September 22, 2026
Birding Report by Jane Burgess
Barb C, Guy, Bill, Eleanor, Barbara, Jane and Ken met at Mud Lake at 8:00. There were so many Mallards on Mud Lake, with a few Wood Ducks and one Great Blue Heron. I walked over to see if the Green Heron was in the pond between the road and the berm. Nope, what I had missed when Ii left the others, was a very quick mink who ran across the area between our people and the water. It ran so fast that if you were not looking, you missed it.
We spent a long time checking the trees that run along the road, many birds, lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Cape May Warbler and Black-capped Chickadees, We walked up the hill, Bill and Barbara stayed looking along the road. More Yellow-rumps, Ken decided to go wandering, when he joined the group, he reported he had seen Golden-crowned Kinglet and Common Merganser. Bill and Barbara joined the group as we checked out the path close to the water. Then we walked very slowly to the water filtration plant. On our return we saw a single Northern Flicker checking out the lawn for goodies.
Where to go next, let's go to Andrew Haydon Park to use the facilities. I did not get the specifics, we turned at what was called Ottawa Beach, while Barb C went to the large Andrew Haydon Park. We let Ken know where we were going as we left him at Mud Lake on another of his excursions.
We headed to Kanata - Didsbury Road Scrape - Carp Watershed Restoration Pond, specifically to see the Little Blue Heron. We parked at the playground and got out our scopes, no Little Blue Heron at first glance. The trail around the water really isn't a trail, it's an asphalt walkway. We saw many Double-crested Cormorants and Ring-billed Gulls, with a few Herring Gulls. Barb C walked over to speak to a group of people to enquire about the Little Blue Heron. She had learned it had flown and maybe it was closer to Terry Fox. Bill, Barbara, Barb walked ahead of Guy, Eleanor and Jane (Ken had not shown up as yet). We figured we were separated by maybe 5 minutes, but the separation got much more than that. We stopped to listen or watch for other birds, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Goldfinch and to check the waterfowl. We approached a small bridge, Guy says there it is -- it stayed for just a few minutes and then flew, but the three of us got good looks. We had seen a Little Blue Heron before, but now we all saw it in Canada. At this point Ken called to say he was at the other end of the pond and the Little Blue was not there, I asked him to look again since the bird had just just flown off in that direction. When we finally caught up with the others, of course we asked if they saw it, the answer was a definitive NO. We told them we briefly saw it, off they went, we took our time on our return trip. We saw about 5 Common Gallinules. We kept walking. It was around then we discovered we had not taken the right direction and were way out of our way to get to the vehicles. I texted Bill to let him know where we were. When we finally met up with the others, Ken had joined them, Barb C had moved her car up to ours and they had finished their lunch. Oh well we got our steps in, but Guy was in pain his hip was bothering him big time.
A man stopped to talk to us, he had not seen the Little Blue Heron, but he could get here regularly as he worked nearby and lived near Carleton Place. He told us he had lived in South America for 17 years but had not taken up birding then. Off he went, we said we didn't catch his name. Barbara went off to speak to him. His name was Daniel Lafortune.
We had a discussion as to where to go next, we decided on the Carleton Place stormwater pond. Ken wanted to check something else out and said he might join us. Before we arrived Guy said he was just going to walk a little bit. Arriving at the pond and walking to the pond, I was told the Nelson Sparrow was seen flying over the pathway around 7:00 a.m. We were there closer to 2 p.m. First thing heard were the Yellowlegs calls, both Greater and Lesser were there. Three Trumpeter Swans, 2 appeared to be sleeping and one much further away. Two Great Egrets flew. Once we set up our scopes, we found about 4 Wilson's Snipe and some Killdeer. The Killdeer were first seen chasing each other and then one appeared to be enjoying just sitting in the water (can't say I have ever seen that before). When the Snipes were seen Eleanor said yep Wilson's Snipe you can see the snipes running down their back, she meant to say the stripes running down their back. Ken joined us. I went off and started to photograph some insects. Guy walked more than he had planned, in fact I was surprised at the distance he did walk.
Once done there we decided we should check out what we call the riverwalk (actual name Stonewater Bay stormwater pond). I quite enjoy walking this area, it is simply beautiful, we start off with the pond on one side and some beautifully landscaped properties on the other, we walk over a bridge and continue to the Mississippi River. Lots of big trees and some shade, homes with bird feeders, just a very calm place to be. Birders and non birders would enjoy this walk. I imagine two people hand in hand strolling down the path enjoying each other's company not saying a word.
Back to birding. At the bird feeders we saw Blue Jays, House Sparrows and Downy Woodpeckers. Bill played the mobbing tape at the boardwalk, in came many Black-capped Chickadees, Gray Catbird and I think a Northern Parula. At this point Ken said he had to leave, he lives at the east end of the city and would have to take the Queensway home, maybe a lot more traffic if he delayed any longer. We walked a bit further and the mobbing tape was played again. Guy left us, to go and sit at the cars, his hip was bothering him big time. We got Tennessee, Blackpoll, and of course many many Yellowrumps.
We decided it was time to get back to the vehicles. Guy left our vehicle and joined Barb C. Barb C gave him a painkiller (a side benefit of going with others). .We all agreed we had a great day, the weather cooperated and so did the birds. At one point I asked Eleanor and Barb if they knew I loved birding, they said yes and so did they!!!
52 species with 8 species of warblers and it’s Sept 21!
Home by 4:45.
Species Seen
- Canada Goose
- Wood Duck
- Mallard
- Common Merganser
- Ring-billed Gull
- American Herring Gull
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Green Heron
- Turkey Vulture
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Flicker
- Eastern Phoebe
- Red-eyed Vireo
- Blue Jay
- American Crow
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Cedar Waxwing
- White-throated Sparrow
- Nashville Warbler
- Cape May Warbler
- Bay-breasted Warbler
- Magnolia Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Northern Cardinal
- Great Blue Heron
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Green-winged Teal
- Killdeer
- Wilson's Snipe
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Trumpeter Swan
- Great Egret
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Common Gallinule
- Little Blue Heron
- Rock Pigeon
- Mourning Dove
- Downy Woodpecker
- Blue Jay
- European Starling
- American Robin
- American Goldfinch
- House Sparrow
- Swamp Sparrow
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Tennessee Warbler
- Northern Parula
- Blackpoll Warbler
Critters
1 American Mink
