ROB'S BIRTHDAY IN ALGONQUIN PARK

"Happy Birthday Rob!"

It seems to be coming a tradition for us to spend Rob's birthday in Algonquin Park, as this was the 3rd year we've made the journey for his birthday. We were up before the sun to start our day, but cake and presents were in order first.

Birthday kitty snuggles from Meadow before leaving.

 Our first stop, besides Tim's for coffee and breakfast, was the Muskoka Wildlife Centre. This is also the 3rd year that we've sponsored "Silo", a female Barn Owl, for Rob's birthday. They brought her out for the "meet the creature" session that morning. We also sponsor "Luna", that famous Telus Saw-whet Owl there. She was away Saturday at TIFF, quite the little celebrity she is!

Rob, Becki and Silo.

We arrived in Algonquin Park around lunch time, and unbeknownst to Rob, I had arranged a private boat tour through Algonquin Outfitters to go out on Lake Opeongo to look for Common Loons. Our guide, Colin, had scouted them earlier in the day and found a "raft" of them for us, there were 50 -70 Loons in one area! It was a magical experience to see so many in one spot and be so close to them. Rob was thrilled with his birthday surprise, as was I.

Rob's favorite capture from the day.

After our outing we visited the Visitor Centre where a beautiful art/photography presentation was taking place and I got to do some shopping.  After that we had a delicious dinner at Killarney Lodge and retired at Spring Lake Resort, both of which I would recommend.

We wanted to hit a couple trails before making the trek back to Toronto on Sunday, and I swear it seemed like the leaves had changed colour overnight, it was beautiful in the park.

The leaves starting to change.

A "Sugar Maple", putting on it's Fall display.

   We enjoyed hiking all morning on a couple trails and saw a variety of birds and lots of turtles, but the highlight for both of us was seeing Boreal Chickadees. We had seen them once before, but this trip we both got to have really good and long looks at them. Pretty exciting stuff for a couple of "bird-nerds". 

Boreal Chickadee

It was another great trip to Algonquin Park and I'm already looking forward to our winter trip and wondering what I can surprise Rob with next year for his birthday.