Petrie Island and St. Lawrence Lowland Habitats – Ottawa East with Always an Adventure

Thursday Sep 25

Today there are Tony & Nina, Lena, Rick, Judith and me.  I had to make it a short day to get home and get ready for house guests.  We spent quite a bit of time at Petrie Island, then went in search of the Northern Wheatear and Sandhill Cranes on Milton Road.  Unfortunately, neither of these were around.  However, at Petrie Island, I got a lifer Gray-cheeked Thrush (no photo though, but Rick got one).

Bird List

1. Green-winged Teal
2. Wilson's Snipe
3. American Wigeon
4. American Black Duck
5. Belted Kingfisher
6. Lesser Yellowlegs
7. Solitary Sandpiper
8. Yellow-rumped Warbler
9. Nashville Warbler
10. Great Blue Heron
11. Northern Shoveller
12. Blue-winged Teal
13. White-breasted Nuthatch
14. Black-capped Chickadee
15. Cooper's Hawk
16. White-throated Sparrow
17. Brown Creeper
18. Golden-crowned Kinglet
19. Downy Woodpecker
20. Black and White Warbler
21. Orange-crowned Warbler
22. Red-eyed Vireo
23. Gray-cheeked Thrush
24. Canada Goose
25. Mallard
26. Magnolia Warbler
27. Ring-billed Gull
28. European Starling
29. House Sparrow
30. Pileated Woodpecker
31. Blue Jay

Shorebirds and Wetlands – Ottawa West with Always an Adventure

Tuesday Sep 23

Today there is Roger, Judith, Gary, Sue, Tony, Nina and me.  We birded at Ottawa Beach, then walked over to Andrew Haydon Park West.  Our next stop was Shirley's Bay.  But we did not go out on the dyke; instead we hiked the other way along the beach and looped back by the road.  We proceeded to Britannia Point and then moved to Mud Lake and the ridge.

Bird List

1. Canada Goose
2. Mallard
3. American Black Duck
4. Lesser Scaup
5. Great Black-backed Gull
6. Herring Gull
7. Ring-billed Gull
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Golden-crowned Kinglet
10. Yellow-rumped Warbler
11. Black-throated Green Warbler
12. Palm Warbler                                      
13. Double-crested Cormorant
14. Common Merganser
15. Downy Woodpecker
16. Great Egret
17. Wood Duck
18. Great Blue Heron
19. Wild Turkey
20. Bald Eagle
21. Belted Kingfisher
22. Common Loon
23. Common Raven
24. Northern Flicker
25. Osprey
26. Eastern Phoebe
27. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
28. Song Sparrow
29. Black-throated Blue Warbler
30. Philadelphia Vireo
31. Wilson's Warbler
32. Northern Parula                       
33. Pileated Woodpecker
34. Spotted Sandpiper
35. Common Yellowthroat
36. White-breasted Nuthatch
37. Blue-headed Vireo
38. American Goldfinch
39. Brown Thrasher
40. American Robin
41. Gray Catbird
42. Hairy Woodpecker
43. Northern Cardinal
44. White-throated Sparrow
45. Peregrine Falcon
46. Pied-billed Grebe
47. American Wigeon
48. Black-crowned Night-Heron
49. American Redstart
50. Nashville Warbler
51. Cedar Waxwing
52. Tennessee Warbler
53. Cape May Warbler
54. Red-breasted Nuthatch
55. Chestnut-sided Warbler
56. Turkey Vulture

Petrie Island and local fields – Ottawa East with Always and Adventure

 Sept 16. 2014

Today there are Tony and Nina, Gary and Sue, Ron and myself.  We spent a lot of time at Petrie Island, then visited Giroux Ponds and Milton Road.

Bird List

1. Rock Pigeon
2. Ring-billed Gull
3. Great Blue Heron
4. Wilson's Snipe
5. Red-winged Blackbird
6. Marsh Wren
7. American Black Duck
8. Mallard
9. Virginia Rail
10. Swamp Sparrow
11. Northern Pintail juv
12. Green-winged Teal
13. Greater Yellowlegs
14. Lesser Yellowlegs
15. Solitary Sandpiper
16. Northern Cardinal
17. Black-crowned Night-Heron
18. Double-crested Cormorant
19. Yellow-rumped Warbler
20. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
21. Warbling Vireo
22. Song Sparrow
23. Black-capped Chickadee
24. Northern Parula
25. Magnolia Warbler
26. European Starling
27. Northern Flicker
28. American Robin
29. Brown Thrasher
30. Red-eyed Vireo
31. Eastern Wood Pewee
32. Wood Duck
33. Pied-billed Grebe
34. White-breasted Nuthatch
35. White-throated Sparrow
36. Brown Creeper
37. Black-throated Green Warbler
38. Belted Kingfisher
39. Blue Jay
40. Canada Goose
41. Downy Woodpecker
42. Scarlet Tanager
43. Philadelphia Vireo
44. Common Gallinule
45. Red-tailed Hawk
46. House Sparrow
47. American Crow
48. Tree Swallow
49. Bank Swallow
50. Mourning Dove
51. American Kestrel
52. Killdeer
53. Hooded Merganser
54. Common Goldeneye
55. Turkey Vulture
56. Red-breasted Nuthatch
57. Cedar Waxwing
58. Palm Warbler
59. Common Grackle
60. Savannah Sparrow
61. American Goldfinch

Sandhill Cranes near Venosta

September 14, 2014

We passed a rainy cool weekend at the cottage.  Finally, late Sunday, it cleared up.  We went for a paddle but found nothing of note.  But on the drive home, Barbara had just told Grant to be on the lookout for cranes, when he announced that there were 3 in the field!

Loon Count with Friends

August 24, 2014

Friends Colette & Francis and Johanne & David visited our cottage for dinner.  It was decided that the guys would do a Loon Count.  David was the recorder, but we saw very few pairs, only gangs of 5 and 6.  The one and only baby could not be located, but I found it the next day.  Although it was feeding, it did not have a good healthy look and it was all by itself.  We have to hope for the best.   We did tally a nice Bald Eagle during our count.

The Ottawa River Migratory Corridor – Ottawa with Always an Adventure

Thursday Aug 21

Today there were Helen, Gary, Sue, me and Lorraine came late.  We went to Shirley's Bay dike where we saw 17 Great Egrets. 

Inexplicably, all my photos and lists vanished for this day.  I was only able to grab a few off the already used card using card recovery software.

We also went to Richmond Lagoons and Moodie Pond.  We finished up at the dump and Greely Sand and Gravel.  Here we got a few nice migrating warblers.

Juveniles and Adults, Migrating Shorebirds – Ottawa East with Always an Adventure

Tuesday Aug 19

Today there were  Gary & Sue, Tony & Nina and me .  We met at Petrie Island and birded at the ponds for a while, then went to Giroux Ponds via Tim Horton's.  While parking at hte Park 'n Ride, we got a Caspian Tern in the lot! From there went went to Dignard Constructed Wetland.  Next stop was Embrun Lagoons.  And then on to the Chrysler Lagoons.

Bird List

1. Great Blue Heron
2. Red-winged Blackbird
3. Mallard
4. Virginia Rail
5. American Black Duck
6. Ring-billed Gull
7. Belted Kingfisher
8. Wilson's Snipe
9. Killdeer
10. Green Heron
11. Bald Eagle
12. American Bittern
13. Song Sparrow
14. Solitary Sandpiper
15. Caspian Tern
16. Wood Duck
17. Spotted Sandpiper
18. Northern Shoveller
19. American Goldfinch
20. Blue-winged Teal
21. Lesser Yellowlegs
22. House Sparrow
23. Mourning Dove
24. European Starling
25. Rock Pigeon
26. American Crow
27. Tree Swallow
28. Cliff Swallow
29. Green-winged Teal
30. Gadwall
31. American Wigeon
32. Common Raven
33. Least Sandpiper
34. Northern Harrier
35. Peregrine Falcon
36. Semi-palmated Plover
37. Bobolink
38. Semi-palmated Sandpiper
39. Baird's Sandpiper
40. Eastern Kingbird
41. American Kestrel
42. Wild Turkey
43. Turkey Vulture
44. Cedar Waxwing
45. Eastern Phoebe
46. Swamp Sparrow
47. Common Gallinule
48. White-winged Scoter
49. Northern Flicker
50. Red-tailed Hawk
51. Blac-capped Chickadee
52. American Robin