Ottawa Area Birding

Thursday, May 17, 2012

PP&J Part 2

May 12-13, 2012

We went to historic Spucehome B&B in Fort Coulonge to cycle another stretch of the PP&J bike trail.

On the way up we stopped at the Quyon Ferry and saw a bunch of goslings and a couple of Killdeer.

We parked at the B&B and biked down the road to pick up the trail. We turned west and slowly made our way past Davidson to Ch. Thomas Lefebvre, our turn-around point when pedalling south from Waltham. We then returned along Davidson Road to be close to the river. We tried to find a couple of geocaches without any luck, but got several bug bites instead. Our distance was 18.8 km. After a soak in the tub, we went to Esprit Rafting for a BBQ dinner, which was recommended by a friend. We were the only clients that night, but there were a few rafting guides around. We had to eat inside as a drizzle had started, but it was a very nice meal. Before dinner we did find an easy geocache on the grounds.

On Sunday morning, we mounted our canoe on the wheels we got for Christmas from C&P, and rolled down a short distance to the Ottawa River. After figuring out how to launch a the steep embankment and high dock, we had a very enjoyable 1.5 h paddle around a large island. We saw many of the same birds, but a highlight was a Great Crested Flycatcher. We found a better place to take out and rolled effortlessly on the wheels back to our car at the B&B.

We then got on our bikes and headed the opposite way on the trail towards Campbell's Bay, but not before stopping to call in the Ovenbird that was calling near the road intersection. Be biked to Ch. Callaghan and back, a distance of 21.8 km. The trail through town was paved, then went along the Ottawa River for a while, before traversing mostly bush. Just before turning around, we got into some open fields. This last point proved to be a bonanza for birding, with Bobolinks and lots of warblers. A noteworthy find was the ditch filled with watercress.