Timmins Visit

November 10-13, 2021

Sean and Aki were at a wedding in Vancouver, so Cathy and Bruce came from Kelowna to Timmins to look after their house and pets. We figured it would be a great time to drive up and visit them, even though it is an 8-hour drive.

To break up the long drive, we planned a few stops. First, we stopped in Cobden at the boat launch where we saw a Common Loon and not much else.

Next, we took a short detour on Meilleurs Road near Rolphton to check out the Reilly Bird Nature Reserve. There was an attractive creek that is supposed to have Brook Trout.

Then, just before North Bay, we stopped for lunch and a short hike at the La Vase Portage Conservation Area. This is the area of the portage between Trout Lake on the Mattawa River and Lake Nipissing, which was used by all the early explorers and voyageurs. It is a well-maintained trail, although there was a flooded area we did not cross.

We did not stop again until we took a brief rest at a boat launch near the Kirkland Lake turnoff. We spotted a Beaver swimming in the river.

Finally, we made it to Timmins, where we found our hotel after negotiating a detour on the main drag by the Mattagami River.

We had a decent night at the Travelodge Hotel after Bill turned off the toilet which was running continuously. In the morning, Barbara informed the management, and we had to change rooms so they could repair the toilet. We ate the hotel breakfast burritos in our new room, and were soon ready to go to Sean and Aki’s to visit Cathy, Bruce, Hana and Sen. We relaxed and watched the Remembrance Day service on Cathy’s tablet. After, we had lunch and researched some trails for hiking and birding.

We decided to drive to the Hersey Lake Conservation Area and hike the Tamarack Nature Trail. It only took 20 minutes to arrive and soon we were all enjoying the lake and trails.

At the parking area, there was a platform feeder with a seed head from a large sunflower. Besides chickadees and nuthatches, there were some Ruffed Grouse under the platform.

We hiked the trail and saw another grouse.





We checked out the lake and saw some Buffleheads while Hana played with a large stick.





We decided to hike another trail around the lake before calling it a day.

We came back to the house, had a cup of tea, then enjoyed a late supper and returned to our hotel.





The next day, we got going a bit earlier and, after going to Sean & Aki’s house, we headed out to South Porcupine to hike the trails around Porcupine Lake.

We hiked the east side trail first. We saw lots of Bufleheads and the occasional Common Goldeneye on the lake. We flushed a Bald Eagle and were amazed to hear and spot two Northern Shrikes on the way back to the car.





We drove a short way to the trail on the west side. Here we saw two Trumpeter Swans, more Common Goldeneyes, some Hooded Mergansers and a few Lesser Scaups.

Then we returned to the house for a late lunch and a rest.

Later, we decided to return to Hersey Lake for a different hike. This time, Bill decided to record an eBird mobile track, while entering the birds seen. It worked well after a shaky start. We did not see any special birds until we finished the trail. Bill heard a Pileated Woodpecker, then saw it fly over. He played the tape and called it out a second time, but we were not able to get a photo.

Then it was back to the house for another enjoyable supper. We were tired after a full day of hiking, and went to our hotel for a good sleep.

We slept in a bit, but rallied to check out and clean the snow off the car. We called Cathy and Bruce to thank them for hosting us, then were on our way in a light snowfall. At the end of Porcupine Lake, we saw a raft of ducks, and pulled over to check. Hooded Mergansers.





We drove through to Englehart and stopped at Kap-kig-iwan park for a hike to see the falls. Barbara fed the chickadees, and Bill flushed a Ruffed Grouse, but we were able to chase it down and get a good photo.

From there we drove through to North Bay and stopped at La Vase again to eat our sandwiches and have a break. From there it was a straight run home, arriving well after dark. It was a very enjoyable holiday for us, and a pleasure to visit with Cathy and Bruce.