By: Raquel and Connor

The biology research team completed our second environmental monitoring trip on
Pickerel Lake this past weekend. We travelled around Emerald Island and Lookout
Island, into Pine Portage Bay and up into Pickerel Narrows to retrieve the acoustic
monitors we had deployed on our previous trip and re-deploy them in different unique
habitat types. Each habitat will likely have a diverse host of different species of birds
that will be calling out during the breeding season. Included in some of the habitats that
we set data collection devices in were dense upland coniferous forest, wide clearings of
marshes bordered by tall spruce trees, and very wet mossy areas covered in blooming
labrador tea.

Interestingly, one of our campsites in Pickerel Narrows was home to a very expressive
hairy woodpecker who was calling out with little chirps all day and all night. We were
happy to find that a second individual of his species had joined him in the morning, and
they were joyfully chirping together. We also saw many pairings of loons and swans
paddling leisurely together through the narrows. Additionally, we were lucky to behold
the majesty of a regal male bald eagle close up on a point on the northern shore as we
were paddling to Stanton Bay. This increased presence of birds is rather exciting, and
we are hopeful that the acoustic monitors will pick up the calls of a diverse array of bird
species to meaningfully add to the existing data of breeding birds in Quetico.