my brother and I would often drive to Pinehurst for an evening swim in the lake after a hot summer day of farm work.  It's a beautiful park with some good hiking trails, although they do tend to be a bit hilly.  Although we did see a deer yesterday, generally speaking you are unlikely to see many birds or other wildlife.

     It was in the Spring of 2007 that we first camped here with our Class A Motorhome and met Gary and Lori from Waterloo.  Upon our Friday p.m. arrival at site 319 we were pleased to learn that they were also camping at Pinehurst.  In fact they were actually "next door" to us on site 318 with their new Rockwood Roo trailer.  It was great to visit with them and discuss old times.

     Below are some photographs we took during the weekend:

Fungus on rotting tree stump

Field adjacent to the Park

Shadows

Our campsite, photographed from entrance to a trail

Marshy area adjacent to the lake



Got a fish

 

Tree knot hole (see photo below)



Inside of hollow tree, photographed from knot hole

Nice playground for the kids

Marsh Trail

This afternoon I hopped on my bike and headed out to the Marsh Trail along the West side of Rondeau Park.  I usually stop at the 4 km mark where there's a gate across the roadway.  Beyond that point the road becomes a "two track" and once the grasses get tall there's the possibility of picking up ticks along the way.  However, this early in the season the grasses are quite short so I continued about one kilometre beyond the gate.

I stopped at the "observation tower" for a few photographs.  As I arrived at the aforementioned "gate" and the nearby boardwalk to the shoreline I scanned the trees to the east, for in prior years there has been a bald eagle nest visible in the distance and bald eagles soaring in the area.  However, today I saw neither the nest nor eagles.

Upon my return I took photos of a couple of cottages along the trail.  Our understanding is that the Park will ultimately be phasing out all cottages situated in the park.  So long as they continue to be leased by the present individuals or their spouses, each lease will be extended but upon death of the last surviving spouse, the lease will be terminated.  Hence, the cottages may not be transferred to another family member or third party.

While having supper this evening we thought a Rose Breasted Grosbeak was looking at us through the lower portion of our RV windshield.  However, we soon determined that in fact the bird was sitting on the dashboard after flying in through an open door.  It couldn't seem to find its way back to the open door so we managed to catch the bird and toss it out the door.  Within seconds it had covered a distance of 100 metres and was still going full speed.

Tomorrow we head for home.  Although it would be nice to remain here for the long weekend, the park is fully booked and we have lots of work to do at home.

Boulder at entrance to observation tower boardwalk

Lower level of observation tower

Upper level of observation tower

Sign at observation tower

Canal through the reeds and grasses

Boardwalk near gate on roadway

Cute cottage #1

Cute cottage #2

Boathouse for cottage #1

Shoreline near the park store and dock
 

Dock extending into Rondeau Bay

Grosbeak on RV dash

Spice Bush Trail

After overnight low temperatures of near freezing and daytime highs of 9 or 10 degrees Celsius, we've finally had a break in the weather, and what a break... 27 degrees today.

This afternoon we took the opportunity to hike the Spice Bush Trail in search of birds and critters.  The highlight of the hike was spotting and photographing a Worm Eating Warbler.  According to our bird book this warbler is seldom seen north of the US / Canada border.  On the way back to our campsite we also saw an Osprey in the trees along the roadway.

We finished the day with a campfire, some roasted marshmallows and a nice talk with the park superintendent.



You take my picture, I'll take yours

 



Beech tree well carved

Trillium

Judy

Shadows

Jack in the Pulpit

Scarlet Tanager (a bit blurry)

One of several boardwalks in Spice Bush

 

Yellow Warbler

Redstart




Mayapple ready to flower

Worm Eating Warbler



Osprey taking flight

Rondeau Provincial Park - Birds & Critters

It rained heavily on Friday morning as we packed the RV for the trip to Rondeau Park. That brought back memories of our 2011 trip to Rondeau, driving in heavy rain and arriving to a flooded campground that was still "soggy" when we left a week later.  This year we are happy to say that although temperatures have been below normal (frost warning tonight) the campsites are quite dry.

Strong winds and cooler temperatures haven't reduced the number of birds at our campsite or the number of "birders" on the hiking trails.  Temperatures will be more seasonal beginning Tuesday and continuing through Friday as we head for home.

Robin's nest in the low crotch of a tree

Acrobatic black squirrel

Orioles having an orange feast

Grey squirrel climbing a tree on our campsite

Red bellied woodpecker on our suet feeder



Rose breasted grosbeak (male)

Baltimore oriole (male)

Rose breasted grosbeak (female)

Red wing blackbird having a drink of water

Inquisitive chipmunk

White crowned sparrow



Swamp photo near Visitor Centre

Konijn having a snooze on Judy's lap