Pakenham & Blakeney Tour

April 24, 2020

We used Larry Neily's web site and the MVFN web resources to plan a day outing to Lanark County.

Since we exited Hwy 417 at Kinburn Side Road, we decided to make a short detour to check out the ponds and river by Ottawa Valley Canoe and Kayak.  We saw an American Kestrel on a wire and a distant Green-winged Teal in the wetland.  We also saw our first Savannah Sparrow.

We then proceeded to Pakenham and crossed the Mississippi on the Five-Arch Stone Bridge.  In the distance, we could see a Double-crested Cormorant.

Our route took us up Cedar Hill Side Road where we saw another American Kestrel at the corner.

There was little traffic, so we could proceed slowly looking for birds.  When we came to Cedar Hill Cemetery, we spotted an Eastern Bluebird flitting among the tombstones.  We got out and went into the cemetery to get close.  We also saw a couple of Hermit Thrushes on the ground.

We carried Cedar Hill Side Road, stopping where a small stream flowed under the road.  Here we saw two Mourning Doves, a Song Sparrow, and four or five American Goldfinches getting drinks from the stream.

Further on, we saw a couple of Wild Turkeys, the first of many we would see.

At the intersection of Sugar Bush Road (Bellamy Road), we saw an obliging Northern Flicker.

At the next bridge, we stopped for our lunch.  We saw many more turkeys, a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, a pair of Mallards, a deer and another flicker.

We carried on Bellamy Road to Road 24, then Campbell Side Road to Waba Road and back to Pakenham.

We crossed the bridge and took Road 17 to Blakeney for a stop at the beautiful falls and park.  We did not see any more interesting birds, but we sure enjoyed the scenery at the park.  We returned home via Almonte.