Hummers at Last

July 27, 2014

We had not seen any hummingbirds at our cottage at Grand Lac des Cèdres all summer.  We even thought about taking down the feeder.  But suddenly, there they were - a male, a female, and possibly a young one too.

Tay River Paddle

July 22, 2014

Today I paddled the section of river from Last Duel Park to the Tay Wildlife Reserve and back.  After leaving Perth, the route is mostly wild.  I encountered an unusual number of Great Blue Herons, a few Green Herons, and even an American Bittern.  It is surprising at how wary these birds are of the mostly silent canoe.  It is very difficult to take photos from a canoe in even the slightest breeze, so I have little evidence to show.

Smith's Falls Swale for Least Bittern

July 19, 2014

Friend Stew Hamill told us that this was a good place to find Least Bitterns, if we went early.  Well, I guess 9 am is early enough, because we had multiple sightings of one as it responded to the taped call by jumping up fro the reeds for brief looks.  There was no chance at all for a photo.  It's quite an interesting area, accessible only by canoe.  The abundance of Black Terns was a pleasant surprise.  There were several Mallard and Wood Duck families and one Pied-billed Grebe with young.  Barbara also spotted a water snake and some interesting dragon flies.

Scrublands and Riparian Habitats – Shirley’s Bay Trails – Ottawa West with Always an Adventure

Thursday July 17

Today we have Judith, Sue, Lorraine, Rick ,Tony, Nina and me.

We went to Shirleys Bay and hiked out onto the dike.  The mosquitoes on the hike in were rather fierce. The water level was not as low as we had hoped, so shorebirds were scarce.  We did see three Great Egrets.  We went next to Richmond Lagoons, then to Burnside and finally to TrailRoad/Cambrian Road.

Bird List

1. Spotted Sandpiper
2. Canada Goose
3. Ring-billed Gull
4. Common Tern
5. Mourning Dove
6. Cedar Waxwing
7. Wood Thrush
8. Double-crested Cormorant
9. Common Grackle
10. Gray Catbird
11. American Restart
12. Downy Woodpecker
13. Hairy Woodpecker
14. Red-eyed Vireo
15. Osprey
16. Song Sparrow
17. Black-capped Chickadee
18. Wood Duck
19. Eastern Wood Pewee
20. Great-crested Flycatcher
21. Brown Creeper
22. Belted Kingfisher
23. Great Egret
24. Red-winged Blackbird
25. Blue-winged Teal
26. Mallard
27. Common Gallinule
28. Great Blue Heron
29. Green-winged Teal
30. American Robin
31. Tree Swallow
32. Northern Flicker
33. Warbling Vireo
34. Eastern Phoebe
35. Eastern Kingbird
36. Barn Swallow
37. Hooded Merganser
38. Common Yellowthroat
39. Willow Flycatcher
40. Swamp Sparrow
41. American Goldfinch
42. Purple Finch
43. Baltimore Oriole
44. Green Heron
45. Pied-billed Grebe
46. Gadwall
47. Killdeer
48. Common Raven
49. Turkey Vulture
50. Chipping Sparrow
51. Eauropean Starling
52. Northern Cardinal
53. Vesper Sparrow

Young Birds & The First Fall Migrants – Ottawa West with Always an Adventure

Tuesday July 15

Today there are Gary & Sue, Lorraine, Tony & Nina and me.  We spent a good amount of time walking around both parts of Andrew Haydon Park seeking out young birds.  We went for coffee, then out to Richmond Area and beyond.  We came back via Burnside pit, then went to Shirley's Bay checking both the river and adjacent roads.

Bird List

1. Northern Cardinal
2. American Robin
3. White-breasted Nuthatch
4. Common Tern
5. Eastern Phoebe
6. Canada Goose
7. American Black Duck
8. Mallard
9. Northern Flicker
10. Red-winged Blackbird
11. Warbling Vireo
12. Purple Martin
13. Osprey
14. Black-crowned Night-Heron
15. Ring-billed Gull
16. Double-crested Cormorant
17. Song Sparrow
18. Barn Swallow
19. Great Blue Heron
20. Hooded Merganser
21. European Starling
22. Eastern Kingbird
23. Turkey Vulture
24. Wild Turkey
25. American Crow
26. Mourning Dove
27. Red-tailed Hawk
28. Eastern Wood Pewee
29. Green Heron
30. Kildeer
31. House Sparrow
32. American Wigeon
33. Gadwall
34. Ruddy Duck
35. Bald Eagle
36. Brown Thrasher
37. Blue Jay
38. Downy Woodpecker
39. American Redstart
40. Wood Thrush
41. Great Crested Flycatcher

PP&J Biking

July 14, 2014

We finally finished our last section of the Pontiac & Pacific Junction bike trail.  We went from Wyman to Shawville and return, having finished the farther away sections in previous years.  We managed to cover the 37 km distance, which is quite a feat considering all the stops we do for birding.  The birds along the remote trail have never seen a birder, let alone heard a taped call.  The Magnolia Warbler was a highlight.

When we finished we decided to take the Quyon Ferry to Ontario and come home through Dunrobin.  This yielded the last 8 species on our list.

Bird List

1. American Crow
2. Common Yellowhtroat
3. American Goldfinch
4. Song Sparrow
5. Red-winged Blackbird
6. American Robin
7. Northern Flicker
8. Bobolink
9. European Starling
10. Broad-winged Hawk
11. Indigo Bunting
12. Chestnut-sided Warbler
13. Magnolia Warbler
14. Turkey Vulture
15. Blue Jay
16. Red-eyed Vireo
17. Eastern Phoebe
18. Chipping Sparrow
19. Eastern Kingbird
20. Swamp Sparrow
21. Least Flycatcher
22. Virginia Rail
23. Ring-billed Gull
24. Mallard
25. Green Heron
26. House Finch
27. Black-capped Chickadee
28. Pileated Woodpecker
29. Wood Duck
30. Merlin
31. Canada Goose
32. Great Blue Heron
33. Double-crested Cormorant
34. Northern Harrier
35. Mourning Dove
36. Osprey
37. Swamp Sparrow
38. Linclon's Sparrow
39. Eastern Bluebird

Other

Smooth Green Snake, American Toad