The Pipits: Currie Tract, Burlington

A group of 13 Pipits met last Sunday at Currie Tract, Burlington (9475 Guelph Line).

It was a hot morning, and quite buggy, but so great to see everyone!

The highlight of the trip for me was hearing the Hooded Warblers singing high up in the canopy, quite close to the parking lot. This seems to be a spot they prefer, as they have been here every year that we've been going as a group to this location. Note that I did not get eyes on the birds. I don't think anyone in the group did, except for Diane Dodds! Lucky duck. It was not for lack of trying mind you. We stood there in the cloud of mosquitoes for quite some time, at the beginning and end of the trip, hoping to see them (there were at least two singing).

Now, as everyone knows, I am geographically challenged, and Currie Tract is a maze of trails created by mountain cyclists. Following the AllTrails app, Doug Berry became our navigator. We travelled down the main trail, and through the hydro cut, without difficulty, but when it came time to navigate the maze of bike trails, Doug took us on a beautiful circuitous route over slippery rocks, and rickety wooden bridges. Thankfully, those of us with better balance helped the rest of us cross the obstacles.

This is what I love the most about Pipit outings. Folks look out for each other! When one of us is struggling, we reach out to each other to get through the hurdles as a group. Thank you to everyone for this!

Although the trip was not so great for seeing birds, we did get 21 species on our eBird report! A significant number of these birds were identified by their singing.

To review the list please go here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S263169050

We wrapped up the walk after about 2.5 hours, and were generally a sweaty mess but triumphant that we achieved success in navigating the trail. It was a great morning out, and afterwards a number of us had lunch together at Wimpy's Restaurant. Thanks everyone for coming out, and making it such a wonderful time. You all are awesome!