Home to Long Island Locks

 May 30, 2025

Calumet Island with JC Birding

 May 27, 2025

Birding Report by Barbara Chouinard

It was a beautiful day today and the morning was cool but comfortable. 

Ken was the early bird today and was the first one at the Eagleson Park and Ride.  Barbc joined him shortly after and then Eleanor arrived followed by Bill and Barbara.   So there were 5 of us.  We briefly discussed how we would do this and someone suggested all of us in one vehicle.   We looked at each other and we have done it before.  None of us are big people.  So with the two Barbaras and one Eleanor in the back, it works.  Ken was riding shotgun and was our spotter.  We set out for a new adventure to bird Calumet Island on the Quebec side.  It has been years since I had been through there.  Bill planned the route and according to Bill’s excellent map for the area, we did a major part of the island which is quite big.  The scenery was quintessentially Canadian nature and the day was perfect: warm and not humid with a good breeze which kept the mosquitoes at bay until later in the afternoon.

In the park and ride lot we had some usual birds: crows, starlings, red wings, goldfinches and an American Redstart. 

On the 417, Ken spotted a Great Egret flying over the highway.  Ken said, “this is a good start to the day.” 

We continued on to the 17 and turned left toward Quebec onto Highway 4 to Storyland Road and Chenaux Road.  Here we saw Blue Jay, Rock Pigeon and Canada Goose.  We saw a straight line of goslings following a parent in the water.

Once on Calumet Island, we ended up at Rue Principale and at a pretty bay, there was a small local park: Parc Leo Piché.   Bill explained where the Calumet came from.  The explorers smoked a type of clay pipe called the Calumet. 

We met some friendly people who lived in a house on the bay.  They stopped to chat with Bill and said we could take a look at their pond which was nice.  There were many Barn Swallows and a couple of Tree Swallows flying madly around.  We could hear a Warbling Vireo, Robins and an Eastern Phoebe.  In the horizon there were Turkey Vultures and in a far tree, a Common Raven.

We continued driving through the small hamlets and farm fields of the long part of Calumet Island.  Bill pointed out where he had in the past some Baltimore Oriole sightings.   Not today though.  We did hear them but could not catch a view of one.  We continued straight and crossed Rue Murphy and came upon a house with lots of feeders.  The posted name was Landriault.  A very friendly lady came out and talked with us and her love of feeding the birds and viewing them through her windows.  She had an Oriole and a hummingbird feeder and several other seed feeders.  We saw first a Downy Woodpecker and then a Hairy Woodpecker visit the feeders and then a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak showed up for a snack at the feeders.  It was a wonderful place and behind her house the lady had a substantial vegetable garden.  We continued on Rue Murphy and then on to De La Mine.  We could hear Red eyed Vireo calling along with a Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Chestnut sided Warbler.  It was very birdy here.  We heard an Indigo Bunting which finally showed up.  In the sunlight it was beautiful.  We saw Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlarks flying around. 

Murphy Rd, de la mine rd, ch Kelleher, ch de Dunraven, Barry, du Barrage.  Here we stopped as Merlin indicated a Mourning Warbler.  We got out of the vehicle and thought that the habitat of piles of bramble and branches were perfect for the Mourning Warbler and with some effort, the tiny warbler flew in and gave us some good looks.  Last time I had stopped for a Mourning Warbler in the Pakenham Highlands there was a Scarlet Tanager also.  So the Scarlet Tanager was played and it responded but would not come out.  There were several other birds on this stretch of road including Pine Warbler, Least Flycatcher to name a few.  We saw an American Kestrel also.  We had smiles on our faces.  Several of us caught the flight of a Pileated Woodpecker also.  We stopped along the Rivière Barry for a lunch break.  Bugs were not yet an issue and we had a very pleasant lunch here by the water.  From here we went down the road turned left on to Rue Barrage and ended up at the dam.  The signs had said No Trespassing but there was no fence, so we went as far as we could.  There seemed to be an informal community of trailers and makeshift homes along this stretch.  The water was high.  We turned around and traveled the same way back out and then we cut across the island.  This is when one or two of us caught 40 winks of sleepy time.  Maybe three of us.  It was getting to the quiet time of the day.  Bill got us off the island and then we headed on Chemin de L'Outaouais which led to the 148.  We followed the instructions of Google maps to Chemin Gold Mine.   

On the way we were told to look for a huge nest.  This was a very wooded area but we could not find a huge nest, presumably an Eagles nest.  Bill remarked that the big nest is probably a myth!!  We are arrived at the end of Chemin de Canal and Chemin Du Faucon.  Here Bill led us on a short trail  beside an old unfinished canal.  There was an area of blasted rock that was used to open up the way for the eventual canal and locks to bypass Chats Falls.  Dynamite was invented by then and one could see the power of the explosive in breaking up the solid rock into huge boulders.  This project was eventually abandoned.  Before the canal was started in the 1860s, a horse railway was used to take passengers from large paddleboat-type riverboats around the falls.  The route of the railway is now lost in the forest. A bit of interesting local history. 

Did I mention that the bugs got worse as the afternoon warmed up?  They were voracious and insisted on getting into the vehicle with us.   This was a most excellent day.

Time flies when we are birding and it was late afternoon.  Time to head home.  We discussed getting home and decided upon the Quyon Ferry to Ontario which would take us into the back of Kanata/Dunrobin.  We took the Carp Road and then a short ride on the Queensway to our waiting cars. 

Thank you Bill for the history lesson and for driving and the photos.  Thank you Eleanor for the bird list which follows.

Bird List – by Eleanor

Eagleson parking:

American crow AMCR 

American redstart AMRE

European starling EUST

Red-winged blackbird RWBL

American goldfinch AMGO

 

Hwy 417/17:

Great Egret GREG

 

Hwy 4 to Storyland:, Chenaux Rd

Blue Jay BLJA

Rock Pigeon ROPI

Canada Goose CANG

 

Rue Principale: Parc Leo Piché

Barn swallows

Tree Swallow Trsw

Warbling vireo Wavi

American Robin AMRO

Eastern phoebe EAPH

Song sparrow SOSP

Turkey vulture TUVU

Common raven Cora

 

Calumet island: (rue de la montage)

Red-eyed vireo REVI

Yellow warbler YEWA

Common yellowthroat COYE

Chestnut-sided warbler CSWA

Black-and-white warbler BAWW

Northern parula NOPA

Black-capped chickadee BCCH

American goldfinch

Ovenbird

Brown thrasher 

Indigo bunting INBU

Osprey

Blue jay BLJA

Merlin

Savannah sparrow Savs 

Bobolink

Eastern meadowlark Eame

White-crowned sparrow Wcsp

Eastern bluebird EABL

Mourning dove MODO

Eastern phoebe EAPE

Downy woodpecker DOWO

Hairy woodpecker HAWO

Rose-breasted grosbeak RBGR

 

Murphy Rd, de la mine rd, ch Kelleher, ch de Dunraven, Barry, du Barage?,

Mourning warbler MOWA 

Yellow-bellied sapsucker YBSA

Pine warbler PIWA

White-breasted nuthatch WBNU

Least flycatcher LEFL

Tennessee warbler TEWA

American kestrel AMKE

Pileated woodpecker PIWO

 

Lunch spot:

Red-tailed hawk RTHA

Nashville warbler NAWA

Scarlet tanager SCTA

Chipping sparrow CHSP

Baltimore oriole BAOR

Cedar waxwing CEWA

Veery VEER

Great-crested flycatcher GCFL

Black-throated green warbler BTNW 

 

2nd dam (barrage rocher fendu) and road back:

Mallard

Red-shouldered Hawk RSHA - Unsure

 

Ch Barry, Deer Lane, ch des Outaouais:

Common grackle COGR

Ring-billed gull RBGU

House finch HOFI

 

Hwy 148 east Pontiac region, QC

ch Gold mine sud, 2nd conc (big nest not seen)

Northern harrier NOHA

 

Ch du Canal: Remnants - Old paddle wheeler dock / portage

ch du pointed indienne

(Eastern bluebird EABL) (also seen earlier)

Northern house wren NHWR 

Wild Turkey WITU

 

Quyon + ferry

Carp Rd

 

Critters List

Eastern Chipmunk

Groundhog

American Toad

Our Second Loggerhead Shrike Survey

 May 26, 2025

This time we got an early start and were at our first stop, SFALLS77D, by 8 am.  This stop is at the west side of Burnt Lands Provincial Park.

Before starting, we saw a beautiful male Eastern Bluebird, but could not get a photo.  A couple of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers provided compensation.  There was a lot of song at this site, mostly Bobolinks and a few Eastern Meadowlarks.   A Wilson's Snipe was singing very nearby, then flew right in front on me and buried itself in the grass.  I was fiddling with a lot of gear  -camera, scope, binoculars, phones and playback equipment with speakers.  As a result, I could not get a photo of the snipe taking off, but I really enjoyed watching it.  I also enjoyed seeing the many Bobolinks at this site.

While I stayed in place, Barbara wandered the road and got some great birds - Baltimore Oriole, Cedar Waxwing and Savannah Sparrow.

The next 3 sites were in the Panmure Road area, where we saw the Northern Flicker and several Eastern Meadowlarks.  Our last site was across the Five-Arch Stone Bridge in behind Pakenham.  It was not so productive, but we did see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on a wire and a Tree Swallow in a box.  By then it was nearly noon, so it is not surprising that the birds were less active.