In late 2019, I purchased a small travel trailer as an experiment to see if I could live in a tiny space. My end goal is to build a small cabin in the woods if I can find land and if living small works out. I was fortunate to find a location for my trailer not too far from Algonquin Provincial Park and have been living in it from May to October since 2020. Happy with the small space and location, it was time to experience a full winter here. I’ve spent time in the area during the winter months in each of the past six years either winter camping, house-sitting, or staying in motels, but I felt experiencing snow from November to April was a good idea before committing to buying land.
In October, I rented a small cabin a stone’s throw from where my trailer is located. What was nice is I didn’t have to commit to a full year lease but chose eight months so it overlaps with my time at the trailer allowing me to take my time moving in and out. The cabin is simple, nothing fancy, just the amenities I need (a roof over my head, heat, water, and a place to work).
With a full fall and winter ahead of me, I created a wish list of things I wanted to see and photograph. In past years when I’ve visited Algonquin in late fall and winter, the longest I’ve stayed each time has been a week, so have felt a bit rushed to see as much as I can and found myself visiting only the well-known, well-travelled areas in search of wildlife. I still visit those areas on my trips into the park, but I’ve also spent a lot of time off the beaten path searching areas few or no human ventures once the snow flies.
So far, I’ve already crossed several items off my list. The first item was to capture an image of a bull moose in late fall posing in front of some golden tamarack trees. Tamaracks have a special place in my heart because we had one in the backyard growing up my dad planted. It was in that backyard my love of nature was sparked. When I bought my first home, I purchased a tamarack tree for my own yard. At the time, I was recovering from back surgery and couldn’t dig, so my dad came over and dug the hole and planted the tree for me. Needless to say, when I see a tamarack tree I think of my dad.
Early in November, while driving through the park, I noticed a bull moose standing at the edge of a pond. There was a nice spot I could pull completely off the highway and watch/photograph the moose. I was fortunate to watch this bull for an extended period of time and capture several images. During this time, it fed on water lilies and even crossed the pond. It glanced over at me several times but since I kept a respectful distance it didn’t care I was there and went about his business.
After watching for several minutes, the bull made its way along the edge of the pond. In the direction it was heading were three small tamarack trees sporting their golden fall foliage. My excitement built (I was already pretty excited) as I said in my head, or maybe even out loud, “keep going, keep going.” Sure enough, the bull walked right in front of those tamaracks. Now it wasn’t the biggest bull in the forest, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers!
Another item on my list was a fox in the snow. Late one afternoon, after one of our first snowfalls, I was following two sets of moose tracks and several wolf tracks. I’m not sure if the wolves were following the moose or just using the same trail, but the tracks were fresh, and it looked promising. I was losing daylight, but after hearing a pack of wolves howl, I decided to continue on. A lone Algonquin wolf appeared briefly, then darted back into the woods. What an amazing experience! Realizing I was about an hour from the car and had about the same amount of time before it was completely dark, I turned around.
On my way back to the car, something appeared on the trail. It was far away, and I couldn’t tell what it was other than it moved. I raised my camera to zoom in, and sure enough, it was a fox. It sat on the middle of the trail watching me. As I moved towards the fox, it would move a few feet then sit back down. The fox repeated this several times as I got closer. I snapped several images at a high ISO but didn’t expect much.
Since the spring, I’ve been using a new Canon R6 MKII mirrorless camera but haven’t really pushed its low light capabilities until now. Eventually, the fox disappeared off the trail. When I reached the area I last saw the fox, I took my time and looked around. Sure enough, to my left I located the fox standing next to a tiny patch of snow. It wasn’t the completely snowy scene I envisioned, but I’ll take it! More importantly, given the distance the fox was (the images are heavily cropped) and the lack of light and high ISO I was impressed with the R6’s performance.
According to the annual finch forecast, an irruption is predicted for this winter. An irruption is when a large number of a species migrate south due to a lack of food in their typical winter range. In the case of birds this is common with finches, red-breasted nuthatches, and even owls. These irruptions are cyclical and happen every few years. I’ve experienced finch irruptions over the years including the winter of 2024 when evening grosbeaks, redpolls and purple finches were abundant in the park. In fact, I wrote a blog post called Finch Me I’m Dreaming about my week in Algonquin at that time.
Up until this year, I had never seen a pine grosbeak. With an entire winter ahead of me and an irruption predicted, would this finally be the year? As you might have guessed pine grosbeak went on my list. Despite the name grosbeak, like the evening grosbeak, pine grosbeaks are in the finch family.
I did some research on pine grosbeak habitat to hopefully improve my chances of locating these. It turns out their preferred habitat and food essentially comprises all of Algonquin Park. Fortunately, grosbeaks are often found along roads, consuming grit and salt. The grit ingested enters the bird’s gizzard and grinds up seeds, aiding in digestion, while sodium is an important mineral in their diet. So far this winter, I have seen several flocks of pine grosbeaks feeding on or beside Highway 60. If you are planning a trip to Algonquin Park this winter, drive slowly and watch out for flocks of birds on the road. The feeders located at the visitor centre is another spot where pine and evening grosbeaks can be found.
So far this winter, I’ve crossed several items off my photography wish list, and this post shares my encounters with only a few. I have several other exciting sightings to share in future posts including barred owl and Algonquin wolves! If you haven’t already, subscribe to my blog, and be notified via email of new posts once published.
I’ve been on a real hiatus from updating my blog but am going to do my best to post more frequently. Since 2024, along with my niece, Megan, we have published two books featuring my images and bird knowledge combined with her writing skills, so much of my time focused on them. A huge thank you to everyone who has purchased copies, we can’t thank you enough for your support! I appreciate everyone who reads my blog and follows along on my adventures, and I’m looking forward to sharing more in 2026.
Happy New Year and of course,
Good birding,
Paul
