Mud Lake Surprises

January 29, 2020

Bruce Di Labio had a great day at Mud Lake the day before, so we took a break from cleaning up Bruce's house and went over.

We first checked the east end by the creek where Bruce had seen a Winter Wren, but it was all quiet except for the Black-capped Chickadees.

Then we parked on Rowatt Ave and hiked into the BCA along icy trails.  We were looking for a Carolina Wren, but instead found a Brown Creeper!  A nice male Northern Cardinal was in the same location.

We decided to circle back by the lake trail.  Barbara had fun feeding a White-breasted Nuthatch.

 Bill checked a dead tree with his bins and spotted a suspicious bump - Eastern Screech Owl!  A second surprise.

So we did not see either wren, but we had two nice surprises.

Eardley-Masham Road

January 20, 2020

Ken got such great photos of crossbills that we could not resist a trip to West Quebec.  Our highlight was up to 4 Bald Eagles, including a juvenile, on a deer carcass on Highway 148 by Alary Sugar Bush.  We were alerted to the spectacle by the mob of crows and ravens on the ground.  We saw them both coming and going.

On Eardley-Masham Road it was slim pickings, other than Blue Jays.  We did see a finch cross the road, but only got glimpse.  The bad hair do suggested a Purple Finch.

We drove the whole road, then turned down Ch. Sincennes, where we finally spotted a Red Crossbill on the road.

Honeywell Avenue

January 10, 2020

We went to cousin Bruce's and Barbara spotted some Chickadees and Juncos as we got out of the van.
She chased down the juncos on the ground under a feeder across the street.

Snowy Owls

January 9, 2020

We went to look for a Northern Hawk Owl, but were not successful. As consolation, we went looking for Snowy Owls in the Richmond Area and found four.  What a consolation!

Northern Hawk Owl

January 5, 2020

We got a hint about the location while at lunch at Bruce Di Labio's while participating in the Dunrobin-Breckinridge Christmas Bird Count.

Dunrobin - Breckinridge Christmas Bird Count

January 4, 2020

WE met the team at Tim Horton's in Kanata at 6:30 am.  Bruce assigned us to the area nearby, so we drove the perimeter to make a plan.  We decided to hike the old rail bed that parallels March Valley Road.

Following that, we tried the Monk Environmental Park south of Terry Fox and Second Line, after parking at the school.

Then we birded along Old Carp Road and the new fancy courts where all the houses had 3-car garages.  Then we went to Bruce's for lunch in Carp.

After lunch, Bruce assigned us to the rectangle bordered by Marchurst, Thomas Dolan, Dunrobin and March Roads.  This area was predominantly rural, so more enjoyable.  We saw many Wild Turkeys and one Red-tailed Hawk.

Owling with the Boys

January 3, 2020

We checked out Hazeldean Road for the Gray Partridges but could not locate them.

So we moved on to Eagleson Road to look for Snowy Owls. Success!

We cruised the back roads a bit more then went to Tim Hortons in Richmond for lunch.

After lunch we drove to Hampton Park to look for a reported Saw Whet Owl, but perhaps it was a myth.  Anyway, the boys had fund sliding around while Barbara spotted a large flock of European Starlings.

Britannia Point

January 2, 2020

There was a report of a Short-eared Owl, but that was a faint hope.  Nevertheless, we went for a drive since it's hardly out of the way. But all we saw was a lone Common Goldeneye.

Eardley-Masham Road and Chemin Steele

January 1, 2020

To start the new year, we headed out to look for crossbills and eagles.  What we did not realize was that the light snow falling and overcast sky made distant viewing of the escarpment futile. Nevertheless, we turned down Chemin Thérien and were surprised to see a female Ruffed Grouse cross the road with a displaying male in hot pursuit.

 

As mentioned, the view of the escarpment was such that any eagles would not be seen.

We started down Eardley-Masham Road and got an American Tree Sparrow under a feeder.

We saw several groups of Wild Turkeys.

But there were no crossbills on that road or the Steele Line.  There were only crows and ravens to entertain us.