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Grebe, Mountain Bluebird, and even Western Wood-Pewee. All seem likely at Barrie, possible at Sudbury, and highly unlikely at Sault Ste. Marie. Somehow they become progressively less likely as we near our destination. Why does this invariably happen? “Probably won’t get any of them,” says Hugh morosely; not half as morosely, of course, as on our way home when we have indeed failed to see any of the aforementioned.
    But my spirits remain high. Hugh tells us three or four hundred of his favourite limericks. Carswell unknowingly encourages him; even writes a few of the more scabrous ones down. In revenge, I get Hugh onto lawyer jokes of which he has an inexhaustible store and we all have some good laughs, particularly Hugh. Lawyer jokes somehow become a fixture on the trip. True, Bob does not find the wit quite as sharp as Hugh does and does not beg for more, but then Bob is a lawyer and may even have heard some of them. It is a long trip for him.
    As expected, I get a new bird even on the first day. Hugh tells us when to start expecting Brewer’s Blackbird and several telephone poles later we see our first of many. The area around Desbarats has lots of them. Oh, man. Brewer’s Blackbird (256)! I’m on a roll already.
    My spirits are only slightly dampened by the flirtatious and ultimately dastardly behaviour of a King Rail at Pumpkin Point Marsh before the Sault. This is a fabulous marsh with an excellent viewing platform from which we see many good birds, but no King Rail, though we hear him. Oh, yes, we hear him, repeatedly, all around us. We try to sucker him out with tapes, but no deal. He plays coy. He isn’t interested in being seen. After frequent near misses almost right underneath us — as he keeps changing sides — we give up and I have to relegate this bird to my heard-only list, where it will remain. Damn!
    Things go further downhill at our motel near Wawa. It has Internet service and we log on to Ontbirds. Indecently quickly, after my departure from Cobourg, Margaret has posted a Glossy Ibis in the area. My heart soars with joy for her. I cry myself to sleep.
    Saturday June 16 we have lunch in beautiful Rossport then motor on to Atikokan, where we stay in the old hotel, a favourite of mine, particularly because of the breakfast — and Hugh loves the price. My old friend, Dave Elder, comes and has breakfast with us and gets us all revved up. No mega-rarities to report, but he tells us exactly where to see many of our desiderata. My only fear is that they will all be like the Cobourg Laughing Gull — too easy. I like a four-to-five second wait to add a little frisson of angst to the kill.
    By noon on Sunday June 17 we are west of Fort Frances and heading west along the Rainy River Road. I feel good things are about to happen. They do.
    Off to the left over the river we see our first of myriad American White Pelicans (257), making my later sighting at Cootes Paradise in Hamilton somewhat less thrilling. Then we stop to check a field and I have a Sharp-tailed Grouse (258) fly right by me. Sadly, Hugh and Bob are down the road the other way and do not get this bird, but we do see others on the ground at Rainy River. After a quick cry, we press on. Black-billed Magpie (259)! We all see it and then scores of others. Ditto for Western Meadowlark (260) and Franklin’s Gull (261). By the time we reach Budreau’s Oak Grove Camp, which is to be our base, I have five new birds for the day, which puts me right on schedule. These five plus Brewer’s Blackbird mean I only have to see fourteen more in three and a half days, not counting the trip home.
    On Monday June 18, I only see one new bird; at least it’s a good one — Piping Plover (262). We hear from Dan Lee, who is also staying at Budreau’s, that there is a nest on a sand island off Windy Point. It has apparently been marked off by the MNR. We hire a boat to take us out and drop us on the point, which is