Rideau Tennis Club

Dec 13, 2013

Just a quick stop on a frigid morning to see if a Barrow's Goldeneye could be seen.  No luck, but plenty of Common Goldeneye in good light.  I was surprised at the paucity of open water so early in the winter.

 

Winter Raptors - Ottawa East with Tony & Nina

Dec 5, 2013

A new young guy, Alex, joined Tony, Nina, Josh, Rick and me today.  We went out to St Isidore ,stopped and got two Snowy Owls, one on each side of the road.  We cruised around and got three more Snowys as well as huge flock of Snow Buntings.  We spotted just a couple of Lapland Longspurs and Horned Larks.  A visit to Lafleche Dump netted us large numbers of Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls.  We returned to Ottawa via Milton Road, where we had an adult Bald Eagle fly over and we saw two Rough-legged Hawks.

 

 

Bird List

1. Snow Bunting
2. European Starling
3. American Crow
4. Blue Jay
5. Common Raven
6. Snowy Owl (5!)
7. Rock Pigeon
8. House Sparrow
9. Rough-legged Hawk
10. Lapland Longspur
11. Horned Lark
12. Red-tailed Hawk
13. Great-blacked Gull
14. Herring Gull
15. Bald Eagle

Rare Bird Alert

Dec 3, 2013

Today there are Tony, Nina, Rick, Lorraine & me.  It was to be a day exploring Greenbelt trails.  The reality was entirely different.

A couple of Harlequin Ducks had been reported on the Ottawa River, so we went to Shirley's Bay for a look, stopping first at Hilda.  There was nothing much doing, so we went to the boat launch.  Tony spotted a very close adult Bald Eagle on a deer carcass on the Ottawa River.  It flew up to a perch as we got out of the cars, and was too nervous to return while we were there.

Next we went to Mud lake / Britannia Point to scan the rapids.  We had all but given up when Tony got the two Harlequins in his scope.  It appeared that they were closer to the Quebec side, so we decided to drive over to Vanier Road in Aylmer for a closer look.

When we were getting out of our cars, an excited Outaouais birder met us with news of a very recent sighting of a Black-throated Gray Warbler.  Our immediate reaction was disbelief, since such a bird would be away out of ranged (west side of the Rockies) and a first for the Ottawa area.  The bird was discovered by Gary McNulty, a respected birder.

We hurried down to the water, where a large number of birders were scoping the two Harlequin Duck (one adult male and one immature male).  The buzz was all about the warbler, and Bob Cermak was there quizzing Gary.  He immediately put out the Rare Bird Alert.

We trudged back and forth on the path looking for the warbler.  Gary showed the exact spot where he had seen it.  The Outaouias birders headed up to the foot bridge, and a whistle from Bob told us that the Black-throated Gray Warbler had been re-found there.  Off we went, and soon we all had good views - a lifer for many.

We attempted many photos with moderate success.  Other birders started arriving from their offices, responding to the rare bird alert, many in their suits, leaving meetings and coming in borrowed cars.  It was posted to OntBirds and, before long, the who's who of local birding were all on hand for this spectacular find.  I have never seen so many of our local expert birders all together at the same time.  What a day!

 

 

 

 

 

Bird List

1. American Crow
2. Hairy Woodpecker
3. Blue Jay
4. Mourning Dove
5. Black-capped Chickadee
6. Red-winged Blackbird
7. White-breasted Nuthatch
8. Common Raven
9. Bald Eagle
10. Mallard
11. American Black Duck
12. Common Goldeneye
13. Common Merganser
14. Red-breasted Merganser
15. Hooded Merganser
16. Canada Goose
17. Common Loon
18. Harlequin Duck
19. Northern Cardinal
20. Dark-eyed Junco
21. Pileated Woodpecker
22. Brown Creeper
23. American Robin
24. Song Sparrow
25. European Starling
26. Merlin
27. Downy Woodpecker
28. Glaucous Gull
29. Ring-billed Gull
30. Black-throated Gray Warbler
31. Rock Pigeon

Early Winter Specialties - Ottawa East with Tony & Nina

Nov 28, 2013

Tony, Nina and Josh arrived at Trim Road Park & Ride shortly before 8.  A Bald Eagle flew over heading for Petrie Island. As I was the only other birder, I rode with them.  We drove over to Dolman Ridge to meet Rick, then went to Smith Road, but there were no Sandhill Cranes left.  We decided to go out to St Isidore to look for Snowy Owls, and found two, both on the ground and rather distant.  There were large flocks of Snow Buntings and a few Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs.  The wind was bitter, and it was one of those days that it was hard to force oneself out of the car.

 

 

 

 

 Bird List

1. Bald Eagle
2. Mourning Dove
3. Rock Pigeon
4. Horned Lark
5. Canada Goose
6. Black-capped Chickadee
7. Blue Jay
8. Snow Bunting
9. Common Raven
10. American Crow
11. Snowy Owl
12. Rough-legged Hawk
13. Lapland Longspur
14. Dark-eyed Junco
15. House Sparrow