The Pipits: Currie Tract, summer 2026

Well! It has been quite some time since I wrote a trip report!

Life. What a ride. So grateful for the ongoing support, and persisting acceptance from everyone despite all my blunders. Your companionship, and the belonging I feel within our group, are invaluable to me.

A group of 10 Pipits walked the trails at Currie Tract yesterday morning. Part of the Halton Regional Forest, this set of trails follows a road into the forest, moves along a hydro cut, and then becomes a maze of rougher cycling trails through the forest. It's just lovely, in the earlier spring is full of spring ephemerals, and at this time is lush and green, full of those little crevice gardens that grow all over Halton Region's rock-strewn forested areas. It was a little buggy, but tolerable.

We heard most of the birds on the list, only getting visual sightings of a few birds. These included Indigo Buntings, and Redstarts. We did however hear Blue-winged Warblers, and several Hooded Warblers taunted us from behind nearby leaves, remaining mainly unseen. A friend who went in the afternoon, was fortunate and patient, and did eventually have satisfying looks at a Hooded Warbler! Well done, Mark Calhoun!

Although the majority of the birds on our list were identified by sound, we did manage to observe 35 species. One frustrating bird, were the Blue-winged Warblers we heard in two different locations! We could not get a visual on the birds, so unfortunately were not able to identify to individual species, as these often hybridization with Golden-winged Warblers, and sing each other's songs!!

EBird list: https://ebird.org/checklist/S374327797

Thank you to everyone who came out. As always, this was a fun and wonderful trip, and I appreciate each and everyone of you, and what you bring to our group! Thank you!