An Expedition to the Hudson Bay Lowlands D R a B B O
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
An Expedition to the Hudson Bay Lowlands d r a b b O y t r a M : o Special Report by Jon McCracken Photo Essay by Ron Ridout t o h P e got the call late last winter. Don Sutherland, zoologist for the WOntario Ministry of Natural Resources' Natural Heritage Information Centre (OMNR-NHIC) was assembling a six-person crew of volunteers to spend two weeks this summer on the Hudson Bay lowlands, gathering information for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas. It was an exceptional opportunity, and Ron Ridout and I (both of Bird Studies Canada) jumped at the chance, as did Marty Obbard (OMNR's provincial bear biologist), Colin Jones (NHIC biologist), and Peter Burke (free-lance biologist and wildlife artist). Our destination was as far north as you can get in Ontario – the Pen Islands region, tucked into the province's extreme northwestern corner on Hudson Bay, right next to the Manitoba border. The nearest community is Fort Severn, about 100 kilometres to the southeast. American Golden-Plover/Pluvier bronzé A large colony of about 8000 pairs of Snow Geese, and exceptional numbers of migrating Black Scoters, Hudsonian expertly plunked us down on a suitable Godwits, and Red Knots, help make the gravel ridge about 7 kilometres from the region a globally Important Bird Area. coast and about the same distance to the tree Relatively little is known about the region's line. Perfect! summer bird life, however, so our mission was to survey a land area that encompassed Home Sweet Home some 200 square kilometres. No problem. After months of careful planning, the We were greeted by sweeping, open team rendezvoused on 21 June in vistas filled with life and adventure as far as One of the very few Stilt Sandpiper nests ever documented in Ontario. Un des très rares nids de Bécasseau à échasses trouvé en Ontario. Peterborough, ON, before driving 9 hours the eye and imagination could see. Before north to Timmins. The next morning, we nightfall, we had established base camp on the area. Small pockets of stunted spruce loaded about 550 kilograms of gear into an one of the many long, narrow ridges that run trees, seldom standing more than 4 metres OMNR Twin Otter and flew north to through the coastal region. Only a metre or high, were scattered along the edges of the Moosonee on the James Bay coast. From so high, these ancient beach ridges are firm ridges. Somewhat taller trees were there, we flew northwest to Peawanuck for and dry, and carpeted with a thin layer of concentrated along creek margins and back refuelling. Before long, we were over the lichens, moss, and rhododendron. More in the tree line. About 2 kilometres from Pen Islands region. Down below, Hudson expansive wet, sedge-grass meadows, camp, a massive boulder – a relic from the Bay was still almost completely frozen ponds, and small lakes lay between the last Ice Age – towered 4 metres high in the over. The pilot quickly sized things up and ridges. A few narrow creeks wound through otherwise featureless landscape. 4 BIRDWATCH CANADA E When we arrived, snowdrifts lay here powered a laptop computer and battery flannel shirt, thermal t-shirt, jeans, long and there in sheltered areas, and many of the charger. johns (sometimes two pairs), two pairs of R lakes were still partially ice covered. A shallow latrine was dug outside the socks, insulated hiking boots, and a toque. U Likewise, plant life was very obviously perimeter and fitted with a bucket (and Humour also helps warm the spirit. There T weeks behind the normal seasonal seat!). A three-sided tarp wall provided was a lot of laughter in our camp. A progression. In fact, it was not until towards privacy and acted as a welcome windbreak. In wide, open spaces like this, your E the end of our stay that rhododendrons Owing to a fibre-rich diet, there was often a sense of perspective becomes distorted. F finally started to bloom, and shrubs began to morning line up for the facilities. Things were either much farther away leaf out. Summer was unusually late. Good food and lots of it are essential than they appeared, or vice versa. Mirages Our base camp was modest, but for field camp morale. Colin prepared were also common. From camp, small efficient and comfortable. A large, canvas exceptionally delicious and hearty dinners pressure ridges of ice out on Hudson Bay T “wall tent” (suspended from a wooden nightly over the propane camp stove. We ate often looked like huge, snow-swept frame that Marty expertly lashed together well and we ate lots. Drinking water was mountain ranges. R with rope) served as the kitchen, dining fetched from a nearby shallow pond in At this latitude, the sun set at about O room, storage area, meeting room, and canvas bags, and then hand-pumped 11:30 p.m. and was up again before 4:30 office. We snored our nights away in through a ceramic filter to remove all a.m. An eerie twilight gave way to true P personal pup tents. potential pathogens. None of us got sick. As darkness for only about an hour each E With the arrival of summer on the for bathing and shaving – forget about it! night. R Field Work and Play L From the moment we touched down, A we felt like modern day explorers. Fuelled I by a constant stream of new discoveries C and situations, every day found us giddy E P S Study Area Manitoba Parasitic Jaeger/Labbe parasite Our meeting tent also served as kitchen, dining room, and office. La tente où l’on tenait nos réunions servait également de cuisine, de salle à manger et de bureau. Quebec with excitement. Weather, Weather Everywhere At night, we were lulled to sleep by mournful wails of Common Loons, pitiful Ontario On a few balmy days, the thermometer hit sighs of Pacific Loons, the pumping of the plus side of 20o C. However, distant bitterns, cackling parties of Snow temperatures all too often refused to budge Geese, hee-haw braying of Stilt Sandpipers, beyond single digit values, and usually yodelling Tundra Swans and Sandhill dipped below freezing at night. The Hudson Cranes, whoo-ooshing Wilson's Snipe, and Bay coast is a wind-swept region. Sustained ticking Yellow Rails. Rhythmic snoring gales (60-80 kph) routinely tested the sounds, which droned from all six tents, endurance of our tents and our stamina in rounded out the symphony. the field. On more than one occasion, we After enjoying a hearty breakfast each were, quite literally, very nearly blown morning, we donned heavy daypacks, broke away by the experience. On the upside, the into pairs, and scattered in different cold winds kept rumoured onslaughts of directions, aiming to cover as much territory Hudson Bay coast, we were keenly aware of biting insects to a bare minimum. as possible. A typical day's outing entailed the safety concerns posed by marauding Lacking any insulating layers of body hiking 10-20 kilometres, mostly slogging polar bears. To provide warning, a delicate fat, I often found myself fashionably through mucky expanses of shallow marsh, trip-wire was strung around the camp decked out in a Mustang survival suit over either in hip waders or rubber boots. Peter perimeter and hooked up to a loud alarm top a goose down parka, followed by a and Colin camped in the distant tree line one system. A small, gas-powered generator goose down vest, wind breaker, sweater, night to better document species that weren't FALL 2004, NUMBER 29 5 otherwise present on the tundra. Otherwise, over the camp daily on foraging forays we normally returned to base camp each to the coast. A splendid adult Peregrine day. Falcon sailed low overhead one Safety was key. Personal GPS units afternoon. But the oddest bird of the trip allowed us to pin-point our locations to was the Mourning Dove that Don found within a few metres and efficiently navigate – hundreds of kilometres north of its to and fro. For personal protection against known breeding range. There were bears, one person in each crew lugged a some other oddball things, like a Yellow shotgun loaded with “cracker shells,” Warbler nest that was almost entirely which are fired into the air and explode made out of white ptarmigan feathers, loudly. Everyone also carried a variety of and a robin nest that didn't contain any other noisemakers. In the event of a truly mud. life-threatening encounter, 12-gauge slugs Presumably because they so could be brought into play. Miniature seldom encounter people, we were walkie-talkies, with an effective range of struck by the relative fearlessness of about 5 kilometres, allowed us to maintain many animals. Willow Ptarmigan were contact with one another in the field. A especially “tame.” The contents of one satellite phone provided scheduled daily Hudsonian Godwit's nest couldn't be communications with OMNR staff in Moosonee. By far the most common bird on the open tundra was Savannah Sparrow, which nested abundantly in the wet A glint of sunlight in her eye was all that alerted Jon McCracken to this nesting Hudsonian Godwit. meadows. Horned Lark Un reflet dans l’oeil de cette Barge hudsonienne a permis and Lapland and Smith's à Jon McCracken de la découvrir sur son nid. longspurs were also common in open areas. only a few towards the end of the Among the trees and expedition. shrubs, Common The region is also normally an Redpoll, White-crowned exceptional summering area for up to Sparrow, and American 200 polar bears, one of the highest Tree Sparrow were densities in the world.