February 23, 2020
We had to meet the group at the ferry at 8 am, so we left home at 5:50 am in the dark. By the time we got to Hwy 401, the sun was up, and we started seeing birds. Highlights were a perched Red-tailed Hawk and a sizable flock of Trumpeter Swans at the Rideau Canal.
We arrived at the ferry dock right on time with perhaps eight cars already there. We quickly learned that Jon Ruddy, the advertised trip leader, was not able to come. He recruited Anthony Kaduck and Paul Mackenzie from KFN to co-lead the trip. Our birding friend Ken from Ottawa arrived. He and Meg, a Toronto birder, decided to car-pool with us on the island. There were about 20 birders all told. Fortunately, it was a pleasant sunny, mild day for birding.
We wandered around waiting for the ferry and got a few common birds for our list. On the ferry, there were only Herring Gulls and Mallards to add to our tally.
After coming off the ferry, we met at the road by the school to hear of the day’s plans. We were told that no owls had been seen lately, and that the low population of voles would mean there would be few hawks too. Despite this news, most wanted to go into Owl Woods anyway.
We headed east on Front Road and stopped to scope a raft of Common Goldeneyes. We also saw a couple of male Common Mergansers and some Mute Swans. We carried on to Lower 40 Font Road and stopped to view a very distant Snowy Owl on the KFN reserve.
From there, we toured the concession roads spotting a Bald Eagle, three Red-tailed Hawks, a bunch of Wild Turkeys and a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk. We also saw several deer, three of them fairly close.
We ate our lunches in the cars, then went to the ferry dock to use the washrooms, while the rest of the group continued birding.
After lunch, we caught up to the other cars which were parked at the side of Front Road. We correctly surmised that they had gone ahead to Owl Woods, and we hiked down to meet them. Sure enough, there were no owls, but we got a variety of feeder birds and most spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker.
By the time we hiked back out to the cars, it was time to catch the 3:00 pm ferry. We decided that it was too late in the day to go to Wolfe Island. We said goodbye to Meg and followed Ken to Lemoine Point in Kingston for more birding. On the way there, Ken pulled over quickly as there was a Red-tailed Hawk on a wire right overhead. Best raptor photo of the day!
It was very busy in the Lemoine Point conservation area, but the woods looked to be good for owls, and some had recently been reported.
We did not know where to look, so we hiked along looking for people with cameras to ask. We finally spotted a young couple with a camera who told us that they had just left an owl up around the corner. Our joy soon turned to disappointment, however, when we were unable to locate it. We surmised that it had just taken off to hunt.
We continued on our way and managed to cover a good chunk of the trails, as evidenced from the map. We even met another photographer who regaled us with tales of multiple Barred Owls near the parking lot – but they were not there today.
It was around 6 pm when we headed for home, mostly in the dark. We drove straight through with one coffee stop at Tims, arriving a few minutes after 8 pm. That’s a long day for seniors!
Ottawa to Millhaven
1. American Crow
2. Red-tailed Hawk
3. Blue Jay
4. American Robin
5. Trumpeter Swan
6. Canada Goose
7. European Starling
Amherst Island Ferry and Dock
8. Northern Cardinal
9. Mute Swan
10. Herring Gull
11. American Goldfinch
12. House Finch
13. Mallard
Amherst Island
14. Common Merganser
15. Common Goldeneye
16. Snowy Owl
17. Bald Eagle
18. Rough-legged Hawk (dark morph)
19. Wild Turkey
20. White-breasted Nuthatch
21. Hairy Woodpecker
22. Black-capped Chickadee
23. Red-bellied Woodpecker
Lemoine Point
24. American Tree Sparrow
25. Mourning Dove
26. Downy Woodpecker
Mammals
1. Gray Squirrel
2. Red Squirrel
3. White-tailed Deer
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