Black-necked Stilt

 April 22,  2026

Having been too late for a few recent rarities, we made haste to see this mega rarity (first time in Ottawa, ever).  We drove to the bridge on Frank Kenny Road where a few other birders had their scopes out. We saw a total of 3 stilts, very distant scope views.  They were too far for any reasonable photos.  Apparently, they moved close to the road after we left.  We did not see the GWFG that were reported later. Either we missed them, or they were not present.

We left and went over to Milton Road in search of Sandhill Cranes. We did not see any, but the Common Ravens at the silo had babies in the nest.

It was a successful outing.  A chance for photos would have been nice.😊

Mud Lake to Shirley's Bay with JC Birding

 April 21, 2026

Birding Report by Jane Burgess

Driving down Greenbank Road  to meet Bill, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a light standard.  I have noticed it probably everytime I go down the road.  I guess it is good hunting for him.

Eleanor, Kan, Bill and I met at Mud Lake at 7:30.  The first bird we heard singing was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, we walked into the wooded area beside the lake, but could not find it.   When we walked out onto the lawn area, it was flitting around like Kinglets do.  While walking over to the evergreens we noticed a Canada Goose with a strange looking neck.  We had several theories, I looked it up - it is likely a Wry Neck, a neurological condition characterized by a severe twist in the neck.  It is commonly caused by Vitamin E deficiencies, trauma or congenital issues.  Affected birds may struggle with movement and feeding but can survive if they can eat.  This bird appeared  to have no issues with eating.  Generally  it is not considered a direct inherited genetic disease.

We walked over to the tall evergreens where we heard Pine Warblers, and decided it was in the tree closest to the water.  Eleanor spotted it, but none of us could see it.  With persistence everyone had good views of it when it flew to a small evergreen.  By that time I went wandering and found nothing.  While we were doing that, an emergency vehicle with its lights one and pulling a rescue boat came screaming down the road.  Mmm hope that is a drill, but then why are the lights on.  A bit later another one appeared.  When I went back to the group the Pine Warbler was very considerate and let the photographers take photos of it.

We saw a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers and many Dark-eyed Juncos were flying around.  We eventually found our way to the ridge, where we found many, many Red-winged Blackbirds, mainly males.  Of course the ubiquitous Black-capped Chickadees were around hoping for a handout.  We had several flyovers of Waxwing -- we had a discussion of what the large flock was called.  We came up with various names, but none were correct one -- an ear-full or a museum of waxwings.  Their constant high-pitched trills (hence ear-full) and their refined, artistic appearance (museum).  But we did not hear the high-pitch.  Later we saw a tree with maybe 15 Bohemian Waxwings eating fruits.  Still much later we did see Cedar Waxwings perched on trees.  At this point Richard joined us.

We went to the end of the ridge and  to find out the 'puddle of water' at the gate was too deep for most of us, so we turned around.  No new birds.  We walked to the trail, finally we saw Wood Ducks - 2 males and 1 female. One male definitely thought she was his.  We watched a bit of a scuffle between the two males and of course she paid no attention.  Walking a bit further we found there was water on the trail, so we took the west trail.  There were lots of Siberian Squills flowering, while it is invasive, they are still quite pretty and  a sure sign of spring. We saw American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, and more Waxwings.  Richard pointed out a single Waxwing and he kept saying look for the broken branch, yes I could not see it and then when I did, felt a bit embarrassed because it was so obvious.  Some Wild Turkeys came along.  While Eleanor and I were chatting, she noticed a bird -- Hermit Thrush -- good one Eleanor,  We looked up almost to the top of the tree where we saw 2 Purple Finches, beautiful birds.  We saw both White-breasted and Red breasted Nuthatches (1).  At this point the guys walked ahead of Eleanor and me.  Eleanor was focused on seeing a Rusty Blackbird.  We heard it or was it them?  We walked toward the sound which was close to the viewing platform.  We got glimpses of the Rusty Blackbirds, then better views.  They were skulking around in the bushes. Eleanor heard a Fox Sparrow, but we were not successful at finding it.  We heard Pine Warblers high in the evergreens, but since we saw Pine Warblers really well, no effort was spent looking for these.

We decided we should try and catch up to the men.  They reported seeing Rusty Blackbirds, many Downy Woodpeckers and White-crowned Sparrows.  We were asked, did you see the Turkey Vulture, Eleanor and I were focused on ground level, so no we did not see the TV, but we saw some later in the day.  Bill saw a beaver and we all saw Midland Painted Turtles, sunning themselves.  In my opinion it was not sunny at all and those turtles were wishful thinking.  Walking back, we noticed a lot more Yellow-rumped Warblers, we thought the Yellow-rumps were arriving as we were leaving.  Yay.  We also got more glimpses of the Hermit Thrush.

Back at the cars, we saw many Tree Swallows hawking insects over the lake.  The time was around noon, so we decided we would take out lunch at Andrew Haydon Park.  Eleanor, Bill and Richard ate outside, hardy souls, Ian and I decided the car was just fine for us.  

The only bird on the water was a Double-crested Cormorant, showing his double crest, which they show exclusively during breeding seasons.  We walked over to the Yacht Club with the hopes of seeing the Snowy Owl that was there yesterday.  Nope.   No Purple Martins.  Leaving Andrew Hayden, Richard and Ian and then the rest of us walked to the pond -- Ring-necked Duck and Bufflehead.  Near the pond there were 2 Groundhogs munching away on the grass.  They must know something, normally they emerge when there are consistently warm temperatures.  Well I can't say we have had consistently warm temperatures. Maybe Groundhogs are optimists!!!

We then went to P2 to look for a Brown Thrasher.  Walking about 1/2 K we played the song, no response, we walked a bit further and played it again, yes we got a response.  Unfortunately it was in the bushes, yes we saw it, but I am unsure if any one got a photo.   The Chorus Frogs and Wood Frogs were singing for all to hear.

Next was Shirley's Bay - Wow we got a single Blue Jay going down Rifle Road.  No Wrens and no Meadowlarks. The Osprey is back on the nest at the Rifle range inside DND property.  We checked out the water at Shirley's Bay, nothing new.  We tried for Wren, but no response.

Time to go home.  We saw two white-tailed deer on the way home.  Eleanor reported she and Richard saw a Northern Harrier as she left Rifle Road -- lucky them.

I was home about 4:30.

Species Noted

1. Red-tailed Hawk
2. Canada Goose
3. Mallard
4. European Starling
5. American Crow
6. Northern Cardinal
7. Rock Pigeon
8. Ring-billed Gull
9. Yellow-rumped Warbler
10. Pine Warbler
11. American Goldfinch
12. Cedar Waxwing
13. Bohemian Waxwing
14. Purple Finch
15. White-throated Sparrow
16. Rusty Blackbird
17. Hermit Thrush
18. White-breasted Nuthatch
19. Red-breasted Nuthatch
20. Downy Woodpecker
21. Hairy Woodpecker
22. Tree Swallow
23. Great Egret
24. Wood Duck
25. Fox Sparrow
26. Common Grackle
27. Common Raven
28. Turkey Vulture
29. Ring-necked Duck
30. Bufflehead
31. American Robin
32. Song Sparrow
33. Wild Turkey
34. Eastern Phoebe
35. House Finch
36. Double-crested Cormorant
37. Tree Creeper
38. Common Merganser
39. Common Goldeneye
40. Brown Thrasher
41. Blue Jay
42. Osprey
43. Herring Gull
44. Black-capped Chickadee
45. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
46. Dark-eyed Junco
47. Red-winged Blackbird
48. Northern Harrier

Critters Noted

1.  Rabbit
2. Beaver
3. Midland Painted Turtle
4. Groundhog
5. White-tailed Deer
6. Chorus Frog
7. Wood Frog

Snowy Owl at Dick Bell Park

 A late male Snowy Owl was reported at Dick Bell this afternoon, so we headed right over.

Mountain Bluebird Stakeout

 April 17, 2026

We arrived on Cumberland Ridge Drive an hour after it was last seen.  We joined other birders for 1.5 hours to no avail.  During that time we saw a few raptors, sapsuckers, and an entertaining Red Fox.

Foggy Arnrprior

 April 16, 2026

It was nice and sunny at home where we saw our first White-throated Sparrow of the season.

So, we decided to head to Arnprior to look for the otters report by Michael Runtz.  But when we arrived, the river was ice-free and running high.  But worse, it was very foggy, making birding very difficult.  The scones at Antrim Truck Stop were a good consolation!

Lanark County with JC Birding

 April 14, 2026

Birding Report by Jane Burgess

The day started out pretty amazing for the Bowmans -- while waiting for me to arrive, what should fly in was a Brown Creeper.  Excellent bird.  Gee I wished I arrived earlier so that I could have seen it.  Maybe it was an indicator of how the day would go.  We met up with Eleanor and Ian at the Eagleson Park and Ride.  While talking someone drew our attention to the small flock of Wild Turkeys in the field beside the Park & Ride. (We saw a number of flocks over the course of the day)

I had mentioned to Bill, maybe we should go to Holland Marsh because of all the rain.  We all agreed and so we headed there. The first song we heard getting out of the car was the Eastern Meadowlark.  They are back and so glad they are.  Their song "spring of the year" puts a smile on everyone's face.  We also heard Song Sparrow and Savannah Sparrow. Bill pointed out an Eastern Phoebe and Eleanor saw a Northern Harrier through her scope. But Holland Marsh, well that was a disappointment because there was nothing there - well that is a lie, there was one Mallard and one Wood Duck.  We were hoping for shorebirds and waterfowl.  Oh well.  Maybe next week.

Moving to the bridge, we saw a distant flock of waterfowl take off, but unfortunately we could not identify them.  But when another flock took off, we could Identify them. Mallards with about 4 Black Ducks.  We also saw our first female Red-winged Blackbird.

We drove to the Panmure area, hoping to see maybe Eastern Bluebirds or, stretching our luck,  see an Upland Sandpiper, but sadly we did not see either.  Bill parked the car and I got out and was joined by Ian.  I walked a bit and looked and walked some more, finally I saw a male Northern Harrier.  I yelled to Bill.  Ian tried to get a photo, but my directions must not have been good because he did not get a bead on it.  It started to spit so I got  into the vehicle.

Leaving that area and driving not far, Bill stopped the car and looked at a water flooded area -- two Greater Yellowlegs.  I took a photo but it was quite far and with the rain, the photo was terrible at best.   Bill got a far better one.

We drove to the Burnt Lands Provincial Park, it was still spitting out so we walked part of the path.  Bill was lucky to see the Clay-coloured Sparrow, while the others of us, saw a couple of birds we could not identify.  As we were walking back to the vehicle, we noticed a vehicle parking behind Bill -- dog walkers.  We wondered what went into his decision to park behind him as opposed to parking on the side of the road.  While Bill was able to back out, it was made more difficult with the parked car behind him.

We drove to a place that had a Yellow-headed Blackbird reported, no luck there, just American Robins walking around.  We discussed if we should go to the Almonte Lagoons given it was raining.  The decision was no decision.  We ended up driving towards St George's cemetery, we decided we must have missed the turn and turned around.  We took Old Union Hall road and ended up beside the Lagoon.  The rain had lightened up, so we decided to check out the lagoon.  I donned my rubber boots and raincoat.  Bill could not find the plastic bag he had put his camera in, so the umbrella came out.

The decision to check out the lagoon was a good one.  Ian and Eleanor had walked ahead of us and we met Ian coming back to get his camera since the waterfowl were close to the shore. Sadly as Eleanor came closer to the hut, the birds took off.  But even so, we got good views of Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ring-neck Ducks, Hooded Merganser and Lesser Scaup views using our scopes.  We checked the perimeter of the lagoon, hoping we would spot something 'good', but no, the water was really high and the birds we were looking for are what I call walking around birds.  While we were in the hut, Bill found the big plastic bag -- in his pocket!!!!

Bill and Barbara walked back to the vehicle.  We waited for Ian to return from his walk to "don't go any further zone". When he returned he showed us his video of the Common Goldeneye doing their stretching out their neck thing (courtship behaviour).  It started to rain really hard, we opted to stay until it lightened up a bit.  Good thing we did, a pair of Common Mergansers flew in and then flew off before we left.

We decided to have lunch at St George's cemetery, eat and watch the birds, hoping for Eastern Bluebirds.  No bluebirds but Meadowlarks singing,  Bill stepped out of the vehicle to photograph the Meadowlarks, he opened the door and said I saw a Turkey Vulture. 

Once we finished our lunch we continued on.  I believe this is when Ian and Eleanor left us.   We drove to Taylor Lake, as we were leaving a Pileated Woodpecker flew over the vehicle.  Then when driving a bird flew over mega speed, saw it well enough to say Peregrine Falcon.  Bill saw a Northern Flicker and then another.

Bill had told me about a good feeding station he had visited earlier in the week.  He got out, to check things out, Barbara and I opted to stay in the vehicle. We noticed the lady of the household getting into her car, she stopped and spoke to Bill at length.  She left and Bill joined us.  She has invited us to drive up her laneway for better views.  We did.  She joined us again and told us about herself.  Good stop, we saw Mourning Dove, White-crowned Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, White-throated Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Hairy Woodpecker and Northern Cardinal at that stop.  That was at the very end of Ferguson Falls Road.  We left after about 30 minutes of enjoying the birds.

Driving out the road, we saw a bird flying, Bill slowed.  I lost the bird, Bill said it landed on the wire.  Can't see it, we went by and looking back, Bill was 100% correct.  It was a smallish bird with a rose chest and white under the tail -- Eastern Bluebird.  I went to take a photo and yes the bird flew.  Still on Ferguson Falls Road, I asked Bill to stop and backup.  Too busy on the road, "I will turn around", he then turned around and I pointed to a tree.  There on a branch was a Red-tailed Hawk, no bins needed the red tail was splayed out.  Obviously it was spreading its tail to dry off its feathers, to regain the ability to fly efficiently and return to hunting.  Drench feathers are heavy, reduce insulation and make flight difficult, so hawks must air them out.  Things we notice after a rainstorm.

We crossed the Mississippi River and Bill noticed a Common Loon.  We parked and walked back to the bridge.  It had moved quickly because when Bill noticed it, it was close to the bridge.,  While we stood on the bridge it had moved quite a good distance.  And it had turned into they, there were two of them.

Finally stop was the storm water pond in Carleton Place -- another Common Loon.

What a wonderful day we had despite the weather.  49 species with 9 species of sparrows.  I know Turkey Vultures are not raptors, but frequently they are grouped with them so  we had 5 raptors.  We had a simply wonderful day.\

Species Noted

1. Brown Creeper
2. Dark-eyed Junco
3. Northern Cardinal
4. Black-capped Chickadee
5. American Robin
6. Canada Geese
7. Mallard
8. Ring-billed Gull
9. European Starling
10. Wild Turkey
11. Song Sparrow
12. Red-winged Blackbird
13. Common Grackle
14. Eastern Meadowlark
15. American Crow
16. Wood Duck
17. Savannah Sparrow
18. Eastern Phoebe
19. Northern Harrier
20. Black Duck
21. Blue Jay
22. Kestrel
23. Greater Yellowlegs
24. Clay-coloured Sparrow
25. Field Sparrow
26. Lesser Scaup
27. Hooded Merganser
28. Ring-neck Duck
29. Bufflehead
30. Common Goldeneye
31. Common Merganser
32. Turkey Vulture
33. Common Raven
34. Pileated Woodpecker
35. Peregrine Falcon
36. Merlin
37. Northern Flicker
38. Rock Pigeon
39. Mourning Dove
40. White-crowned Sparrow
41. White-throated Sparrow
42. White-breasted Nuthatch
43. American Tree Sparrow
44. Fox Sparrow
45. Hairy Woodpecker
46. Chipping Sparrow
47. Eastern Bluebird
48. Red-tail Hawk
49. Common Loon

Critters seen or heard 

1. White-tail deer
2. Chorus frogs singing at Burnt Lands.  Never see these frogs according to Bill