Embrun Lagoons

July 8, 2010 10 am

Another very hot day. There were mother Wood Ducks with their ducklings all over the place. There were also quite a few Ruddy Ducks and a singles of American Coot and Common Moorhen. An American Bittern called briefly from the back cells.

There were several Lesser Yellowlegs, a Kildeer, a bunch of Least Sandpipers on the mud flats. I used the scope attachment with my Nikon to take photos, but the results were less than brilliant. I think I can do better with the regular 400mm and cropping.

Petrie Island with Tony Beck

Tues, June 29, 2010, 7:30 am

Quite a big group today: Tony, Heather, Rick, Russell, Sally, Chris & a friend and Irene.

We heard a Marsh Wren close by. Tony tried to call it out, but the trucks backing up drowned him out.
We watched the Ring-billed Gulls and Red-winged Blackbirds for a while and Sally heard a Belted Kingfisher. A Great Blue Heron flew past and I spotted a Mallard. Also spotted were Barn Swallows, American Robin, Baltimore Oriole and a Mourning Dove. With patience we saw American Goldfinches, a Yellow Warbler, a distant Osprey and a silhouetted Great-crested Flycatcher. Tony saw a Northern Flicker fly across and we heard Common Grackles, Song Sparrows and an American Redstart.

The best birds were a few Black Terns and a hard to spot Green Heron.

Unfortunately, it began to drizzle and it quickly turned to steady rain. We decided to head to Tim Hortons to regroup, although Chris and his lady friend went straight to Embrun. Irene decided to pack it in, as she was not prepared for rain.

We car pooled to Embrun, and were somewhat surprised to see Chris & friend already there at the lagoons. The rain had let up, so we got out our equipment and hopped the fence. There were lots of Ruddy Ducks, which Tony explained were the only duck in breeding plumage at this time of year. We also saw a Northern Shoveller and a Pied-billed Grebe. But no sooner did we set up than the rain came on hard again. Chris decided to pack it in.

There was not point in staying, so we worked our way back stopping at the Dignard constructed wetland. It was drizzling and there was mud everywhere – what a mess.
We only saw a Kildeer, a Savannah Sparrow, Barn Swallows, European Starlings and Rock Pigeons for our trouble.

Our next stop was at Giroux Ponds. More Kildeers and an Eastern Kingbird. Tony saw a Spotted Sandpiper and a female Green-winged Teal on the far shore. I spotted a Belted Kingfisher perched on a Mullein plant. Further along Giroux Road, we saw several male and female Bobolinks. Rick saw an Eastern Meadowlark. Tony and Heather went on a futile trek across the fields looking for a Clay-colored Sparrow.

Our final stop was along Wall Road looking for an Upland Sandpiper, but we came up empty. No photos today due to the constant drizzle.

In and around Maniwaki

June 19, 2010

At the cottage feeders, we have lots of American Goldfinches and Purple Finches, as well as Blue Jays, Hairy Woodpeckers and the odd American Crow. A ruby-throated Hummingbird has been spotted On the lake, there are the usual Common Loons (none nesting that we can see), a common Merganser with a dozen newborn ducklings, Herring and Ring-billed Gulls, Common Terns and an unusually large number of Great Blue Herons.

We cruised the back roads stopping on Chemin St. Jacques, where there is a large swamp. There was lots of birdsong. With a little patience, we saw several American Goldfinches, a pair of Yellow-breasted Sapsuckers, a Yellow Warbler and a surprising Baltimore Oriole (never having seen one so far north before). We turned onto Chemin de la Montagne towards Maniwaki, and then left on a private gravel road that went through another swamp. Here we heard several Common Yellowthroats, but could not see a single one. Four Blue Jays came across the road in full voice. One again, patience paid off as I spotted an Alder Flycatcher in the shrubs and a Belted Kingfisher and Northern Flicker both flew in to check us out. We also had good views of another Yellow Warbler.
We turned up Farley Road and saw Barn Swallows on the wire and a Savannah Sparrow on a post. A couple of Turkey Vultures were circling overhead. We proceeded onto the Kitigan Zibi reserve and spotted an Indigo Bunting on a wire in full light. We carried on through Maniwaki to Martel’s Lumber. After a quick stop, we decided to check a small road to across the highway, Chemin Gendron, which skirted to edge of Lac Evans. We saw a Great Blue Heron in flight and a perched Bobolink on a fir tree. Then Barbara spotted a Wilson’s Snipe fly across in front of the car and land on the verge, where we were able to spot it peering out from the tall grass. We headed back through the reserve and saw a couple more Indigo Buntings and a Common Loon in the creek leading from Petit lac des Cèdres.

Cross Loop Road - grassland species

May 31, 2010 3:30 pm

After a visit to see my grandson in Chelsea, I headed over to Cross Loop to Helena's spot.

I saw Bobolinks and a Brown Thrasher flush from the roadway, and another Thrasher from the path near the cemetery. This Thrasher could be heard and seen in the thick bushes, but he was skulking there and would not come out for a photo. I concentrated on the Bobolinks, then wandered down the hedgerow flushing a Chestnut-sided Warbler, a Common Yellowthroat, and a Yellow Warbler. On the way back, the Thrasher was in the open, but rather distant.

Sparrows and Open Country - Ottawa South/East with Tony Beck

Tuesday May 18, 7:30am

We met at Tim Horton’s on Hunt Club – Russell, Heather, Sally, Tony & me.

We drove to Bowesville Road. We saw a Baltimore Oriole from the parking area and also heard a Common Yellowthroat.

We started down the trail and I commented on the huge bunch of Lilacs. Tony said it was thrasher territory. No sooner had he said it than Sally spotted a Brown Thrasher. We heard a Song Sparrow and saw a Savannah Sparrow on a post. We heard a distant Field Sparrow and the buzzy Clay-colored Sparrow. We saw a Vesper Sparrow and a distant Eastern Kingbird.

I got some photos of the Vesper Sparrow before it got chased off by an American Goldfinch. We heard a Chipping Sparrow and a Grasshopper Sparrow, and then had a fly by from a Pileated Woodpecker.

We saw a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Then Sally played her tape and a Grasshopper Sparrow popped out. We also had good looks at a Clay-colored Sparrow.
Back at the cars, we saw a pair of Eastern Bluebirds on a wire.

We drove to Britannia to look for a reported Little Gull. We scanned the bottom of the rapids area, but could not spot it. We did see a Red-necked Grebe and several Double-crested Cormorants and some Common Terns.

Tony heard a Scarlet Tanager, so we went down the trail behind the Filtration Plant and were able to see it. We carried on to the end of Mud Lake where we met up with a OFNC group, which included Rick, Hedrik and some of the other regulars. We saw a couple of Black-crowned Night-herons and a Green Heron (scope views). We saw a pair of Wood Ducks, a Great-crested Flycatcher and a female Blackpoll Warbler in the corner as well.

Heading down towards the Parkway, we saw a Red-eyed Vireo and a Warbling Vireo and several Yellow Warblers. We also saw a Northern Cardinal and a Gray Catbird. Returning to the cars, we decided to check the river again. This time we did see the Little Gull and a couple of Bonaparte’s Gulls floating far off on the river.

Fletcher Wildlife Garden

Monday, May 17 2010

I made a quick stop to check Fletcher. The Tree Swallows were occupying the nest boxes, as usual.

There was lots of bird song, but they were had to locate. I did see a Baltimore Oriole and a Warbling Vireo.

Cycloparc PP&J

Thurs, May 13 2010

For our anniversary, Barbara & I headed up to Shawville to bike on the Cycloparc after stopping for breakfast at Eardley. There was nobody else on the trail, which passed through lots of swamps. Wildflowers were at their peak and the migrants were pouring through. The highlights were some co-operative Nashville Warblers and a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.