Ayers Lake Lookout

We recently hiked to Ayers Lake Lookout which is located 10 Km beyond Hawkins Corner, east of Millville.  We were able to drive into the base of the 'mountain'.  That left a fairly difficult 1.2 Km hike up to the lookout.

The area has a lot of old-growth Acadian forest with mainly sugar maple, red oak, beech, spruce and hemlock.  We saw some sugar maples that were 1 metre in diameter.  It was a sunny day and although the leaves were past their prime, they were still beautiful.  Most of the reds were gone but there was lots of colour left.

From the lookout one can see a pristine valley including old-growth forest, a lake, streams and a bog.  Off in the distance can be seen a vast wilderness marked by hills and promontories.  There are many hiking trails leading through the hardwoods, softwoods and to the lake and bogs.

Bird life was a bit quiet but we did see a large number of Dark-eyed Juncos.  They must have been migrating with several flocks feeding in the area.  The highlight was a Ruffed Grouse which posed on the road and a Buteo sp. which was too far over the mountain to be identified.  Also seen were Gray Jay, Hermit Thrush, Black-capped Chickadee, Raven and a flock of Pine Siskins.

 Gray Jay

Ruffed Grouse