Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Eastern Lagoons with Jane & Connie

Aug 25, 2009 7:00 am

I met Jane & Connie at Petrie Island just before 7.
There were a number of warblers along the road including Black-and-White, Tennessee and Magnolia. We heard an Eastern Wood Peewee and Red-eyed Vireo but could not locate them. We saw a number of White-throated Sparrows, dull form.

From Petrie, we drove straight to the Alfred lagoons. Just before getting there, the ladies spotted a very large raptor, which turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon, although we all wanted it to be a Gyrfalcon. Up on the platform we saw another (or perhaps the same) Peregrine fly over. There were one or more Merlins too, which flew past and landed in a dense tree, and a Northern Harrier patrolling the fields.

In the lagoons, there were many Ruddy Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Common Moorhens and American Coots. I spotted a couple of Wilson’s Phalaropes. Jane & Connie saw a pair of Northern Shovellers, but I did not. We all saw some Pied-billed Grebes. We spotted a couple of Gadwall hidden in the reeds and Connie saw some Redheads.

Our next stop was at Casselman lagoons. The first cell had nothing, but Jane saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The next cells were more productive with some Spotted Sandpipers, Ring-necked Ducks, a Wood Duck fly-past and two female Common Goldeneye.

We went to High Falls Conservation Area for a picnic and found both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and a Great Blue Heron below the dam.. On the other side of the river, we saw an Osprey fly over and a nice male Northern Harrier. An Eastern Kingbird posed on a wire.



Our next stop was the Dignard Constructed Wetland ponds. We saw a Red-winged Blackbird, which was unusual, a number of Lesser Yellowlegs and a very spotted Spotted Sandpiper and another Great Blue Heron.


That was all for me, but Connie & Jane went on to the Embrun lagoons.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Christie Lake Raptors

Aug 18, 1:00 pm

We visited our friends, John & Mary Anne's cottage west of Perth. John took us for a ride in his speed boat to see the Osprey and Bald Eagle nests on the lake. What a treat! Thanks, John.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Andrew Haydon Park

Aug 1, 2009 2:30 pm.

After getting a hot tip on Ontbirds from Wilson Hum that the Brant was still at Andrew Haydon Park, My next door neighbour, Anne, and I headed over to try and locate it.

We saw four or five Great Blue Heron, none of them shy before locating the Brant. There was a juvenile Hooded Merganser in the first pond too.