March 26 2024
Birding Report by Barbara Chouinard
It
was a mostly overcast day with some weak sunshine and the blustery wind
again. Bill, Ian, Eleanor and Barb met up at 8 am at Fletcher. Barb
wrote the day’s
report.
Eleanor
remarked that she heard waxwings, we looked around none seen. We
walked over to the feeder behind the OFNC building. For the
first few minutes it was really quiet. But after a bit, birds came to
the feeder: Northern Cardinals, Chickadees and a Downy Woodpecker. We
wondered where the Dark eyed Junco’s were. Usually they are on the
ground around the feeder. In a short while one
appeared, then more. A trio of starlings showed up and a closer look
revealed that one was a Brown headed Cowbird and we heard its call. The
Cardinals were vibrant in their red for the male and the lovely orangey
beige of the females. We spent almost
an hour here. Where to next?
We
left the garden and the bush trees on the right had the Waxwings!
Eleanor counted 10 Cedar Waxwings flying around. We were happy
to see them.
A
couple of days ago, Bill and Barbara had seen a Yellow bellied
Sapsucker in the pines not too far away from the back field bird
feeder.
We looked around but had no luck with the Sapsucker today but at the
nearby feeder we did get House Finch and a Downy Woodpecker.
We
then decided to go to the Arboretum and Dow’s Lake/Canal area to try
for the Barrow’s goldeneye that was seen yesterday. We were by
the lake and saw the first of the year (for some of us) Double crested
Cormorant. There were Common Mergansers, Ring billed Gulls, a juvenile
Herring Gull, Common goldeneye and Black Duck, to name a few. We walked
along the shore by the canal. A Killdeer
was spotted sitting in the mud. Bill said “what is it doing in the
mud”. Another Killdeer was spotted nearby also in the mud. We could
also hear another one calling but could not locate it. We went on to
the bridge at the arboretum and while there was
a bit of water, there were no ducks around. On the walk back some
ducks had moved and were a bit closer. We saw Scaup (not sure what
kind) and Ring necked Ducks. The whole time the wind was blustery. It
was supposed to warm up quickly but by 11 am it
was still chilly but not as bad as last week.
Ian had to leave at this point. He had things to do but it was great to have him bird with us this morning.
We
decided to see if there was anything on the Ottawa River. The three of
us drove over to Remic Rapids Park. Did I say it was windy?
And it was cold? Well it was even windier along the Ottawa River.
Here are photos of Bill and myself. I was holding on to my scope and
Bill was sheltering from the wind. Thanks for the photos Eleanor.
We
then walked over to where the lovely little bit of trees and bushes
were by the parking lot. It was a mini-forest. We have had birds here
in this spot
during migration. But the bush has been all chopped down and only the
trees remain. We are curious people and we were wondering what kind of
machine could cut down hardy bushes. It was difficult to walk on this
thick stalk stumps.
At
this point, Eleanor had to leave us, she had things to do. Bill also
said he has a busy week and should get home to get some things
done.
Birds Seen
American Robin
Ring billed Gull
American Crow
Canada Geese
Black capped Chickadee
Northern Cardinal
Dark eyed Junco
Hairy Woodpecker
Brown headed Cowbird
Downy Woodpecker
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Mallard
House Finch
Double crested Cormorant
Common goldeneye
Song Sparrow
Black Duck
Common Merganser
Herring Gull
Scaup
Killdeer
Ring necked Duck
Hooded Merganser
