Ivory-billed Woodpecker found in Aylmer

March 8, 7 pm   Canadian Museum of Nature

A group of us from the Ottawa Field-Naturalists Bird Studies Group had a special tour of the facilities at the Museum of Nature Laboratories on Chemin Pink in Alymer, hosted by director Michel Gosselin.

There are an amazing number of stuffed birds and bird skins in their cupboards. We saw the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Carolina Parakeet, Labrador Duck and Passenger Pigeon emerge from their drawers.

All Canadian birds were there in all there many plumages. It was almost too much at once to see these amazing specimen collections.

Michel presented some difficult ID quizzes on hawk and gulls, which were very entertaining.

He also showed eggs, nests and some foreign specialties.



He finished up by taking special requests.

Here I am with my latest "lifer" - a Prairie Falcon.

Winter Specialties - Ottawa West with Tony Beck

Tuesday Mar 8, 8:00am

This was our first trip with Tony after his long absence on Antarctica trips. There was a large group out today - Bob, Al, Helena (long time no see), a young woman, Deanna, Leena, the lady from Merrickville, a couple from the Quebec side (unidentified), who were new birders, plus Tony, Nina & myself.

We went first to Shirley's Bay to scan the river for eagles. No eagles, but lots of ice fishermen. We hiked around to Hilda feeders where we saw a European Starling, lots of Redpolls, some Blue Jays, a few American Tree Sparrows and American Goldfinches, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Hairy Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker.

We set off to March Valley Road, and stopped around Klondike to scan. Bob spotted an adult Bald Eagle way in the distance and Nina saw a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk and soon after a Northern Shrike. We carried on and Bob spotted a Red-tailed Hawk on the left side. The other cars had passed by, so did not get it. However, Nina spotted two more Red-tailed Hawks sitting together on the right side just a little further along.

We stopped at the Duck Club feeders where we had both nuthatches, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker , and two Common Ravens coming right down the road towards us.

We tuned right onto Riddell, then on to 6th Line Road, where we stopped twice to view Porcupines in trees. We turned down Berry Side Road where we spotted two more Red-tailed Hawks and a small flock of Snow Buntings. We went right on 5th Line Road then left on Thomas Dolan to stop for coffee and a bagel at Heart & Soul Café.

After our break, we headed for Constance Bay but stopped to see another Red-tailed Hawk at the entrance to the village.

 I guided the group to Goddin Street to the marvellous feeders there. The Red-bellied Woodpecker did not show up (again), but we saw a Pileated Woodpecker, many Common Redpolls, some Blue Jays and a Mourning Dove.

Birding and Skiing in Algonquin Park

Feb 25-27, 2011

We had a ski weekend with our friends in the park. We drove up early on Friday morning and stopped near the East Gate to ski trails at the Leaf Lake Ski Area, which we did not have time for on a previous outing. A couple of Gray Jays greeted us in the parking lot. At Dee's Cabin, while having lunch, a young Pine Martin appeared to our delight.

After skiing, we went to the Visitor Centre, which was closed (only open on weekends). The feeders out front were devoid of life, and those out back are inaccessible.

We went across to the Spruce Bog Trail, where we found another birder/photographer set up at the suet feeder. We were very fortunate to see the Boreal Chickadee right away, as the birder said that it had been only coming in for a minute or so once every hour. Other birds in the area were Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Gray Jays, Common Redpolls and a Brown Creeper. Another, much darker, Pine Marten patrolled the area behind the feeder.

We carried on all the way through the park to Dwight to the Spring Lake Resort. Our target ski trails were the Fen Lake Trails at the west gate, so our lodge was convenient.

However, Mary Anne had had a skating accident and was unable to ski. So we decided to spend the next day snowshoeing and hiking on the Mizzy Lake trail, which is known for wildlife viewing. It was a very enjoyable 5-hour hike, but we saw very little wildlife, but lots of tracks. There were a trio of Gray Jays that would come to the hand. Other than that, we only saw a White-breasted Nuthatch, a couple of Hairy Woodpeckers and a few Black-capped Chickadees.

It snowed about 5 cm overnight, so the skiing the next day at Fen Lake was absolutely fantastic. John and Mary Anne departed for Sturgeon Falls/North Bay, while the rest of us had a great day on the trails. Wildlife sightings while skiing were restricted to a single Gray Jay.

We looked for Black-backed Woodpeckers at Km 8 hydro poles, but saw none. We stopped again at Spruce Bog Trail and were fortunate to see a couple of Boreal Chickadees. Unfortunately, the light was low, so the photos are grainy because of the high ISO required. Many Common Redpolls entertained us again at the parking lot.

Once again, we did not see any Spruce Grouse, which was the only disappointment in an otherwise very successful trip. A quick check at the Visitor Centre mainly produced hordes of Common Redpolls.

Gatineau Park and Wakefield

Thursday, Feb 17. 7:45 am

I picked up Nina at home and then we met Bob and Rick at the Coliseum.

We all went with Bob. Our first stop was Bate Island where we saw a few ducks - Mallards, Common Goldeneye and a male Common Merganser.

We drove up through Gatineau Park to Chelsea, turning at Pine Road to Cross Loop, then Cowden. We go out and hiked as far as the bridge. Bob remarked that all the houses have now been demolished by the NCC. They were all expropriated in the 1970s for a zoo site, which never went ahead.

We saw and heard several Common Ravens. Rick could hear a woodpecker tapping rather loudly, but we could not locate it. He figured it was a Pileated that he saw fly overhead. There were tons of Blue Jays in the fields and we saw one Hairy Woodpecker fly in, then another one. There were also some Common Redpolls in the treetops. Nina spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch, and we all got on it.

Down by the bridge, Rick heard Bohemian Waxwings, and sure enough, a small flock flew overhead.

We returned to the car and proceeded along Cross Loop Road. Bob showed us his old house, which is now empty and used for radon gas monitoring experiments. Just before the covered bridge, we saw two Mourning Doves by the side of the road.

We got out and scanned the fields. Another group of Bohemian Waxwings flew over and Bob spotted a Northern Shrike in the distance. We motored on, and Bob saw another Northern Shrike. We turned left onto Hwy 105, then into Subway for coffee and a bathroom break.

We turned onto Hwy 366, then right on Ch. des Erables towards Rupert, and Bob's next house (we never did make it). We saw bunch of Rock Pigeons on a barn, but none of the three Bald Eagles that Bob and Nina had seen before showed up this time. We turned right at Rupert and made our way back to the main highway via Ch. Shouldice and Ch. MacLaren.

West End birding with Ross & Margaret Ann

Sunday Feb 13, 9:00 am

Our first stop was the Trail Road Landfill Site, where we immediately saw thousands of American Crows and flocks of small birds in the fields in front of the hill. It turned out to be a mixed flock of American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and Horned Larks.

As we scoped the small birds, the crows suddenly all took to the sky at once. The reason soon became clear, as a Red-tailed Hawk settled on the fence.

As we were looking for the reported Glaucous Gull, Gillian Mastromatteo drove up on the same quest. Suddenly Ross spotted it on the ground, and we all got fair scope views. There were no other gulls about. As we were packing up to move on, a small flock of Snow Buntings flew overhead.

We headed out along Barnsdale Road. Margaret Ann spotted another small flock of Snow Buntings amongst the old corn stalks, as a murder of crows was gathering in the adjacent trees. As we turned onto Eagleson, we saw a couple of flocks of Rock Pigeons.

We drove down Rushmore without seeing anything, then returned to Richmond to go to the bakery and stock up with goodies. From there we went to the arena to use their washrooms. We drove north on Huntley, then turned onto Brownlee, where we immediately saw and photographed another group of Snow Buntings.

There was yet another flock on the road ahead. We did the loop to Eagleson, Aikins and Shea, then back to Huntley via Fallowfield.

We sped on through Stittsville and Carp to reach Kinburn Side Road. It was only 4 km to Kinburn, so we turned left and went to check the fields where Horned Larks had been abundant on the OFO trip. But there was nothing today. So we did a U-turn and hightailed it to Constance Bay to look for the Red-bellied Woodpecker on Goodin Street. Mark Gawn and Hedrik Wachelka were already there and about to leave without seeing it. So after a short time, we followed suit. However, there was a very yellow American Goldfinch at one of the feeders, a Hairy Woodpecker at a tree trunk and Common Redpolls in the trees overhead.

We headed back towards town, turning left at Thomas Dolan Parkway and wended our way by Sixth Line Road to Riddell Road. We turned at March Valley Road, and immediately the front seat occupants saw a very dark Wild Turkey under the Ottawa Duck Club feeders. We all jumped out, but the sly bird dropped down almost out of sight.  A dozen or more American Black Ducks were in the stream just past Klondike Road.

Our last stop would be Hilda, so we checked the shortcut through Connaught, but the gate was closed. So we went around by Carling and Rifle Road. We kept a sharp eye out for Bohemian Waxwings or a Northern Shrike, but there were neither today.

At Hilda, there were a few nice Common Redpolls, a Hairy and Downy Woodpecker, some Blue Jays and lots of Black-capped Chickadees.

From there we went to the Taj Indian Restaurant for a fabulous lunch, then went home, pick up Grant, and went for a ski on Trail 10, the one that passes close to Hilda. A fabulous day!

Mud Lake raptor search

Feb 1, 2011  11:00 am

No sign of any raptors, but a Pileated Woodpecker was working a tree in the frigid woods.

OFO Outing to Ottawa West with Mark Gawn & Bob Cermak

Saturday, January 22; 8:00 am

There was a very large crowd today, in spite of the frigid temperature. We carpooled a bit, but there were still 10 cars!

Our first stop was Hilda Feeders, where we noticed quite a few Common Redpolls, a few American Tree Sparrows and American Goldfinches, some Blue Jays, a Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, and a Northern Cardinal.

From there we went to March Valley Road, where we saw 8 to 10 Bohemian Waxwings, some feeding on buckthorn. A little further along, an adult Bald Eagle was perched near the road, but flushed to the back still in view. Even further back, high in the top of a tree was a Northern Shrike.

 

We carried on to 6th Line Road, then turned down Berry Side Road, where we saw 2 Red-tailed Hawks, one on each side of the road. We turned west on 5th Line Road, then north on Thomas Dolan to Dunrobin Road, which we followed to Constance Bay, to the street where Bruce Dilabio's parent live. Across the street, there were a bunch of feeders where a Red-bellied Woodpecker has been seen regularly (but not today). A Pileated Woodpecker did fly across for a brief view. We stayed for 30 minutes, but the star attraction did not show up. There were some more Common Redpolls high up in a tree, but, once again, no Hoarys. Some of us wandered down to the other end of the road where I saw a Dark-eyed Junco at another feeder.

We move on to Jeff Skevington's, but only American Crows and kids arriving for a birthday party greeted us. So we returned to Woodlawn and went out to Kinburn, along our frog monitoring route. Past Kinburn, near the 417, there was a field on the left with a few dozen Horned Larks.

By this time we were past due for a bathroom break, so hightailed it for the Eagleson Road Tim Hortons. It was noon, so we got a bite of lunch as well and showed out photos to some of the interested participants.

We proceeded south on Eagleson and turned onto Rushmore. Bob had seen 5 Gray Partridge here the day before, but they could not be relocated. A Red-tailed Hawk was busy feeding on something in a low tree, while American Crows sat in the upper branches.

We decided to do a loop on Shea, Brownlee and back to Rushmore. On Brownlee, we had a good flock of Lapland Longspurs, some close by on the road. There was also a fly-past of a small flock of Snow Buntings.

Our last stop was at Trail Road, at the dump. A Red-tailed Hawk was perched really close to the road, but as I aimed the camera, it took off to the fence in back. Then Jen spotted another Red-tailed Hawk back there too. The only gulls we saw were a couple of Great Black-backeds.