Ottawa Area Birding: Hilda to Carp Area with JC Birding

March 30, 2021

Report By Barbara C

Jane, Bill and Barbara, and Barb met up at 8 am at Hilda. It was mostly overcast and 1 degree. The day warmed up but there was a wind wherever we went. Most of us were still wearing winter clothes by the end of the day. From Hilda, we would figure out where to head next. We knew that we wanted to end up at the Carp Flood Plains by the end of the birding. The stops in between were “on the fly” looking for returning migrants: we were just checking out the usual birding spots in the spring. At Hilda there were Black capped Chickadees, American Tree Sparrow, Red winged Blackbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Dark eyed Junco and American Robin to name a few of the birds. Bill spotted a Merlin that flew away. The Red bellied Woodpecker showed up several times. Barbara saw a Northern Flicker.

There were two Hares at Hilda. One was still all white while the other had some brown with the white. They were busy checking out the feeding stations. We drove down Hilda and we saw a group of Cedar Waxwings with one Bohemian Waxwing.

We checked Shirley’s Bay and viewed two juvenile Bald Eagles flying around. The Ottawa River was clear of ice and through our scopes we viewed Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneye. We heard an early Eastern Phoebe and saw another one later in the day. We heard a Pileated Woodpecker and then saw the lovely bird fly across. We saw a chubby Groundhog along the road and I saw some deer also.

Song Sparrows everywhere were singing, such a big voice for a small bird! There were plenty of Red winged Blackbirds out and about and they were calling also. Turkey Vultures were flying. From Shirley’s Bay we went down Herzberg Road to the end. This has been a good birding spot in migration and in the summertime. But today, there was not much at the feeder in front of the house except for squirrels feeding. There were more Waxwings here and a lovely singing American Robin.

We stopped at the ponds on Klondike and saw Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads. We continued down March Valley Road and then down 6 th line to Berry Side Road. We bumped into the Ben Di Labio birding group again on Berry Side Road. They had seen Eastern Meadowlarks and Eastern Bluebirds. We continued on to 5 th Line and saw the vibrant yellow breasted Meadowlark high up on a tree. We viewed a Bluebird in the usually reliable spot on 5 th Line at the horse farm. We had smiles on our faces.

On Thomas Dolan and Constance Creek we stopped and chatted with more birders. It seemed that there were a lot more birders out today than usual, another sign of spring. Anne joined us here and she had seen a Northern Harrier while waiting for us. We viewed Ring necked Ducks here at the back of the creek. Up a bit on Constance Creek Road we saw a Raven fly over us.

Canada Geese were everywhere we stopped today. It had rained recently, so there were plenty of flooded fields. We stopped at the informally named seasonal “Holland Marsh” on old highway 17, just a short distance from Kinburn. Some years, something interesting is found here in this flooded spot, but all we saw were lots of Canada Geese and some Mallards.

We then drove on to John Shaw Road where there were more flooded fields. Here we met an Arnprior birder that some of us know. She pointed out the Snow Goose x Canada Goose. We did see it and it was mostly tucked in for a nap. There were lots of Ring necked Ducks here along with some Black Ducks. The wind was picking up so we ate our lunch in our own vehicles. It was not warm enough outside to dine outside on camp chairs at a social distance. Jane spotted a leucistic Canada Goose with white dots on its neck.

We continued on to our last location, the Carp Flood Plains. Anne took the lead here in getting us to the end of Rivington. From here we walked down a bit and viewed the flooded area. There were lots of Canada Geese and not much else. Jane was tired by this time from lack of sleep and from busy days helping her sister get ready to move. In addition, the first floor of Jane’s home is being renovated, so everything is upside down right now. With so much on her plate, Jane asked me to write up the day’s report. We said our farewells and headed homeward with a stop for some of us to see the Raven’s nest near the Canadian Tire Centre. It was a lovely day to be out birding.

Barb & Bill continued on to check if there was a Common Raven's nest at the Canadian Tire Centre, there was.