Breeding Bird Survey 2012 – Dubreuilville, Ontario route
The Beaton Lake survey route of the day before had to be cut short due to adverse weather conditions which continued through to about 4PM. Although the weather did eventually clear a bit in the evening allowing us to visit a few of the tourist sites around Wawa, Ontario, we weren’t certain what the day would be like for our Dubreuilville survey route. We were in luck. A cold front had moved in and only a few clouds lingered in the sky as we packed our vehicle and headed for the starting point at the intersection of Hwy 17 and the hwy to Dubreuiville.
Because the number of mosquitoes and black flies was much reduced this year, I was able to take a bit more time to photograph the early morning light during the early period of the survey.
Although the rising sun can provide some excellent photographic moments, the downside is that it is awfully tough to be driving along the highway, turn a corner or crest a hill and suddenly get its full force right in the eyes. Since it is so early, it is often tough to make the shift from full sunlight to early morning darkness in time to see the oncoming traffic. While I worry about driving and stopping at the right places, Gerhardt would be out on the road listening for the sounds of various species of birds.
We stop for another listen every .8 km and it is interesting to read our notes identifying the spots in a descriptive fashion. “By the rock cut”. “After the big rock in the ditch”. “X marks the spot”. Etc. A lot of rock cuts and rocks in the ditches along this route :-).
 
 
