Ottawa Area Birding: Constance Bay, Hidden Lake & Andrew Haydon Park with JC Birding

September 26, 2023

Birding Report by Jane Burges

We met at 8:00. Ken wanted to get some coffee so Bill, Barbara and I went ahead, we very quickly checked out Constance Creek - Blue-winged Teal, then we drove down Monty and our big find Black-capped Chickadee. We met Eleanor and Ken and drove to the marsh. The reports had indicated that the Nelson's Sparrow could be seen without going into the water. Bill, Eleanor and Ken put on their rubber boots, while Barbara and I opted to walk on solid ground. There were so many Wrens - Marsh, House and Winter Wrens and they were singing. Love their different songs. A Rusty Blackbird came in for just a few minutes then flew off. Two Great Yellowlegs came by rather noisily. Lots of sparrows as well. Swamp Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and thank you Barbara, Lincoln's Sparrow. After 2 hours of searching we decided we had dipped yet again, making it three years in a row. Darn.

Well let's go see if we can find the Red-headed Woodpeckers, we drove many streets and we dipped on it as well. Once I got home I noticed an ebird post by Bruce Di Lablio indicating that he had an immature Red-headed Woodpecker at his cottage around the time we were there. So annoying. Guess it just was not to be.

Where to go next? Let's try Rivington Street in Carp, we might get some shorebirds. While driving to Carp, we stopped to look at this big black bird, it was a Common Raven. As Eleanor and Ken were getting into their vehicle they saw Killdeer. Once we got to Rivington Street, signs indicated No Trespassing, so much for shorebirds.

Bill suggested Hidden Lake would be a nice place for lunch. He was right, but it was a good place for birds as well. Bill called our attention to the Bald Eagle flying overhead. We reminisced, the last time we were there we had a Great White Fronted Goose. We walked up the small hill and gazed out onto the lake, lots of Canada Geese. Barbara had walked down to find the bench. I joined her. We walked to the opening and found another Greater White Fronted Goose, so distinctive with its pinkish bill and the white flank line. After taking photos we decided lunch was in order. While eating, an Eastern Phoebe flew into a dead tree right in front of us. After lunch we walked along the trail at the base of the hill, we saw Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping Sparrow, Red-breasted Nuthatch and a single Blue-headed Vireo. Bill, Eleanor and Ken found a Black-throated Green Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler in the same area a bit later. I joined Ken as he sat hoping that the Blue-headed Vireo would return, we heard the very loud call of a Pileated Woodpecker. I went to investigate, couldn't find it, but the Great Egret flew into a tree while I looked over the lake. Initially we thought there were two, the two became three and the three became four.

We discussed what we should do next -- Shirley's Bay and Andrew Haydon Park, The only new species we found at Shirley's Bay were 5 Greater Scaups. Eleanor stayed 10 minutes to see if the Scaup would stretch its wing. Just once one of the birds briefly stretched its wings and in the briefest of moments Eleanor saw the white extending towards the wing tip. She has a great deal more patience than me. We checked out the DND grounds and found high in a tree a House Finch, thank you Barbara for taking the photo and Bill identifying the bird.

No Screech Owls at the nest. Barbara and I decided to walk over to Andrew Haydon Park, while Bill drove.

We saw some people taking photographs, all we could see on the pond were Canada Geese. One of the ladies said there was a Belted Kingfisher perched about 2/3 the way up a coniferous tree. Nice, Belted Kingfisher was the bird that turned me on to birding so many years ago when Connie and I decided to see if birding was for us. The rest is history. We walked over the bridge and soon discovered there was no bridge on the other side, on the way back, we saw a Great Blue Heron, just standing there, paying no attention to the people. A bit further we saw a Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I am sure Bill must have been wondering where the heck we were, well we are birders, we finally joined him. Looking out onto the water, there were lots of Mallards and a pair of Widgeon. The final bird of the day, Red-necked Grebe, a really good bird to end the day.,

Birding started out slow, but as the day progressed got better and better. The same thing could be said about the weather, we all dressed in layers, it was cool I think about 8 degrees, in the afternoon the layers were taken off, a truly glorious fall day.

I love birding, news to all I am sure...