Mizzy Lake Trail, Algonquin

Wow, what a difference a night can make.  Expecting rain all day again today, I woke up to find the sun and blue skies!  I couldnt sleep much past 5:45 with all the birds already calling.  Their day had already started, so I figured mine might as well too.  Calling right outside my tent was an Alder Flycatcher, a bird I have heard quite a few times, but never been able to glimpse.  I found the little guy singing from the top of an Alder bush (appropriately named bird, huh?).  He sang once, then flitted off out of sight.  

This morning my goal was to walk through the bogs along the Mizzy Lake trail, an 11km trail that passes through two soggy ponds which host lots of cool and interesting birds and other wildlife.  From this trail, I've seen Moose, Otter, and even Black Bear.  Although I didnt see any of these, the birds were fantastic.  I walked along the dike that passes through the marshes for nearly 4 hours, turning up boreal gems like the Boreal Chickadee, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and a pair of Gray Jays, birds notorious for eating food out of the hands of hikers (not surprisingly, they have been nicknamed Camp Robbers).  I happened to have a bit of powerbar on me, and broke it into pieces, and sure enough, down they came, eating right out of my hand.  Such cool birds.  I know youre not supposed to feed wild animals, but its hard to pass up these guys.  Again, uploading problems, but pictures will follow.  Lots of other great birds around too, including Blackburian Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Ring-necked Ducks, and Wilson's Snipe to name a few.  And the beauty of this trail is its isolation:  I saw 2 people the entire time!  In fact, there aren't too many people in the park at all.  My campsite is a hundred yards from the nearest camper.  I guess the busy season doesn't start for a few more weeks. 

A gorgeous day on the Mizzy Lake Trail

He ate half my lunch

  My original plan was to stay in Algonquin one more night, but with the cost of a single overnight ($40), and the desire to explore the unexplored further north, I'm heading out today, heading northwest to the Georgian Bay where Ill camp for the night!  Until next time...

Black-throated Blue Warbler