It has been a long time since I've posted to this site, but I really wanted to capture the memories of the summer 2021 Ship Sands Island trip on the wonderful shores of James Bay. This is seriously my favourite place in the whole world and in returning I got to relive the magic of this place all over again!
In the summer of 2021 after a year of pandemic driven lockdown and a summer term of my undergrad pulling me close to the urban themes of Waterloo I was eager to get somewhere far from civilization. It wasn't hard deciding a place. It had been exactly three years since I last visited James Bay and by the end of August it was prime time to witness the great spectacle of shorebirds known to the region. Not to mention the rarity potential waiting to be uncovered!
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| Juvenile Red-necked Phalarope from summer, 2018 |
After a long recruiting stage, we had assembled the ultimate crew. Ezra Campanelli has been a long time birding friend who runs a fantastic blog and is coming up to his 2022 Big Year journey (https://banterwithbirdboy.wixsite.com/mysite). Although not a birder yet ;), Matthew Trask is a good friend from school and a fellow outdoorsmen who takes killer night sky and nature photos. Big thanks to Matt for joining the crew within 24 hours notice and letting me use some of his superb photos.
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| Photo of the 2021 Crew Taken by Matt (From L to R - Matt, Nathan, Ezra) |
By 8 pm August 23rd, we were off, with our Accord headed north and our heads held high. Unfortunately, our positive spirits could not translate into blessings from the car gods as we pulled into a gas station north of Vaughan with a faulty battery. This seems to be a recurring theme in northern Ontario birding trips between Ezra and I so I'm glad this happened in the near south (And not at a place such as the Marathon dump or Abitibi Canyon). After a car trade in with my dad we were back on the road with the newest (2020) Accord ready to tackle the 7 hour drive to the Cochrane train station.
We had arrived at the Polar Bear Express train station in Cochrane early on the 24th. There was just enough light for us to escape the confines of the car and take in our first taste of northern birding adjacent to the rail road tracks that run through town. It was surprisingly birdy, with a heavy haul of Sparrows tossing in the thick brush. At one point, I got on a Clay-colored Sparrow, my first for the Cochrane district.
Soon enough we were on the train and ready to embark on the five hour train ride to Moosonee. During this time we delegated the logistics of our transportation to Ship Sands Island. From Moosonee the only realistic access to Ship Sands is by taking a roughly 15 km boat ride along the Moose River from the docks of Moosonee (one could of course helicopter in or walk along an apparent trail?! according to locals). At a time these trips could be done in under a hundred dollars, but our lowest quote had been a whopping $700 when planning ahead, rising much fear and suspicion. Not to mention there was no evidence of birders travelling to the island since 2011!
As the train came to a halt we threw our packs over our shoulders and began our trek through the streets of Moosonee. There seemed to be some pretty striking changes to the town in this post(ish)-pandemic era with health precautions taken very seriously in addition to an incredible hospitality (not that it wasn't before but wow I've never been greeted so kindly by so many strangers). For many I could not imagine the impacts that the pandemic had to the local tourism industry that had already been on the decline prior to 2020.
Arriving at the docks, we almost instantly connected with one of the local high school students, Dakota. After proposing our $300 return offer, he seemed more than happy to take us to the island in his family's water taxi. It wasn't long before we were on the calm waters of the Moose River, off on the final leg of our own modified triatholon. Once the island was in our sights, we arranged for Dakota to drop us off and pick us up at high tide at one of the few manmade landmarks of the island.
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| The Iconic Shelter of Ship Sands Island |
Immediately upon our arrival, we were overwhelmed by bird numbers as hundreds of Semipalmated Sandpipers whizzed by us in constant streams. They seemed to be heading towards the mouth of the Moose River. Within these flocks we picked up several Baird's Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers and even a Red-necked Phalarope. As winds picked up, the wooden structure provided excellent cover. Assessing our situation further we decided the shelter area would not make a suitable camp site. The possibility of getting flooded was too high and the absence of potable water was concerning.
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| A Very Small Sample of the Massive Semipalmated Sandpiper Flocks |
With this in mind, we began making the exhausting march through thick masses of cattails carrying all our equipment, food and belongings. One major issue we hadn't anticipated was the tidal creeks that had become unsurpassable by the incoming high tide. Fortunately, we were able to weave our way across a series of narrow openings closer towards the center of the island. We did run into a few interesting birds along the walk including a Sora found by Ezra and a Northern Goshawk in a distant aerial battle with a Northern Harrier.
Eventually, as one travels NE on the island it gives way to some spectacular habitat where the world seems to open up. It is here where the islands best kept mudflats are found, and consequently, the best birding. One can quickly be convinced they have been teleported to the prairies of western Canada when admiring this landscape.
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| The "Prairies" of James Bay |
As the light faded, the sounds of distant Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese overwhelmed the sky and a lone Whimbrel gave a series of rattling cries as it circled us. One remaining logistical problem was finding drinking water. In total darkness, the hope of freshwater creeks led us far from camp as we scoured countless creeks towards the mainland side of the island. Eventually, we decided to cut our losses and make due with an "acceptable" brackish water. Nothing a little crystal light can't overcome!
After 8 hours of driving, a 5 hour train ride, half hour boat ride and 10 km hike we had made it, to the edge of Ontario! After settling in to our campsite on the NW corner of the island, we quickly fell asleep, eager to awake to some sweet James Bay birding.
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| Campsite at Sunset (Taken by Matt) |
