August 31, 2021
We paddled the Mississippi from Pakenham upstream towards Blakeney. Best bird was a Belted Kingfisher.
Afterwards, we made a tour around Dominion Springs, Blakeney and Panmure Road. We got a few birds, but nothing exceptional. It was interesting to compare the juvenile and adult starlings side by side.
August 30, 2021
We decided to give up on the gnatcatcher and try for shorebirds at AHP. We went first to the west end to check the sandbar. No shorebirds, just a Great Egret and some ho hum ducks. Barbara hiked back while Bill brought the car around to the east parking lot, and we met by Graham Creek. We hiked down the path on the east side of the creek and found a bathing Great Blue Heron and two Solitary Sandpipers.
Next we hiked out to the beach area past all the kite surfers and spotted some shorebirds in the distance. There were Semi-palmated Plovers, Semi-palmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers.
Then we walked over to Mark G's little bridge and waited five minutes. Sure enough, a Red-eyed Vireo appeared.
August 29, 2021
Sam's final game was in the morning, so we had time after lunch to go for the gnatcatcher. It had been reported early and again around noon in the west sumac filed at Mud Lake. But the bird disappointed us; it has not been seen since that last report.
Overall, it was pretty quiet, but thanks to another birder, Wilson, we did get on a nice mixed flock of warblers. We also saw a Merlin and a pair of Baltimore Orioles feeding on the buckthorn berries.
We drove around to the filtration plant, and got a few more warblers in a pine tree right by the building.
August 28, 2021
We went to Britannia in hope of seeing a reported Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in the sumac field that had been reported. We were not having much luck and kept bumping into well-known Ottawa birders. So, as it began to lightly rain, Bill said he had a hunch that vireos might be in the woods along the fence line, so they tried that with the idea of returning for the gnatcatcher later. Oh boy, there were lots of warblers in there; Bay-breasted, Black and White, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Black-throated Green (numerous), Magnolia, Nashville (numerous), Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Tennessee (numerous), and Yellow-rumped.
We met some francophone birders, Chantal Periard and Jocelyn Grenon, who were very friendly and helpful, especially for finding the vireos - Philadelphia, Red-eyed and Yellow-throated.
We returned to the sumac field and met many other birders, including friends Carol and Allan. It was like a zoo, and there was no sign of the gnatcatcher, so we left. Later, on the eBird alert, we saw that Chantal and Jocelyn got it after we had left. Good for them!
