Tuesday, July 29, 2014

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.



Monday, July 28, 2014

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.














Thursday, July 24, 2014

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

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

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