Ottawa Area Birding: Constance Bay with JC Birding

September 28, 2021

Text by Jane Burgess

First thing I did when waking up was to check the temperature - a cool 5 degrees so I dressed quite warmly and I left the house around 7:30. Around Kanata I realized I had forgotten my rubber boots, have to say some expletives came out of my mouth. Should I turn around or be on time. I opted to be on time and bird from the shore. When I arrived Ken, Bill and Barbara were there. I mentioned forgetting my rubber boots and Ken says he has an extra pair of boots, did I have an extra pair of socks. I did. Thank you Ken. Anne arrives but with no rubber boots, my fault I forgot to indicate to bring boots. She said no worries she would wear her hiking boots.

Off we went following Ken, he soon found out the water had suddenly become a lot deeper than when he was there a few days ago. There was no way we were going out into the reeds. So we decided the beach route would be better. The owner of the Bed & Breakfast was out walking his dog and he told us that we could walk on his grass. First species to be seen by the group were Greater Yellowlegs and a Great Blue Heron. There was a lot of chirping going on, but not the sound we wanted. The target bird - Nelson Sparrow - has a very unique sound. We looked and looked, we thought maybe the bird would come out when it warmed up because it was cool, with a breeze coming off the water. While looking for the bird, I noticed lots of huge spider webs on the bushes and Anne mentioned some spider webs stretching between trees - how they do that is a mystery to me. We looked up and saw a Belted Kingfisher hovering over the water. We looked and looked some more, three more birders joined us, one had seen the bird the day before. Some activity - Swamp Sparrow and then some other little birds, but they moved so quickly that they were not identified. A lone Lesser Yellowlegs flew in and the Great Blue Heron flew to the raft. Between the beach and the B&B we saw both White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows. Anne asked me if we were going to be there long, yes. She phoned her husband who graciously brought over her rubber boots (she lives at White Lake).

We arrived at 8:30 and around 10:30-10:45, we decided that we would go and look for a Red-headed Woodpecker. Before we set out, we ran through all the birds we saw for my notation book. Ken reported he saw 5 Wild Turkeys in a tree while driving to the meet up spot and Anne saw a Red-tailed Hawk. Anne and I carpooled with Ken and while driving to Richie Street, Anne said to us did you see the blue wine bottle tree, both Ken and I missed it. We said we would get it later going back to the beach. We drove a couple of streets, got out and walked to the pier and Ken spotted a Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. On our travels through Constance Bay, we ran into one of the birders that was at the beach and he said he just saw the Red-headed Woodpecker working on a dead 'birch' ; actually it was a popular tree, no birches around the area. We walked over and checked the area out, no Red-headed Woodpecker, but we did hear a Pileated Woodpecker. Walking the roads we saw a glance of a Brown Creeper and lots of Dark-eyed Juncos. But the most interesting sighting was by Bill and Anne, they spotted a Red-breasted Nuthatch that was actually a Chipmunk looking out of a hole in a tree, we teased them saying they had spotted a Red-breasted Chipmunk.

We decided to go back to the beach and have our lunch. On our return trip Anne reminded us about the blue wine bottle tree. Either the home owners like wine that comes in a blue bottle or just has a sense of humour (check photo). It looks like their wine of choice is Kentucky Blue Riesling (I looked it up). I am no wine connoisseur, I drink what my husband hands me and I never remember the names.

After having our lunch we donned our rubber rubber boots (at that time I decided to take a photo or two of some chainsaw art at the B&B) and off we went for another 2 hours of looking. This time we were rewarded by lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Tennessee Warbler and a Bay-breasted Warbler, along with a very, very cute Ruby crowned Kinglet very focused on preening. We all saw its ruby crown. It stayed for the longest time just preening. Well we dipped on the Red-headed Woodpecker and the Nelson Sparrow.

Where to go next, Ken and Bill checked ebird and it was decided to go after the Towhees that Jeff S. saw in the morning on Thomas Dolan. We got there and the signs were pretty clear where to park and what areas were off limits. Where we always see Towhees, very clear "Nature Reserve No Entry". We called it and called, but no interest. Say how about playing Field Sparrow, we generally see them in this area. We played it, but no action, or so we thought. After getting home Bill was going over Barbara's photos and yes a Field Sparrow. Guess singing was not its thing after all its fall, but it did stealthily fly in, but our wanderer got it.

Where to next? Well lets try Constance lake and creek. Maybe we will get some duckies. Nothing but Canada Geese on the lake, but the creek we got Wood Duck, Mallard, Wigeon and Black Duck. Not a lot of ducks but a couple of each species. Ken spotted a Northern Harrier flying over the swamp area and I saw one painted turtle. Ken said he was heading home and was in need of coffee, I offered my herbal tea, but he required caffeine. Bill Barbara and I headed home via 5th line, maybe some Bluebirds, no luck. We stopped on Berry Side Road, saw some birds but nothing new for the list. I heard singing, it turned out to be European Starlings. Such an understated bird at this time of the year, they are beautiful, iridescent purples and greens. Driving down 6th line we saw a small flock of Wild Turkeys. We turned onto Klondike and Barbara said she said to Bill this is a nothing spot, mmmm, we got a Great Egret and a Eastern Phoebe.