Thursday, May 26, 2016

William Mooney Road

May 26, 2016

We went to the home of one of our Venturers, whose father is a welder, to get some work done on our trailer.  Right nearby is an attractive little creek, that had birds, spawning fish, and frogs.





Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Backyard Nesters

May 25, 2016

We were on our deck and notice a House Wren gathering nesting material and putting it in one of our birdhouses.  In our neighbour's spruce tree, we also saw an American Robin on the nest.





Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Former Base Rideau

May 24, 2016

We decided to explore the old Scout camp across from Mooney's Bay.  It is now a large urban park on the river adjacent to the new houses.  It was much the same as in the old days, and there were lots of common birds.










Monday, May 23, 2016

Cottage Opener and Park Picnic

May 23, 2016

We finally got to our cottage, and luck us, Kirk, Karine and the boys came to visit.  The trilliums were in bloom.  There was lots of fishing and birding too.  We got Black and White Warblers and an Ovenbird.  Barbara discovered an active  Red-breasted Nuthatch nest, and a Pine Siskin came to our niger feeder.  Bill caught a small trout which was released, but Kirk got a keeper!












On Monday, we headed to Andrew Haydon Park for an extended family picnic.  Those Purple Martins at the Nepean Sailing Club never fail to entertain.  The boys enjoyed climbing a nearby tree.




Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Trail 10 - Shirley's Bay

May 16, 2016

We needed a quick break from editing our Pelee photos, and a report of warblers on this trail got us out of the house in the afternoon.  The woods were really disappointingly quiet until we heard a chip note.  Finally a House Wren popped up to give us a good look.


Shortly afterwards, we got a couple of warblers.



We explored some side trails and really enjoyed seeing new places. Upon returning to the parking lot, we spotted several White-crowned Sparrows that were dining on the seeds brought by a thoughtful hiker.




Monday, May 16, 2016

Mud Lake

May 9, 2016

We met cousins Anne & Bruce at 8:00 am.  It was very cold and the birds had not awakened.  But by 9, activity began and we saw a Palm and Pine Warbler along with dozens of Yellowrumps.




We also saw many other species.  We met a friend of Anne & Bruce's who showed us the location of a Northern Flicker on the nest and also a Pileated Woodpecker nest hole.